Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Hansard source

I refer the minister to the latest federal budget which showed that climate change programs were underspent by a total of $89 million and that last year the department failed to spend any of the $50 million in funds from the Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund. I note that in relation to clean energy alone a total of $37.7 million was not delivered. I refer the minister to information provided at Senate estimates last October where the department confirmed that between 1998 and 2006 Australian Greenhouse Office programs were underspent by 36 per cent. This seems extraordinary given that the government is constantly telling us about its climate change credentials.

I refer additionally to the Solar Cities program and to the announcement in June 2004 of $75.3 million for the Solar Cities initiative, but in that first year the government spent just $1.6 million—half a million dollars less than promised. The next year the government spent even less, just $0.6 million—that was $6 million less than budgeted. In 2005-06, the government spent $3 million—a total of $17 million less than budgeted. So over three years, in the face of the great environmental and economic challenge of climate change, the Howard government, it seems, has spent just over $5 million of its $75 million Solar Cities program; only seven per cent in total.

We should recognise that Solar Cities is a trial program, a program to trial technology that exists in cities around the world, where already it is part of the mainstream energy mix. Minister, can you confirm that the government has spent only seven per cent of its Solar Cities program over three years? How do you reconcile your claim that no country in the world is doing more to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions when your government—this government—confronted with the challenge cannot deliver on commitments of some three years ago?

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