replace hazelwood with renewables

Last week I joined with Colleen Hartland – Greens MLC, Brian Walters – Greens Candidate for Melbourne and hundreds of other Victorians at a community event to show support to close down Hazelwood Power Station and replace it with renewable energy.

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Left to right: Samantha Dunn - Greens Lead candidate for Eastern Victoria, Colleen Hartland - Greens MLC for Western Metropolitan and Brian Walters - Greens Candidate for Melbourne.

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Hazelwood Power Station, originally commissioned in 1959, is the developed world's dirtiest power station, responsible for 15% of Victoria's total greenhouse gas emissions and 3% of Australia's emissions.

The people of Victoria have shown that they want to see a transition from coal fired power to renewable energy, hundreds of people came out to the Replace Hazelwood with Clean Energy by 2012 community action to show the government they want change.

The people of the Latrobe Valley deserve a secure future. That's a future based on renewable energy and a reinvigorated manufacturing industry. What we need is a transition plan out of old fossil fuel technologies to a bright new and secure future in the manufacturing and the renewable energy sector.

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Kevin Rudd has walked away from the climate change challenge, but John Brumby is the one in charge of most of our state's emissions. Brumby has not tackled the climate facts in last week's budget, except in the most tokenistic way.

Victoria is very well placed to develop a renewable energy sector, we already have a heavy industry manufacturing region in the Latrobe Valley with infrastructure already in place, it is time to revitalise this region of Victoria.

The Greens would implement a plan to close Hazelwood power station as soon as practical and we would make up the energy shortfall by reducing energy use and using renewable energy sources.

The privatisation of power industry has seen the gradual decline in employment in the valley, few apprenticeship opportunities for young people, no skilling up of our future generation and a region that is struggling to retain its viability and vibrancy as a community.

Without The Greens insisting on serious government intervention and changes to policy and regulation a sustainable Victoria won't happen. The Greens are committed to a renewable energy future and revitalising Victoria as a hub of renewable manufacturing.

The fundamental driver to all of this is a commitment to real targets to start to reverse our ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions. It is the Greens who are committed to targets that will drive changes across our economy and save the planet.

Transitioning to green jobs will see expansion in education and training, manufacturing, construction and public administration. That's a lot of employment opportunities across a range of sectors, that's a bright future for Victorians who want a job to secure their prospects and who want to actively participate in doing something to reverse global warming.

It is the Greens who have the political will to see it happen, securing a sustainable and just future for all Victorians.