Jennie George (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, he is nodding. He agrees. I would say to people: go back to the Hansard and see what the then Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, was saying about the issue along with senior members of cabinet, like the member for Groom, and of course we had ‘poor Malcolm in the middle’. Poor Malcolm in the middle when he was the environment minister was trying to balance the sceptics with those who described themselves, as John Howard did later on, as a ‘climate change realist’ because the community were really quite ahead of him. So Malcolm, in my terminology, then earned the nickname of ‘poor Malcolm in the middle’ on the issue of climate change. But you still come into this House and start lecturing the Rudd Labor government about the commitments we have made on this issue and about the substantial suite of policies that we have to address this very fundamental challenge.

We understand the lessons that were brought home in the Stern report—not acting on climate change would in fact carry extraordinary economic risks, while acting early would open up new economic opportunities. We know on this side of the House that the prospect of transitioning to low-carbon economies has been described by many as the next industrial revolution and opens up huge opportunities.

But then we had the member for Murray coming in here shedding crocodile tears about the supposed loss of jobs. I did not see those crocodile tears when your government refused to raise the MRET target, which was sending companies like Vestas, the wind company in Tasmania, offshore. I did not see the crocodile tears when you refused to ratify Kyoto, which would have given you the option through the clean development mechanism to boost domestic industry and its capabilities internationally.

Did we hear anything when the technology for the solar hot water system developed at the University of Sydney was taken by the Chinese, who saw its huge commercial potential? They grabbed it with open arms and we did nothing. I am not surprised China grabbed it; today it is a huge part of their booming solar market, a market which now accounts for 80 per cent of the world’s new solar hot water installations. Invented in Australia, lost to China, now made in China—one example of the legacy of missed opportunities by a government that failed to realise not only the environmental consequences of dangerous climate change but the economic opportunities that were opened up for us.

Please, Member for Flinders, do not come in lecturing this side of the House about one aspect of a suite of policies. You know yourself, when you were in government, the hard battle people on your side of the House had in ensuring that the solar rebate continued. It was very much at risk and we had environmental groups coming to lobby both sides of the chamber. Our side of the chamber put enormous pressure on your government not to dismantle the solar rebate system. This was at a time when you were losing all the opportunities—no crocodile tears when companies were going offshore because you would not provide the foundations for investment and commercialisation of technologies in the solar sector.

Australia could have been the Silicon Valley of solar energy, but we needed national leadership and we did not get it. I know you are very earnest, Member for Flinders, but I think a lot of your time, effort and energy should be really spent in making sure that members of the opposition are genuinely involved and understand the science of dangerous climate change.

Rudd Labor government members understand, and so does the community that voted for our strong environmental policies, that to protect our future prosperity and to look after our nation for future generations we have to move to a clean energy, low-carbon economy and society, and we are investing substantially. There is the Renewable Energy Fund—$500 million to accelerate the development and commercialisation of renewable technologies in Australia; we have an Energy Innovation Fund; and we have investments not just in solar but also in clean coal technology, in wind and wave power, in geothermal technologies and, very importantly, in carbon capture and sequestration.

So the Rudd Labor government has a very strong commitment to the solar industry. The foundations we have laid in this budget will see a huge spurt of growth opportunities in that industry. If you just take one example, we are looking at the National Solar Schools program. More than 9,000 installations will be involved in that massive national program. I would imagine that that would provide far more employment opportunities than those that were bemoaned today with crocodile tears, when none existed over the decade that these technologies were driven offshore. The outlook for solar and renewable energy remains very, very positive under this government, which has a comprehensive and cohesive strategy for the future. (Time expired)

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