Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, indeed. And why did he make that commendable commitment? Because the previous government, unlike this government, had a genuine commitment to growing our renewable energy sector, to growing the solar industry sector and to supporting photovoltaic systems. That is why in this report opposition members have sought to outline some plans for the future of the industry. We urge the government to step away from this means testing, to give a solid five-year commitment to funding and to start the transition pathway towards the introduction of feed-in tariffs, something that could provide some longer term sustainability for the industry. That is why we have offered a positive alternative to a government that wants to try to claim a policy that is obviously a total failure as a success. Unfortunately, after they have botched a successful policy of the previous government, we now find that we have to give them the way out and urge them to adopt our plans and change the means testing.