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No Benefit To Labor’S Country Land Industrialisation

The Bracks Government’s Victorian Renewable Energy policy will make the most profound change to Victoria’s landscape in almost 200 years.

By Phillip Davis - 31st August 2006 - Back to News

Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources Philip Davis told today’s Australian Institute of Energy forum the Victorian Renewable Energy (VRET) policy would result in the industrialisation of Victoria’s countryside landscapes.

Mr Davis said Labor was using the VRET legislation to heavily subsidise wind farm developers at a significant cost to consumers, with little reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and therefore a Liberal Government would oppose and repeal the legislation, which is still before Parliament.

"I have announced that the Liberal Party intends when in government to repeal this legislation and have done so now to ensure that industry has no uncertainty and would make no investment decisions based on this flawed policy," he said.

"The Backs Government has refused to release any modeling to support their policy. VRET is nothing more than a pricing transfer scheme from consumers to wind farm developers.

"Every family, business and industry in Victoria will be adversely affected by this new tax. VRET does not support research and development into greenhouse gas abatement, it merely transfers the high cost of wind power to consumers in the form of another tax."

Mr Davis said the effectiveness of the VRET scheme when it is not part of a national approach to greenhouse emissions was questionable. With 97% of Victoria’s base load electricity and 85% of all of Victoria’s electricity coming from brown coal, the Liberal Party believes increased investment in new technologies to reduce emissions from coal would have a greater impact on greenhouse gas abatement.

In its energy policy overview released 17 August 2006, VECCI noted that the full implications of VRET remain unclear, and "the broader effects on industry and the wider economy need to be made transparent in order to accurately assess the full costs and benefits of such a scheme."

Mr Davis said a decrease in emissions from coal would have a much greater return for the investment than consumers just subsidising wind farm developers.

"A Liberal Government will repeal the legislation and focus on greenhouse gas abatement strategies," Mr Davis said.

"An Access Economics report predicts VRET will cost consumers an extra 5% on their energy bills.

"It also states VRET will impact on Victorian employment over the short and medium term, peaking at a loss of more than a thousand full time equivalent positions in 2010. It also reports VRET will reduce the Gross State Product by $106 million by 2016 and $829 million over the following 10 years of the scheme.

"The Liberal Party opposes this legislation and will repeal it when in Government," he said.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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