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

by leave—On 17 August I was answering a query from Senator Milne in relation to the number of solar related projects managed for the Australian government by the Australian Research Council. Acting on the advice of the ARC, I advised her that the ARC was funding some 216 projects. I am now advised that there are in fact 79 projects being funded by this government by way of solar grants to the tune of $62.7 million. I advised Senator Milne in a letter that I sent to her recently that the ARC wanted to revise that figure to 79. The secretary of my department, Mr Borthwick, has written a letter apologising for the error and I table his letter. It is important to bear in mind, though, that the ARC is only one of the organisations that uses Australian government funding for solar projects. I table a comprehensive list of a range of other solar and renewable energy projects that are also funded by the Australian government.