HERE’S a little ray of sunshine for the beleaguered Abbott Government. The question is: will it gravitate towards the light or remain in its dark, coal-stained tunnel?
The glimmer of hope comes from a poll which was conducted on ordinary people in Western Australia.
The people are residents of Canning, the Federal seat where a by-election will be contested on September 19 after the death of sitting Liberal member Don Randall.
Canning is crucial. The Liberals are expected to hang on, just, but a bad result could have nasty ramifications for the government, including the end of Tony Abbott’s leadership.
So here’s what people in Canning want and why a clever government should be listening.
They want renewable energy. They want solar power and lots of it and they want investment in all sorts of renewables.
Normally when you poll an electorate ahead of an election, things like jobs, health and the economy are top of people’s minds. And yes, the people in Canning are worried about those things.
In the poll conducted this week by market research company ReachTel, the top two concerns of people in Canning were economy and jobs, followed by cost of living.
Third? Renewable energy. Yep. The stuff nature gives us for free and which is ours to harness if the willpower and expertise is there. Which it clearly is.
“We do know that poll after poll demonstrates ongoing support for renewable energy from people across all political persuasions,” Claire O’Rourke, National Director of the solar advocacy group Solar Citizens, told news.com.au
“The people of Canning love solar and renewable energy and are concerned about the economy, jobs and the cost of living.
The Australian suburb of the future. Solar panels on nearly every house. Picture: Alex Wisser.Source:News Corp Australia
“Renewable energy addresses all those concerns. Renewable energy will drive jobs and economic growth and drive down the cost of living by helping with electricity bills.
“Renewable energy is a huge growth industry in Western Australia, especially with the mining boom coming to an end. This poll shows that the people of Canning will vote for a party that adopts ambitious renewable energy policies.”
That’s the take home point here. Renewables equals votes.
As the state which has benefited most from the mining boom, Western Australia stands to lose the most from the decline. Most West Australians see renewable energy as an industry which can deliver ongoing growth which isn’t subject to the boom/bust cycle.
And they’re not just interested in large scale projects that bring a benefit to all. With all that reliable sunshine, West Australians love small scale solar too.
Figures published by the government’s own Clean Energy Regulator, which you can read here, show Australia has almost 2.4 million small-scale solar installations in their homes. These include rooftop PV (photovoltaic panels) and solar water heaters.
Canning locals like small-scale solar more than most. Figures provided by Solar Citizens reveal 27 per cent of homes in Canning have PV panels. That’s more than one household in four. It’s a similar figure in the neighbouring electorate of Brand, where it’s almost 28 per cent.
By contrast, just 3.5 per cent of households in the Prime Minister’s electorate of Warringah have solar PV panels. That’s among the lowest in the country. Is it any wonder that the PM is out of step on this issue?
The question, for both the economy’s sake and the PM’s own sake, is how long can he afford to be?
By the way, if you’re interested in installing solar power in your home but have never known what the first step is, we suggest you start here.
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