David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great pleasure to rise in support of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill 2009 and the Renewable Energy (Electricity) (Charge) Amendment Bill 2009. These bills fulfil the Rudd government’s commitment to expand the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target Scheme to ensure that the equivalent of at least 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity supply is generated by renewable sources by 2020.

In April, the Council of Australian Governments agreed, following extensive community consultation, to the design of the Renewable Energy Target Scheme. That agreement represented a major step towards a low-emissions future for Australia. The RET Scheme, as it is known, will bring the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target Scheme and existing and proposed state and territory schemes into one national scheme, avoiding the inefficiencies and the unnecessary costs of there being nine different schemes operating around Australia in various jurisdictions. These bills are designed to ensure a smooth transition to a single national scheme. We should acknowledge the cooperative attitude of the state and territory governments in ensuring that we have an harmonious and effective transition to a national RET scheme

The RET Scheme contained in these bills will speed up Australia’s shift away from carbon based fuels and towards renewable energy technologies like solar, wind, tidal, biomass and geothermal power, and indeed, even others. It will help transform the electricity sector and drive the low-emission technology and the low-emission electricity generation this country needs if we are to tackle dangerous climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill 2009 increases the existing mandatory renewable energy target from 9,500 gigawatt hours, by stages, to 45,000 gigawatt hours in 2020. The new scheme will create a guaranteed market for additional renewable energy deployment, using the mechanism of tradeable renewable energy certificates that are created by renewable energy generators. This in turn will attract additional investment and create additional jobs in the renewable energy sector here in Australia.

It is pleasing that the opposition, or at least the Liberal Party, has decided to support this bill. I am still not clear what the position of the National Party is with respect to this bill.