MEDIA RELEASE - 13 January 2015

The Greens NSW regional development spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham called on the National Party to drop their ill-founded opposition to renewable energy saying the drastic drop in renewable energy investment is hurting NSW at a time when mining is shedding jobs and investment.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance reported that investment in renewable energy had plunged 88% in Australia in 2014, largely in response to the hostility of the Abbott government to renewable energy and their policy to reduce the Renewable Energy Target.

“The National Party’s dumb opposition to renewable energy is now harming regional NSW.  Billions of dollars and associated jobs in the renewable energy sector are being lost to the detriment of regional economies,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

“The National Party needs to put aside its political tactics and ideology and recognise the economic opportunity that the renewable energy sector presents for regional development.

“Perhaps the National Party’s denial of climate science and knee-jerk opposition to clean energy used to seem quaint, but now it is harming regional economies and is a threat to the future of sustainable agriculture.

“The mining sector has gone from boom to bust, with mines being mothballed and workers being sacked.  The renewable energy sector could be providing investment and employment, but instead the government has caused a collapse in investment.

“The Greens support a state-based renewable energy scheme that would kick in if there is any change to the federal Renewable Energy Target, providing security for companies to make investments in the sector.

“Regional NSW could be a powerhouse for clean energy, but right now the National and Liberal Parties are deliberately wrecking the sector for purely political reasons.”

Contact: Max Phillips – 9230 2202 or 0419 444 916