GOVERNMENT BACKS EARTH HOUR

Media release - Environment Minister Peter Garrett today confirmed that all of the 128 Australian Government departments and agencies in Australia have registered to participate in Earth Hour this Saturday.

Minister Garrett said the mass action covers more than 1,500 government buildings and more than 3.7 million square metres of floor space.

"The Government is doing its bit this Saturday to support the millions of Australians voting 'Earth' by switching off their lights this Earth Hour," Mr Garrett said.

"The lights will go out at the Federal Court of Australia, the Australian War Memorial, Parliament House, Australia's Casey Station in Antarctica and more than 80 Australian embassies and posts around the world."

The Government effort has been coordinated by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

"Earth Hour presents an opportunity to raise public awareness of the importance of energy efficiency and it also shows us what we can achieve when unite for a common cause through the simple act of switching off the lights.

"I'll be at the Earth Hour concert in Melbourne's Federation Square which is powered by more than 1,000 cyclists who have donated their time over the last week to give us a chance to gather and reflect on the positive things we can do to reduce our impact on the environment.

Mr Garrett said more information on what is being done to help Australians move to more energy efficient homes from energy rating labels to minimum energy performance standards and much more is available at www.environment.gov.au.

A list of participating government agencies follows:

Administrative Appeals Tribunal
ARPANSA
Attorney-General's Department
Australian Agency for International Development
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity
Australian Communications and Media Authority
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Australian Crime Commission
Australian Customs Service
Australian Electoral Commission
Australian Fair Pay Commission
Australian Federal Police
Australian Film, Television and Radio School
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Australian Government Solicitor
Australian Hearing
Australian Human Rights Commission
Australian Industrial Registry
Australian Institute of Criminology
Australian Institute of Family Studies
Australian Institute of Health & Welfare
Australian Institute of Marine Science
Australian Law Reform Commission
Australian National Audit Office
Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
Australian Public Service Commission
Australian Research Council
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO)
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority
Australian Sports Commission
Australian Taxation Office
Australian Trade Commission
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre
Australian War Memorial
Bureau of Meteorology
Cancer Australia
Centrelink
Child Support Agency
Christmas Island Administration & Cocos (Keeling) Island Administration
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Comcare Australia
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
Commonwealth Grants Commission
Commonwealth Law Courts
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
ComSuper
Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee
CrimTrac Agency
CRS Australia
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
Department of Climate Change
Department of Defence
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Department of Finance and Deregulation
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Department of Health and Ageing
Department of Human Services
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
Department of Parliamentary Services
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Department of the Treasury
Department of Veterans' Affairs
Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency
Family Court of Australia
Federal Court of Australia
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
Geoscience
Australia Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
High Court of Australia Insolvency and Trustee Service, Australia
IP Australia
Jervis Bay Territory Administration
Land & Water Australia
Law Courts Limited
Medicare Australia
Migration Review Tribunal-Refugee Review Tribunal
National Archives of Australia
National Blood Authority
National Capital Authority
National Competition Council
National Film and Sound Archive
National Gallery of Australia
National Health and Medical Research Council
National Library of Australia
National Maritime Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia National
Native Title Tribunal
National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority
National Science and Technology Centre (Questacon)
National Water Commission
Office of Film and Literature Classification
Office of National Assessments Office of Parliamentary Counsel
Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner
Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman
Office of the Inspector-General of Taxation
Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Office of the Workplace Ombudsman
Private Health Insurance Ombudsman
Productivity Commission
Professional Services Review Scheme
Property Group
Royal Australian Mint
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
Screen Australia (formerly Australian Film Commission & Film Finance Corporation Australia Ltd)
Social Security Appeals Tribunal
Special Broadcasting Service
Superannuation Complaints Tribunal
Takeovers Panel
Teaching Australia
Therapeutic Goods Administration
Torres Strait Regional Authority
Tourism Australia
Wheat Exports Authority
Workplace Authority

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Change the globe for Earth Hour

Media release - In the lead up to Earth Hour this Saturday, Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has encouraged all Australians to Change the Globe.

"Earth Hour is the perfect opportunity to switch to a more energy efficient future. Turning off the lights for an hour makes a powerful statement and can be the catalyst for long-term action," Mr Garrett said.

The Minister launched a new information campaign designed to help consumers choose more efficient lighting, while visiting Beacon Lighting's Belrose store - the first retail outlet to display the new Change the Globe information.

"On World Environment Day last year, I announced the accelerated phase-out of inefficient light globes. The phase-out has now begun and many stores have already started selling less traditional globes and more efficient compact fluorescent lamps," Minister Garrett said.

"It's timely to start rolling out in-store posters and light globe conversion guides to help customers decide on the best alternative products, and I'm pleased to launch this material today in the lead up to Earth Hour - an event which serves as a really important reminder that the simplest of changes in the way we live can add up to big changes for the future."

The phase-out is a joint Australian, State and Territory Government initiative. An import restriction on inefficient general lighting service (GLS) light globes is already in place, ahead of the sales ban which is expected to be in place by November this year.

The traditional pear-shaped incandescent general lighting service globes are the least efficient, wasting 90 per cent of the energy they use, mainly as heat.

"Phasing-out inefficient incandescent light bulbs will help all of us waste less energy at home, save money on our power bills, reduce demand on our electricity supplies, and reduce our impact on the environment. Switching to more efficient light globes can also save up to 80 per cent of the $900 million dollars spent on lighting our homes each year.

"Earth Hour is a strong reminder that we can all do more: whether that's turning off the computer when we leave work, taking appliances off standby, or switching to more efficient light globes for a longer-term impact," Minister Garrett said.
For more information on the phase-out of inefficient lighting, see www.changetheglobe.energyrating.gov.au