Rudd and his $100m Green jobs plan..heres the irony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25857401-913,00.html

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has flagged a $100 million plan to create 50,000 green jobs and training opportunities.

The announcement was the centrepiece of his speech to Labor faithful at the start of the three-day ALP national conference today.

He took to the stage with much less fanfare than two years ago, when Labor was just months away from what turned out to be a successful federal election.

Mr Rudd told delegates his government planned to continue the Labor tradition of nation-building.

“This is the tradition of which we are so proud. And this is the tradition which now shapes the future we would craft for Australia,” he said.

The prime minister outlined a plan to “green” the workforce through a $94 million job creation and training program.

“The Government will now create 50,000 new green jobs, traineeships and apprenticeships aimed chiefly at helping young Australians to obtain new skills during the downturn – new skills which will become highly applicable in the low carbon economy of the future,” Mr Rudd said.

“The climate change sceptics constantly scaremonger about the possible loss of jobs through the transition to a lower carbon economy.

“But they constantly fail to talk about the new clean energy jobs of the future which will arise from the introduction of the carbon pollution reduction scheme, the renewable energy target and energy efficiency measures in the future.”

The plan will consist of the creation of a 10,000-member national Green Jobs Corps, where long-term young jobless will take part in six months of training and work experience.

Labor plans that 30,000 apprentices will be trained with green skills, while there will be an additional 4000 training places for insulation installers.

There will also be another 6000 jobs from environmental sustainability programs in priority local economies.

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/solar-panel-companies-are-feeling-the-heat-20090730-e32d.html

ONE of the country’s largest solar panel retailers has warned it will shed two-thirds of its staff next month unless the Federal Government changes its renewable energy bill.

Solar Shop Australia said yesterday about 100 sales and marketing jobs were at immediate risk due to a crash in the rooftop solar panel market since the Government abruptly ended an $8000 rebate on June 9, three weeks earlier than scheduled.

The rebate was to be replaced with a market-based solar credits scheme expected to net a typical Victorian household about $4000 for a one-kilowatt system.

But the renewable energy bill including the credits scheme was delayed in June after the Government attempted to link an industry compensation package to its divisive emissions trading proposal.

It prompted the Liberals to withdraw support for the clean energy bill, which was referred to a Senate committee due to report on August 12.

Solar Shop managing director Adrian Ferraretto said ending the solar rebate without a replacement had triggered a collapse in sales from a high of 450 solar systems a week to fewer than 10. He said the Government was ‘‘playing political football’’ with his 160 employees and the nation’s 4000-job solar industry.

‘‘If the legislation doesn’t get through in August, we will have to start making cuts overnight — [by October or November] we would have enough work for 5-10 people,’’ he said.

Many in the clean energy sector accept the rebate was unsustainable, but are highly critical of the Government for a string of policy changes. Its axing of the solar rebate was followed by its cancelling of a program that covered up to half the cost of setting up clean power sources in remote areas.

Solar Shop’s competitors were less bullish about the legislation, but said they also faced staffing pressures.

Modern Solar chief executive Laurie Mallia said sales had fallen by about 30 per cent and the company faced losing staff if the bill was not passed this year.

He said the Government had failed to deliver a seamless transition to the new system as promised. ‘‘We want them to stop playing politics,’’ he said.

Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said the Opposition would attempt to decouple the renewable energy and emissions trading bills. He expected the clean energy bill to be passed next month.

He proposed a change so that the renewable energy bill would require 5 per cent of electricity to come from clean sources that could also provide baseload power.

The bill currently has a broad target of 20 per cent of energy coming from renewable sources by 2020.

Mr Hunt said the change would counter concerns that comparatively cheap wind farms would take up the entire target at the expense of solar and geothermal power, both of which could potentially provide baseload. But he said the Opposition would not hold the bill hostage to win support for the proposed amendment.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong blamed the Opposition for delaying the renewable energy bill. ‘‘We have a very clear policy position — we believe the best thing for the Australian economy and for tackling climate change is to have both the [emissions trading scheme] and the renewable energy target,’’ she said.

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“The Government will now create 50,000 new green jobs,” <– de ja vu..cue barack

“The plan will consist of the creation of a 10,000-member national Green Jobs Corps” <– read the above

“The climate change sceptics constantly scaremonger” <– and what al gore and co. do isnt scaremongering is it?..liar

so we have kevin showing us how green he is and on the same day we are seeing the death of the solar energy industry through rudds back flips and changes to rebates for solar systems..and here is the kicker..he ties new funding for rebates into his emmisions trading scheme which is being rightly blocked in the senate..so he wheels out penny wong and she blames the liberals for ruining the solar industry becuase its the liberals who are halting the passage of the ETS..gutter politics, while people like the solar shop owner who i actually know personally are being destroyed and will be giving jobs away as their work dries up..

“He said the Government was ‘‘playing political football’’ with his 160 employees and the nation’s 4000-job solar industry.” <– spot on adrian..so the “green” man is really just a chameleon changing colours to the hype of the day

updated : http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=844106

Mr Rudd on Thursday announced a $94 million program to create 30,000 training places in “green skilled” trades and 20,000 “green” jobs aimed at the young.

But a day later, Mr Rudd has admitted that only 6,000 guaranteed jobs would be created, acknowledging they would be funded from a program that already existed before his announcement.

Nor does the program actually fund the creation of 30,000 training places.

Instead it funds the provision of “green-skill competencies” for apprentices during the next two years.

“These are phantom jobs from a phony prime minister,” Mr Turnbull told a news conference following the Australian Lebanese Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner in Sydney.

“This is a great example of spin. It’s about time Mr Rudd got real and focuses on reality.”

After Thursday’s announcement, Employment Participation Minister Mark Arbib was forced to admit he did not know if the green jobs would result in paid employment for workers or simply work experience.

After Senator Arbib attempted to clarify the announcement, Mr Rudd told Fairfax Radio: “Mark would admit himself, he didn’t have the best of days.”

Mr Turnbull told reporters Senator Arbib had been made a scapegoat and told Mr Rudd to take responsibility for the apparent confusion.

“They are all trying to blame this on Arbib but Mr Rudd said 50,000 new jobs would be created and that is simply not true,” he said.

kevin..you just got owned..punk

401

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~ by seeker401 on July 31, 2009.