Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question without notice is to Senator Abetz, the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources. Can the minister confirm that the Howard government has slashed renewable energy research programs, closing down the Energy Research and Development Corporation, the CRC for Renewable Energy and the Renewable Energy Commercialisation Program? Isn’t it a fact that there is now almost no federal funding for research into renewable energy technologies? Isn’t this why many world-leading renewable technologies that originated in Australia, like the evacuated tubes for solar hot water, solar thermal concentrators and silver cells for solar electricity, have been forced overseas? Why has the Howard government abandoned Australia’s world-leading research into renewable energy and forced our leading scientists to go overseas?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The brief answer to the honourable senator’s question is no, but allow me to expand on it. Comprehensive strategies are in place, underpinned by almost $3.5 billion worth of investment, contributing to an 87 million tonne a year cut in emissions by 2010. Recently announced initiatives by the Howard government have included $336 million for green vouchers for schools and $252 million for solar hot water rebates et cetera. We also have invested $15 million in the FutureGen International Partnership. We have invested $70.7 million as follows: $5 million for the Asia-Pacific Network for Energy Technology, $50 million to support further action through the APP and $15.7 million for increased regional expertise in forest management. The list goes on.

The Australian Labor Party can try and make the claim, as it does all the time, that somehow it has been the champion of climate change. The simple facts are these: we were the ones who introduced the Australian Greenhouse Office in 1998. Thereafter, there were literally years when a full 12 months would go by without the Labor Party asking a single question about climate change or global warming. Indeed, if you do a search of Hansard from 1998 up until May 2007, you will find that the vast majority of questions in this area have in fact been asked by coalition senators. The only time that the Labor Party have asked more questions on this issue than the coalition has in fact been in the last 12 months.

That is why I coined the phrase ‘Kevin’s come lately to this issue’. It was only with Mr Rudd that they finally decided that this might be an issue. Before that, we as a government had been developing policies and investing Australian taxpayers’ dollars to ensure that we were well positioned around the world in relation to these issues. We have done that, and we have a very good record. All I would suggest to Senator Carr is that, rather than accepting questions from the question time committee—

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Banking and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He drafted it himself!

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sherry has interjected—embarrassingly for Senator Carr—to say that Senator Carr actually crafted the question himself.

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Banking and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He did!

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sherry is confirming that. In that case, the fault does not lie with the question time committee. The chances are that Senator Sherry is a member of it and he wants to defend himself. If it is all Senator Carr’s work, I suggest that his supplementary might—

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. The minister was asked a specific question about the government closing down the Energy Research and Development Corporation, the CRC for Renewable Energy and the Renewable Energy Commercialisation Program. The question went to: why is the government forcing Australian scientists who are experts in renewable energy to go overseas? The minister has failed to answer. Can you draw him to the question.

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Abetz, do you have anything to add to the previous answer?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I have!

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is nothing to add.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I ask the minister, again, if he could answer the question about the closure of these research programs and the government’s policy to force Australian scientists overseas. I further ask: is the minister aware that Pacific Solar sold the rights to its silicon-on-glass technology to a German firm which is now developing and commercialising this technology? Don’t Australians now have to import evacuated tubes for solar hot water from China, even though this technology was first developed at the University of Sydney? Doesn’t the Howard government’s failure to keep these great innovations in renewable energy in Australia show that, after 11 long years, it still has not taken seriously the question of climate change?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thought I had outlined quite fully in my answer to the previous question that we do take the issue of climate change very seriously. That is why we have the raft of investments that I just referred the honourable senator to. But, of course, what happens is that you have a pre-written supplementary question which has to be prattled out, irrespective of the answer that is given. That is the difficulty that the Australian Labor Party faces. The situation is that we as a government have been instrumental in the Solar Cities program, for example.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You’ve got no idea, have you? You’ve got no idea!

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The poor honourable senator, interjecting as he does, is a senator who allegedly represents the state of Victoria. The state Labor government of Victoria has entered into a partnership with the federal coalition government to develop a solar city in his state. (Time expired)