This is an outrageous assault on clean energy, Mark.
The Coalition are trying to slash $1 billion from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) — the agency responsible for funding Australia's most innovative renewable projects.
They are still pursuing the same savage cuts to renewable energy that were first attempted under Tony 'coal is good for humanity' Abbott. Gutting ARENA will slam the brakes on Australia's transition to 100% renewable energy when we should be racing towards the finish line.
But these reckless cuts can't pass without bi-partisan support. If we can show enough MPs that ARENA has voter support, we can stop this senseless attack on renewable energy funding.
You don't need to be an expert to place a call to your MP — all you need is to be passionate about our renewable energy future. There are talking points on the page about just how much ARENA has done for us.
ARENA has completed more than 60 groundbreaking clean energy projects across Australia and is currently managing 200 more. It has already been spectacularly successful in bringing down the cost of large-scale solar, and much of its funding has been invested in parts of Australia that desperately need jobs that don't depend on polluting fossil fuels. Without ARENA, innovative renewable energy projects that create clean jobs will struggle to get off the ground.
This is the influence of the hard-right of the Coalition in action. If this cut passes, it will undercut the party's pre-election promise of a more innovative economy. It will also do the fossil fuel lobby a big favour, by slowing down the competition from clean energy.
In fact, if the Turnbull Government want to save some cash they should be looking at the $7.7 billion in handouts they give to their mates in the coal industry in the form of fossil fuel subsidies.1
As the sunniest continent in the world, Australia has the potential to become the Saudi Arabia of solar. And ARENA can help us get there.
If you have a Coalition MP, they need to know that attacking clean energy is the opposite of a plan for 'jobs and growth'.
If you have a Labor MP, they need to know that the fate of ARENA could be in their hands. Before the election, Derryn Hinch and Nick Xenophon's team pledged to block cuts to ARENA in the Senate. If they hold the course, then these cuts can't pass without Labor's support. We've heard that Labor's shadow cabinet will be meeting on Tuesday next week, so we urgently need to let them know where voters stand on this issue.
Thanks for fighting for a cleaner, fairer Australia.
Miriam and Adam, for the GetUp team
PS. On top of gutting ARENA, the Coalition want to scrap the clean energy supplement — a supplement that helps pensioners, single mothers and working families afford their electricity bills.
If the clean energy supplement is dropped without tackling outrageous retail mark-ups by dirty energy companies,2 vulnerable consumers will be left exposed to rising power bills from the Big Three retailers.
Can you help combat this assault on clean energy and on the hip pockets of those who can least afford it?
References
1. Scott Morrison faces pressure to cut $7.7bn fossil fuel subsidies, The Guardian, 26 April 2016
2. 'Dirty Power Games', GetUp, August 2016 GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you'd like to contribute to help fund GetUp's work, please donate now! To unsubscribe from GetUp, please click here. Our team acknowledges that we meet and work on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We wish to pay respect to their Elders - past, present and future - and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia and the GetUp community.
