Reverse electricity privatisation and double the pace of Labor’s renewables transition

Since Labor privatised electricity retail in 2006, the real cost of electricity bills has more than doubled. The Greens will cut the average electricity bill in Queensland by 21% by scrapping private retailers, stopping price gouging by state owned generators and network companies, and running the electricity system as a non-profit essential service. 

Unlike Labor’s rebate, which is essentially a one-off transfer to private energy retailers, the savings from reversing privatisation would continue into the long term. The average household would save $531 every year on their electricity bill.

Neither Labor nor the LNP have a plan to reach 100% renewable energy, and both major parties plan to keep opening new coal and gas projects and power Queensland with dirty fossil fuels beyond 2040. 

The pace of Queensland’s energy transition has been set by Labor and the LNP’s fossil fuel donors, not what is actually needed for a safe climate. The Greens have an energy plan for people and the planet, not for fossil fuel corporations. 

The Queensland Greens will double Labor’s renewable energy target to reach 100% renewables by 2030 with an additional $65.3 billion investment in renewable energy generation and battery storage that will be 100% publicly owned.

The Greens will:

• End the privatisation of electricity retail by abolishing private retailers like Origin, AGL and Alinta, bringing it back into public hands.
• Stop publicly owned power companies behaving like profit-hungry corporations and redirect profits into savings for Queensland households and businesses.
• Achieve 100% renewable power generation by 2030 by doubling the pace of Labor’s energy transition with an additional $65.3 billion in publicly owned renewable energy generation and battery storage.
• Meet a target of 75% public ownership of large-scale electricity assets by 2030 and plan for a long-term target of 100%.
• Provide finance and technical support for community and resident owned renewable energy projects through a $500 million community renewables fund.

Cheaper power bills

By reversing Labor’s privatisation of energy retail and returning the profits from publicly owned generation and network assets to Queenslanders, the Queensland Greens will save the average household $531 (21%) a year, and a typical small business $1025 (12%) off their electricity bills.

Household savings broken down: 

• Bring energy retail back under a single public energy authority, Energy Queensland - $149 per year.
• Scrap Howard-era rules which require state owned energy companies to behave like private corporations and artificially inflate their prices - $99 per year.
• Stop price-gouging by publicly owned energy generation and network companies and redirect an average $525 million in annual State dividends into savings for Queensland’s 2.3 million bill payers - $228 per year.
• Flow-on effects from downward pressure on wholesale generation prices - $55 per year.

Publicly owned, 100% renewable energy 

Electricity is an essential service that should be in public hands and run as a public service, not by for-profit corporations. The Greens would transform Energy Queensland into a democratic, efficient public authority covering retail, generation and networks. Energy Queensland would be run by a board of electricity workers, First Nations people, regional Queenslanders and those from metro areas.

A single public authority would be able to properly plan the transition to 100% publicly owned renewable energy creating the cheapest and most reliable energy system in Australia.

The unreliability and unpredictability of private investment makes it a poor foundation to plan an electrical grid on. This year the government had to buy out Chinese and European investors’ stakes in CS Energy after mismanagement led to the explosion of a coal-powered generator.

We won’t be able to reach 100% renewables by 2030 without facilitating some private investment in large-scale projects. But going forward, the bulk of funding should be towards wholly-government owned assets, and any funding towards projects that aren’t wholly government owned should come with a commensurate stake in the final asset.

An energy plan for people and the planet, not for fossil fuel corporations

The pace of Queensland’s energy transition has been set by Labor and the LNP’s fossil fuel donors, not by what is actually needed for a safe climate.

Both Labor and the LNP plan to continue opening new coal and gas projects and powering Queensland with dirty fossil fuels. Neither Labor nor the LNP have a plan to reach 100% renewable energy, putting Queensland and the world on a course for climate disaster. 

The Queensland Greens will double Labor’s renewable energy target to reach 100% renewables by 2030 with an additional $65.3 billion in investment to build:

• 17.5 GW of 100% publicly owned renewable energy capacity.
• 150GWh of 100% publicly owned medium and deep energy storage for when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow.

In the last decade, across state and federal levels, fossil fuel corporations have donated $6.1 million to Labor and $7 million to the Liberal and National parties so that they can write their policies for them.

But a climate transition plan which opens up new coal and gas projects and continues burning fossil fuels beyond 2040, is no plan at all.

If not for the alliance between Labor, LNP, and big coal and gas companies, Queensland could already be a world-leader in renewable energy manufacturing in industries like green steel and hydrogen. Queensland can’t afford to dawdle any longer.

And because all Queenslanders deserve to benefit from the clean energy transition, not just private corporations, this new investment will be 100% publicly owned and operated for the public good, not for profit.

Community owned renewables

To reach 100% renewables by 2030, we need investment at every size and scale.

The Greens will establish a $500 million community renewables fund. Groups of residents will be able to apply for finance and technical support to establish community owned renewable energy projects. The scheme will cover solar gardens, batteries, and other projects, whether it be for apartment buildings, underutilised urban spaces like shopping centre roofs, or in remote communities where electricity from the grid is either lacking or expensive.

Energy Queensland would provide the expertise to get the project off the ground, and finance would be available in the form of subsidised loans or in exchange for a Queensland Energy stake in the project.

Summary of targets

Emission reduction target

	Labor	LNP	Greens
2030	30%	30%	75%
2035	75%	75%	100%
2050	100%	100%	100%

Fossil fuel reliance

	Labor	LNP	Greens
2030	50%	???	0%
2032	30%	???	0%
2035	20%	???	0%

Phase out fossil fuel exports

	Labor	LNP	Greens
Thermal coal	???	???	2030
Metallurgical coal	???	???	2040
Gas and petroleum	???	???	2040