Protest to meet brown coal Industry heavyweights in Latrobe Valley

The Coal and Energy 2010 Conference is being held on Tuesday 30th and Wednesday 31st March in Traralgon this week. This is a meeting of the heavy weights of the Victorian Brown Coal Industry including International Power, Loy Yang Power, Exergen and the Victorian Government Energy Minister Peter Batchelor. The conference is an attempt to slap a coat of greenwash over the industry as it plots to continue it polluting and profitable future. A group of protesters plan to greet the pollies and executives with the message “You Can’t Clean Coal" on Tuesday 31st March.

The Greenwash nature of the Conference is shown in the Conferences byline “Mining – Markets – Investment and Sustainability” and it includes a representative from International Power speaking on “CO2 reduction initiatives at Hazelwood” and sessions on carbon capture and storage. It laughably will be discussing brown coals role in a carbon neutral future! Dr Geoffrey W. O'Brien, Manager Energy Geoscience is discussing how both the Gippsland and Bass basins offer decades to hundreds of years geological carbon storage. So sit back and relax whilst Hazelwood continues operation until the year 2300!

The attempts to export brown coal is also being discussed. Allan Blood, Chairman, Latrobe Fertiliser who recently tried lobbying the the Victorian Government to allow it to liquefy and export Brown coal to India is speaking. The CEO of Exergen is presenting on “Unlocking Latrobe Valley’s export potential on the pathway to low emission coal use”

The list goes on as these corporate criminals sit around and discuss for two days how to continue to pollute the atmosphere whilst spreading the lie that coal can be “cleaned”. Protestors are gathering from 8 AM onwards on Teusday the 30th outside the conference centre at Century Inn, Traralgon 5 Airfield Rd (crn of Princess Hwy). Peter Batchelor is speaking at 9.10 AM. Whilst to be an attendee for two days cost you $2964, you can attend the protest for free. Bring your own signs, noise makers and if you want dress as a cleaning lady to show that “you can’t clean coal”.

Instead of wasting billions of dollars of public money to prop up the privatized polluting brown coal industry, the Victorian and Federal Government should instead be pouring money into creating renewable energy and clean jobs in the valley and beyond. As a first step the State Government needs to shut down the dirtiest plant Hazelwood.

Read more about the conference in the official conference flier attached.