Antinuclear

Clean Energy Finance Corporation – its demise will stall investment and jobs

CEFC put on notice by new government Sky News  September 18, 2013 The Clean Energy Finance Corporation hopes it may have a role to play under an Abbott government despite the coalition taking steps to dismantle the ‘green bank’ on its first day in office.

The coalition has set about implementing its promise to wind back the government-owned body tasked with investing in clean energy.Treasurer Joe Hockey has written to the CEFC requesting the cooperation of its board in suspending all further investments.

The Australian Greens slammed the move as illegal, claiming the coalition could not instruct the $10 billion CEFC to act against its legislated mandate.

The corporation has agreed not to approve any new investments but will continue meeting its existing legal and contractual obligations……. Australian Greens senator Richard Di Natale said the CEFC had been legislated to invest its funds and telling them to do otherwise without new laws in place showed a ‘complete disregard for the parliament’.

‘The fact that Tony Abbott believes he can instruct an independent statutory body to act against its legislated mandate … shows arrogance and hubris,’ Senator Di Natale said in a statement.

The CEFC was set up under the Gillard government’s carbon price package, and assigned $10 billion over five years to support renewable energy projects through loans, guarantees and equity investments. The corporation said it had invested $500 million on projects worth $2 billion, meaning it had generated four times its own outlay, and had no adverse impact on government net debt.

Some advocates of clean energy have expressed concerns that investment and jobs in the sector will stall without the certainty of funds provided the CEFC……..http://www.skynews.com.au/politics/article.aspx?id=907335

September 19, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy