CHRISTINE MILNE
The Greens today (Sunday) welcomed news that community pressure has ensured that the increased renewable energy target legislation will be implemented swiftly.

However Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, expressed concern that Penny Wong has picked up the phone to the Coalition to ensure that the community will pay to install renewable energy so that polluters can benefit from the cheap energy they produce.

“It is an ominous sign that Minister Wong has chosen to brown down the renewable energy target with the coalition and the polluters,” Senator Milne said.

“The Greens have proposed amendments to the bill that are supported by renewable energy industry, while the Coalition and the Government are doing the bidding of the big polluters.

“While this is a disappointing move, the critical point is that we bring on the renewable energy target legislation as swiftly as possible, to unleash the tremendous potential of renewable energy to re-energise Australia and create tens of thousands of jobs.

“Modelling has shown clearly that the renewable energy target will reduce the pool price of electricity because it will smooth the most expensive peaks. Under this deal between the big old parties, the polluters will get windfall gains from cheaper electricity without having to pay to install the renewable energy in the first place. How is that fair or reasonable?

“Both the big old parties have been using Australia’s clever and clean renewable energy industry as a political football. Both old parties bend over backwards to sandbag the old polluters, but neither is willing to give priority to the renewable energy powerhouse that the Australian community wants.”

Senator Milne wrote to Ministers Wong and Combet on Friday setting out the Greens’ proposed amendments to the RET. The Greens’ amendments would:

• Lift the target to 30% by 2020, expressed as a percentage of total energy demand, and introduce a two-yearly review of the adequacy of the target;

• Decouple the bill from the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme by simply removing the exemptions for polluting industry (since there is compelling evidence that the pool price for electricity will drop due to the RET, an exemption would give a windfall gain to polluters);

• Fix the problem of ‘phantom renewable energy credits’ created by the solar multiplier and lift the size limit on solar installations;

• Replace the ill-thought-out solar multiplier with a gross national feed-in tariff for all forms of renewable energy; and

• Strengthen the definition of renewable energy by removing native forest bioenergy, solar water heating and heat pumps.

“Having provided the amendments to her last week, I will be getting in touch with Minister Wong again to encourage her to green up the renewable energy bill with us, rather than brown it down with the Coalition, and get it signed into law as swiftly as possible.”

http://www.christinemilne.org.au/| www.GreensMPs.org.au