Reversing Victoria's anti-Wind Farm regulation could boost regional development

Victoria has a new Premier with Ted Baillieu falling on his own sword, with Denis Napthine, the member for South West Coast, being appointed into the role of Premier of Victoria. Just in time as new economic statistics show that the Victorian economy is in recession. Restoring sanity to planning regulations for wind farm development could boost regional development and the Government's very low environmental credentials as it faces re-election in 2014.

Related: Petition - Let's get Victoria back on track: clean energy, protect our farms

Update 14 March 2013: Sadly, Denis Napthine in conversation with Jon Faine on ABC Radio 774 Melbourne on 14 March scotched the prospect of reversing the anti-wind farm planning regulations as breaking a promise from last election in 2010. I don't know what that has to do with it, as the coalition Government has already broken several environmental policy promises as well as policies on maintaining TAFE and increasing salaries of teachers.

Friends of the Earth have highlighted one small policy change that could make a substantial difference in Victoria's regional economy and employment and also provide substantial climate emissions reduction. We are talking about reversing Baillieu's drastic planning law VC82 for wind turbines whereby anybody within a 2 kiloneter radius of a proposed wind turbine can veto the development.

"There is no doubt that Ted Baillieu was ideologically committed to opposing wind energy" said Friends of the Earth renewables spokesperson Leigh Ewbank. "The new Premier, Denis Napthine, does not have the same ideological baggage."

Coal protest: activists scale Yallourn power station Cooling Tower

Four days ago two intrepid climate change activists scaled one of the cooling towers at Yallourn coal fired power station in Victoria's La Trobe Valley. In the end they spent 30 hours on the cooling tower, the longest power station occupation of it's kind in Australia, finally coming down voluntarily to be arrested and charged with various offences.

The protest highlighted the enormous multi-million compensation being given by the Australian Government to power operators for the imposition of the carbon tax. The brown coal fired power stations in Victoria's La Trobe valley are some of the dirtiest most carbon emissions polluting power stations in Australia and the world.

Related: Latrobe Valley Coal power and Climate change | Further subsidies for Victorian coal by Victorian and Federal Governments

'Why is Baillieu funding coal?' demand climate activists

Activists from Quit Coal were able to get a message across this morning: with a banner drop over the main entrance of the Victorian State parliament house. The banner said "'Coal is the single greatest threat to civilisation and all life on our planet' Prof. James Hansen, NASA. Why is Baillieu funding coal?"

Four activists eluded security and were able to climb the scaffolding at the back of parliament house to the roof to drop the banner just after 9am. Two chained themselves on the roof while two more dropped down with the banner on ropes. Nine other people chained themselves on the steps of parliament house.

Protestor Dominic O'Dwyer said from the roof: "We are planning on staying here until the government does something recognising the threat that climate change poses. We would like the government to take the threat of climate change seriously."

Related: Further subsidies for Victorian coal by Victorian and Federal Governments | Quit Coal photos: Parliament House Banner Drop & Lock On

Climate risks and opportunities for Victoria - the Climate Commission comes to Melbourne

I attended the Climate Commission public forum in Melbourne last Tuesday night with my daughter. I felt that it was important that she came along to see the charts on the screen, to hear from the Climate Commissioners and climate scientists directly, and perhaps question them about her future. Because global warming will have an increasing impact on the climate of the future, and the life of the kids of today, and eventually their children and future generations.

Rally in Melbourne against Baillieu new coal plans and to stop HRL coal power station

June 28, 2012: Up to 300 People gathered on the steps of the Victorian Parliament house to show opposition to new coal projects which would destroy prime farmland and triple Victoria's contribution to greenhouse pollution.

Residents from Bacchus Marsh and south Gippsland attended to show their opposition to new coal mining projects and plans to use an experimental drying technology by Exergen to open up further mining and the export of brown coal.

Related: Latrobe Valley Coal Power and Climate Change | Carbon capture and storage and the Melbourne earthquake | No coal mine in Bacchus Marsh - locals and activists halt exploratory drilling

Latrobe Valley Coal power and Climate change

The flooding of the Yallourn coal mine since June 5 raises serious issues about energy security in Victoria facing a changing climate and the unwillingness of the Victorian Government to take the hard decisions in diversifying power generation to renewables.

Environment Victoria on Friday 22 June called for an independent investigation into the ongoing problems at the Yallourn mine. The open cut coal mine provides coal to the TRUenergy owned Yallourn power station via conveyor belts. The power station provides 22 per cent of Victoria's electricity, and the mine flooding and disruption to the conveyor belts has reduced power generation capacity by 75 per cent to just one unit operating since June 6 with a small stockpile of coal.

Victorians want Baillieu State Government to act on climate change, clean energy

Most Victorians want more action on climate change and renewable energy from the Baillieu State Government according to a new public opinion survey commissioned by Environment Victoria.

The survey was conducted in late December 2011 and early January 2012 involving a series of questions to over 1000 people in Victoria conducted by Essential Media, a professional market survey company. The primary results show that 76 percent of Victorians expect the State Government to take action to reduce greenhouse pollution rather than leaving tackling climate change to the federal sphere of politics. There is also massive support for the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, and just 22 per cent believe the 2km wind farm veto is fair.

Critical time for stopping the HRL Coal fired power station in Victoria

Victorian residents are fighting to stop the construction of a new 600MW coal fired power station at Morwell in the La Trobe valley. The HRL coal gasification plant proposes to turn brown coal into a synthetic gas which is mixed with natural gas to fire steam turbines to generate electricity. The pollution generated will be the equivalent of a black coal fired powered station, around 4 million tonnes of CO2 pollution each and every year.

John Howard awarded HRL $100 million, a low emissions technology 'clean coal' grant contingent on it meeting certain project deliverables including raising commercial finance by 31st December 2011. These conditions have not been met. Victorians will rally on Wednesday 1st February 2012 at Parliament House in Spring Street at 12.30pm for the Federal Government to withdraw this grant money and redirect it to renewable energy projects. And to ensure that Julia Gillard keeps her 2010 promise "that there will be no more dirty coal powered stations built in this country".

Related: July 2011 - Victorian Government needs to come clean on plan to achieve 20 percent emissions cut by 2020 | June 2011 - Ferguson and Gillard feeding HRL's coal gasification technology in Melbourne | April 2011 - Government foyer occupied to stop new Victorian coal power station | Campaign sites: Stop HRL, Quit Coal

Alcoa Anglesea Coal Mine 50 year lease extension approved by Victorian Government

Anglesea residents presented a petition containing 850 signatures to State parliament on November 23, 2011 calling for an independent study into health impacts of the Alcoa coal mine and power plant, according to a report in the Geelong Advertiser.

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. Residents were shocked by Baillieu coal mine renewal, with Friends of the Earth declaring the decision Ted Baillieu’s worst environmental decision yet. Friends of the Earth claim there are abundant renewable energy options for the Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula. Indeed, on November 30 conditional funding of $5million was announced from the Victorian Government to BioPower Systems (BPS) to build a 250kW bioWAVE ocean wave energy demonstration system at a grid-connected site near Port Fairy, Victoria.

Victorian Government needs to come clean on plan to achieve 20 percent emissions cut by 2020

On July 1st 2011 the Victorian Climate Change Act became law. It was passed last year with bipartisan support. The Act sets into law that Victoria will cut the state's emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 based on year 2000 emissions baseline and empowers the Environment Protection Authority to regulate emissions from industry.