Greens Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong MP has praised the Greens amendment to ensure that Aboriginal communities are consulted and included in the development of renewable energy infrastructure in NSW.

The Electricity Infrastructure Investment Bill 2020 is a much needed bill and a huge step towards ensuring NSW can transition to renewable energy in the time needed to help address the climate crisis. However, Jenny Leong MP reinforced the Greens commitment to public ownership of assets and ensuring an equitable transition and noted that The Greens would support the Bill but seek to amend it.

Renters rejoice! It is now possible for you to have access to solar power despite not having access to a sunny roof!

Whether you rent, live in a unit or have a shaded roof you can now share in the benefits of solar too, by applying to be a member of Australia's first large scale solar garden.

The name ''Haystacks Solar Garden' comes from their similarity to a community garden, except instead of growing veggie plots they are growing solar plots.

Greens Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong MP has called on the Government to protect core koala hubs identified within the boundaries of the proposed Great Koala National Park.

Greens Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong MP has spoken in favour of new reforms to make it easier to install sustainability infrastructure in Strata complexes in NSW.

Community consultation has never been the Coalition’s forte. We can’t let them now use COVID-19 as an excuse to ignore the community and ram through controversial mining projects.

Email the government now to demand a moratorium on new coal and gas projects: https://bit.ly/2ycMUKF

Jenny Leong MP, Greens Member for Newtown today gave notice of a Private Member’s Bill in the NSW Legislative Assembly to take the action needed to protect our climate and put our community's needs first.

The Bill will immediately prohibit the approval or expansion of new thermal coal mines in NSW and prohibit thermal coal mining in NSW by 2030, making it an offence under the Mining Act after this date. The Bill also provides just transition provisions to protect workers employed in thermal coal related industries. 

Greens Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong MP said:

“We have known for decades that burning coal is the single biggest contributor to climate change. We must and we will phase out coal mining. The scientific community knows it, the emergency responders know it, the Greens know it and our community - from student strikers to regional Mayors are calling for political leadership to make it happen.

“We abhor the NSW government’s coal addiction - there are currently 14 new and expanding coal mine projects which if approved, could produce more coal and greenhouse pollution than Adani’s controversial Carmichael coal mine in Central Queensland.

“This Bill provides a pathway for the exit from coal to happen, while providing a just transition for the workers currently employed in those mines, so that no one is left without a livelihood.

“We have no doubt that NSW has to quit its addiction to coal, that the old parties need to break their toxic relationships with the big polluters and that coal mining will one day be prohibited in our state. 

Greens MP and Mining spokesperson Abigail Boyd said:

“We are a state reeling from the impacts of climate change – we have felt it, breathed it in, and grieved for it this summer. The fossil fuel industry has lost all social licence to destroy our lives, property and environment in the name of profit.

“It’s time to stop letting the fossil fuel industry push NSW around. It’s not actually hard – our Bill sets out exactly what needs to happen to phase out coal and move to renewables, without leaving workers behind. 

“The science is clear that the only way to prevent catastrophic climate change is to stop extracting fossil fuels, and to instead divert the resources currently propping up the fossil fuel industry towards the renewable energy transition.  

“Coal has had its day. It’s time for the old parties to support real action on climate change and support our Bill to end thermal coal mining in NSW.”

At a time of unprecedented drought and fire events throughout New South Wales, when our farmers, scientists and firies are calling for urgent action on climate change, the NSW Liberal National government is trying to introduce legislation to water down the environmental requirements for approving new coal and gas mines. 

Burning coal is the biggest contributor to human-made climate change. It makes fires, heatwaves and drought worse. But the Minerals Council wants to weaken laws that require the climate change impacts of new coal and gas mines in NSW to be assessed as part of the planning approval process.

Coal mined here in NSW has led to around 500 million tonnes of carbon emissions - greater than total emissions from the UK or France.

Sign this petition to keep our environmental laws strong to stop our coal making global climate change worse.  

Weakening the laws that require the full climate change impacts to be considered in the assessment of new coal mines is a dangerous backward step that will make climate change worse.

If NSW is genuine about its own goal of net zero emissions by 2050, this legislation should be abandoned.

Help us protect the laws that protect our environment.