2020-07-29
Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said reporting of a National COVID Commission presentation on natural gas showed a growing disconnect between our manufacturing sector and gas barons.
"Today's reports confirm that the COVID Commission is entirely captive to the interests of the fossil fuel lobby and that is hurting our manufacturing sector's chance of recovering," Mr Bandt said.
"As we recover from this pandemic, public funds should be invested in public housing and job-creating projects, not handed over to big polluting corporations.
"While the gas-dominated National COVID Commission is pushing the sector's narrow vested interests and trying to undo state based protections against methane extraction, Australia's manufacturing workers want one thing: more renewables.
"I commend the AMWU for calling for the government to invest in renewables, not fossil fuels.
"Gas is not only a toxic fossil fuel, it's becoming too expensive to compete with clean energy. More and more, industrial users are keen to make the switch to renewable energy, but are being hamstrung by a government desperate to prop up dirty coal, oil and gas.
"Transitioning our grid to 100% renewables won't just create hundreds of thousands of jobs as we build a clean energy grid, it will unlock our natural sun and wind resources to power Australia's manufacturing sector with all the energy we need for centuries to come."