A new political party is committed to an Australia powered by 100% renewable energy by 2050 and to scrutinising the fossil fuel industry’s gravy train of subsidies.
The Renewable Energy Party’s founder is Peter Breen. Mr Breen is a defamation and media lawyer and former member of the New South Wales Parliament (Legislative Council), the Labor and the Liberal parties.
According to the party’s constitution, two of its objectives are:
“a. To encourage and promote the use of renewable energy in Australia and to determine what regulatory changes, incentives, bonuses, subsidies and other forms of investment opportunity need to be given to the energy industry to enable all energy sources in Australia to be 100 per cent renewable by 2050.
b. To review the government subsidies and other public funding paid or tax and excise revenues foregone annually to oil, gas and coal companies in Australia to ascertain whether the funds would be better directed to different companies in order to achieve objective (a) above.”
The Renewable Energy Party aims to have some of the $23 billion in taxpayer funded subsidies paid annually to oil, gas and coal companies redirected to renewable energy. The support fossil fuel industries currently enjoy is equivalent to 1.8 per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product.
Driving the campaign to recruit the number of members required for Federal registration is James Moylan. Mr. Moylan has been involved with minor parties and political lobbying for many years.
“We have the ability, right now, to reinvent the way we generate, store and utilise energy,” says Mr. Moylan. ” We can, as human beings, reduce our impact on the planet, and repair the damage already done. And because we can do it, we are obliged to do it, for ourselves and for our children.”
According to comments made by Mr. Moylan following a RenewEconomy article on the party, the REP knows it will never run a government.
“Smaller parties such as the REP are there to help the Greens (and the rest of the Parties) stay in contact with the aspirations of the people and keep faith with their own promises.”
The party will strive to have candidates in every state and territory at the next federal election.
