Union warns against being wrong-footed on Climate Change

The Garnaut Draft Report’s recognition of the importance for Australia, as an exporting nation, of the big resource, energy and metallurgical mining industries, is welcomed by the Australian Workers' Union - our biggest resource and energy union.

" Our export industries are characterised by three things - energy intensity, foreign ownership and regional concentration," Paul Howes, AWU National Secretary, said after Professor Garnaut released his Draft Report today.

Australia must not be wrong-footed on Climate Change

Mr Howes said the AWU will over the next few weeks release a couple of major statements to respond to the Garnaut Draft Report.

" We are not going to jump in too quickly with knee jerk responses.

" Our research people will spend the next few days analysing Garnaut and reporting back to our leadership the implications of this Draft Report for our 135,000 members and their families.

" As a union with most of its membership living and working in the resource and energy rich regions of Australia we consider our members are on the front line of this debate.

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Certainty and consistency needed by the workforce in the front-line of Climate Change

" Our union will want to argue for a level of certainty and consistency for the industries and the working families affected by emissions trading issues.

" We will want to be assured that the families affected have a special place in the debate.

" And we will want our government to be active at the global level arguing that Climate Change threats do not stop at our borders, on our shores - so any burden of environmental change must include all nations."

Our good jobs should not be exported to countries with lower green standards

Mr Howes said he feared jobs going to countries that had less-stringent environmental laws than Australia.

"It's good that Prof Garnaut recognises the impact on low-income households but the last thing you want to see is an increase in low-income households through people losing their jobs," he said.

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