Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Whilst I acknowledge the member for Port Adelaide for bringing this motion forward, I disagree with much of the premise of the motion. In many respects—and I say this not in any way questioning the science—the notion of climate change is somewhat of a tautology, because climate has been changing for many, many millions of years. It is just unfortunate that we drag into this situation the politics that those from other side bring with it—a sanctimony, a righteousness, that seems only to be visible to those on the other side. I have learned in the short time that I have been in this place to judge those opposite by what they do, not by what they say. Indeed, the carbon tax, home insulation and cash-for-clunkers are the record of the previous government that we have endured.

The MPI has, I think, been framed as somewhat of an attack on the Prime Minister for believing in climate change. Well, I will tell you what the Prime Minister is. He is indeed a pragmatist if nothing else, and he is very much focused on outcomes. Indeed, we are seeing that the Emissions Reduction Fund, as was highlighted before by the Minister for the Environment, is actually working. Electricity prices are indeed lower. It has been confirmed by the department that the quarterly department data—both trend and seasonally adjusted—is the lowest it has been since 2004. Our 2020 target is well ahead of the curve and does not include the reduction of 47 million tonnes that has been achieved under the Emissions Reduction Fund.

Of course, I come from the island state, where 98 per cent of our electricity is, indeed, generated by renewables—be that by mini hydro schemes or the large scale hydro schemes that generated so much wealth and opportunity for our state during their construction between the 1940s and 1980s. Indeed, the Emissions Reduction Fund has been a huge benefit to my state—as it has been to regional Australia more broadly. In the first auction that was held, agriculture was absolutely the big winner—whether it be soil carbon projects; whether it be, in my own state, avoided deforestation projects that were able to bid into the Emissions Reduction Fund; or whether it be the inclusion, I am very pleased to say, within the negotiated renewable energy target of bioenergy sourced from waste from native forests, which is very important indeed from my state's perspective.

Under the first auction, 47 million tonnes of abatements were achieved. As I mentioned before, the Prime Minister is nothing else if he is not a pragmatist. He understands—and I have heard it from constituents in my own electorate, such as Peter Downie, who, within a consortium, bid into the first Emissions Reduction Fund auction—that the competitive tension that you would expect in an auction, in this case a reverse auction, was absolutely there. They achieved a result that they were very happy with. They achieved a little bit more than $13.95, which was the average. It was a fantastic result for them. It has emboldened them, and I am sure that they will bid into the subsequent auction, as Minister Hunt said. It is interesting to note also that the World Bank has just recently launched a $100 million program which very much replicates many of the aspects of the Emissions Reduction Fund.

Australians want consistency. This government—in opposition and now in government—has had a consistent policy in respect of addressing our emissions target for over five years; whereas those opposite, the Labor Party, have had five policies in that same time. I recently had the pleasure to be down at St Marys in my electorate with Peter Troode. I was invited down there by a passionate group who are looking at expanding solar in their community. Of course, one of the other ways of reducing emissions is through energy efficiency. This is an area that I will be exploring further with the minister, because I think that there are great opportunities for small communities and small businesses to be able to reduce their emissions and, potentially, bid into the Emissions Reduction Fund. Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

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