SYDNEY, July 19, 2018 – With Malcolm Turnbull intent on sneaking through a policy that will cripple the thriving renewable energy industry and lock in dirty coal, Greenpeace is urging state energy ministers to reject the National Energy Guarantee (NEG).Today Greenpeace Australia Pacific and GetUp! are asking voters to contribute to put to air a TV ad that shows the stark choice the states will have to make at what is shaping up to be a historic Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting next month.
“State premiers like Daniel Andrews and Annastacia Palaszczuk are faced with a choice,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific Campaigner Charlotte Cox said.
“They can reject the NEG and safeguard a renewable energy industry that is shoring up supply and putting downward pressure on prices. They will be ignoring both the interests of their constituents and the market reality if the pass the NEG.
“The NEG will stunt the growth of the renewables industry and condemn families to the type of dirty climate causing coal power that is killing the Reef and causing more frequent and intense natural disasters like bushfires and floods.”
The states and territories are expected to receive an updated version of the NEG early next month, in preparation for the 10 August COAG Energy Council meeting at which a decision on the adoption or rejection of the NEG is expected. All states and territories in the National Electricity Market (NEM) have to agree to adopt the NEG before it can become law.
If adopted and legislated, the NEG will cover all states in the NEM: Tasmania, NSW, the ACT, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.
“Daniel Andrews and Annastacia Palaszczuk have the power to secure the transition to clean energy. Alternatively, they can sell their states out to coal interests,” Cox said.
“The choice is theirs, but Andrews and Palaszczuk will own the consequences of taking Australia back to the dark ages. They can’t pass the NEG and blame Turnbull for the fallout. It will become Daniel Andrews’ and Annastacia Palaszczuk’s NEG and they will own the price rises, environmental damage and job losses in the renewables industry”
To see the ad:
For interviews:
Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Campaigner, Martin Zavan
0424 295 422