BREAZE expressed concern today that State Government plans to retire only part of the Hazelwood power station will fail the credibility test of meaningfully shifting Victoria to clean energy.

The Age newspaper reported that the State Government is seeking Federal assistance to replace one quarter of Hazelwood’s generation capacity by 2014 while a report commissioned by Environment Victoria shows the plant can be fully replaced by 2012.

“The State Government appears to have grasped the problem but not the solution,” said BREAZE Community Campaigner, Andrew Bray. “This is a 'Claytons' solution that will allow ¾ of Hazelwood to continue polluting indefinitely. It will not fix the problem of Hazelwood's enormous water usage, nor will it significantly reduce the emissions caused by electricity usage in Ballarat.”

In The Age story, the State Government suggests that a complete closure of Hazelwood would only go ahead once an emissions trading scheme - or an alternative federal opposition climate plan - is in place. It is expected that Julia Gillard will be announcing details of federal Labor's climate policies this week.

“The state government is only dipping its toe in the water here. To make this plan work, its vital that the Federal Government and Federal Opposition come to party and support the replacement of the entire plant,” said Mr. Bray. “With significant federal support and increased gumption from the the State Government, they can set their sights higher and replace all of Hazelwood’s generation in the next 2 or 3 years.”

“There is also no mention of plans for employment pathways for the Hazelwood workers or compensation for lost jobs, which is an important element of any transition.”

Related Links:

• BREAZE hands Replace Hazelwood message to John Brumby
• Replace Hazelwood Report