Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am delighted to rise today to speak, as did my Labor colleagues the members for Brand, Wills and Perth, in support of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Amendment Bill 2014 that is currently before the House. Since the establishment of the Commercial Building Disclosure, or CBD, Program, back in 2011, there have been regular stakeholder reviews.

The changes in this bill today have been supported wholeheartedly by those stakeholder groups. In fact, these have been issues that have been raised through those regular forums that are quite rightly aimed at ensuring continuous improvement of the program.

These changes require legislative amendments to the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010, the BEED Act, and associated legislative instruments, including the Building Energy Efficiency Regulations and Determinations. The act was created following significant consultation with industry—specifically, the Green Building Council of Australia, the Energy Efficiency Council and the Clean Energy Council.

At the outset, I wish to reaffirm Labor's longstanding commitment to energy conservation and efficiency. Energy efficiency represents one of the fastest-growing and cheapest ways that we can reduce our nation's greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, the International Energy Agency's Energy efficiency market report 2014 found that energy efficiency is indeed the world's 'first fuel'. The research found that energy efficiency improvements in 11 countries, including Australia, delivered more—that is right: more—capacity than any other source of energy. That is remarkable—more energy from conservation than from burning oil, coal or gas. Energy efficiency saved those 11 countries some 56 exajoules of energy in 2012, which was more than the final energy delivered by oil, which was some 50 exajoules; electricity, at 23 exajoules; or natural gas, at 20 exajoules. It is also more than the total energy consumption of the European Union.

My electorate of Newcastle is lucky enough to be home to some of the world's leaders in energy efficiency research. Scientists at the University of Newcastle's Institute for Energy and Resources, otherwise known as NIER, and scientists at the CSIRO Energy Centre have been at the centre of developments that are changing the way that we use, store and, indeed, generate energy.

I would like to briefly turn to some of the work being done at the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources. Their research is based on four key areas. The first is resource productivity and efficiency: looking for solutions to problems facing our minerals, gas and water resource sectors. They also examine energy technologies and utilisation, an area that is driven by economic and environmental challenges with the goal of increasing efficiencies and reducing, of course, greenhouse gases. The third key area for NIER is around advanced materials for energy applications—looking at the significant potential for the next generation of low-cost, sustainable energy applications. And the final area of study that NIER's researchers are great specialists at is land use, social impacts and sustainability, which focuses on the balance between the environment, community and economic activity within energy and resource intensive regions.

I could talk at length—for much of this debate—on some of the fantastic work that is being done by the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources; however, I would like to use this opportunity now to acknowledge one of the more recent successes of their researchers. Last month, Professor Behdad Moghtaderi was awarded the Renewable Energy Innovation Award at the New South Wales Science and Engineering Awards for his GRANEX heat engine invention. The engine turns low-grade heat resources that may not otherwise be viably usable into emissions-free electricity. It can be applied to a range of diverse heat sources, including renewable energy, process industries, transport systems and commercial and residential buildings. It is research that will indeed be a game changer for this nation, and I am particularly delighted that NIER its researchers have been recognised for the lead role they have taken in that area.

I would also like to turn to some of the work being developed at the CSIRO Energy Centre in Newcastle. Like NIER, the listing of achievements by the CSIRO Energy Centre would take much more time than we have here today to speak on this bill, but I would like to note that the CSIRO facility, the actual physical space, where much of that groundbreaking work has been conducted, is at the forefront of an energy efficiency build in Australia and is certainly worthy of being noted in this debate. The CSIRO Energy Centre, which opened in Newcastle in 2003, set a new benchmark in terms of ecologically sustainable design, showcasing innovative energy generation approaches, building demand reduction and supply options. They conserve energy through the building's orientation and layout, the construction materials and building management systems. They generate energy on-site through a 115 kilowatt photovoltaic system and a 120 kilowatt gas-fired microturbine co-generation system, and house two high-concentration solar thermal tower arrays capable of 500 kilowatts and one megawatt thermal output respectively. The Newcastle CSIRO Energy Centre most definitely practise what they preach. The work of both NIER and CSIRO showcase what can be achieved here in Australia with proper funding and investment into education and resources and important capital works and investment programs.

