Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

Don't we know, mate? I will come to it in a moment. I am just conscious of time. It is a sure and certain view of CAT Projects that the repeal of ARENA and the subsumption of its roles into a larger department will have a materially detrimental effect on the long-term development of regional and remote Australia. I am 100 per cent certain of this—absolutely certain. CAT Projects strongly support ARENA, as do I. The previous Labor government established ARENA in 2012, as an independent agency designed to improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies in Australia and to increase the supply of renewable energy to Australia's electricity market—exactly what has happened at Yulara.

I say to members opposite, as I said at the beginning of my contribution, that they need to look beyond their own little piles as they think about this bill. They need to understand its implications not only for them but most particularly for those people who live in high-cost areas, where the cost of electricity production is exorbitant and innovation is required. Innovation based on good science, good engineering, good technology and decent investments by informed investors and enlightened organisations such as ARENA can make a material difference to the outcome and mean that, in the long term, we have got sustainable energy supplies to the most rural and remote parts of Australia—for people who deserve better attention than they are getting from this government. I say to the government—and others have made this contribution before—get over being climate sceptics. We know climate change is real. It is about time you actually took heed of not only the science but the very, very good work that is being done in Australia around alternative energy production and renewable energy. Just get over it and do not proceed with this silly piece of legislation which is going to do harm to all of us.

See this speech in context