By Mark Stone
VECCI welcomes the State Government’s decision to repeal the 20 per cent emissions reduction target for Victoria. With the national emissions target and the impending carbon tax, we were in danger of having two targets, two burdens on business that would have put jobs and investment at risk.
VECCI has long held concerns about the existence of a state-based emissions reduction target on top of the operation of the national target under the Commonwealth’s Clean Energy Future legislation.
Victoria needs to do its fair share in contributing to the emissions reduction task but the operation of both state and national targets would have meant Victoria shouldered a disproportionate burden.
With Victoria’s reliance on brown coal as an energy source and our concentration of energy intensive, trade-exposed industries like automotive manufacturing and aluminium smelting, business was exposed to a significant cost impost.
At a time when economic conditions are fragile and many of our key industries, such as manufacturing and retail, are grappling with the impact of a higher Australian dollar and rising costs, the State Government’s decision is good news for Victorian business.
General Motors went bankrupt in the USA after a long period of congress and unions resisting change.
The lesson for Victoria is to keep ahead of change. Our brown coal reserves won’t save us but let’s look at Sydney, for example, the half a billion now going into co-generation of energy, saving $2 billion plus that would have had to be spent on energy infrastucture in the long term.
VECCI should be advocating for this and the industries of the future.
As for the grand prix – it failed the Auditor-General’s cost benefit analysis. VECCI needs to move on – look for the job producing opportunities that climate change offers.
There are more than 400 Victorian cleantech businesses with a combined turnover of almost $4 billion and employing 19,000 people. Many of these are small businesses that, with the right policy settings, will grow investment, exports and and employment.
A 20% target was always a stretch particularly when not supported by complimentary policies. The previous government prolifereated small sustainability policies which were often in conflict with or duplicated policies elsewhere. Hopefully the Industry Sustainability Working Group can recommend an appropriate policy framework for industry climate change action and support the growth of the highly prospective Victorian cleantech sector.
I am dismayed but totally not surprised at these comments
Once more Victoria govt is doing all it can by virtually dismissing
climate change and with its commitment to further mine brown coal puts us in danger of being seen as the laughing stock of the world when it comes to offering any initiatives to move to less polluting energy renewable sources.This statement
appears to further condone these actions .
With the overwhelming majority of global scientists stating that climate change is a reality and its going to get a lot worse
if we continue on our wasteful ways this statement
from Vecci CEO shows absolute lack of vision and foresight that we sorely need to make that leap forward and get out of this
mess we are in.As one of many eco tour businesses in this state
I would have thought that being smart and green was the way forward.Obviously not as Mr Stone and Mr Bailleau would have us
believe!As the recent British documentary `The Age of Stupid`
puts it so eloquently and passionately we have entered that danger zone of sheer stupidity ,selfish greed and short sightedness.
Or as Madame Pompadour put it more bluntly before her execution
`After us the deluge!`
I cannot believe that vecci has such a short sighted vision in seeing this as positive, surely a business leader would see reductions as a positive investment opportunity as for solar power? Surely we cannot keep thinking and doing and supporting outdated government policies that belong to a bygone era that essentially is trying to maintain dirty energy that pollutes so throughly. We need to encourage innovative political thinking that paves a new way, not rhetoric repeating old and implying politicians are the experts.
I am truly bewildered by the ongoing regressionary policies of this LNP government. As a state which until recently has boasted its high-tech credentials, I would have thought that we could have developed and installed technology that would produce cleaner coal by now, instead of waiting for someone else to do it for us. This to me sounds more like a continuation of the regressionary and populist nature of the states federal counterpart. Further, I must begin to question my membership to VECCI. Should we not be promoting opportunity to take a lead in industry and technology, instead of towing a political party line? So what if Victoria shouldered a ‘disproportinate burden’? We’re all Australians right? If we as a state demonstrated to the rest of the nation that we could go that extra mile, how would this be percieved from an investment standpoint? In closing, arguments related to the Carbon Tax are superfluous…it hasn’t taken effect yet and nobody truly knows to what extent this will have on business if any.
Yet another myopic statement. The green dollar is extraordinarily lucrative and my business is planning to utilise this trend. But, it’s heavily reliant on government policy to make it attractive. With this recent Vic Govt announcement, there is less and less impetus to invest in green technology. Furthermore, I’m disappointed that this Victorian business peak body supports a plan that – sure – assists us short term, but fails to promote green business opportunities. This article has solidified our decision to end our relationship with VECCI.
Well said Kerry and Henry my membership to vecci is also under consideration. I would like to think vecci is apolitical that not only promotes business is a leader in seeing the opportunities that arise from change. Green is not about hurting people it is about change for us all to ensure there is a future for business.
As a VECCI member I applaude the stand VECCI is taking in relation to this contentious issue irrespective of who states it or votes on it to be the position VECCI takes.
As for the statement made above I would like to state this:
I employ 50 people that provide services to commerce and Industry and I can state volumes are down and with the introduction of this “carbon Price” they will stay down (at least this is the common thread discussed amoung my customers).
Also this concept of a brave new world order of “less GHG emitting practices” earlier than the rest??? Give me a break please.The only thing that will be enshrined in all businesses is that costs will increase “significantly”.
And Bruce, keep your eye on the unemployment rates over the next 12 months.
I agree with Mark Stone and I would suggest the majority of businesses in Victoria do also!!
As a member of VECCI I just wonder how we make decisions to provide opinions like this, do we vote or does a board sit or does our CEO simply come up with it himself?
I guess what the VECCI CEO is saying is that Victorian businesses don’t want to move ahead of the pack and adopt less GHG emitting practices earlier than the rest. This is a shame, we work with many businesses and have found 20% savings to normally be quite easy to achieve and 5% is a non event.
I would have thought Victorian business would like to be leaders and VECCI has an opportunity to help them.
First the Grand Prix comment and now this one, are you sure the CEO isn’t just a government supporter rather than a leader of a Peak Body?