People living in Western Sydney will benefit from cleaner and cheaper renewable energy that will help cut pollution and the cost of power bills with Labor's plan to establish a Community Power Hub in the region.
This election will be a choice between a united Shorten Labor Government, which will reduce Australia's emissions and power bills, or more of the Liberals' cuts, climate denialism and chaos. We need real action on climate change and power bills, because more of the same isn't good enough.
This is part of Labor's $100 million Community Renewables Program announced in November last year.
The program is aimed at helping community groups, renters and social housing residents benefit from cheaper and cleaner renewable energy by providing grants and other support to local community renewables projects such as solar gardens, energy efficiency upgrades for social housing and community groups keen to trial new innovative projects.
With the best renewable energy resources in the world, Labor wants to make sure that Australia embraces a renewable future, and maximise the jobs, industry and environmental benefits of renewable energy - and most importantly Labor wants to make sure all Australians can share in these benefits, regardless of where you live.
That's why the Western Sydney Community Power Hub is so important. It will support the development, coordination and financing of local projects to increase the uptake of renewables, especially for those in social housing, apartments and for renters.
Western Sydney already has strong community energy groups led by the Voices for Power campaign, an alliance representing seven diverse migrant and religious communities from Western Sydney. Voices for Power have recognised their community's structural barriers to engage in the complex energy system, which include technological barriers, language barriers and socio-economic disadvantages.
Voices from Sydney, which is from the Sydney Alliance, and Pingala - Community Renewables for Sydney Inc have been campaigning strongly for the establishment of a Community Power Hub in their area and today Federal Labor is proud to make their work a reality.
Labor will work with local communities, local councils and renewable energy groups to determine the best location for the hub, but the benefits will be felt across Western Sydney.
Australia is in an energy crisis under the Liberals. Electricity prices have increased by nearly 19 per cent over the past three years - three times faster than wages growth.
The chaotic Liberals have had thirteen energy policies since 2013; their current proposal is to spend billions of taxpayers' dollars on new coal-fired power stations, with no policy to support renewable energy investment after Labor's Renewable Energy Target is due to end in 2020.
Western Sydney residents love renewable energy because they know it will cut power bills and cut pollution.
They just need a Labor Government in Canberra to deliver on Australia's renewable energy future.
