Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dawson for his question. Mackay is certainly a wonderful city. Its people are particularly wonderful. There is one in particular my daughter thinks is particularly, particularly wonderful, although he has moved to Brisbane—I have no idea why; perhaps it is to be close to my daughter. But, seriously, my daughter Kate spent some three years in Mackay. She enthused about the city, and more about the fact that it was a city that was prepared to take on the challenges. The region around it, of course, is well known. I am sure the member for Hinkler is aware that it is well known as a very prosperous cane-growing region. They have their good years and their bad, like the coal industry, but there has been a substantial industry built up around it.

I have had the pleasure of accompanying the member for Dawson to the Racecourse Sugar Mill, where there is an excellent renewable energy project going on. The cogeneration project relies, as I say, on the mandatory renewable energy target. I understand it also had some assistance from the government at the time. Prior to losing government in 2007 I had been up there and talked with their officials. So wherever you go you see great industries but you also see renewable energy industries as well.

ARENA has, as the member for Dawson alluded to, allocated in excess of $1 billion for renewable energy projects in Australia. That is over 200 projects supported by taxpayers, with a further $1.8 billion being leveraged from the private sector. So there is approaching $3 billion in projects as a result of the renewable energy programs that have been put in place. Our government will absolutely honour those contracts. Where those projects go on and succeed, we will obviously applaud their success. If projects fail then obviously we will take that money back into the pot. But we certainly expect some great results from those programs that have already been funded under ARENA.

Those opposite have made many mischievous and incorrect claims. and I will address a couple of them later, if time permits. Contrary to the claims we hear from those opposite, Australia is not walking away from renewable energy. In fact, we as a government are very committed to renewable energy. As I said in answer to a question from the member for Brand, we were the government who began substantive funding of renewable energy and also established the renewable energy target.

By way of information, renewable energy is currently contributing around 10 per cent—perhaps more, in fact, depending on how you do the sums and analyse the economists' predictions—of Australia's energy mix and is assisting not only in ensuring energy security but also addressing some of the short-term peak demand loads, particularly on hot days in Australia, through the very significant rollout of solar panels. Again, that is a program that the coalition began in its last term.

I am asked about specific programs. I will just name a few. There are $80 million worth of investments encompassing nine projects in the ACT; $310 million invested in 49 projects in New South Wales; $250,000 invested in a single project in the Northern Territory; $6 million invested in a project in Tasmania; and $140 million in nine projects in South Australia, which I am sure will please the member for Wakefield; $84 million invested in nine projects in Victoria; and $17 million invested in three projects in Western Australia. As well as that, there have been multiple scholarships and fellowships, totalling around $90 million, awarded. Perhaps later in the session I might be able to highlight a couple of individual programs.

See this speech in context