Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I accept the sincerity of the member for Parkes in bringing these matters to the attention of the House in his motion on the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, but I do not accept that the responsibility for the concerns which he raises rests with the federal government at all. The renewable energy target has been very successful in assisting households, small businesses and community groups to install small-scale renewable energy systems on their premises. We heard from the member for Chifley how over 500,000 rooftop solar panel systems and over 200,000 heat-pump water heaters have received support under the Renewable Energy Target scheme since the government expanded the renewable energy target in 2010.

I would have thought that the member for Parkes would be supportive of that program, given his own party's policy in respect of this matter. I will not repeat it word for word, but the member for Chifley quite properly referred to the coalition's policy on this issue when he referred to their direct action statement about trying to achieve a million additional solar energy roofs by 2020. He went on to talk about the $1,000 rebate in their policy and how much money they would commit to it. That is exactly what the government is in fact already doing, so therefore I would have thought that the policy itself is something that the member for Parkes would have supported, especially given that, to date, it has assisted 700,000 premises across Australia.

These installations have not only assisted Australia achieving its renewable energy target; they have actually assisted households, businesses and community organisations with their ongoing power costs. Once you have a solar panel system or a solar hot-water system installed, it is there for many, many years, providing you with the benefit of the investment that both the government and the owner of the premises have made. I think that everyone would agree that that is a good thing.

I also remind the member for Parkes that it was in fact the coalition government that introduced the renewable energy target in 2001, and the coalition have supported every scheme amendment since that time. It was also effectively the Howard government that brought in the very standards that have been applied for the rollout of this program. The fact is that the regulation of this industry lies with the states and territories. It was not until this government came to office and continued to roll out this program that the federal government even got involved in trying to assist with the management of the rollout and lifting the very standards which I think the member for Parkes would like to see improved. As a result of the Clean Energy Regulator coming into effect, there has been a much tougher regime with respect to the compliance, auditing and enforcement standards that currently apply across the country.

So, on one hand, it is my view that the rollout has been a good thing because it has done a lot of good things. Amongst those good things that it has done, it has brought to the attention of governments across Australia that we need to lift our standards with respect to those who install these systems into different homes, business premises and the like. As a result of that, the government has in fact acted through the Clean Energy Regulator.

Renewable energy certificates are a matter that I too have had brought to my attention by people in my electorate. On each occasion when they have raised the matter with me, I have said to them, 'Was it made clear to you from the outset what the terms and conditions would be?' I have to say that in all cases they said: 'Yes, it was. Whilst we would like to be paid the $40 that we might get through the clearing house, the reality is that, yes, it was made clear that that is not guaranteed and that, if we want our money more quickly, we can trade on the open market.' I raise that to make this point: it was a choice made by people as to what they would do with their renewable energy certificates. Provided that that choice is theirs and made clear to them, again, I do not believe that the government is in any way at fault.

Finally I say this. As a result of the 700,000 different systems that have been put into homes, it is not unusual that we have had some problems with them, but it is good to see that the government has responded to those problems through the Clean Energy Council.

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