Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The most important aspect of this is we have taken $500 million out of this fund and we still have some dodgy business as to how the accounting has gone down. I am interested in how many people actually want money off both ARENA and the investment fund. That is important to me because it tells a story about who is out there with innovation and who is out there with projects that are going to reduce emissions and have an impact on climate change. If there is $10 billion worth of people seeking high-risk seed funding, that is very important to know if we are cutting the resources of this organisation by $500 million. Minister, I ask you again: what kind of proposition pipeline is there for these agencies? In other words, who is going to miss out because you are cutting $500 million of funding?

The CHAIR: Senator Hinch's amendment is to oppose schedule 5. I am going to put the question that schedule 5 stand as printed so that I can ascertain whether schedule 5 has majority support. Senators opposing the schedule should vote no to that question. Senators supporting the schedule staying in the bill should vote yes. The question is that schedule 5 stand as printed.