Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is due to unveil the details on Thursday in a speech titled Labor's Plan to Tackle Australia’s Energy Crisis. Bloomberg New Energy Finance is hosting the event in Sydney. Labor leader Bill Shorten is due to reveal his party's much-anticipated energy sector policy on Thursday. Credit:Justin McManus Bipartisan consensus over climate policy has eluded the Australian Parliament for more than a decade. Most recently, Labor had warmed to the government’s National Energy Guarantee, however the policy was dumped when Scott Morrison became prime minister. As previously reported, Labor’s policy is expected to contain a resurrected version of the energy guarantee. But the passage of that policy through the next Parliament is not assured, and Labor is expected to focus strongly on supporting investment in new renewable energy generation through means it can better control. This might involve rules, regulations or other changes that can be implemented solely by government and would not require parliamentary assent - however regulation can be disallowed by the Senate.

Mr Shorten’s office would not reveal details of what policy levers a Labor government would pull. However it may look to the Labor-held jurisdictions of Victoria, Queensland and the ACT, which plan to meet their ambitious renewable energy targets through reverse auction mechanisms to support generation from clean energy projects. Federal Labor has set a target of 50 per cent renewables in the electricity mix, and a 45 per cent cut in emissions, by 2030. Other measures Labor would not need to pass through the legislature, should it choose to adopt them, include further investment by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and curbing concessions for big polluters under the Safeguard Mechanism so they would be forced to emit less. Labor’s plan is also believed to contain measures to boost baseload power generation – or “dispatchable” power that can be delivered on demand, in line with recommendations from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The Coalition government interpreted this recommendation to include investment in coal-fired plants – a move Labor strongly criticised. There is widespread speculation that battery storage for renewable energy will form a central part of Labor’s policy. Labor also plans to address the problem of coal workers and their communities who face economic and social disruption when coal-fired power stations close.