Grassroots community groups rally against reckless renewables

The National Rally Against Reckless Renewables is on the first sitting day of Parliament, Tuesday, 6th February 2024, at 10 am in front of Parliament House.  

This peaceful rally is grassroots, representing many diverse regional communities that are directly and adversely affected by the Australian Government’s reckless rollout of “renewables”.  

Federal and State Governments are urged to cease their reckless rollout of unreliable, unaffordable, and environmentally destructive wind, solar, limited “firming” batteries, and high-voltage transmission lines, amidst an ever-increasing demand for reliable electricity. 

Currently, there are over 1000 new renewable projects in the government’s “Powering Our Nation” pipeline (Source AEMO, 2023). Almost all of these are located in Regional Australia. In the lead-up to most of these “projects”, this government has conducted short, insincere, and unacknowledged community consultation.  

Exploiting the fact that most of these projects are located in or near coastal, farming, and traditional communities with small populations, the government continues to disregard our concerns. In many cases, our right to judicial review or appeal has or will be removed. 

Australian consumers, taxpayers, and industries require an electricity network that is efficient, safe, reliable, secure, and affordable. It is critical for Australia, now and in the future, to establish a network that does not damage our unique environment, particularly productive agricultural land, fisheries, and native habitats. 

This government’s reckless rollout of “renewables” poses a significant threat to the nation, threatening food production for Australians and 80 million consumers globally. The fauna and flora face unprecedented destruction, as hundreds of thousands of hectares of land and ocean floors are being deforested and/or damaged.  

It is posing a threat to our economy, costing over $121 billion (AEMO, 2023). There are documented serious supply chain and sustainment issues and reliability risks, potentially leading to mass blackouts. Massive taxpayer subsidies and electricity bills will flow offshore for decades to the many “greenwashed” multinationals lined up for these subsidised “investments”. 

This rally is a coalition of grassroots community groups united under the National Rational Energy Network. They call upon the Australian Government to: 

1. Conduct an urgent Senate Inquiry: Establish a Senate Inquiry to scrutinise the technical veracity as well as the excessive economic, social and environmental costs of “renewables”, and the escalating risks to our national interest and security. This includes reviewing the committed, anticipated, actionable and future projects being fast-tracked by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, in particular the Capacity Investment Scheme, Rewiring the Nation, Offshore Wind Projects, and expanding unelected overreaching organisations including the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Climate Change Authority, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Australian Energy Market Operator, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and Clean Energy Council. 

2. Suspend all “renewable energy” projects: We call on the Australian Government to convene the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council and request all states and territories suspend wind, solar, hydro and associated transmission construction until the above Senate Inquiry reports.
3. Lift the ban on nuclear power: Nuclear energy has the lowest overall greenhouse gas emissions of any energy source as a result of its low land footprint, low material usage, and low waste output. The current ban is archaic, restraining Australia from achieving a strong reliable energy future.

This is a national grassroots call for a responsible and sustainable approach to our energy future. The Australian government is urged to prioritise the well-being of our environment, communities, and the future of our nation. 

Menchie Khairuddin

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Menchie Khairuddin is a writer Deputy Content Manager at Akolade and content producer for Third Sector News. She is passionate about social affairs specifically in mixed, multicultural heritage and not-for-profit organisations.

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