Australia's Greens to back govt legislation on gas price caps
SYDNEY, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Australia's Greens Party on Wednesday said it would support the government's legislation to enforce a price cap on gas for one year, clearing the way for the bill to be passed in parliament.
The federal government has committed to come up with measures to help households and businesses transition from gas to electric, with the government promising to work with the Greens to develop those measures, party leader Adam Bandt said.
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"The Greens have secured a significant package of measures that will help cut power bills for households and businesses, including by helping people get off dirty and expensive gas," Bandt said during a media conference.
The package will help meet the costs to switch over to cleaner and cheaper appliances from gas, which could lower power bills, Bandt said.
The move to put a cap on gas and coal prices, announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week, comes amid soaring energy prices largely due to Russia's war in Ukraine that has resulted in windfall profits for miners and gas producers.
Parliament has been recalled for a session on Thursday to vote on the plan to cap gas prices at A$12 ($8.19) per gigajoule and coal prices for power producers at A$125 per tonne.
Short-term gas prices on Australia's east coast averaged A$26 in the third quarter, data from research group EnergyQuest shows.
The Labor government has a majority in the parliament's lower house but needs the support of the Greens in the Senate.
The Greens had said it would oppose the bill if it included proposals to compensate companies for any revenue loss from the price cap. Albanese has said the legislation would not contain any clauses on compensation. ($1 = 1.4648 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Himani Sarkar)