Renewables target delay 'risking jobs'

Renewables target delay 'risking jobs'(By Online parliamentary correspondent Emma Rodgers via ABC News)The Opposition says the Government is potentially putting thousands of jobs

at risk by continuing to play politics with its renewable energy target

legislation.The Government is trying to get the renewable energy bill through

Parliament by the end of the week, after decouplng it from the wider

emisions trading laws on Sunday.Negotiations on the bill - which legislates that 20 per cent of Australia's

electricity must come from renewable energy sources by 2020 - will begin

today.The Government has proposed an interim compensation package for

energy-intensive industries, but Opposition energy and resources spokesman

Ian Macfarlane says it does not go far enough.Mr Macfarlane says the package does not give enough compensation to several

industries, such as aluminium and food processing."There are jobs at risk here because [Climate Change Minister] Penny Wong

is continuing to play politics, continuing to try and take shortcuts," he

said."If she sits down and talks with Greg Hunt and I today, with a determined

mind to get the legislation through, we can both get the legislation

through but protect those thousands of jobs that would be lost if she

proceeds on the basis she now has," he said.Mr Macfarlane says the Government could copy the compensation measures from

the emissions trading legislation.But Senator Wong says the Opposition's decison to vote down the emissions

trading scheme has left the Government with no choice."We put forward what we believe was the best arrangement, which was to

provide industry with assistance for both schemes. Unfortunately, the

Liberal Party was not able to support action on climate change," she told

AM."We are not going to let politics get in the way of getting certainty to

the renewable sector, so we are putting forward this interim assistance

regime."Both sides of politics are stressing they are keen to see the bill passed

this week, amid increasing calls for action from the renewable energy

sector.But Greens Senator Christine Milne has accused both sides of giving too

much compensation to industry."What [Senator Wong] is looking at with the Coalition is really a

dinosaur's pact of how they can once again 'brown down' something that

ought to be a good news story," she said.The Greens have also put forward amendments and want the target lifted to

30 per cent.However the Government is unlikely to agree to a higher target.For the latest in green jobs from across Australia and globally please

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