THE TROUBLE WITH HAZELWOOD

Welcome to Victoria – home of Australia’s dirtiest power station.

It’s Hazelwood Power Station and it’s located in the Latrobe Valley right here in Victoria. It has the distinction of being not just the dirtiest power station in the country, but one of the worst in the industrialised world.

Now that’s a distinction we don’t need.

Did you know:

· Hazelwood pumps out over 16 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution each year. That’s almost 15 percent of Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions and 3 percent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, all on its own.

·It uses a whopping 27 billion litres of water a year. That’s almost as much water as the whole of Melbourne uses in a month!




·It’s the single largest emitter of dioxins in Australia.

Back when it was first commissioned in 1959, the workers who were building it arrived at work in FJ Holdens. But since then, we’ve seen some major technological breakthroughs.

We’ve put a man on the moon. Our computers have gone from the size of a room, to fitting in the palm of your hand. And we certainly don’t drive FJ Holdens any more.

We’ve invented new technologies that can guarantee reliable power straight from the sun and the wind. Yet here in Victoria, we’re still relying on this decaying old power station for our energy.

Hazelwood was due to be shut down in 2005. Instead, the government decided to continue with this ancient technology. It’d old, inefficient and way past its used-by-date.

We can Replace Hazelwood with clean, safe and reliable energy for the future, and we can do it within the next two years.

Why Now?

This year, we have a big opportunity to Replace Hazelwood and set Victoria and Australia on the path to a clean energy future.

With the federal government reassessing their policies on climate change and developing a price on pollution, and a new state government in Victoria, now is the time to make the call for all parties to commit to Replace Hazelwood with Clean Energy by 2012.

The state and federal governments desperately need to show Australians that they’re prepared to tackle our climate challenge. With three independents and a Green working with the federal government the possibility of climate action nationally is greater than ever. In Victoria, the new climate target to cut greenhouse pollution by 20% by 2020, supported by all parties, shows a change in direction. But now we need action. Replacing Hazelwood is a big opportunity to show leadership, cut pollution, and deliver real climate action.

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Already our campaign is having an impact.The new Victorian Coalition Government is yet to make a commitment on Hazelwood, but will need to take big actions to cut our greenhouse pollution by 20% in line with the new state target. The Victorian ALP have committed to replace one quarter of the power station by 2014. The Victorian Greens have committed to replace it all.

But sadly, while millions of Victoria’s are taking action to reduce their own greenhouse pollution, our leaders are still failing to put a plan on the table to completely Replace Hazelwood with clean energy by 2012.

The owners of Hazelwood, International Power, can also see the writing on the wall. They’ve told the Federal Government in a submission that they would be willing to close early if paid to do so. What’s more, when they heard that the Victorian ALP was willing to close one quarter of the power station, they said they’d rather work with government to close the whole thing.

It’s time to Replace Hazelwood. So this year, let’s make sure all parties commit to Replace Hazelwood with Clean Energy by 2012.

MAKE IT HAPPEN >