2017-04-03
The Greens have condemned Liberal leader Matthew Guy’s plan to deliver government ‘life support’ for uneconomic and environmentally destructive brown coal power stations, saying that more will inevitably close and a transition plan needs to be put in place.
The future of Victoria’s remaining brown coal generators is uncertain, as the transition to clean energy sources accelerates and new wind and solar plants displace polluting coal.
Greens MP Sam Hibbins has called on Matthew Guy to support the transition, rather than use taxpayer funds to prop up a coal industry which the private sector is increasingly unwilling to support.
"Matthew Guy’s cash for coal policy will condemn Victoria to being the carbon pollution capital of Australia and leave workers in the lurch when coal fired power stations inevitably close,” Sam Hibbins said.
"The Liberals' reckless approach to coal is decades out of date, and ignores the pressing need for an orderly phase out of coal-fired power and a just transition for workers.
"The Greens plan for renewable energy will support the Latrobe Valley community to transition away from coal-fired power stations to jobs in clean industries such as sustainable agriculture, healthcare and renewable energy,” he said.