Our Vision
An Eco Tax Swap to create a Carbon Price – encouraging renewables and efficiency and making power stations like Hazelwood uneconomic.
An Eco Tax Swap to increase the price of water – driving conservation and efficiency and making the desalination plant and north-south pipeline redundant.
Switch funds from freeways to Sustainable Transport.
The Eco Tax increases are fully offset by cuts to vehicle registration fees and payroll tax. See our Transport Action Plan| Download our Energy and Water Action Plan (pdf).
Electricity
Taxes and royalty payments applying to fossil fuel power stations should be increased to create a carbon price. This would be fully offset by reductions in vehicle registration and payroll tax.
The Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) should be increased to 30% by 2020. Gas and Geothermal should play a much larger role in electricity generation by 2020.
Power lines should be made safe in all high-risk bushfire areas.
Fixed supply charges should be removed. Entire electricity charge to be based on net electricity usage.
Feed-in-tariff structure should be further reformed to encourage distributed renewable and low-emission technologies.
Water
Fixed supply charges and levies should be removed. Entire water charge to be based on actual water usage.
Excess water charges for domestic consumers should be increased – fully offset by reductions in vehicle registration.
General water charges for commercial consumers should be increased – fully offset by reductions in vehicle registration and payroll tax.
Water restrictions should be retained to avoid having to use any water from the desalination plant or the North-South pipeline.
All logging operations in all catchment areas should be ceased saving 30 thousand mega litres of water per annum – 6% of Melbourne’s annual usage.
No new large dams – we have enough half empty ones already!
Security of Electricity Supply
While energy companies should be able to pass on much of the increased carbon price there is a theoretical risk that energy companies could ‘walk away’ from particularly polluting power stations prior to alternative assets coming on-line.
In this situation the State should acquire these assets at their new market value and administer their gradual decommissioning.
Federal Eco Tax Swap
In the event that the Federal Government established an adequate Eco Tax Swap then there may be no need for a Victorian Eco Tax Swap. An adequate federal scheme is far preferable to a state-based system.
Banning Carbon Capture and Storage
Storing CO2 underground is a dangerous idea. CO2 will not degrade over thousands of years like nuclear waste. In the event of some geological event in the future – possibly in thousands of years – the CO2 could be suddenly released suffocating anything in the area. This happened on a small scale at Lake Nyos in Cameroon in 1985 killing 1,700 people.
Promoting Geothermal Energy
We are particularly interested in the potential of geothermal energy to provide clean base-load power and would direct existing fossil fuel subsidies to encourage establishment of this technology.
Wind Farms
We support wind farms, but more needs to be done to design them into the landscape. Ideally wind turbines should be arranged to complement the landscape.
Home owners near wind turbines should receive a proportion of the proceeds flowing from the use of that turbine so that when they hear or see the turbine turning they know there is money going into their accounts.
Should the operation of turbines measurably increase noise within a home then the turbine owner should provide double glazing or other measures to eliminate the problem.
Rental Properties and Efficiency
Neither the landlord nor the tenant are likely to take significant steps to improve the efficiency of a property leased for less than a year. The landlord does not pay the bills and the tenant has no interest in improving the property.
We propose changes to tenancy laws to allow tenants to deduct 30% of electricity and water bills from set rental payments up to 30% of the total rental agreement. This would be expected to sharpen a landlord’s interest in the energy efficiency of their properties. Landlords may need expanded rights to access their property to enhance its energy and water efficiency.
Renewable Reliability
Distributed generation – Different renewable systems spread across the state reduce fluctuations in one area.
Gas Backup – Gas fired power plants produce far less greenhouse gasses than coal power stations and can be quickly turned on or off.
Storage – Electricity can be stored by pumping water up to hydroelectric dams or using factory-sized batteries such as the Vanadium Redox batteries used on King Island.
Geothermal – Provides reliable base load power.
No to Nuclear Power
We believe nuclear power would be less economic than renewables and has far more risks. Additionally the mining and enrichment process produces a lot of CO2. We do not see nuclear power being a viable option for Victoria.
Water Quality
Mandate salt content labelling on all detergents (salt content limits usability of treated waste water).
Reduce sewerage effluent discharge to the sea to zero by 2020.
Resource the EPA so that it can pursue polluters.
Develop a comprehensive strategy for significantly reducing litter entering waterways through container deposits; agreements with industry and local government to reduce packaging, particularly for ‘fast foods’; and promote reusable shopping bags.
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