green loans assessors left high and dry by both labor and libs

Green Loans Assessors, who should be the backbone of a whole new energy efficiency industry, have been left high and dry by both Labor and theLiberals in the election campaign.

The Greens recognise that energy efficiency is the fastest and cheapest way to reduce greenhouse emissions, reduce energy bills and improve the liveability of our homes, offices, schools and hospitals and strongly support the expansion of the sustainability assessment industry.

"The Greens are inspired by the thousands of Australians who have chosen to build small businesses to help others reduce their energy bills and their impact on the climate," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, SenatorChristine Milne, said.

"But both Labor and the Liberals have left this incredibly prospective industry high and dry.

"The Green Loans program promised by Labor before the last election wasa great idea that was mismanaged to the point of collapse.

"Now assessors, including 67 Tasmanians, face an uncertain future, with question marks hanging over the program's proposed replacement, GreenStart.

"I called last week for the government to extend the deadline for tenders from this Friday out to after the election, to at least give assessors more flexibility before making a decision about the future of their businesses. We have had absolutely no response.

"Meanwhile, the Liberal Party has confirmed that it will not support Green Start and has provided no answers on the future of any similar programs.

"While I welcome the Liberals' offer of compensation to assessors who have been left out of pocket, I cannot understand why Greg Hunt is doing nothing to ensure these generous Australians have jobs into the future.

"The Greens have proposed an array of programs to drive energy efficiency upgrades in homes, offices, schools, hospitals and industry across Australia.

"These programs will provide great employment opportunities for assessors who want to stay in the industry and expand their skills. We know from surveys conducted by the Association of Building Sustainability Assessors that the great majority in the sector want to stay in it, even though they have been treated so poorly by thegovernment and opposition.

"The clear choice for Australians who want to see energy efficiencygiven the priority it deserves, and who want to see jobs growth in building a zero emissions economy, is to vote 1 Greens on Saturday."

farmers must be central to food security plan

With food security now firmly on the Federal election agenda, it is critical to ensure that keeping farmers on the land is central to the strategy, the Australian Greens today.

The Greens are troubled that the food security plan is in danger of becoming all about consumers and food affordability without recognising the critical importance of continuing to produce food here in Australia.

"Food security is not just about consumer prices and consumer choice - it has to be about keeping farmers on the land and preserving our agricultural land," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.

"Everywhere I go across Australia, in cities and in regional areas, people are telling me they want fresh, local, seasonal food and they want to support our farmers to produce it. This is what is behind the tremendous growth in farmers' markets across the country.

"Farmers need to receive a decent return for the food they grow. Instead, they are constantly subject to the downward pressures placed on them from cheap overseas imports and the Coles and Woolworths duopoly.

"Farmers are at a distinct disadvantage in trying to negotiate a decent price for their product with powerful processors and supermarkets.

"Governments are letting both the community and farmers down by signing up to free trade agreements that discriminate against Australian farmers, by refusing to reinstate anti-price discrimination provisions in the Trade Practices Act, by distorting the price of land with ill-thought out tax incentives like managed investment schemes and by prioritising coal over agriculture.

"In developing a food security plan, we have to prioritise the ability of our land and water to sustain agriculture and the development of policy settings that deliver a decent return to farmers so that they can stay on the land.

"With an aging farming population, there is a desperate need to find ways for young people to go on the land and be able to afford to buy land. They are now competing with agribusiness and often overseas corporate interests.

"There is a real danger that, if the debate focuses exclusively on lowering food prices to the consumer, we will see Australian producers closed down because they can't compete with cheaper food from overseas produced in environmentally and socially damaging ways.

"The short-sighted strategy of focussing on cheaper food from overseas leaves Australia completely vulnerable to the whims of overseas food producers and availability in a world increasingly challenged on food security.

"The plan must build in the impacts of climate change and peak oil from the start. These two crises will have a massive impact on agriculture and cannot be swept under the carpet."

record investment in solar? record rate of pulling money out of solar!

Greens Senator Christine Milne

Far from their advertising slogan of 'record investments in solar and other renewables', the Labor government is pulling money out of solar power at a record rate, the Australian Greens said today.

In addition to the $220 million pulled out of the Solar Flagships program and $150 million from solar hot water rebates to fund cash for clunkers, the Greens have learned that the world renowned UNSW Centre for Excellence in Photovoltaic Research has been de-funded.

At the same time, the Liberals are proposing cuts to climate programs as part of their savings initiatives, leaving the Greens as the only party with credible policies for climate action.

"The government is cynically using Australians' love of solar power as an advertising slogan while ripping money out of what little funding programs they have," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.

"After three years of ALP government, the Australian renewable energy industry is still struggling to compete with entrenched coal while, around the world, renewables are booming.

"The renewable energy industry has lost count of the number of times new programs have been announced and suddenly disappeared, to be replaced with new labels which still don't receive the funding promised.

"The uncertainty this causes means investment has stalled, and jobs and opportunities lost.

"The UNSW Centre for Excellence is celebrated around the world for its innovation. It trained the world's first solar billionaire, Dr Zhengrong Shi.

"But with renewable energy clearly such a low priority for both the government and opposition, there is no direct funding of the centre and the ongoing research funding has not been renewed.

"Australian governments have repeatedly made millions available to coal companies and car companies. Why are they so reluctant to actually properly fund world-leading renewable energy innovation, even though they are happy to claim credit for doing so?

