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

I thank the member for Chifley for that question and note that already some 140 households in his electorate have applied for either the insulation rebate or the solar hot water rebate under the Rudd government’s plans. The member’s constituents join over 50,000 Australian households who have already accessed the Energy Efficient Homes plan, which is part of the $42 billion Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan. I also note that the member for Chifley’s electorate is home to the Fletcher Insulation plant in Rooty Hill where the insulation production is going through the roof.

That is what the economic stimulus package is about. It is about making sure that we have jobs—jobs that are created in the local community and, at the same time, rolling out the largest ever energy efficiency program that Australia has ever seen. This package from this government will deliver energy efficiency to around three million Australian households over the next three years. This is an ambition well beyond any previous energy efficiency program in this country. It is a mark of the Rudd government’s commitment to getting on with the business of supporting jobs that we are seeing this program deliver so quickly right across the nation.

I saw some comments earlier this week from US Secretary of Energy, Dr Stephen Chu, who said: ‘The quickest and easiest way to reduce our carbon footprint is through energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is just not low-hanging fruit. It is fruit that is lying on the ground.’ The government could not agree more. It is well overdue that we begin to harvest that low-hanging fruit because the previous government were asleep at the wheel for too long on this issue. I can report to the House that the Energy Efficient Homes call centre has already received more than 83,000 calls since February—27,000 Australians looking to install ceiling insulation and 23,000 Australians looking to install solar hot water. This is all before the rollout of components. The full rollout starts on 1 July.

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