24 February 2019
Nationals overlook climate change and the potential regional clean-energy jobs and investment bonanza
The biggest single challenge facing people on farms and in regional communities in NSW didn’t rate a mention in the NSW Nationals state campaign launch today. [1]
“Nationals Leader John Barilaro announces a record $5 billion in spending for regional communities and not one red cent will be spent preventing dangerous climate change,” Nature Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski said.
“While the state is gripped by drought and tonnes of fish are dying in the degraded Darling River, the Nationals only focus on infrastructure roads and rail and hare-brained schemes to pump water from the tropics.
“NSW, along with all other jurisdictions in the world, needs to make swift and deep cuts to our greenhouse gas emissions by investing in clean energy.
“Instead, the NSW Nationals were the architects of the biggest clean-energy divestment decision in Australia’s history when they chose not to reinvest any of the $4.2 billion reaped from the sale of NSW’s share of the Snowy Hydro Scheme back into clean-energy projects.
“This was a missed opportunity of epic proportions.
“Regional NSW is missing out on a massive clean-energy jobs and investment bonanza because of this government’s lack of action.”
[1] SMH, 24/2/2019 'Biggest fight yet': NSW Nationals' $5 billion battle for the bush
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Climate and energy
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