Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In continuing my speech from last night, can I say that this is a brand-new day. As I said earlier, it is appropriate that I acknowledge that it is the anniversary of the Mabo decision and especially acknowledge the endeavours of Eddie Koiki Mabo in bringing justice to the fabrication that was terra nullius. When I was interrupted last night I was talking about my involvement in the mining industry and I commended the Rudd government for its approach to stopping workers from being trapped in traffic gridlock, stopping goods being stranded on rail and abolishing port bottlenecks.

Coming from Queensland, the same place that Eddie Mabo came from, we especially appreciate the endeavours to ensure that the economy is given every help that it can be. There are lots of kinds of inefficiencies that cripple productivity. In my electorate, where we are working on the intersection at the corner of Kessels and Mains roads, I know how important it is to have a solution to something that should have been done 15 years ago, 12 years ago, six years ago and three years ago. Now we have a funding commitment from the Rudd government and Minister Albanese and we will be sorting out that intersection.

The Rudd government’s $20 billion Building Australia Fund is critical to infrastructure. It shows that this government is serious about addressing transport and communications infrastructure. I suspect that this fund will help us finance projects like the Kessels and Mains roads intersection, and I welcome the commitment of $75 million in 2007-08 for immediate feasibility studies on high-priority transport projects across Australia. I am sure that members opposite will be supportive of such infrastructure projects.

The budget also finances our commitment to providing leadership in the global fight against—and it is not a four-letter word; it is two words—climate change. Members are well aware of the Howard government’s ignorance on this issue and we will not make the same mistake, not for the sake of our children and our children’s children. Two hundred and fifty million dollars over six years for the Water for the Future program will help secure our most precious resource for the long term. It is amazing that how we talk and think about water has changed so much, certainly in Brisbane, in the last three or four years. Once upon a time you just turned on the tap and did not think about it; now we are having showers with buckets, we have timers and we understand the language of water and how our approach to it has changed. In the next couple of years there will be a similar change in thinking about carbon. It should have happened 10 years ago, when Kyoto should have been ratified by the Howard government, but that is a journey that we will take the Australian people on as well. We are certainly behind the pack, but it only took us 11 minutes to ratify Kyoto once the Rudd government was sworn in.

Some of the other programs announced in the budget include the national rainwater and grey water initiative to provide $500 rebates for households to install tanks or new piping for grey water. We are investing $1 billion in the National Urban Water and Desalination Plan for water recycling, desalination and stormwater harvesting projects, including $20 million for a water recycling centre of excellence in Brisbane—a great location—and $254.8 million over five years for the National Water Security Plan for cities and towns to help local water authorities with practical measures to conserve water and minimise waste. This budget also brings forward $400 million to accelerate investment in water-saving infrastructure and purchased water entitlements adjustments.

These measures, along with our $2.3 billion plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ensure that we will show global leadership on climate change. We are investing $500 million for clean coal technology, $500 million for renewable energy and $150 million over four years for energy innovation. Countries like the United States are now turning to Australia for answers to climate change, as will many other countries around the world. These will be the great economic opportunities if we take the lead in climate change. As I said, we are starting from behind the pack but I am sure Australian know-how and innovation will get us to the front again.

The United States is turning to Australia for something as simple as the Hills hoist clothes line. One of Queensland’s online newspapers, the Brisbane Times, recently reported that demand is building in the USA for our backyard icon the Hills hoist. After the refrigerator, the electric dryer is the biggest user of household electricity in the US. According to the United States Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, there were 88 million dryers in the US in 2005. Each dryer consumes about 1,079 kilowatt hours of energy, which is equivalent to about 1,008 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Something as simple as exporting our Hills hoist to the US is not only good for our exports; it is promoting more sustainable practices in the world’s biggest economy—the economy with the largest carbon footprint. This is a simple example but it shows how we can make a difference in the global struggle against climate change and make a dollar for Australian businesses.

Sadly, this example also highlights the economic opportunities wasted by the Howard government. Their failure and refusal to advance research into clean coal and solar technologies left Australia behind the ball and, as a result, we have lost many experts overseas. Too often we hear of solar experts and others like them travelling to China, where renewable energies are embraced rather than, as with the previous government, ignored. As I said previously, after 11 minutes in office the Rudd government has signalled its intention to catch up and to drive real solutions on climate change.

I also welcome the allocation of an additional $500 million to Australian universities towards capital investments. This is a welcome change of attitude as our tertiary education sector was punished for too long by the Howard government. I am particularly pleased that $16.2 million will go to Griffith University. I understand these dollars will go towards ICT labs, libraries, student study places, teaching spaces and student amenities. The budget also funds additional elective surgery in public hospitals—$75 million in 2007-08 and up to $600 million over four years for states and territories to deliver more than 25,000 additional surgical procedures.

Lastly, I wish to highlight a number of budget funding initiatives in my electorate where the Rudd government has delivered: up to $7 million to construct a GP superclinic; nearly $3 million to improve local roads; $200,000 for the two-road bike path at Tarragindi; $300,000 towards a new multipurpose hall at the Moorooka State School, which was a victim of arson; and $40,000 for rainwater tanks and lighting at the Kyabra Community Association. This is a responsible budget and in many ways it heralds a new era of financial management for the country. No longer is the budget a shameless vote-buying exercise. Rather, the funding measures contained in this budget are responsible and backed up by considerable savings elsewhere. I commend the bills to the House.

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