PM's support questioned
Opposition energy spokesperson Mark Butler has accused the PM of “pretending” to support renewable energy.
Mr Butler says renewable energy investment collapsed by more than 50 per cent in the first half of the year.
He said Prime Minister Scott Morrison is pretending Australia was leading the world on renewable energy investment.
“(This is) against the advice of his own government department,” Mr Butler told reporters on Saturday.
“Power bills are going up (and) wholesale prices are up by 158 percent since 2015 alone, according to the Grattan Institute.
“Because of this collapse in renewable energy investment, thousands of good, well-paying jobs in that industry, which are growing everywhere else around the world, are also now at risk.”
The Clean Energy Council recently warned that power prices could rise if the federal government does not extend the renewable energy target.
Australia has already met its 2020 target, for 33,000 gigawatt-hours of Australia's electricity to come from renewable sources.
Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor says he still wants to maintain coal power stations across the country.
Mr Taylor claims that the only realistic way to balance investment in renewable energy while retaining reliable energy is with a mix of coal, gas and hydro generation.