Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Hansard source

On page 41 of the explanatory memorandum the government sets out a timetable for evaluation and review of the program. It sets out the process in some detail—the completion of a baseline survey this year; ongoing data collection and analysis from company reports from 2006 to 2010; yearly efficiency review and reporting, as I have mentioned previously, throughout those four years; yearly ‘running changes’ throughout 2006 to 2010 to give us an ongoing update about performance against the audits; special evaluation data collection in 2009; a draft evaluation report written in January 2010; the circulation of the draft report in February 2010; and the final evaluation report written and released in July 2010.

That is full evaluation, reporting and public release to occur in four years, not five. So the government’s proposal is actually more stringent than the amendment that Senator Milne—without any doubt with the best outcomes in mind—is proposing. We go over and above that and say we will have a review evaluation for the five months after the final report, up until December 2010, and then implement evaluation findings in the ongoing program. We regard this as an ongoing program. It is the beginning of a substantial change to the way companies in this country look at their energy use. It will help them change their energy use and become a lot more efficient, and it is a program that the government are committed to.

The energy white paper, which is a substantial piece of policy work and has been analysed and copied around the world, identified through studies done within the National Framework for Energy Efficiency that projects within the residential energy sector could see savings of 13 per cent. I think Senator Milne was looking for some idea of the sort of savings that could be made. I am not saying these are targets; these are achievements that have been identified within the National Framework for Energy Efficiency. Page 109 of the energy white paper reports that they looked at energy use reductions in the order of 10.4 per cent for the commercial sector and 6.2 per cent for the industrial sector. They are substantial achievements in terms of greenhouse gas reductions and energy efficiency improvements. Within the government’s own explanatory memorandum before the Senate is a program for review that is more stringent than Senator Milne’s. The government are keen to make this work, to make sure the program is a success and to see it reviewed comprehensively. We have made a commitment in the explanatory memorandum, and I now make my own commitment, to ensure that that review is public.