Albo ‘lied’ about microgrid money - Entsch

Daintree Power

Shaun Hollis

Journalist

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The Daintree microgrid project has had a long and troubled history since it first received a funding pledge in 2022.

Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of lying about a $19m funding commitment for the Daintree microgrid project.

Mr Entsch, who will retire at the federal election due in May, said this week Mr Albanese either lied about the funding pledge, or did not know what was outlined in his own budget.

“(This) is a classic example where the Prime Minister has lied, effectively, to withhold the money,” Mr Entsch told Newsport this week.

“We don’t need that sort of nonsense.”

Mr Albanese told the Cairns Post earlier this month the funding “was never actually there”. 

“It wasn’t pulled,” he said, in response to a statement from a reporter that the “funding was pulled for the Daintree Microgrid Project”.

The 2022/23 federal budget handed down by Mr Albanese’s government - the first after it won power in May of that year - shows the money had been made available.

“The Australian Government is providing up to $19.3 million over three years from 2021-22 to support the deployment of a renewable energy microgrid incorporating hydrogen for the Daintree community in Far North Queensland,” the budget papers read. 

“The microgrid will ensure the Daintree community has a more affordable, more reliable and a more resilient electricity supply. It will replace costly diesel generation and provide a cleaner, more reliable and affordable energy supply, an important consideration for this world heritage site.” 

Mr Entsch said the Prime Minister “didn’t read his own documents”.

“Albo should’ve known better,” he said.

“When it starts to get out I think these guys are going to be a little bit embarrassed.”

In December 2023, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek confirmed her Government supported the 8MW solar farm, and a 1MW hydrogen plant, to be built on a cattle property near Cow Bay.

The microgrid, which would be co-owned by traditional owners represented by the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation, was set to provide renewable energy for about 300 customers who are mostly relying on diesel generators.

But the project experienced a setback last year when the federal Energy and Climate Department redirected the funding, saying contractual obligations had not been met by the company leading the project, Volt Advisory Group.

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