“The Senate Motion I moved successfully on Wednesday this week has forced Federal Labor into action in support of renewable energy projects and the Musselroe Bay Wind Farm, said Liberal Senator Guy Barnett today.
“The Rudd Government’s announced changes today to the Renewable Energy Target Scheme confirm the Government has been sitting on its hands for too long.
“The changes proposed by Labor are not expected to come into effect until 1 January 2011 and the Government has not released any modelling or detail about todays decision. The devil is often in the detail. It would appear however, that its actions in response to public pressure from North-East Tasmania in particular, and the loss of jobs in that community has finally forced the Government into action.
“It is sad that it has taken the loss of more than 30 jobs for Labor to finally see reason. My Senate Motion was supported on the voices but was opposed by Labor, including Tasmanian Labor Senators.
“My Motion highlighted major flaws in the design of the Federal Government’s Renewable Energy Target legislation and noted that the Federal Government was warned of these flaws by industry and opposition parties. The Motion further noted that the Government’s failure to act was threatening the financial viability of major renewable energy projects such as the Musselroe Bay Wind Farm in North-East Tasmania. The Motion condemned the Government accordingly,” Senator Barnett concluded.