Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to make some remarks in opening about the departmental budget for 2012-13 for the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. The department will receive an appropriation totalling $218.5 million. Of this, the department will receive administered funding of $114.1 million, down quite significantly on last year as a result of the termination of various programs. It will receive departmental funding of $97 million and capital funding of $7.4 million. In addition, the Clean Energy Regulator associated with the department has been established and it will receive an appropriation totalling $763.1 million, comprising administered funding of $670.8 million and departmental funding of $92.3 million.

The major components of the department's administered funding include the Low Carbon Communities program, energy efficiency measures, land measures and climate change science applications. Measures for the portfolio announced in the 2012-13 budget included $37.1 million for the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards program, $2.8 million for the building energy efficiency program and $3 million for climate change adaptation. Additionally, in the budget the government decided not to proceed with the tax breaks for the green buildings program. That will provide a saving of $405.2 million over the forward estimates.

The budget for the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency is fiscally responsible. It reflects the fact that much of the government's climate change policy is now contained in the clean energy legislation, the policy for which was announced in July last year. The clean energy legislation and its implementation from 1 July in the form of the carbon price mechanism in particular will decouple economic growth from growth in pollution. Our economy will grow but greenhouse gas emissions will fall, reducing the emissions intensity of the economy over time. It will improve Australia's economic competitiveness in the coming decades when clean energy and low-pollution technologies will be a key to competitive advantage. That is particularly going to be the case in the Asia-Pacific region, where our major trading partners are located. The economies that are able to reduce their emissions intensity—the greenhouse gas emissions per unit of economic output—will have a competitive advantage. That is why it is perfectly valid to assert that the introduction of the carbon price mechanism will drive not only emissions intensity reductions in our economy but productivity improvements as well. Those opposite contend quite differently. No doubt that will be part of the debate that we will have in the upcoming period of time.

The Clean Energy Act become law nearly eight months ago. Since that time, the fact of the matter is that there has been record investment in our economy and exceptional economic growth. We are currently growing faster than every single major advanced economy, as illustrated by the figures released two weeks ago. GDP growth is currently running at 4.3 per cent. Unemployment is at five per cent. We have very high levels of business investment, with more than $173 billion in capital expenditure expected in the year 2012-13 and half a trillion dollars in the resource investment pipeline. This is an essential economic reform at a time when the economy is in a strong position. It is in the long-term interests of the country. As 1 July comes closer—it is now less than two weeks away—I think people will have the opportunity to experience the real world rather than baseless fear campaigning in relation to this issue. The economy is strong. This is a reform that needs to be made and the policy measures associated with the clean energy future package are included in the 2012 budget position for the department.

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