The federal Labor government’s promise to solve Australia’s growing energy crisis may be scuttled before it can be legislated after the left-wing Greens and centre-right Liberal-Nationals both warned they may not support the government’s Energy Price Relief Plan (EPRP).
The support of both parties is needed for the government to pass the EPRP in the House of Representatives or the Senate.
The federal government claims the EPRP, announced on Dec. 9, will save Australian families $230 (US$155) each and will see a 12-month emergency gas price cap placed on energy producers, including $12 per gigajoule on wholesale gas producers and $125 a tonne for coal-fired power plants. The move is likely to cut into the profit margins of the companies behind energy production….