Margaret May (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I believe the Rudd government has failed to deliver on its commitment to the environment. Its decision to means-test the solar panel rebate, at $100,000 per household, makes no sense at all. Mr Rudd said:

We need to boost renewable energies in general. Solar is the most greenhouse friendly energy available on the planet. Therefore, we need to take some practical steps to make it possible for as many families as possible to invest in this.

I wonder if Mr Rudd truly believes his own rhetoric. Imposing a means test on solar panels has made a real impact on small businesses, jobs and the environment. Even the Minister for Climate Change and Water, Penny Wong, has conceded that there was absolutely no consultation with the solar industry before the introduction of this damaging means test.

Solar Green is a local Gold Coast company that has had five orders cancelled since the Rudd government announced in the budget that they will impose this means test on the solar panel rebate, which cuts off at $100,000 per household. Solar Green alone estimates a loss of revenue of $100,000 from cancelled orders. One of the cancelled orders was from a gentleman who earns $106,000 per year and could not be persuaded to do his bit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without the government rebate.

The former coalition government—and I am pleased to say that the former Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Turnbull, is here in the chamber this morning—made a commitment to a whole-of-society approach to the environment. It looked at solar panels, which cost between $15,000 and $20,000, being placed on the roof of an average home and believed it was necessary to put in place an $8,000 rebate to encourage people to do just that. It was not a welfare measure; it was an environmental measure. The rebate saw a dramatic increase in the uptake of solar panels, following the implementation of the measure after the last budget.

Solar Green has been operating since July 2007 under the stewardship of Bruce Mitchell, who is very environmentally friendly and has built an entire precinct for business based on good environmental practice. Solar Green was receiving a great response to the rebate, and it was his and his company’s way of doing their bit to protect our environment and use renewable energy sources for the future. With this new means testing, Bruce estimates between 50 and 60 per cent of the market has now been cut out. With the rebate, that pay-back period for the system now is that much longer and the expense is that much greater for individuals and their homes. I say to the Rudd government: your credentials as being environmentally aware are certainly in question.