We Don't Want Coal For Christmas! We want a safe climate.

Eight days ago shoppers in Melbourne CBD were treated to Santa on a seven seater bike and elves asking people to sign a petition for Julia Gillard not to fund the HRL coal gasification power station.

"I’m confused", Santa told onlookers. "I thought nobody wanted coal for Christmas. But then why would Victoria have plans the new coal fired power station HRL? Not to mention a new coal mine in Bacchus Marsh?"

We Don't Want Coal For Christmas! from Quit Coal on Vimeo.

Elves danced amoung the shoppers eliciting support for a joint petition by Quit Coal and other environmental groups to make Julia Gillard remove the $100 million of taxpayers money John Howard gave to HRL in 2006.

Shortly after Christmas, Julia Gillard’s government will be deciding whether or not to evoke HRL’s funding. You can sign too to send her the message that after meeting none of its milestones, blowing its budget, and already being forgiven hundreds of millions of dollars of debt to Victoria’s government, it is time to finally put this lemon to rest!

Here in Victoria we have a conservative government marching backwards on energy, environment climate policy. In stark contrast to the Government's draconian wind power planning regulations allowing residents a veto if they live within 2km of a proposed wind turbine, approval was granted by the Baillieu Government in late October 2011 to extend the lease for 50 years on the Alcoa Anglesea coal mine which supplies coal to the Anglesea power station for the Alcoa smelter at Port Henry. This effectively locks in emissions from this coal mine and power station for 50 years, just when we need to be reducing emissions.

The Baillieu Government has also been highly destructive with the carbon sink value of our native forests by Locking in native forest logging in agreements for up to 20 years, with autocratic exemptions for logging endangered species habitat and parks and reserves.