The Abbott government must reject the recommendations of the Warburton review into the Renewable Energy Target or take responsibility for the loss of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment in Victoria, say Victoria’s Greens senators.
‘The government is split, but the country is united: the Renewable Energy Target must be retained,’ Senator Janet Rice said.
‘Tony Abbott is putting at risk the jobs of 1,400 accredited solar installers in Victoria and $1.8 billion of local clean energy investment,’ Senator Rice said.
‘This booming industry has helped local households save on their power bills, while reducing the pollution that is causing global warming.
‘The Greens argue that we should be retaining and expanding the Renewable Energy Target.
Senator Richard Di Natale said clean energy was making coal obsolete.
‘Tony Abbott has a choice: continue to protect his big business mates who profit from dirty coal, or get on board with the majority of Victorians and Australians who support the Renewable Energy Target,”
‘Victoria has the oldest and dirtiest coal generators in the country, and Coalition governments at both state and federal level seem hell-bent on keeping it that way,’ Senator Di Natale said.
‘This report, when combined with Victoria’s anti-wind planning laws, is costing our state new jobs and holding up the transition to a clean energy economy.’
Senator Rice said the RET review was ‘rigged from the beginning, pushing the ideology of Abbott’s handpicked panel of climate denialists.
‘A strong Renewable Energy Target will help Australia’s transition to a clean energy economy. Any watering down of the target would see Australia fall behind the rest of the world in the renewable industry,’ she said.
‘In the interests of common sense, the Abbott government must completely reject the RET review.’
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