Australia's national energy and climate change policy has unfortunately stalled once again due to a leadership spill in late August 2018 that led to former Treasurer Scott Morrison replacing Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister. This latest change in leadership follows the ousting of several Australian Prime Ministers by their own parties, including Tony Abbott in 2015, Julia Gillard in 2013, and Kevin Rudd in 2010. Turnbull, like Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott, was removed from office for reasons that included his climate change policies.

Largely due to rising energy prices across the country, energy policy in Australia has taken center stage politically. In addition, after storm damage caused a statewide power outage in South Australia in 2016, energy reliability has become a key issue.

Originally, the Turnbull government's "National Energy Guarantee" ("NEG") policy sought to address the issues of energy affordability, energy reliability, and emissions reductions in one plan. This was never implemented, however, as it failed to get backing from all of the states.

The NEG also included a proposal that would have enshrined into law Australia's commitment to meet its Paris Agreement targets of reducing its total emissions by 26–28 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Prime Minister Turnbull eventually scrapped this due to pressure from within his own party in the lead-up to the August leadership spill.

Various Australian business groups have weighed in on the NEG and the decision to scrap the emissions targets from the plan, with many voicing their frustration with the lack of certainty surrounding Australia's energy and climate policy. Jennifer Westacott, CEO of the Business Council of Australia, a lobbying group that had supported the NEG, urged the government and the opposition parties to "work together to deliver a workable and durable energy and climate change policy that will drive investment and improve certainty." Business Council Statement on the National Energy Guarantee, Business Council of Australia (Aug. 20, 2018).

While Prime Minister Morrison has signaled a continuation of Turnbull's climate change policies, including confirming Australia's commitment to the Paris Agreement emissions reduction targets, he has stopped short of legislating those emissions reductions into law. Moreover, given that a federal election will be held before the end of 2019, the future direction of Australia's energy and climate change policy is unlikely to become clear until after that election is decided.

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