Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rejects calls from Tony Abbott to keep Hazelwood open

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Government rejects Hazelwood bailout calls1:03

The government has rejected calls from former PM Tony Abbott to bail out Victoria's Hazelwood power station.

• March 24th 2017
• 3 days ago
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Former prime minister Tony Abbott thinks Hazelwood should be propped up by taxpayers. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP

TONY Abbott just can’t help giving Malcolm Turnbull advice but the Prime Minister doesn’t look __like he’s going to start taking it anytime soon.

In his latest serve at the Turnbull Government — delivered via an opinion piece for the Herald Sun — Mr Abbott urged the Prime Minister to intervene and stop the closure next week of the Victoria’s Hazelwood coal-fired power station, which is the dirtiest in Australia.

The former prime minister says the last thing Australia should be doing is closing a utility that supported base load power.

“Keeping Hazelwood open would cap off a good week for the prime minister,” Mr Abbott wrote.

“He’s fought for free speech, announced a new crack down on union corruption, and released an ‘Australia First’ citizenship statement.”

Mr Abbott said Hazelwood should be kept open until an equally cost effective and reliable alternative power supply could be established.

While commending the PM’s Snowy 2.0 scheme, Mr Abbott said not closing Hazelwood was the one thing that could boost base load power by almost 2000 megawatts immediately, but which no one was talking about.

“If we want secure and affordable power supplies, we can’t lose the ones we currently have, even if they involve burning coal,” he wrote.

But the Prime Minister has rejected the suggestion that Hazelwood should be propped up by taxpayers. He pointed out there was a reason the owners, French company Engie, had decided to shut it down.

“The cost of keeping Hazelwood going is enormous,” Mr Turnbull told ABC.

He said the cost of making it safe and paying for long-deferred maintenance ran into “many millions of dollars”.

Engie Australia CEO Alex Keisser told ABC it would require $150 million just to do the work required by July to keep the plant safe.

The coal conveyor system at Hazelwood Power Station. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

He said keeping the plant going would be a “very expensive solution” and suggested the focus should instead be on job opportunities for redundant staff.

Mr Turnbull has said there is enough unused power in the electricity generation system to cover the looming gap.

“We are not going to step in to acquire or subside the Hazelwood power station,” he told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell on Friday.

Mr Turnbull said the Australian Energy Market Operator had advised that the closure of Hazelwood would not reduce the security of the system.

“In other words, it won’t make the risk of blackouts greater because there are other power generation resources available in Victoria and the national electricity market.”

Hazelwood coal fired power station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley is in its final stages before shutting down. Picture: Stuart McEvoy/The Australian.Source:News Corp Australia

Hazelwood has not been operating at full capacity, and there are also other under-utilised assets in the system, such as Engie’s gas-fired power plant in South Australia, which is operating at half capacity.

While the Australian Energy Market Operator has predicted a gas and electricity shortage by the end of next year, the PM called a meeting with gas companies recently to ensure Australians could be able to get more supply.

However, Mr Abbott has not been reassured, saying AEMO was not able to keep the lights on in South Australia recently.

“The regulator wasn’t able to prevent a blackout which did very serious damage and potentially fatal damage to the Portland aluminium smelter,” Mr Abbott told ABC radio.

The Australian Industry Group agrees governments should remain open to keeping Hazelwood operating in some form.

“We appreciate that this would be a major and costly step,” chief executive Innes Willox said.

“We need urgent action, and all options should be on the table.”

Treasurer Scott Morrison blamed the “mindless ideology” of the Labor Party for the Hazelwood closure.

“They cheered on the closure of coal-fired power stations.”

Labor described Mr Abbott’s intervention as a five-seconds-to-midnight moment.

“It is clearly and deliberately calculated to damage the prime minister, rather than being a constructive contribution to the literacy policy,” opposition energy spokesman Mark Butler told reporters.

“What we have in the middle of a very serious national energy crisis is a government utterly paralysed by ideology and the ongoing civil war between Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull.”