Energy supply retailer AGL has been labelled “the biggest hypocrite walking around Australia” by a senior government senator.
The criticism comes as the company looks to shut Liddell, the oldest coal-fired power station in Australia, by 2022.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is keen to see it stay open for at least five years longer and says the company is open to selling it to a reasonable party.
But CEO Andy Vesey took to social media on Tuesday night to insist AGL was getting out of coal.
“We committed to the closure of the Liddell power station in 2022, the end of its operating life,” he said.
Senator Canavan, who recently stood aside as resources minister, said the company on the one hand was saying it wants to get out of coal and on the other making millions on the back of it.
He also seized on earlier claims AGL would shut its coal operations by 2050.
“AGL are the biggest hypocrites walking around Australia at the moment,” he told ABC radio.
Senator Canavan argues AGL should be operating with a “modicum of the national interest in mind”, not just trying to boost its profits.
Mr Vesey will be in Canberra on Monday to discuss the Liddell plant’s future with Mr Turnbull and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg.
The minister believes Mr Vesey is not trying to embarrass anyone, saying he had always been constructive and willing to talk.
He noted the AGL boss was yet to see an expert report that has informed the government’s thinking.
“He needs to see that report and implications that … the closure of Liddell will have for the price and stability in the energy market,” Mr Frydenberg told the Seven Network.
“What we have heard yesterday from the Australian Energy Market Operator is that there is a concern with Liddell scheduled to close in 2022, that there will be insufficient supply in the market.”
Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon, whose seat is in the NSW Hunter Valley, accuses Mr Turnbull of offering false hope.
“Liddell is almost 50-years-old; no-one would be happier than me as the local member to think that we could extend the life of Liddell but it’s not going to happen,” he said.
But Senator Canavan predicts people would be lining up to buy the station.
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