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

I thank the member for Brisbane for his question. The fact is that there is more government support for the solar industry and there are more solar panels going onto Australian rooftops under the Rudd government than at any previous time. The pre-election commitment of $150 million for five years was to fund 15,000 solar rebates; we now have funded more than 80,000 solar rebates from the time we came to government. That exceeds our election commitment some fourfold. Over 60,000 installations are in the pipeline and that means that the industry has at least 12 months work, according to current rates, to continue putting solar panels on people’s roofs.

During the coalition’s entire 12 years in office, the solar rebate program supported around 10,500 installations of solar panels. That is 10,000 panels over 12 years versus 80,000 in just 18 months. I am reminded of that song What a Difference a Day Makes. Some of you will know the melody.

See this speech in context