Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz, Kevin Andrews and George Christensen among named members of new forum that claims 20 MPs

Coalition backbenchers unite to lobby for coal under banner of Monash Forum

Twenty Coalition backbench MPs have joined a group warning against the “demonisation” of coal, the Liberal MP Craig Kelly has revealed.

Kelly – the chairman of the government’s backbench committee on the environment and energy – confirmed the existence of the Monash Forum, which supports the use of coal-fired power.

Kelly told Guardian Australia the group’s manifesto was not inconsistent with the Turnbull government’s National Energy Guarantee, which he said was a “good policy”. But the group’s position will add to pressure for government support for a new coal-fired power station.

He confirmed the list of the group’s members published in the Australian includes Tony Abbott, Eric Abetz and Kevin ­Andrews. The former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce was reportedly “linked to” the group.

But the Liberal MP Ian Goodenough said he had been part of a social gathering of conservative MPs that discussed policy for “some years” that had recently adopted the name the Monash Forum.

The comments suggest the core of the group is the longstanding “Monkey Pod” conservative grouping in the Liberal Party combined with a group of Nationals MPs.

George Christensen reportedly invited Nationals MPs to join a group “encouraging the government in the promotion of and ­facilitation of and/or construction of coal-fired power stations”.

The Nationals senator John Williams said he supported coal-fired generation and he had replied to a text message to join but had not seen any pledge or manifesto.

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The group is named after the first world war general John Monash, owing to his role in opening up Victoria’s ­Latrobe Valley for coal production.



“It’s not like it’s a secret society,” Kelly said. “One of the aims of the group is to emphasise the importance of coal-fired generation.

“Coal is demonised by a large section of the community – that demonisation is incorrect, because coal is absolutely vital to the national economy both for export and the generation of cheap, reliable electricity.”

Kelly said if AGL’s Liddell power station were closed, the “optimum outcome for the grid” would be to construct a new coal-fired power station.

He said private-sector investment in coal might not be forthcoming due to possible technological change and changes to climate policy by a future government so “the government may need to step in and assist the build” of a new power station.

On Tuesday Sky News reported that the Monash Forum manifesto included a petition that posed the question: “If the government can intervene to build Snowy 2.0, why not intervene to build Hazelwood 2.0 on the site of the coal-fired power station in Victoria that’s now being dismantled?”

It suggests a new low emissions coal-fired power station could be built for “no more than $4 billion”.

But Kelly claimed the manifesto stopped short of calling for a specific form of government support for coal, and the question posed was “an analogy” not an ask.

Goodenough disavowed the idea of a subsidy, telling Guardian Australia: “I would generally not advocate for government subsidies for any form of power generation, preferring the technology to be financially sustainable on its own merits.”

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Asked why the government should support coal if the private sector refused and renewables continued to become cheaper, Kelly said: “No matter how much solar and wind you have, you’re going to need some baseload power.”

AGL plans to replace its ageing Liddell power station with renewables, batteries, gas power, upgraded coal power and demand response, and has resisted government calls to sell the power station to prevent its closure.

Williams said if AGL refused to sell to a private buyer, the government should compulsorily acquire it to on-sell or “as a last resort” run the plant itself.

The Turnbull government’s energy guarantee is still being designed by the Energy Security Board and requires sign-off by the states before proposed reliability and emissions reduction requirements are imposed.

At a press conference on Tuesday Malcolm Turnbull said the National Energy Guarantee provides “every incentive for the energy sector to invest in dispatchable power”.

He said the Neg “puts a premium on dispatchability” which can be provided by coal, gas and hydro-electric power.

Earlier, the energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, said the Monash group and the government wanted “exactly the same thing”.

“[The Neg] will deliver more affordable and reliable energy without subsidies, taxes or trading schemes, levelling the playing field for all types of generation,” he said in a statement.

“Independent modelling undertaken by the ESB suggests coal will continue to remain part of the energy mix making up more than half of supply in 2030.”

Labor’s climate change spokesman, Mark Butler, said the Monash Group “exemplifies how chaotic energy policy has become [under] the Liberals”.

“The energy industry has been clear they have no appetite for building new coal-fired power stations,” he said.

“New coal is more expensive and more polluting than alternatives, yet the hard right want to waste taxpayers’ money on their coal fantasies demanding Malcolm Turnbull to guarantee new investment in coal-fired power.”