Australia’s Tony Abbott Rejects Solar Panels, Cites Security Concerns
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has rejected a gift of solar panels offered by a Christian group that ran a crowdfunding campaign late 2014, citing security concerns as a primary reason.
In December last year we covered the news that the Christian group Common Grace were raising funds for the purchase of solar panels and the cost of installation for Kirribilli House, the traditional residence for Australia’s Prime Minister.
Common Grace is the name of the interdenominational group, bringing together Christians from across Australia “who are passionate about Jesus & justice.”
According to the crowdfunding page, a total of $5,720 was raised, enough “to purchase a full kit of 12 state of the art solar panels with a contribution to installations.”
However, by way of a letter from the Hon. Michael McCormack MP, Common Grace was informed last week that the Government would be rejecting the gift, citing Kirribilli’s heritage listing status, ongoing costs of cleaning and maintenance, and security concerns (whatever they may be).
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In an open letter on their website, Common Grace were understandably “disappointed that the Government has rejected the gift of solar panels for Kirribilli House.” However, they are not taking the slight lying down, addressing each of the aforementioned “concerns”.
Each of the three concerns raised in the letter are addressed, citing over 30 heritage listed buildings throughout the City of Sydney with over 5,500 installed solar panels; the lack of cleaning needed for such solar panels; and a reminder that US President Carter “managed to get solar panels installed on the White House way back in 1979.”
“Obviously this is a disappointing response, although not wholly surprising given our current government’s general priorities around investing in renewables,” Common Grace wrote — now it will be interesting to see whether common sense and facts are able to stand up to the Liberal Government’s biased-opinions.
I’ve signed the open letter, and if you’d like to join me, follow the link.
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