Moana MACKEY

Climate Change Spokesperson

5 September 2013     MEDIA STATEMENT

Bill’s failure highlights National’s empty slogan

A Member’s bill ensuring all new base-load electricity generation is from renewable sources has failed its first reading in Parliament, proving National’s claims to support a 90 per cent renewable energy target by 2020 are just an empty slogan, Labour’s Energy spokesperson and the Bill’s sponsor, Moana Mackey says.

"The Bill would have reinstated the ten year moratorium on new fossil fuel base-load electricity generation that Labour put in place back in 2008 which was subsequently repealed by the newly elected National Government.

"National needs to do more than just cross its fingers and hope New Zealand will reach its renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets. This Bill would have been a step in the right direction.

"In government, Labour legislated for a renewables preference as part of its climate change policy to reach a goal of 90 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2025.

“The current National Government has kept the 90 per cent target, but has no plan to achieve it.

"When National repealed the thermal generation moratorium in 2008, they said it was better to have an effective price on carbon. After gutting the Emissions Trading Scheme and standing idly by while the carbon price collapsed, that justification no longer holds any water,” Moana Mackey says.

ENDS

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