OPINION: Albanese did not create the energy crisis, but he will have to fix it
The phrase made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator films – “I’ll be back” – is one that Anthony Albanese could end up echoing at the next election when he seeks to extend his time as prime minister from three years to six.
And history shows that voters will not play along with a blame game in a blackout. They will blame whoever is in charge. That is the lesson from Schwarzenegger because that is how he replaced the Californian governor, Gray Davis, two decades ago. While there were several reasons Davis lost his job, his fall began when homes went dark.
Australia is not California. Albanese is not Davis. Even so, history shows that blaming the previous government will only work for so long. Four weeks after the May 21 election, Albanese is talking at length about how the energy grid got into this mess. The next stage is to explain what he can do about it.
Asked on Thursday to guarantee there would be no blackouts, Albanese would not do so. This was an honest response. The good news was the reassuring message from Energy Minister Chris Bowen, about the success so far in avoiding any blackouts or “load-shedding” – that is, the halt to supply that California imposed.
The argument over other fixes, ranging from a gas reservation policy to the Snowy 2.0 project and the upgrade of the transmission grid, will make no difference this winter. The immediate measure being prepared by Resources Minister Madeleine King is to use the threat of tougher regulation to force gas exporters to increase local supply and help the electricity generators. Thanks to the failures of the past decade, the short-term fix depends on fossil fuels.
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