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

I hear the interjections from those opposite, saying, 'How embarrassing!' By comparison, our 20 per cent stands alongside a one per cent reduction in Canada, a 10 per cent reduction in Japan, a four per cent reduction in New Zealand or a 13 per cent reduction in the United States. I make those comparisons not to criticise any of those nations but to highlight for those opposite and those who, in the debate in Australia, seek to paint a proposition that Australia somehow does not achieve emissions reductions that in fact our countries has. Our country has done so, in part, due to the motivation of the Australian people as well. One in four Australian households have rooftop solar, the highest rate of uptake in the world. Last year, Australia saw some seven gigawatts of renewable energy capacity installed in our country, nearly eight times faster than the global average per person. It is this momentum that we intend to continue to pursue, and it is absolutely our commitment to make sure we continue to meet and beat those targets in the future.