Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to note for the Senate the excellent work that the Victorian Leader of the Opposition, Daniel Andrews, and his team have been doing in their election campaign against what four leading Victorian environmental groups have described as a government with the 'worst record on the environment since the 1960s'. Let me just repeat that: the Napthine record has the worst record on the environment since the 1960s. Just like our federal Abbott government, with its Victorian based federal Minister for the Environment, Denis Napthine has presided over a wholesale attack on the state's environmental assets. These four environmental groups and their members have never witnessed a government with such a callous indifference to the environment. For those of us observing this federal government hack its way into Australia's environmental protections and the climate change framework, increasing the clear and present danger to Australia's national environmental security, the numerous examples of the Victorian coalition's callous indifference to the environment are all too familiar. They are all too similar to what we have witnessed in the federal arena when it comes to a lack of support, let alone care for our environment. So they present the template and an alarming warning for the two years left of the Abbott government's term in office. What are they? Let us have a look.

Since 2010 Victorian coalition governments have, one, scrapped the Victorian emissions reduction target of 20 per cent by 2020 implemented by the Brumby government; two, abandoned Victoria's solar target of five per cent of Victoria's power coming from solar energy and made it almost impossible to get approvals for new wind farms; three, promoted coalmining, gas extraction and the coal export industry; four, extended the life of ageing and polluting Anglesea and Hazelwood coalmines and power stations; five, allowed loggers to operate in threatened species habitats; six, attempted to abolish energy efficiency targets; and, seven, slashed jobs at Parks Victoria. So it is no wonder that a study conducted recently by the Climate Council found that Victoria has the worst policy environment for renewable energy in Australia. In fact, its report said a comparison of each state's renewable energy sector found Victoria was the worst-performing state.

Matt Ruchel, the Executive Director of the Victorian National Parks Association, said:

I’ve not come across a government so openly hostile to conservation. I suspect they consider it some sort of war.

Well he could have just as easily been talking about the Abbott government, a government that views the environment as an obstacle to be quickly cleared, not as an asset to be properly managed. Similarly, when Mr Wakeham, the CEO of the state's peak group Environment Victoria, said he was surprised by how aggressively anti-environment the government proved to be after it won the 2010 Victorian election without releasing an environment policy during the campaign he might have been referring again to the Abbott government, whose only environmental policies before the election were to abolish the carbon price and to revoke—and we will never forget this embarrassing step—the World Heritage listing for some of Tasmania's most amazing forests, which was something UNESCO overturned and threw out the window.

Mr Wakeham described the Napthine government as 'totally out of step with where public opinion is at'. He said:

Not only have they been poor on the environment; they have actively attacked environmental protections. They’re not ‘do nothing’.

That is a description that rings equally and shamefully true of the Abbott government's approach to the environment, whether it is looking at the Abbott government's ripping up of the management plans of marine parks, looking at the rebuke of its bipartisan support for the renewable energy target or looking at the fact that we now no longer have any sort of legal cap on carbon pollution in this country, leaving us as the only country to go backwards on climate change. I could go on and on with the backflips and the lack of action by this Abbott government on the environment but, having said that, I am focusing today on the Napthine government.

There are so many similarities between the two governments. They have both attacked—and undermined of course in doing so—Australia's environmental security at every turn. However, an Andrews Victorian Labor government will respond to these attacks by addressing renewable energy, including the restrictive planning laws of the current government, strengthening protections and oversight for coastal and marine reserve management as well as riparian environments. Only last week we heard that an Andrews Labor government will make Newstead on the Loddon River Victoria's first solar town by transitioning it to renewable energy. Those words from Daniel Andrews certainly must be a breath of fresh air for Victorians who know that they will have a leader who will address the issues of renewable energy, which so many Victorian voters so desperately want. I attended one of the Solar Council's forums in Victoria only a couple of months ago. Over 300 people turned out. Of course the focus there was on the renewable energy target but it was very much on solar energy. So many Victorians wanted to continue to see an increase in solar power and an increase in renewable energy. I know that Victorians will be very pleased to hear from the Andrews Victorian Labor team about how it will very much invest in renewable energy.

Through solar power and energy storage Newstead residents will be able to rely on 100 per cent renewable energy to power their homes and businesses by 2017. What a formidable campaign to have. To underpin this project Labor will ensure that small renewable energy projects can have fair access to the existing grid and that distribution businesses are more responsive to distributed energy proposals. Labor will also ask the Essential Services Commission to inquire into the true value to the grid of distributed generation. I recently joined the Victorian shadow minister for energy and resources, my friend and colleague Ms Lily D'Ambrosio, at the save our solar forum in Ringwood. What she promised was:

Not only will the residents in Newstead reduce their reliance on coal fired power and cut their carbon footprint, they will be driving down household costs through cheaper energy bills.

So not only is this about a win for the environment; this is about a win for consumers. This is about a win for families. It is going to drive down the costs of energy bills. It could not get any better. She said:

… Labor will work with the community in Newstead to help them to achieve their goal of moving to renewable energy by 2017.

Newstead will be a leading example of what can be achieved when locals and government work together. It will take an Andrews Labor Government for this to happen.

I agree totally with Shadow Minister D'Ambrosio on that. Labor will also reboot the Victorian wind energy industry, which will employ thousands of Victorians and create energy for Victorian homes. Labor will also create the $20 million New Energy Jobs Fund, which will offer grants of up to $1 million to firms and companies specialising in high-growth renewable sectors like renewable energy technology. Mr Andrews and the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party are going into this election armed with the policies to beat back the conservative attack on Victoria's environment, and I wish him and the people of Victoria— (Time expired)