Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I present a petition from 11,916 petitioners calling on the House to withdraw federal funding for the proposed new coal fired power station in Victoria, called HRL, and invest in a clean renewable energy future for Victoria instead.

The petition read as follows—

To the Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

This petition of Australian citizens draws to the attention of the House the Federal and Victorian Governments funding of $150 million toward a new polluting coal-fired power station in Victoria, called HRL. At a time when Australia is taking historic steps to act on climate change, this coal-fired power station will pump millions of tonnes of greenhouse pollution into our atmosphere each year. We believe in a clean, renewable energy future for Victoria not new polluting coal. We the undersigned call on the House to withdraw all federal funding for this project and invest in a clean, renewable energy future for Victoria instead.

from 11,916 citizens

Petition received.

Victoria currently has 120 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year. Victoria has a legislated target, it is Victorian law, that this must reduce by 20 per cent by 2020—in other words, come down by 24 million tonnes a year. I am told by Environment Victoria that, if the HRL 600-megawatt power station proceeds, it will produce around four million tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

See this speech in context