let's go live to our Sky News colleague
and our political contributor Chris
yulman Chris you're at an energy
conference in Melbourne this week that's
timely tell me your read on this
resumption of the climate
Wars yeah it's an interesting
proposition isn't it we're having
climate ambition put up against cost of
living and I think that Peter dutton's
taking a higher risk approach because
you'd have to think that in those teal
seats in particular it would be very
difficult to win them back with this
kind of argument so again you might see
those splits opening up inside the
Coalition but he clearly believes that
this is a powerful message which will
resonate with lots of households who are
suffering under the cost of living and I
think the government will also be pretty
happy with this as well because at the
moment we're not focusing on their plan
and the extraordinary difficulties with
delivering their plan but more on the
over the horizon about whether or not
we'll have nuclear energy in Australia
and that's not really the issue for us
in the short term Kieran the real issue
is what we do in the next 2 to three
years and the next six in particular
don't forget the government's Target for
renewable energy on the East Coast grid
which covers South Australia as well is
82% Renewables in the next 6 years we
have 40% at the moment the level of
capital investment that will be required
will be approaching $200 billion we've
heard here this morning now somebody has
to pay for a return on investment and
I'll give you a guess as to who that
might
be yeah this is I I mentioned this
earlier when I spoke to Aon Fitzpatrick
and David gazzard our our panel that
this is It's a return to fights of Years
Gone by but what it is a shif in Chris
and and it's a to me it is no longer the
small Target strategy that we've seen
from recent oppositions this is one very
very big Target and Peter dutton's
taking it on on a range of
fronts yeah they're both big targets and
what we'll matter now is the execution
which side is best able to convince the
public that what they're saying is true
because there is truth on both sides of
the argument but there's one tremendous
Central truth Kieran that is there is no
future in Australia with with anyone's
energy plan which isn't stonkingly
expensive and that will fall onto the
community to pay and that means
businesses and and and people who are in
households it will be very very
expensive there will be a divide that
opens up and that will be between the
energy rich and the energy poor the
energy rich will be people who already
have money to put solar panels and
perhaps even batteries on their roof
those people that do that will be
rewarded by energy companies they'll
start to actually be be become traders
in the Energy System it's something
we've never seen before so that's part
of the future those people that aren't
able to afford it they'll still be on
the grid and on the grid power will be
expensive yes so this goes to that
political divide as well and you touched
on it earlier but let's just dig into
that a little bit because I've got Paul
Fletcher coming up and I think he's uh
he's someone with a fair bit at stake
here the member for Bradfield on
Sydney's Northshore he survived that
teal wave last time but is he at risk
next
election I think absolutely I think this
is the gamble that Peter dutton's making
now do people care more about their
energy bills than they care about the
environment that's that's what's being
sold whether or not that's a true argu
or not leave that to one side but that's
the sales pitch people haven't been
thinking much about the way that the
energy system works and the ignorance of
the energy system and through this
transition plays very much in favor of
those people who would just pick a
Target the most absurd thing that we've
seen through all this is the targeting
of gas there is nobody in that room
today that that involves all of the best
brains in the electricity sector in
Australia and the gas sector that thinks
there is any future that doesn't include
gas because what happens with with wind
and solar power is they're intermittent
they SP up they ramp down there's only
one thing that can Spike up and ramp
down quickly that's gas people talk
about batteries we haven't got anything
like the amount of battery storage that
we need to do that so if you look at the
strain energy Market operators plan all
the way through until 2050 and obviously
Beyond gas is in the system around about
the same amount of gas that we're using
today or perhaps even a little bit more
so this is a very complex argument
people will take advantage of that but
yes I would think that for those who are
any inoc City liberals and there aren't
too many of them left K that they'd
probably be getting a little
nervous yeah indeed this is quite a an
interesting battle line that Peter
Dutton has drawn but he seems that
convinced that that cost of living issue
is going to be one that will overwhelm
all El all else Chris yman thank you as
always I very much appreciate it we'll
talk to you next week