Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In the Goldstein community, we are people mindful of the environment who believe in taking responsibility but also believe in seeing the opportunity that can be realised from low-carbon technology and other types of innovation and recycling, to improve our local environment, our community, our state, our nation and our world. That's why intellectual property matters, because intellectual property goes to the heart of innovation; it's about encouraging investment so that people want to build a better future, and to invest, to innovate, to create, to grow and to be part of the solution.

In the last year alone, $7.7 billion or $308 per person was invested in new renewable energy projects in Australia, making us a world leader on a per capita basis. This demonstrates the Morrison government's commitment to cutting emissions without cutting jobs or introducing new taxes—the proposals put forward by those on the other side of this chamber, who have learned nothing from their electoral loss or, of course, their deception in the lead-up to the 2010 election where they said they weren't going to support a carbon tax and then came into the chamber and voted for it. They continue to insist that that is the only way to reduce emissions in Australia, but that is just a falsehood, because of course their only way to solve it is to burden small businesses and Australians with crippling new taxes.

Most of the discussion surrounding emissions reduction focuses on the role of government. That is actually a distraction, because the real issues come down to what we can do in enabling private enterprise, capital mobilisation and innovation to grow the future of the economy and create low carbon tech alternatives. As Robert Menzies said:

The true answer is to be found in co-operation; government doing … what private enterprise cannot reasonably be expected to do, and private enterprise doing … what no Government Department could hope to do …

In Goldstein, we believe that private enterprise and property rights empower individuals to turn creative pursuits into products and services which can fundamentally improve society, the economy and the environment. Intellectual property rights provide citizens the opportunity to profit from their creative expression, granting them the exclusive rights to the fruits of their labour and their innovation. The process rewards those who try and empowers them, and it ultimately dissuades people who don't have good ideas.

I'm proud to know that we have many small businesses in the Goldstein community who dedicate themselves to tirelessly and sustainably producing high-quality goods and services, just like Elsternwick based Prana Energy, who help companies transition to solar and have succeeded in reducing commercial businesses' carbon dioxide emissions by 434 tonnes, or SomerSide, founded by 25-year-old Gabby Samkova, which encourages the re-use of recycled materials to produce beach towels. Each part of this is about stewarding our economy to create a better Australia.

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