As we are discussing energy efficiency in this chamber, it would be remiss of me not to mention the renewable energy target. Until this government came to power, the renewable energy target, or RET as it is known, enjoyed bipartisan support since its creation some 13 years ago under the then Howard Liberal government. It is something that the Prime Minister promised he would not change if elected—but we are regularly reminded, however, that keeping promises is not one of the Prime Minister's strongest points. But keeping the RET was indeed a promise he clearly made. The government specifically committed to the 41,000 gigawatt-hour target and that there would be no changes to the arrangements in the rooftop solar industry, both household and commercial. The crazy thing is that even the Prime Minister's own hand-picked panel set out to review and possibly wind back the RET confirmed that on every possible indicator the RET works and it should be kept. The RET helped drive our nation as a leader in renewable energy technology and use.

When Labor came to government in 2007, there were 7,400 houses across the entire country that had rooftop solar. By the time we left, there were 1.3 million, and that is still growing by 3,000 every month. Unfortunately it is not growing as quickly as it would be if there were not some uncertainty, which this government has now brought through with its review of the RET, but the growth is still strong. Labor's position remains to defend the renewable energy target. It is working. It lowers power prices, lowers carbon pollution and supports an industry that employs thousands of Australians. The RET is an integral part of Australia's energy economy and our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Likewise, the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Amendment Bill is an important part of our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The commercial building sector is responsible for around 10 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions and this figure is rising. The importance of energy efficiency in our commercial buildings is as critical now as ever. Energy efficiency, as I said, represents one of the fastest and cheapest ways that we can reduce our nation's greenhouse gas emissions.

In terms of its effectiveness to streamline the efficacy of the Commercial Building Disclosure Program, the bill before us is an important step in the right direction. As I mentioned, stakeholders support the changes that are proposed in this bill but, notwithstanding the support for those changes, there is a great deal of scepticism about the yet to be published commercial building disclosure, or CBD, review. The CBD is a national program designed to improve the energy efficiency of Australia's office buildings as part of the National Strategy on Energy Efficiency.

Labor's Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Bill 2010 established a legal requirement for owners of large commercial office buildings to obtain energy efficiency information for their building and to disclose it to prospective purchasers and lessees. It also required head tenants who are subletting office space to disclose this information. The energy efficiency information disclosed is in the form of a building energy efficiency certificate. The certificate includes a star rating of the building's energy efficiency, an assessment of tenancy lighting and additional guidance on how the energy efficiency of the office might be improved.

I commend organisations which are setting a good example for others to follow in energy efficiency, such as the Hunter Water Corporation, in my electorate, which has a 4.5-star rating of its head office in Newcastle's Honeysuckle Precinct.

Not only are the energy efficiency measures good for the environment; they are also economically beneficial for building owners. It is now well documented that buildings with an environmental rating deliver better returns and so the CBD program is helping to deliver increased value in the property market.

The Building better returns report 2011 found that green-star rated buildings deliver a 12 per cent green premium in value and a five per cent premium in rent, compared to non-rated buildings.

Credible energy efficiency information helps parties to make better informed decisions and to take full account of the economic costs and environmental impacts associated with operating the buildings they are intending to purchase or lease.

In the second year of full mandatory disclosure, from 1 November 2012 to 1 November 2013, the CBD program issued 1,081 building energy efficiency certificates and 1,106 tenancy light assessments. These initiatives are making a difference. This bill will certainly assist in terms of tidying up a number of housekeeping measures that, as I have said, stakeholders have brought to our attention for continuous improvement of this program.

However, I do share, as outlined by the member for Brand, Labor's concerns around the future of the CBD program and the potential for this ongoing review to be an effective cover for its abolition. That would be a retrograde step for Australia and, indeed, it is to be avoided at all costs.

Labor supports the objectives of this bill and the efficiencies and streamlining of processes that will be achieved by its measures, but we give a warning about the review of the CBD.

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