Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. Will the minister update the House on support for the new Energy Efficient Homes program as part of the government’s Nation Building and Jobs Plan?

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Parramatta for her question. I know that she takes a keen and acute interest in the policy matters that we are bringing forward for people in her electorate. As the House would be aware, as part of the government’s Nation Building and Jobs Plan, we have committed $3.9 billion for the Energy Efficient Homes program, which will roll out energy efficiency to Australian suburbs on an unprecedented scale, providing immediate support for green jobs and driving demand in clean and green industries through insulation and hot water. Critically, the Energy Efficient Homes program will also help relieve cost-of-living pressures for nearly three million Australian homes because it will reduce people’s energy bills for years to come. There will be a significant saving of 49 million tonnes CO2 equivalent by 2020, akin to taking one million cars off the road. I was asked what support there is for the Energy Efficient Homes program and am pleased to say that the response has been overwhelmingly positive. One insulation fitter on ABC Radio yesterday said:

Our own company had to lay off a shift in one of our plants just before Christmas. We’ll be putting that shift back on.

That is exactly what the Energy Efficient Homes program is about. I am also happy to read what the Clean Energy Council had to say about the package:

Insulation saves energy, money, jobs and the environment—so it’s a win-win-win-win. These sorts of packages help every Australian by cushioning the cost of transition to a carbon constrained economy.

That is exactly what the Energy Efficient Homes program is about. Master Builders of Australia said:

This initiative will help support much needed jobs in the building industry, while at the same time assist in reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and saving energy costs.

…            …            …

Boosting the building industry is a proven formula for reviving economies and stimulating jobs growth.

There was this recognition from the Climate Institute:

There’s no question that insulation and solar hot water are at the top of the list in improving the energy wastage and carbon pollution from our homes …

And so the statements of support for the government’s announcement yesterday go on. These positive responses show exactly what the Energy Efficient Homes program is all about. This is the right package at the right time, and these programs are already open for business. This is action on an unprecedented scale, with insulation to around 2.7 million Australian households, including half a million rental homes. By increasing the solar hot water rebate from $1,000 to $1,600 and removing the means test, we are harnessing Australia’s abundant sunshine for a true solar revolution in Australia’s suburbs.

We heard another endorsement today not from a third party but, as it turned out, from the party opposite. This is in fact what the Leader of the Opposition said about the government’s rollout of insulation:

We welcome the government paying attention to … insulation.

We then got some overblown criticism, ignoring the fact that the Liberals did nothing for some 12 years, before he went on to say:

The $1,600 subsidy will … mean that over 90 per cent of jobs would be completed at no cost to the owner.

I suggest to the Leader of the Opposition that that is exactly the point. The $1,600 subsidy that the Rudd government will provide for ceiling insulation means that over 90 per cent of jobs will be completed at no cost to the owner. That is the point of this particular measure. He went on to say:

The subsidy is not means tested. We would support an insulation subsidy of a lower amount, and I would suggest for the government’s consideration one that is, for example, $500 for all houses, increasing to $1,000 subject to a means test … A similar approach could be taken to solar hot water.

That is quite incredible. What must the member for Flinders be thinking after spending most of last year asserting the great injustice of a means-test on the $8,000 rebate for solar PV, a rebate that continues to run at record levels despite the member jumping out of an aeroplane saying it was in free fall? The Leader of the Opposition is now trying to means-test a package that is all about value for money, delivering energy efficiency savings for nearly three million Australian households on an unprecedented level and driving demand for green jobs. The opposition has lost the plot. It is time it supported this bill.