Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, 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 outline the importance of growing clean energy jobs and transforming Australia’s economy for a low-carbon future? How is the government’s comprehensive approach to tackling climate change helping unlock those opportunities?

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 Corangamite for his question. It is the case that there are significant opportunities in growing clean energy jobs and securing a low-carbon future for Australia, and this is a very important time for Australia to take those opportunities. The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme will play a central role in unlocking these opportunities for clean energy jobs and for industries. It will provide certainty for business, accelerating the competitiveness of clean energy technologies—and that is quite critical at this time, when we want to address dangerous climate change.

Alongside the CPRS the government is bringing forward comprehensive programs to improve Australia’s energy efficiency, growing clean energy jobs for the future, including through the Energy Efficient Homes Package, which has provided insulation or solar hot water for more than 500,000 Australian households since February this year. That is right: more than 500,000 Australian households since February this year. This compares to around 4,000 solar hot water rebate applications received over the time of the previous government—and they did nothing on insulation. So we have more than half a million households in eight months, compared to 4,000 households in 12 years. And this is about creating jobs. The Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand, ICANZ, originally estimated that around 4,000 jobs would be created as a direct result of the insulation program. The council then went on to double that estimate. They now advise my department that even that doubled figure may be conservative, as many more jobs are being created.

Through the Solar Homes and Communities Plan we are on track to help over 120,000 homes install solar systems since November 2007. Again, that compares, in the life of the former government, to around 10,500 solar panels funded over some 12 years. I think the figures are telling the story. But, importantly, I am advised that there are already around 500 additional solar panel installers in training to meet this unprecedented workload, with around 75 new installers becoming accredited each month. This comes on top of the government’s solar credit scheme, part of the expanded renewable energy target. Industry estimates that that target will drive around $20 billion of investment in renewable energy technologies: clean energy jobs, delivered by the Rudd government—jobs in insulation, jobs in solar hot water, jobs in solar panels, jobs in large-scale renewables.

I cannot help but notice that not everyone in the parliament is interested in the task of supporting clean energy technologies and Australian jobs. The member for Tangney has been interjecting ever since I got to my feet. So I was glad that I glanced at the report of a speech from the member for Tangney to a group of climate change sceptics. He was not speaking to the opposition backbench, although there are climate change sceptics there. I am always interested to see what the member has to say. I know the Leader of the Opposition would be interested in this as well, because this is where the intellectual driving force of the Liberal Party on climate change policy is coming from. According to the report the member for Tangney believes that action on climate change is an attempt to overthrow democracy! This is what he said—

Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Dr Jensen interjecting

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

The member is still interjecting. I want to read his quote out:

We have observed anti-democratic comments from many so-called environmentalists calling for the overthrow of democracy and/or capitalism to save the planet.

This is the public policy rigour of the Liberal and National parties, when we are at the threshold of one of the most important debates that this country has ever had. He talks about the overthrow of capitalism. Regrettably, it is the overthrow of reason that is the problem we face here. I suspect the member for Tangney calling it the ‘overthrow of capitalism’ would surprise the many hardworking Australian families who are now in the process of wanting to build clean energy industries with the assistance of the Rudd government’s programs—that is, the tradies, the truck drivers, those people along the supply chain and the many, many clean energy jobs that the government are actually delivering with our programs. As for the overthrow of democracy that the member refers to, I can only think of all those Australians who voted in November 2007 to bring an end to 12 years of denial and climate change scepticism on the part of the Liberal-National Party, now led by the Leader of the Opposition, and to provide a clear message from the Australian public that they wanted a government that was going to be serious about tackling climate change and about bringing forward the benefits and the fruits of employment to the Australian economy that our policies are already delivering.