Shoalhaven Greens call on State and Federal Government to support Bluescope Steel.
The Shoalhaven Greens are calling on the NSW State and The Federal Government to get behind the Green Jobs Illawarra Plan and enact this plan which could save Bluescope’s blast furnace number 2.
Greens Councillor Amanda Findley said “Bluescope are well placed to be at the forefront of renewable energy in Australia with their manufacture of high quality Australian Steel and we have the associated highly skilled work forced to get the plan moving”.
Meanwhile the Prime Minister will roll back investment in the renewable energy sector with his direction to the Clean Energy Fund to cease funding wind and solar and the reduction in renewable energy targets. The Abbott Government’s backward attitude to renewables condemns the Green Jobs Illawarra Plan”
The Green Jobs Illawarra Plan presented to the NSW Premier in 2009 has a strong focus on renewable energy – in particular wind turbine manufacture. The action plan also focused on skilling up our work force to be part of the renewable energy revolution.
“The Baird Government needs to get on board and campaign for the Illawarra with his Federal party colleagues to make them see the economic sense of the Greens Jobs Illawarra Action plan”.
“It will be a major setback for the local economy and manufacturing if the blast furnace closes. We should be manufacturing multi-million dollar wind turbines in Wollongong and exporting across the country and the world not importing them.
Past Federal Governments in Australia have taken aggressive positions in respect to infrastructure and now is a great time to invest heavily in renewables, re-energise our country, our manufacturing and especially the Illawarra.
The Green Jobs Illawarra Action plan was a bi-partisan plan that was broadly accepted by our diverse community.
