Queensland Conservation Council Applauds $500m for Jobs Delivering Cheaper, Cleaner Power

PRESS RELEASE - Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) welcomes today’s announcement from the State Government of a $500million Renewable Energy Fund to invest in publicly owned renewable electricity generation. 

“This commitment by the government is a huge boost for Queensland in the hard economic times we face” says Dave Copeman, QCC’s Campaigns Manager. “ We need the Queensland Government to stimulate the economy, and this investment will create jobs in construction, manufacturing, operation and maintenance of large scale renewables, which deliver cheaper, cleaner power than coal or gas.” 

Queenslanders have made it clear they oppose privatisation of public assets, which is why we see all political parties supporting public ownership. But maintaining public ownership of electricity generation requires large scale investment in new renewables as we phase out dirty and expensive coal-fired power stations.  

With a newly released report from The Australia Institute showing that Queensland's power stations account for 41 per cent of power station outages in the country, this funding could not come at a more timely moment.

“Time is running out for Queensland to transition to renewable energy to meet our climate change commitments, but this announcement is a big step forward by the Queensland Government and they should be congratulated” says Dave Copeman. “We hope that it will be followed by a just and fair plan to close Queensland’s failing coal power stations and transition to a clean, green energy future for the Sunshine State”.