Coal back on the agenda as energy guarantee deadline looms - politics live

The MPs are back and energy and tax continue to dominate the Coalition party room, while Newspoll delivers Turnbull more bad news. All the day's events, live 11.34pm BST Craig Kelly (wearing a fetching red parka) also had a chat to the ABC this morning - he's happy with Malcolm Turnbull's let's-look-into-coal promise:I'm still waiting to see the final details but I'm 100% behind the Prime Minister. He's exactly right that we should be, as the government, underwriting the construction of new base load power. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's coal. It will be the cheapest option, whatever can supply that electricity to the grid 24/7,365 days a year basis, not just on a some type of intermittent supply backed up for a few hours. If it's not coal, if it's gas or some combination of renewables...I'm more than happy for that, but as long as it's at the lowest cost." 11.31pm BST Amongst the byelection campaigns, tax and energy talks was the slow burner of the Great Barrier Reef $444 million grant, which is the government's bad penny at the moment.It doesn't help that Josh Frydenberg doesn't seem to be able to come up with an answer as to why there was no tender process. Or do much more than say they were the best group for the job. Despite there being no tender process.We are talking about whether or not something's a sensible investment as well, whether it's economic and whether something's going to be the best use of taxpayers' money. A new coal fired power station doesn't tick the boxes, the only thing it does is satisfy some of the people in this government's party room who're obsessed with their belief that the climate isn't changing, that Paris is a global conspiracy. If they are the people running energy policy, then Australian taxpayers can know that Malcolm Turnbull is as careless with their money on energy as he was with the Great Barrier Reef." Continue reading...