Antinuclear

Liberal MP Dan Tehan dares question Abbott strategy on Renewable Energy Target

Renewable energy target: Liberal MP Dan Tehan pushes for higher RET to end political stalemate, save jobs ABC TV  7.30  By Sabra Lane and Lucy Barbour A Liberal MP is urging the Government to settle on a higher renewable energy target (RET) to prevent further job losses across the sector.

Companies from the trade-exposed energy intensive industry and the clean energy sector have told 7.30 they want the major parties to settle on a final target of 33,000 gigawatt hours (GWh).

The Member for Wannon, Dan Tehan, agrees and believes the Government should resolve the impasse swiftly. “[My constituents] have been saying that politics is put in front of jobs and what I have been reassuring them is that, as far as I’m concerned, what I want to see is jobs put before politics,” Mr Tehan told 7.30.

The RET mandates that 20 per cent of all Australia’s energy come from renewable sources by 2020.

It is why the Coalition and Labor have been at loggerheads for months over what the target should be.

The Coalition will not budge from 32,000 GWh, while Labor is fixed on 33,500 GWh.

Businesses in ‘state of limbo’ as result of impasse

The community of Portland, in south-west Victoria, is fed up with the political stone-throwing and the latest push for agreement has been pushed by two of the region’s key businesses, Keppel Prince Engineering and Portland Aluminium.

Both companies rely on the RET debate being resolved to prevent further job losses.

The general manager of Keppel Prince, Steve Garner, said his company — which builds wind turbine towers — is in a “state of limbo”………….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-30/liberal-mp-pushes-for-higher-ret-target-to-end-political-impasse/6435712

May 2, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics