Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I take it, as the member for Flinders is absenting himself, that those opposite are now committed to supporting this legislation. Do they have a position on this legislation? Is it yes or is it no? We do not have any indication whatsoever either on this matter or on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. The reason I raised this in response to the honourable member for New England’s question is that it goes to the replacement regime for solar panels. It goes to the availability of renewable energy certificates. This is a matter I have raised several times in the parliament in the last week or so. Therefore, I would say to the honourable member and the House more broadly that the replacement regime which provides financial assistance to Australian families, so they can in the future access discounts on solar panels, hangs entirely on the decision by those opposite to pass this legislation through the Senate. Those opposite, in their internal division, stand between Australian households and their ability to access this replacement regime—thousands and thousands of dollars worth of discounts effectively based on the renewable energy certificate regime for those seeking to install solar panels in the future.

That is why the second part of the question raised by the honourable member, more broadly on the question of renewable energy, of which solar panels and solar power represent such a large part, is of deep concern to the Australian community as they listen to this debate this afternoon. Those who are seeking to make decisions about solar panels for the future want to know whether the renewable energy certificates regime will be introduced or not. Therefore, it goes right back to the question of the disunity on the part of those opposite and not being able to frame a position. Because of their disunity on this, because the Leader of the Opposition’s authority within his party has collapsed, they have postponed any vote on the CPRS. They have refused to indicate, I think, what their position is on the RET, although the National Party have said they are going to vote against it. Therefore, the whole question of disarray within the Liberal Party and the coalition more broadly, and the collapsing leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, is of direct consequence to Australian families seeking to access such basic programs as the future of renewable energy certificates. That is why the question raised by the member for New England is of such direct relevance. Again, I go back to what I have said earlier to members like the honourable member for Bradfield and the member for Higgins in his absence—

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