State is killing off opposition to coal

Age
6 September 2011, Page: 10

WHAT large-L Liberal governments like Ted Baillieu's fail to see is that environmentalists are not against industrial development. We are not tree huggers but are mainstream voters who can see a better and cleaner future for our children. We want to see jobs growth. We want to see people experience prosperity. But we don't want those jobs to be in polluting, climate-endangering industries such as coal extraction, which are progressively degrading the quality of life for citizens of this state and beyond.

This is why there is outrage that the government could kill off the wind farm industry in Victoria and, along with it, hundreds of jobs. The government is simply killing off commercial opposition to its coal-industry benefactors. It is pure self interest. They forget that private investment is building wind farms with not a cent of government money. Yet without $150 million of taxpayers' money, the HRL coal-fired power station cannot go ahead.

Dan Caffrey, Traralgon