Media release – Dean Winter MP, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, 23 August 2023
New report highlights lack of renewable energy investment under Liberals
A new report from the Clean Energy Council has once again highlighted the complete failure of energy policy under Jeremy Rockliff and the Liberals.
The report shows there have been no new renewable energy investments committed to in Tasmania in nearly five years – during which time 190 projects have reached financial close in other states and territories.
Tasmanian businesses like Norske Skog are being held back the lack of available energy, while others like Origin Energy and Fortescue Future Industries have cancelled planned investments in Tasmania.
The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has labelled Tasmania’s power shortage an ‘energy crisis’, because of the way the Liberals’ failures are now holding back the state’s economy.
That’s why a Labor government will make resolving the challenges facing windfarm projects in this state a priority for our first term in office.
We must harness our world-class wind resource to support the current and future needs of our state and the future needs of our major industries.
Ben Marshall
August 24, 2023 at 13:13
It’s clear that Winter and his colleagues are not only clueless about the energy sector but have a complete disinterest in action on climate and biodiversity, and that they are in angry agreement with the current state government’s plan to hand our wind energy to the private sector for free .. while insisting that Tas Hydro buys all new renewable energy at an often unfavourable price, and then have them ship it all off to the mainland via Marinus and the vast new grid TasNetworks wants to build for them.
It’s also clear that Tas Labor will ditch environmental protections, continue to ignore impacted communities and independent energy sector experts, and wave any and all foreign investments through the assessment and approvals process.
In its rush to be even further to the neoliberal Right than the Liberal Party, Labor is demanding that a plan to export power and jobs out of Tasmania, Project Marinus, proves them the intellectual equals of our current government.
On this, I’m in agreement.