Abbott's anti-green madness

The latest thing to cause huge concern from the manufacturing unions is the Abbott gov's intent to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). This is no pissy little thing as it's currently involved in $billions of investment and manufacturing jobs. To get rid of such a integral part of the economy, simply because it's green is complete madness, economically incompetent, short sighted, and will see more manufacturing jobs go offshore. Thankfully, it requires legislation through the parliament to disband it, something that Abbott may find rather hard in the senate.

This from the AMWU:

The AMWU has endorsed calls for the new Federal Government to re-think abolishing the Clean Energy Finance Corporation after the green energy bank revealed it has 50 projects worth at least $4.5 billion advanced in the finance pipeline. 

The union joined businesses and environmental groups concerned that these projects expected to generate thousands of new manufacturing jobs could fall at the final hurdle if the Government axes the CEFC, as it did the Climate Commission last week. 

On top of that 50, the corporation is considering a further 120 clean-energy project proposals. 

Climate Minister Greg Hunt has vowed to legislate to disband the Corporation, which has a legal obligation to keep operating until Parliament terminates it. 

The CEFC is obligated under existing law to allocate $2 billion a year over five years for final seed funding to allow commercially-viable, large renewable energy projects to go ahead. 

AMWU National secretary Paul Bastian endorsed calls from the Wind Tower Manufacturing Alliance and the Climate Institute for the new Government to consider the costs to business of axing the CEFC. 

“The threat to the Corporation is another example of this Government taking a wrecking ball to sensible, innovative environmental initiatives. The CEFC has worked with major banks the Commonwealth and NAB in making seed funding easier and faster for the emerging clean energy industry,” he said. 

“There are jobs for AMWU members in the wind tower industry which would have gone to China and Korea if the CEFC had not arranged the final loans to get local companies over the line. 

“Knocking down this avenue of funding would put Australia back behind the rest of the world in alternative energy, it would cut this country out of an emerging $7 trillion global industry.” more