[Greens-Media] Solar Bonus bungle exposes NSW to class action

[John Kaye]

Solar Bonus bungle exposes NSW to class action
 
Media release: 6 May 2011
 
In his unseemly rush to destroy the Solar Bonus Scheme, NSW Energy Minister Chris Hartcher may have acted unlawfully and given households wanting to connect roof top panels to the electricity grid cause for a class action suit, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye. ('Solar shutdown's legality likely to face challenge' Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May, p. 4 http://j.mp/smh110506)
 
Dr Kaye said: "When the Minister suspended the scheme in late April he failed to publish a notice in the government gazette and the scheme had not reached the required 300 MW of installed capacity.
 
"Chris Hartcher is trying to govern by media release.
 
"Households still have a legislated right to connect panels to the grid and  to receive the 20 cents per kilowatt-hour for the energy they produce.
 
"Until parliament says otherwise, the Minister and the energy distribution companies are bound to abide by their obligations under the solar bonus scheme. 
 
"In his rush to kill off the solar bonus scheme, Energy Minister Chris Hartcher bypassed his legal requirements and exposed the state to the risk of an expensive class action.
 
"The O'Farrell government has put its hostility to renewable energy on display. They were prepared to act outside the law to kill off the solar bonus scheme and to stop people connecting panels to the grid.
 
"The opportunity to turn NSW into a leader in rooftop renewable energy has been squandered. 
 
"Jobs have been destroyed and investor confidence has been undermined. The O'Farrell government did not even obey the law in their rush to kill the scheme.
 
"Like the unlawful cancellation of the scheme, today's Solar Summit is a farce. 
 
"With only one solar installer and a majority of organisations that are at best ambivalent about rooftop renewable energy, there is little chance that a sustainable solution will emerge," said Dr Kaye.
 
For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455 
 
 
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John Kaye
Greens member of the NSW Parliament
phone: (02) 9230 2668
fax: (02) 9230 2586
mobile: 0407 195 455
email: john.kaye at parliament.nsw.gov.au
web: www.johnkaye.org.au
 
mail: Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney NSW 2000