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Protect the RET



Over 75% of Australians support the Renewable Energy Target. Our MPs need to understand that their voters don't support what they're doing — cutting the RET will hurt Australian jobs, households and the economy. Can you take a few minutes to write to them to ask them not to slash the RET?
We've put some handy points in our email tool on the right. But the most effective message will be personal—telling your story or the stories of people you know and care about. Below are some tips on writing a personally powerful email to your MP:

  1. Introduce yourself — the best stories paint a compelling picture of the person affected. Who are you? Where do you live? What do you do?
  2. Explain that you (or someone you know) are benefiting from the current renewable energy target — for example through a new job, business, or lower power bills from switching to a renewable energy provider.
  3. What difference does the RET make to you? Explain how a reduction in the renewable energy target will impact your job, your household, your community or your business — What would your family have to sacrifice? How would your lives be different?
Remember to be polite! Some MPs may not realise their voters want the RET to stay as is, and we need to persuade them.

The facts:

  • Any reduction in the target is going to kill off billions of dollars of investment and cost tens of thousands of jobs. The Government wants to cut the RET down to 27,000GWh. This will completely decimate Australia's renewables sector. It will also reduce competition in the electricity market, driving power prices up and increasing carbon pollution.

  • So far the RET has created 24,000 new jobs and $20 billion worth of investment. The government's number one priority is meant to be creating new jobs and strengthening our economy, but by downgrading the RET we are going to do the opposite.

  • Keeping the RET as it is won't create an oversupply of electricity into the grid. The National Electricity Market's job is to ensure electricity in the grid never goes over capacity. In fact, having more electricity than we need, like we do now, is a great thing for power prices - it just drives them down.

  • Reducing the RET will add $4.5 billion worth of profits to the pockets of the big energy retailers AGL, Origin and EnergyAustralia, so it's no surprise they've been calling for the RET to be scrapped.

Email your Coalition MP

Can you spare a few minutes to write a quick email to your Coalition MP asking them not to touch the renewable energy target?

Not sure what to say? Use the talking points on the left.

Enter your postcode to find your MP or Senators


Hit "Add" to insert the talking point into your email

If you slash the RET, my power bills will go up - I thought the Government was fighting against higher electricity prices? The RET Review's own commissioned modelling found the RET will have a negligible impact on power prices up to 2020, and that it will actually drive prices down over the long-term, meaning I'll pay less for my electricity in the longrun if you keep the RET strong. More renewables also means more competition in the electricity market - this drives prices down too.
Changing the goalposts on the renewable energy target is just going to make us look like a bad place to invest, not only for the renewables sector but for other Australian industries too. Reducing the target below 41,000GWh will mean billions in lost investment and will damage Australia's standing internationally as a safe investment destination - we've already dropped from 4th to 10th globally on investment attractiveness.
I thought the government's number one priority was creating new jobs and strengthening our economy? So far the RET has created 24,000 new jobs and $20 billion worth of investment. Reducing it will mean tens of thousands of jobs lost. The government's number one priority is meant to be creating new jobs and strengthening our economy, but by downgrading the RET we are going to do the opposite. Cutting the RET down to 27,000GWh will completely destroy Australia's renewables sector.
Writing down the RET will lead to $14 billion worth of carbon pollution being pumped into the atmosphere (about 150 million tonnes to 2030, or the same as adding almost 4 million cars to the road), according to the Climate Institute.
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