Key points:
•   New executive officer, Geoff Adams, started at beginning of the month
•   Solar In Schools team did great work to lift BREAZE reputation in district schools
•   Election Candidates Environment Forum a success – despite the ‘no-shows’
•   BREAZE Inc Committee now called BREAZE Inc Board

Feed-in-tariff for LARGE SCALE SOLAR and small
The anecdotal research on PV PANEL QUALITY
Reminder about the 100,000 kW Feed-in-Tariff cap
Beyond Zero Emissions Zero Carbon Plan vs Algae from Coal-fired power stations

LARGE SCALE SOLAR THERMAL
The Victorian Government has been reliant on the Federal Government to do the heavy lifting on climate change policy, but with the pushing of a carbon price out to 2013 Mr Brumby has clearly felt the need to fill some of the policy void in advance of the State election. Last week the State Government announced a target that 5% of Victoria’s electricity will come from large scale solar thermal, via a Feed-in-Tariff. This is a start to the re-powering of Victoria from sources that the BZE report (see below) is referring to. It is exciting to witness the beginning of the BZE plan finding a modicum of policy support in the real world. In tandem with the recent announcement of the proposed closing of two turbines at Hazelwood after some clever campaigning, such announcements suggest that unlike the likely outcomes of the ‘Citizen’s Assembly’, citizens can actually achieve the odd significant thing or two.

Greetings fellow BREAZErs!

Some of you may not have picked up on the news that our fantastic Executive Officer, Lisa Kendal, is off to Ireland for 18 months, where her partner Anthony has accepted a position as an osteopath. Lisa and Ant and the kids are heading off in September. It’s been a bit of a delightful rush for all concerned: they’d been planning a touring holiday within Australia and Ant was surfing the Net looking to find a temporary replacement person for his job when he saw the position in Ireland advertised... a flurry of application, interview, etc and suddenly it was the BREAZE Committee having to get busy advertising a vacancy!  

Well, it is certainly a strange feeling to be writing my last report as EO of BREAZE!  It is three and half years since I began my involvement with what I think is one of the most exciting and essential community movements in the world. I had previously worked in various roles in sustainability planning in government and private practice, often feeling like a lone environmental voice in these conversations. My first experience of BREAZE was at the “From Despair to Empowerment” workshop with John Seed in early 2007 – 170 like-minded and motivated people gathered to learn about ways to take action on climate change – very inspiring and irresistible!