The Baillieu Government needs to come clean with Victorians and admit it has no plan to support solar power generation in Victoria, the Shadow Minister for Energy, Lily D’Ambrosio, said today.
Ms D’Ambrosio said the Minister for Energy, Michael O’Brien, had referred for investigation a gross feed-in tariff to the Victorian Economic Efficiency Commission without releasing the Commission’s terms of reference and without a public statement from the Minister.
“Usually whenever the Baillieu Government does anything it issues a media release with a big ‘policy implemented’ stamp,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
“But curiously, they have been very low-key about this election “promise” to refer the introduction of gross feed-in tariff in Victoria to VCEC.
“The announcement was buried in the backpages of the Department of Primary Industries website without any details of the investigation’s terms of reference.”
Ms D’Ambrosio said until the review was completed in 2012, the Baillieu Government had said it would continue the existing policy of a net feed-in tariff.
“It took Mr O’Brien five months before he ruled out lifting the 100mw cap on the existing premium feed-in tariff - and now the industry has to wait more than a year to find out whether the net feed-in tariff scheme will be abolished altogether,” she said.
“The only certainty Mr O’Brien has given the industry and householders is the certainty of a policy vacuum while they wait for the outcome of yet another review.”
Ms D’Ambrosio said the low-key announcement raised legitimate questions about whether the VCEC review was just a smoke-screen to prepare for a Baillieu Government back flip on a policy they know will end in financial disaster for the State and increased energy costs for Victorians.
“The Baillieu Government went to the election with a promise to investigate a gross feed-in tariff despite its financial failure in NSW and knowing it will result in significant energy costs for Victorians without compensation,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
“But instead of ditching this irresponsible idea now, they are dithering again, referring it off to VCEC to make the call to drop it because they are too gutless to do it themselves.”