Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

In the few short minutes I have I simply want to say that Senator McEwen’s disappointing presentation, which was devoid of even-handedness and an informed position, was a poor reflection upon the government’s ability to take up the cogent arguments for a gross feed-in tariff which have led to its adoption not only in Germany but by France, China and potentially now Japan and all our competing nations in the world. At current rates, Australia will be the last left standing. One could wonder why it was that the National Party itself adopted at its recent national conference a motion in favour of a gross feed-in tariff for small solar and in favour of feed-in tariffs. It was a mystery to me. It is one of the recent great mysteries of Australian politics as to how the National Party could have adopted such a policy.