Poll: Australians Want To Hit The Pause Button On Net Zero

“Australia’s deepening energy crisis of chronic supply shortages and skyrocketing prices is a direct and immediate result of the policy of net zero emission by 2050, and Australian’s want to hit the pause button,” said Gideon Rozner, Director of Policy at the Institute for Public Affairs.

A new poll commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs, reinforces that a majority of Australians want politicians to abandon net zero, secure energy supplies and avoid blackouts.

The poll of 1,001 Australians undertaken in June for the IPA, asked respondents whether they agree or disagree with the following statement: “Australia should pause its commitment to the policy of net zero emissions by 2050, as the UK has done, until we have enough energy supplies to avoid blackouts.”

• 61% Agree
• 22% Neither agree nor disagree
• 17% Disagree

“Real Australians are growing increasingly uneasy with net zero as our energy crisis deepens and their power bills continue to skyrocket. That is why there needs to be a proper debate about how net zero is going to impact real Australians and their cost of living,” Mr Rozner said.

The poll found there is widespread support across the community for hitting the pause button on net zero;

• A majority of respondents, across every state, support pausing net zero.
• A majority of respondents, across every age group, support pausing net zero, including 61% of young Australians aged 18-24.
• A majority of Australians, across every income group, support pausing net zero.

The poll follows the release of a recent IPA ground-breaking research report Australia’s Net Zero Energy Crisis: An analysis of the electricity price implications of net zero emissions by 2050, which identified that net zero would:

• More the double annual family electricity bills.
• More than quadruple annual business electricity bills.
• Force the closure of at least six large coal-fired power stations by the year 2030, taking a further 20% of energy generation capacity of Australia’s already crumbling grid.

“You can still care about the environment and accept net zero is a dud policy. It is clear real Australians want to pause the net zero policy designed by and for the privileged inner-city elites, just as the United Kingdom has already done,” Mr Rozner said.

“The only way to fix this crisis, and to secure our nation, is with affordable and reliable energy generation. Labor and the Coalition need to put real Australians first and abandon their reckless commitment and push to get more coal and gas into the market,” said Mr Rozner.