Coalition $17bn ‘economic insanity’ claim   
The Coalition’s coal power gamble threatens to detonate a budget bomb worth billions, the Treasurer has claimed.


News.com.au
November 26, 2025


Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned that the Coalition’s plan to keep Australia’s coal-fired power stations open for an extra decade could push up energy prices and detonate a $17 billion hit to the federal budget.

As the coal fleet ages, old power stations forced to continue operating could lead to electricity supply shortfalls according to the government. i

The Treasurer now says new economic analysis shows that if the Coalition wins the next election and proceeds with its plan to “sweat” coal assets, keeping all coal-fired power stations open for 10 years from 2028, it could cost the budget more than $17 billion.    

He noted this amount is more than the Commonwealth spends each year on cheaper child care, family support benefits and Jobseeker payments.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said the Coalition’s plan to keep coal fired power stations open could cost $17 billion.

Eight coal-fired stations are forecast to close in the decade following the next election: Eraring, Vales Point and Bayswater in New South Wales; Yallourn and Loy Yang A in Victoria; and Callide, Gladstone and Tarong in Queensland.

‘Economic insanity’

“Paying to extend the life of all of Australia’s ageing coal-fired power stations would push up power prices and blow a big hole in the budget,” the Treasurer told news.com.au.

“The Coalition’s energy plan is a recipe for higher debt and higher power prices.


“Sussan Ley wants more debt and bigger deficits to pay for nuclear reactors and ageing coal-fired power plants, and that would only increase energy bills.

The Coalition’s Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan and David Gillispie. Joyce has touted Australia building new coal fired power stations.

“Australians will pay for the Liberals’ economic insanity with more expensive energy bills.   

“What the Coalition is proposing would push power prices up, not down.”

After months of infighting, the Coalition has settled on a policy of dumping net zero and ensuring there are “no premature closures” of coal plants.

Liberal leader Sussan Ley argues a future Liberal government would achieve this by removing the prohibition on zero-emissions nuclear technology and adding uranium to the critical minerals list.

But even inside the Liberal Party room, the coal-power question sparked chaos, with MPs including Anne Ruston, Dave Sharma, Zoe McKenzie, Tim Wilson and Maria Kovacic grilling energy spokesman Dan Tehan on coal power.

Vales Point coal fired power station on the NSW central coast is slated for closure.

After leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie interjected to back subsidies for coal plants, Senator Anne Ruston responded: “This isn’t what I agreed to”.

Barnaby Joyce and other leading opponents of net zero by 2050 want Australia to build new coal-fired power plants.

“If you want net zero, then nuclear can give you net zero at a vastly more affordable rate than intermittents [renewables],” Mr Joyce said.

“I absolutely disagree — if the rest of the world’s not doing it, if it has no global effect, then it’s a self-written economic suicide note.”

whiteknight wrote on Nov 26^th, 2025 at 7:55am:



And the AEMO, a government functionary only wants to keep them open at least 5 years, provided of course that we can install the 6 times extra generating capacity to cover the wind and solar intermittency, should they be able to do that.

So the Coalition takes a more conservative view and says 10 Years. How about if after the five years, if, big IF I know, renewables can show they can handle it, slowly close the coal plants. At the moment, Labor are simply wishing it to come true.

The proof of the pudding, is as they say, in the eating.

LNP never again wrote on Nov 26^th, 2025 at 11:21pm:



And that domestic gas agreement was because of a LIberal.