Essential Report
Statements about energy
Q. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Total agree | Total disagree | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree | Don’t know | ||
The government should fund up to $5bn to build new coal plants or extend the life of existing ones | 40% | 38% | 14% | 26% | 20% | 18% | 23% | |
Coal fired power is cheaper than power generated by renewables | 47% | 24% | 14% | 33% | 15% | 9% | 29% | |
The government should hold an inquiry into power prices and anti-competitive conduct by power companies | 80% | 9% | 42% | 38% | 7% | 2% | 11% | |
Privately owned power companies should be returned to public ownership | 63% | 17% | 30% | 33% | 14% | 3% | 21% | |
Burning of coal increases CO2 emissions which leads to climate change | 61% | 21% | 26% | 35% | 13% | 8% | 18% | |
Further expanding coal mining and exports would undermine global efforts to address climate change | 55% | 24% | 23% | 32% | 15% | 9% | 21% |
A substantial majority agree that there should be an inquiry into power prices and energy companies (80% agree), power companies should be returned to public ownership (63%) and burning coal leads to climate change (61%).
Nearly half (47%) believed that coal-fired power is cheaper than renewables and respondents were split over whether the Government should fund coal plants.

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- Performance of Scott Morrison
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