Antinuclear

For months, Coalition MPs have been calling for an expansion of the existing partial exemption for aluminium smelting, an industry that uses a lot of electricity. In September the Australian Workers Union backed the aluminium exemption calls.

Labor’s general position is to oppose changes to the RET, but it signalled on Tuesday that it was prepared to negotiate on an exemption for aluminium.

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, underlined the importance of having a “meaningful renewable energy target” while leaving the door open to a limited compromise.

“We’ve agreed to engage in discussions on the basis that the government doesn’t try and wreck the renewable energy target,” he said on Tuesday. “Specifically, we’re open to the suggestion that the aluminium industry, with all the jobs which are involved there, deserves to be looked at in a special case……..But the Greens leader, Christine Milne, accused Labor of bowing to pressure from the AWU to exempt aluminium from the RET, thereby teaming up with the government to “brown down” the scheme.

Milne said the government was determined “to attack the renewable energy industry”. “I’m very disappointed that the Clean Energy Council has decided to cave into pressure from the big polluters,” she said…….http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/07/labor-willing-to-back-plan-to-exempt-aluminium-industry-from-ret