Bryan Green’s astounding refusal to back protection for Tasmanian major industrial energy customers is confirmation that the former Labor-Green government has become the Green Labor opposition.
The Liberal Government has advocated strongly for retention of the Renewable Energy Target scheme with a full exemption for Tasmania’s trade exposed major industrials.
We knew the Greens oppose an exemption to the RET for Tasmanian major industrials. But yesterday’s refusal by Bryan Green to back an exemption to protect the estimated 10,000 direct and indirect jobs at Nyrstar, Norske Skog, Bell Bay Aluminium, TEMCO and Grange Resources will be a shocking development for workers who might have expected Labor to have their back.
The Liberal Government is doing our part to protect these Tasmanian jobs by strongly reinforcing our position directly to the Commonwealth Government on a number of occasions since the Warburton Review.
The Commonwealth Government has clearly indicated that it is looking for an agreed position on the RET with the Federal Opposition. Clearly Bryan Green needs to get on the phone to Bill Shorten and back the position to retain the RET scheme and provide a full exemption for Tasmanian major industrials.
His weak response reported in today’s Examiner, that he will wait to see the Federal Government’s position on exemptions, appears to be nothing more than sitting on the fence so he doesn’t offend his Green allies.
Labor haven’t learnt from the election that Tasmanians want representatives that will stick up for jobs. Yet the Tasmanian Labor Party won’t even back Tasmanian jobs to Federal Labor.
Matthew Groom, Minister for Energy
