NICOLE CHVASTEK: And the federal Minister for Energy is with us right now. Angus Taylor, a very good afternoon to you and thank you so much for staying on the line there. I know you've been waiting for some time.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Thanks for having me.

NICOLE CHVASTEK: We just heard Pat Conroy there talking about how there could be a NEG debated and perhaps even agreed on before Christmas if the Coalition debates it. Would the Coalition consider the NEG again?

ANGUS TAYLOR: No. No. Look, the main point of difference between us and Labor isn't that; the main point of difference we will never agree on is the scale of the targets. Labor's targeting a 45 per cent emission reduction target, a 50 per cent renewable energy targets. We know from the South Australian experience, the experience in Germany and other countries around the world, when you force that much intermittency into the system in a short period of time, you drive up prices. We don't need-

NICOLE CHVASTEK: Well, would you consider any renewable energy target? I mean, just-

ANGUS TAYLOR: We have one now. We have one now. And the point is-

NICOLE CHVASTEK: Is that at 26 per cent or has it been reduced since the whole NEG was scrapped?

ANGUS TAYLOR: No. That hasn't changed one iota. So we have a renewable energy target but it's one that is achievable, not one which is out of reach and which will force intermittency in the system; force out the baseload power; and force up the price, which is exactly what we've seen in South Australia. It's what we've seen in Germany. It's what we've seen in many countries around the world. And it's why Labor's policy is just completely irresponsible. It will drive up prices. It will drive out industry. I was at a major business- an aluminium smelter, you've got one in Portland in Victoria, which relies on having that 24/7 affordable reliable power which has been driven out of the system by the sort of policy that we're hearing from Labor. We won't agree to those targets. They're irresponsible. There is a natural pace at which new technology can be adopted and the critical thing which we've got to remember as more sun and wind powers the electricity grid - is that it needs to be firm; it needs to be turned into 24/7 power because the sun doesn't always shine; the wind doesn't always blow; and it's going to take time for us to get that balance right. We've got to keep the balance. Labor's targets don't do that.

NICOLE CHVASTEK: Angus Taylor, it's not a good look to have the opposition bringing your own policy back and throwing it at you.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, it's not our policy.

NICOLE CHVASTEK: Well, it was. I mean, the NEG was.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, no. We've never had a 46 per cent policy. We simply haven't had it and that is [inaudible]-

NICOLE CHVASTEK: So if you remove the emissions target, would you be able to sit down with Labor and make an agreement? If you just put that to one side and just spoke about the NEG?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, there's no point. I mean, the target is what does the work; and let's be clear - our 26 per cent target because of the investment that's happening now; because of the drop in the cost of solar in particular, will reach that 26 per cent target well ahead of time, well ahead of 2030. We're well on track to achieve it in the early 2020s. We don't need regulation and another mechanism to do it. It's happening under its own natural steam of technology improvement and cost reductions; and now, the critical thing is to keep the price down and keep the lights on. We can't have the disease which started in South Australia; which has led to amongst the highest electricity prices in the world; has led to a system in South Australia where they're struggling to keep the lights on; we can't have that exported in an experiment from Bill Shorten to the other states across Australia.

NICOLE CHVASTEK: But plenty of energy analysts will argue that an investment in renewables will ultimately bring the price down; that it is, in fact, coal that is expensive these days to produce.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, hang on. Hang on. That's the wrong [inaudible]. The question is when you put the renewables into the system, does the other generation stay in? And the answer is it doesn't. We saw that with Hazelwood. You push it out and push up the price. So we've got to do these in a sensible, well-paced, balanced way. Labor's policy is not sensible. It's not well-paced. It's not balanced and it will drive up the price of electricity. And look, you don't need to ask anybody, just look at what happened in South Australia. Look at it. Look at what's happened in Germany. It's exactly the same story. You have seen all the intermittencies- [inaudible] coming into the system, there is a natural pace at which that can happen. When it happens too fast, you force out the baseload reliable 24/7 power and the result is prices go up. That's exactly what we saw with Hazelwood withdrawing from the system.

NICOLE CHVASTEK: I'm speaking to Angus Taylor. He's the federal Minister for Energy. Bill Shorten today also outlined a plan for $200 million to subsidise the installation of batteries in 100,000 homes so that more people can store power from solar panels and thereby improving reliability. Would the Coalition look at a similar pledge?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, we are very focused on making sure we have firm supply in the system, 24/7 supply in the system, but this a drop in the ocean. There's $200 million to get a tiny, tiny amount of storage [inaudible]-

NICOLE CHVASTEK: But it's about moving...

ANGUS TAYLOR: No, hang on.

NICOLE CHVASTEK: It's about moving a nation about thinking about renewables; about thinking how you can generate power; and about doing it yourself. I think it's about putting things out there that people can take up.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, we're doing that very well. We've got $15 billion of renewables coming into the system in the next three years. We're going from 7.5 terawatt/hour, 17.5, up to 44.5 in three years. That's 250 per cent increase. That's happening right now around. So we're doing well on this. The issue is how we make sure it's reliable and that we don't push out that baseload reliable supply that results in the sort of outcomes we've seen in South Australia and other places where this has gone too far. Now, can batteries play a role? Yes. But what Bill Shorten is proposing here is $200 million for a drop in the ocean. It is not a solution to this problem, and it certainly won't firm up, make reliable, the enormous amount that he is proposing to push into the system with this 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030 on top of his 45 per cent emission reduction target, which will have impacts on agriculture, on irrigation, on transport, on manufacturing. The truth is that that sort of target will be a wrecking ball through the economy.

NICOLE CHVASTEK: Angus Taylor, thank you so much for joining us.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Thank you for having me.

NICOLE CHVASTEK: Angus Taylor is the federal Minister for Energy.