Industry body the Australian Solar Council has upped its campaign to ‘Save Solar’ and safeguard the country’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) through a new television advert.
The RET is facing possible closure following a government-backed review, a move the council fears could sound a death knell for the Australian solar industry.
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The new advert features a young woman describing how her desire to install solar on her roof and thereby save “65% or more” on her energy bills could be scuppered by the scrapping of the RET.
Save Solar TV Campaign Ad from Solar Council on Vimeo.
The advertisement concludes with the message, “Don’t vote for anyone who will cut the renewable energy target”, and is followed by a scorecard, showing where the political parties stand on the RET.
The councils said the ad would run in regional Queensland and regional Victoria in the lead up to state elections, and on Sky News, and complement the ‘save solar forums’ it is running in marginal seats across Australia.
“Voters going to the polls in Victoria and Queensland should be aware where the parties stand on support for solar,” said the council’s chief executive, John Grimes.
“Governments should be making it easier, not harder, for families to drastically cut their power bills.
“By abolishing or cutting the Renewable Energy Target, the government will be locking millions of Australian families into every spiralling power bills.”
Australia’s prime minister Tony Abbott ordered a review of the RET shortly after taking power and asked known climate sceptic Dick Warburton to lead the inquiry.
The review, which concluded at the end of last month, has recommended it be significantly downsized or scrapped altogether.
Australia’s federal government is now considering which of the review’s recommendations to endorse.
