Climate Action Merribek: people in Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner and Glenroy wanting action on climate change

Replace Hazelwood

April 11, 2010 at 2:41 pm morelandclimategroup Leave a comment

In 2005 WWF Australia named Hazelwood the “most polluting of all power stations operating in the world’s major industrialised countries”. At the same time the Victorian Government stated its intention to reduce the State’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 8.3 megatonnes a year by 2012. That’s less than two years away and it is every increasingly apparent that the state government has no intention of taking serious action on climate change. You can not have your coal cake and eat it!

Hazelwood power station and open-cut brown coal mine (Click image for more detail)

A Victorian disgrace

If being the home to Australia’s dirtiest polluter wasn’t enough encouragement for the Brumby government to take action against the brown coal dependent industrial dinosaur of a bygone era, you would have thought that Hazelwood being responsible for over 15% of Victoria’s carbon pollution (not to mention 3% of Australia’s), would hit home that the monster needs to be replaced.

However, the opposite is true. Rather than take action to move away from its dependency on the 1950s nightmare carbon leaker – the state government has actually increased it support of the giant coal cruncher ensuring that it will continue to fart out more CO2 until 2031. At the same time Hazelwoods emissions have increased; as too have Victoria’s, the States brown-coal emissions have increased 10% in the last 10 years.

Our solution

Climate Action Moreland wants it shut down by 2012 and replaced with renewable energy. We want the government to make shutting down Hazelwood an election promise, but they’ll only do that if we can show there is real community concern on the issue.

So we’re taking the issue to the streets of Brunswick on 17 April  and 2 May – and we need your help!

We can’t do it without you!

We’re going to be knocking on as many doors as we can, inviting the residents of Brunswick to sign our petition, contact their MP and local candidate and join with other members of their community in the call to replace Hazelwood with renewable energy.

To get involved email CAM or call Ellen Roberts on 0408 583 694.

Entry filed under: Hazelwood. Tags: Brown Coal, Brumby government, Hazelwood power station.