Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Bill 2012 and the suite of bills to amend the Clean Energy Act 2011. This set of bills seeks to establish an incorporated entity under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 to be known as the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, CEFC. These bills will give CEFC substantial powers to invest in financial assets for the development of Australian based renewable energy and low-emission technologies along with energy-efficiency projects. The bills will also provide the CEFC with the power to enter into investment agreements itself, provide commercial loans and, as well, make investments for its subsidiaries.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation is the brainchild of the Greens members of the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee, of course. It is, however, nothing more than a slush fund for the Greens to grant funding to projects that fit within their green utopian view of the world. As the member for Mayo brought up earlier today, the CEO's salary is outside the Remuneration Tribunal's jurisdiction so what are we going to have? Are we going to have a union hack being the CEO, or are we going to have Mr Bob Brown himself coming back to head it up? If I were a betting man, I am sure that they know who it is going to be.

For the creation of the CEFC's special account, $10 billion will be appropriated over five years with the first instalment of $2 billion to be paid on 1 July 2013. The government intends the CEFC to be self-sustaining once it has matured. Any funds returned to the CEFC for its investments will be available for reinvestment. While this sounds wonderful and economically sound, the bill already predicts a loss to this monumental taxpayer investment. Indeed, Treasury officials have confirmed to a House of Representatives Economics Committee that around 7.5 per cent of the loans for investments made by the CEFC will not be recovered.

Mr Morrison interjecting—

Ms King interjecting—

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