"The Centre for Excellence is an investment of a few million dollars a year to create some 70 jobs, a great global reputation and, of course, wonderful technologies that will help us tackle the climate crisis.

"The Greens are the only party that has the vision to take Australia beyond coal, looking to plan the transition to 100% renewable energy and implement the policies to get us there."

gillard "moving backwards" on climate crisis

Greens Senator Christine Milne

Prime Minister Gillard's climate change policy announced today is an excuse for more delay on the climate crisis, the Australian Greens said today.

"Prime Minister Gillard is showing a complete lack of leadership on the climate crisis," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said.

"The Greens stand ready to work with a re-elected Gillard government to deliver a carbon price fast, and the community is clamouring for action, but the Prime Minister is making excuses for more delays instead of embracing the opportunity.

"Ms Gillard's announcement today does nothing to give certainty to business. Meanwhile, China is moving fast towards a carbon price and India already has a tax on coal, leaving Australia far behind.

"What we have heard from the Prime Minister is recycled rhetoric from the past four years, a repeat of Labor's old failed climate approach, not any commitment to real action.

"Ms Gillard's talkfest is nothing more or less than trying to re-educate the community about the fatally flawed emissions trading scheme.

"We already have 150 people being elected right now to debate and make decisions on climate change – it's called Parliament, Prime Minister.

"Leadership on climate would have seen the Prime Minister saying 'no more coal'. Instead, her promise on emissions standards for coal fired power stations is meaningless.

"There are 12 coal fired power stations on the books for Australia right now and Prime Minister Gillard's promise will not apply to these.

"The UK recently dropped its commitment to making new coal fired power stations 'carbon capture ready', acknowledging that it was meaningless. Instead they have committed to building no more coal fired power stations unless and until carbon capture is proven and adopted.

"Whilst the Greens welcome the Prime Minister's announcement of $1billion for the renewable energy grid, this is a drop in the ocean over 10 years. Compares it to the $2.5 billion already allocated to carbon capture and storage and it is patently nowhere near what is needed to drive a renewable energy revolution.

"For all of this year, the government has argued that it will not move on a carbon price because it does not have the Senate numbers to do so.

"Prime Minister Gillard is now saying that she will not support the Greens' proposal for a carbon levy even the Greens and Labor have the numbers to deliver one in the new Senate because we have to wait for her talkfest to finish.

"The community will not accept that excuse and neither will the Greens."

abbott ignorant on climate: india and china leaving australia behind

Greens Senator Christine Milne

Greens' response to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's comments at a press conference this afternoon, that China and India would not introduce a carbon price so Australia would not have to do so:

Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said:

"Tony Abbott, leader of the party of miners and deniers, clearly has no idea about what is going on with climate action around our region.

"While both Labor and Liberals dig us deeper and deeper into coal, China and India are leaving us behind. Cornering the market in coal while the world powers ahead with renewables and efficiency is about as short-sighted as it gets.

"India has already introduced a tax on coal - both domestic and imported - with the revenue to be invested in renewable energy developments. China is powering ahead of Australia in closing polluting industry and investing in renewables and efficiency.

"As developing countries, neither China nor India should be expected to act before Australia does, and yet they are both leaving us far behind them.

"If Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard continue saying Australia won't act until developing countries act, they will ensure that Australia keeps undermining moves to a global treaty. That will do none of us any favours."

Consensus with deniers and polluters is 'Waiting for Godot'

"The Prime Minister's insistence on 'consensus' is increasingly being seen as an excuse for delay and denial. She is 'Waiting for Godot' and she knows it if she wants consensus from the deniers and the big polluters.

"Julia Gillard should sideline the deniers in the Coalition and polluting industry and move to consensus with those who want action. The Greens stand ready to act with a carbon tax on the biggest polluters which can start as soon as next year."

For more on India's coal tax click here.

labor and libs line up to support forest furnaces

Senator Christine Milne

The government and opposition today voted against a move by the Greens to exclude unsustainable and highly polluting native forest furnaces from the definition of renewable energy.

Nevertheless, Australians working and investing in renewable energy will breathing a sigh of relief today as legislation is set to pass the Senate fixing the Renewable Energy Target thanks to months of campaigning by Australian Greens Deputy Leader, SenatorChristine Milne.

"I believe Australians would be shocked to learn that the government and opposition are using a popular and positive bill to support renewable energy as cover to drive the destruction of our native forests," said Senator Milne.

"Burning native forests for energy is neither renewable nor zero emissions. It drives the destruction of habitat and sends our huge carbon stores up in smoke. It does not belong in the renewable energy target.

"Forestry Tasmania is already boasting that its proposed25MW forest furnace at Southwood would generate 160,000 certificates under the renewable energy target."

WWF last night released a statement clarifying that it does not support burning native forests as renewable energy after Forestry Tasmania posted a WWF report on its website, claiming that the conservation organisation supported its actions.

"Forestry Tasmania has once again been caught out misrepresenting others and bending the truth to serve its own purposes.

"WWF's report made it clear that the only circumstances under which they support bio energy from native forests are when it is sourced from Forest Stewardship Council certified forests and there has been a full life cycle analysis of the carbon emissions from the forestry operations.

"Forestry Tasmania's operations clearly do not qualify.

"Despite this tragic outcome for the forests, the Greens are pleased that our long campaign to fix the flaw in the renewable energy target is finally bearing fruit, with jobs like those at Musselroe Bay wind farm now safe."