I can understand where you are coming from, but I cannot agree with your position.
Your starting point is to put aside emission targets - a position that is inconsistent with the premise of this thread and I believe inconsistent with the real world, where going forward, it is almost inconceivable that there would be no cost to a lack of progress on emission reductions - be it through voluntary domestic action or foisted upon us by international trading partners.
In a free market, I believe it is industry's responsibility to compete on price and it is government's responsibility to plan for the future and ensure the lights stay on and finally, it is the voters' responsibility to elect the government.
As an aside, I never believe that it is a good idea to reward bad behaviour.
Without wanting to emphasise political bias, I believe it has to be noted that our current predicament in relation to these issues is due to decades of political inaction in preparing for the energy transition... until the reality win the ground has changed so much, that inaction is no longer an option.
Another thing to highlight is decades of bleating about renewable energy sources not deserving government subsidy in a free market economy.
The reality we are now facing is that after decades of fossil fuels having externalised the social cost of their industries on broader society, our government is forcing consumers - through regulation - to directly subsidise these industries further for decades to come AND thereby effectively lock out the possibility to meet a 2050 zero emission target, which obviously adds additional layers of cost on society via climate change.
Rather than rewarding the fossil fuel industry/lobby via switching to the new capacity regime, I would much rather see massive investment in storage (pumped hydro for starters, and battery as it becomes cheaper). That way, we are preparing for the inevitable 100% renewable energy future. Perhaps we also need to send much stronger pricing signals to consumers so they shift their consumption in ways that encourage less reliance on fossil fuel generation.
Finally, it is disappointing to see the Australian voter paying scant regard to these issues, when they might be some of the most important matters to be decided during our short time on this little blue planet.
