Mr Abbott’s comments this week to conservative radio host Alan Jones confirmed what everyone already knew, that had it not been for the Senate the Coalition would have scrapped the renewable energy target.

The Prime Minister told Jones that he thinks wind farms are ugly, noisy and potentially harmful to health, although the latter has to date never been shown to be fact.

Indeed, a 2015 review undertaken by the government’s own National Health and Medical Research Council found that there was no evidence to suggest that wind turbines caused ill-health.

Australia’s confusion and political inertia when it comes to formulating a clear policy on clean energy has left us looking backward as other developed nations surge forward with newer, cleaner and greener energy solutions in the face of global warming.

Only a few weeks ago our own member for Wannon Dan Tehan was on ABC television saying that Australia needed in lock in a more meaningful RET and put jobs before politics. 

Now his leader is telling a Sydney shock jock that if he had his way we would not have one at all.

Mr Tehan appears to understand the importance of renewables to his electorate, the Prime Minister does not.

The clean energy industry in Victoria supports more than 4000 jobs. 

In Victoria, there are 19 wind farms that have planning approval but are yet to be commissioned.

If these projects are fully developed it will result in an estimated investment of just under $5 billion and support up to 2600 jobs throughout regional Victoria.

Mr Abbott’s outdated ideology is harmful to jobs growth in this state and does not fill Australians with any confidence about how we are going to realistically tackle climate change.

Future generations are depending on clear thinking on this important issue of our time but they’re not getting it from the nation’s leaders.