2017-10-24
Turnbull helps Vales Point coal barons cash in while planet burns: Bandt
Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today responded to the alarming revelations that after being sold for $1 million in 2015 after a slated 2021 closure date, Vales Point has now been revalued at $730 million and will continue in operation until 2029.
“Malcolm Turnbull’s energy chaos has helped the coal barons who bought Vales Point laugh all the way to the bank while the planet burns,” said Mr Bandt.
“Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott’s climate ‘policy’ has helped turn an old clunker that no-one wanted into an asset that’s worth over $700 million.
“We need to close down the equivalent of one coal-fired power station a year to meet our climate commitments but instead we’re subsidising them to stay open.
“Years of inertia on climate policy are helping coal stay in the system and the ‘NEG’ is just going to continue the status quo.
“Earlier this year, I went to Vales Point and the Central Coast and held a public meeting with the Lake Macquarie community. What we need is a plan for the orderly retirement of coal-fired power stations, not a plan to turn them into cash cows that spew millions of tonnes of pollution into the air.”
Media contact: Gideon Reisner, 0429 109 054
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