The Australian Greens want the federal government to turn back the clock and become a net provider of essential services in the Australian energy industry, with party leader Adam Bandt decrying the private ownership of the energy sector.
Bandt, during his address to the National Press Club, said that Australia needed large-scale public investment in the sector to drive the national transition to renewable energy sources.
“We need a significant investment, publicly led, to shift Australia to 100 percent renewables and create new export industries,” he said.
He argued the government was already involved in the sector through the Snowy Hydro electricity generator, which has a retail arm attached, and that ramping up the project would enable it to replace the current fleet of coal-fired power generators on the eastern seaboard….