Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Abetz, the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources. Does the minister recall saying, in answer to my question on Tuesday, that the government did not support state based renewable energy schemes? Is the minister aware that Pacific Hydro said yesterday that their $300 million worth of investment in projects in regional Victoria was driven by the Victorian renewable energy target? I ask the minister whether he is aware that Pacific Hydro also said:

Without the Victorian Target, we would not be able to commit this level of investment in Victoria which creates jobs and helps to reduce Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions ...

Minister, aren’t there also a number of renewable energy projects in Tasmania that will only go ahead under the New South Wales based scheme? Minister, isn’t government policy putting at risk significant investments, along with hundreds of regional jobs?