AUSTRALIA'S Renewable Energy Target (RET) has been successful over the last decade in bringing down the cost of renewable energy such as solar and wind power, as well as employing 21,000 people across the country.
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Millions of homes and thousands of farms and other businesses have saved on their power bills by installing solar panels or solar hot water.
Thousands more farmers have drought-proofed their properties by earning money from hosting wind turbines. But all these benefits are now under threat.
The RET is being reviewed by the Federal Government, and recently it was reported that Prime Minister Tony Abbott wants to close down the policy - even though the Coalition said before and after the election that it supported the scheme.
All major parties have backed the policy for more than a decade after it was introduced by John Howard in 2001.
Plenty of evidence shows that closing down the RET will not save you on your power bills.
What it would do is cause the renewable energy industry to grind to a halt and lead to the loss of thousands of jobs in regional areas.
We will also need to produce more of our electricity using fossil fuels such as coal seam gas, which will actually increase bills. If we leave the RET alone, we will get a further $15 billion of large-scale renewable energy investment, billions more in household technologies such as solar and thousands of local jobs.
It's hardly any wonder that Australians want to see more renewable energy.
A recent Newspoll found that 88 per cent of those surveyed were in favour of governments supporting the development of more renewable energy from the sun, wind and waves.
If we close down the RET, the only winners would be the owners of a handful of old coal power plants that should have been retired decades ago.
Australia deserves better.
Kane Thornton
Acting Chief Executive
Clean Energy Council
