AFTER a week which saw over 50,000 homes across Gippsland without power, independent candidate Deb Leonard, is more committed than ever to energy solutions that prioritises the needs of the community.
“We need to take the politics out of energy policy,” says Deb. “Our leaders need to focus on long term policy rather than playing political games for short term election points.”
As communities grapple with the aftermath of last week’s storm, it is clear that severe weather events are becoming more frequent and disruptive.
As seen earlier this year, extreme storms took out a transmission tower which resulted in much of the state losing power, some for weeks. The usually peaceful town of Mirboo North was devastated.
“Power outages not only impact daily life but also pose significant risks to businesses, vulnerable residents, and essential services,” says Deb. “Dairy farmers struggle to milk their cows, and local businesses face significant income losses. We must find sensible, immediate solutions to safeguard our community against future disruptions.”
Deb says solutions to protect against outages include providing greater subsidies for home batteries, and better policy for community battery storage systems. “These solutions not only protect against outages, but they also provide lower power costs to households. When so many households are struggling to meet all the bills, this initiative would provide substantial relief.”
Solutions like these can be implemented almost immediately – providing much needed cost of living relief. Deb contrasts this with the Coalition plan for nuclear energy reactors, which the party has estimated is at least 10 to 15 years from being operative.
Deb also supports the implementation of microgrids to enhance energy resilience and sustainability in the region. Microgrids are localised energy systems that can operate independently from the main grid, integrating renewable energy sources like solar panels with battery storage to provide reliable power, especially during outages.
“Every time the power goes out, the cost to the economy is huge. We can mitigate this loss by investing in sensible solutions that help people and businesses,” says Deb.
“Energy companies like Santos and Woodside have donated significant funds to the Liberal, Labor and National parties in the same financial year, and I believe that such behaviour indicates the donors are buying influence rather than supporting a winner, and this influence is playing a significant part in holding back sensible energy solutions that lower costs for the community.”
“We need politicians that do not have these allegiances with large energy corporations, and make evidence based, future focused long-term decisions in the best interests of the Australia people,” says Deb.
“That is why I’m running for election – I’m sick of politicians that don’t put our community first. The major parties have been ignoring regional areas like ours when it comes to issues like energy security.”
“As an Independent MP, I’m not constrained by party politics or donor interests. I’ll fight to get better solutions for the people of our community,” says Deb.
