SYDNEY, July 27 2020 – The Federal Government’s attempted rebrand of the gas-stacked National Covid-19 Commission exacerbates the body’s lack of transparency and accountability and represents a missed opportunity for Australia to emerge strongly from the pandemic.This morning Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Energy Australia CEO Catherine Tanna would be leaving the commission to be replaced by the former head of Bendigo Bank, Mike Hearst and former Transurban and Western Mining Company executive Samantha Hogg.
“Catherine Tanna’s departure is a win for transparency and democracy. Her conflict of interest with the Narrabri Gas Project meant she should have never been on the Commission in the first place, so it’s disappointing to see one fossil fuel executive replaced with another,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific Campaigner, Jonathan Moylan said.
“The absence of specific renewable energy expertise and the heavy gas conflicts with Andrew Liveris, Chairman Nev Power and Samantha Hogg mean Australia could miss out on building future-proof jobs in renewables and modern manufacturing.
“The Commission still appears to have no accountability or transparency, with the public kept in the dark over conflicts of interest and the commission failing to release a critical report into recovery planning that was finalised more than a month ago.
“Greenpeace calls on the Federal Government to release the report for public consultation, and to replace the NCCC with an independent, inclusive and participatory accountable recovery body.”
Contact
Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Campaigner, Martin Zavan
0424 295 422