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

I thank the member for Throsby for her question and I know that she has an acute interest in this issue, particularly in relation to the development of renewable energy technologies in her electorate. The fact is that the government is committed to a vibrant renewable energy sector to help Australia tackle the challenges of climate change. We do that in the context of modelling from Treasury which shows that we can take action to reduce Australia’s carbon pollution whilst continuing to grow our economy. We understand that there are significant opportunities for economic growth and for employment that lie in having a healthy renewable energy sector. The government has made a number of significant commitments to this comprehensive approach. We are committed to a 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020. In this 2008-09 period, we are committed to the largest ever Commonwealth investment in solar power, with more solar panels going onto more rooftops than any other year in Australia’s history, and we are committed to introducing a $300 million low interest green loan to make existing homes more energy and water efficient. We have a comprehensive approach to ensuring that we have a robust energy efficiency and renewable energy sector because we know that the challenge of climate change is the most significant one that we face. The Leader of the Opposition says that he also wanted to take action—

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