Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Senator Wong. I refer the minister to the decision last week by the government to end the $8,000 solar rebates early. Will the minister inform the Senate whether Minister Garrett was deliberately misleading the Australian people or was simply being kept in the dark by those who actually run the government when he told the ABC’s PM program on 17 December last year that the rebate and the means test would be phased out after 1 July?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Solar Homes and Communities Plan of this government has put more solar panel systems on Australian roofs than any program run in the history of the Australian government.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We set it up!

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under you—I will talk more about this later, Senator Birmingham—under the Howard government, what we know is investment in renewables, the deployment of renewables, went backwards as a total percentage of our energy profile. Those on that side presided over a reduction in the investment in the utilisation of renewable energy. The fact is this is a government which has gone well beyond its election commitment for solar rebates. The original commitment was for $150 million for up to 15,000 solar rebates over five years. This government will fund around 80,000 solar panel installations. What Senator Birmingham might like to know is how that compares with what the previous government did, because he comes in here saying, ‘Oh, you should do more.’ Under your government, there were 10½ thousand rebates. We are going to fund about 80,000 installations; they on that side funded about 10½ thousand rebates when in government.

The fact is we have been making clear for some time that we would transition out of this rebate program to the Solar Credits scheme under the renewable energy target. It is the case that demand in this program was very high, very substantial. As I said, we went well beyond our pre-election commitment of $150 million. We have previously announced that we would transition to Solar Credits from July 2009. (Time expired)

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Seeing as the minister refuses to confirm whether Minister Garrett deliberately misled Australian consumers and the Australian solar industry, I draw her attention to the COAG communique of 30 April this year, which stated that the replacement Solar Credits program was intended to commence from 1 July. Minister, exactly which part of that statement let industry and consumers know that 1 July would miraculously become 9 June?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is useful, I think, when we are asked questions by those opposite for us to remember their paltry record on renewable energy when in government. It is the case that the transition was brought forward from that which was previously announced in order to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of this government’s support for the solar industry, support which is unprecedented in terms of the number of rebates and the millions of dollars we put in place to assist the solar industry both through this program and of course through the budget measures which were announced—the Solar Flagships program, which is intended to support the largest solar installation in the world. The reality is that we are providing unprecedented support. We are also providing a transition. We will bring forward the renewable energy target legislation—(Time expired)

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given that the minister refuses to stand by either the spoken word of Mr Garrett or the written word of the COAG communique, I ask whether she will now stand by the budget papers released just a few weeks ago. I refer the minister to page 206 of Budget Paper No. 2, which states that funding for solar rebates will continue until the program transitions to Solar Credits under the expanded renewable energy target on 1 July 2009. Were the budget papers, released just a few weeks ago, just plain wrong, or were they also deliberately misleading as part of the government’s cruel hoax on the solar industry and Australia’s solar consumers?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The cruel hoax is the party who presided over a reduction in the renewable energy component of our energy sector coming in here and pretending to be the champion of renewables. Senator Birmingham, if you had listened to my answer, I acknowledged that the transition had been brought forward to ensure the financial sustainability of the government’s support for the solar industry. We are funding more than four times what we promised we would fund and substantially more than anything which was funded under the Howard government. We acknowledge that this is a transition which some may find difficult. We are committed to bringing forward the renewable energy legislation to provide ongoing and sustainable support for the solar industry, support which was never forthcoming under the Howard government.

Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Wong. Minister, given the need to respond to the threat of climate change, can you please update the Senate on the government’s action to turn Australia’s carbon pollution around and support investment in renewable energy? How can the government ensure that the equivalent of all of Australia’s household electricity supply will come from renewable energy sources? And why, even with all the direct support for renewable energy, is the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme still fundamental if we are going to successfully tackle climate change?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Crossin for her question and her interest in both renewable energy and the government’s action on climate change. This is a government which is committed to acting on climate change and putting in place incentives for investment in clean energy, renewable energy and the clean technologies which will deliver the transformation our economy needs. This government will bring forward our renewable energy target legislation, which will deliver a fourfold increase in Australia’s renewable energy sector by 2020, to ensure that the equivalent of all of Australia’s household energy will come from renewable sources by that time. This will unleash investment in the renewable energy sector, something which should have happened a long time ago. Of course, this is on top of the government’s unprecedented commitment in the budget with the $1.4 billion Solar Flagships program and additional investment in the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy and our investment in Solar Homes and Communities, all of which demonstrate this government’s commitment to the reform of our energy sector and strong and sustainable support for renewables.

But the fact is that, even with all of these measures in place, Australia’s emissions would still rise to around 20 per cent higher in 2020 than they were in 2000, as opposed to being up to 20 per cent lower if the Senate is minded to pass the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. The reality is that without the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme this country will not hold its contribution to climate change, without the scheme we will keep making climate change worse and without the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme we have no means to deliver our targets, which are ambitious, necessary and in the national interest. (Time expired)

Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister update the Senate on plans to provide emissions-intensive industries with assistance under the renewable energy target and Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme? Why is it important to provide assistance to industry to adjust to the combined impact of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and the renewable energy target?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a government that is putting forward a comprehensive set of policies to tackle climate change and drive investment in renewables, unlike the Howard government that was in place for so many years in this country. The fact is that the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and renewable energy target assistance are linked, because this government understand that we need both of these policies in place if we are to seriously tackle climate change. This is a government that also understand that industry will need assistance in relation to both policies. So, when we were designing assistance under the renewable energy target legislation, this government listened to those in industry who asked us to consider the cumulative, combined impact of both the CPRS and the renewable energy target. This is a position we made clear in the April COAG meeting that Senator Birmingham referred to, and it is a pity that the opposition did not read the communique before time. (Time expired)

Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Finally, can the minister outline Australia’s track record on renewable energy? In particular, can the minister outline whether the contribution of renewable energy has increased or decreased in the 10 years to 2007? Can the minister advise the Senate of any threats to turning around Australia’s carbon pollution and promoting investment in renewable energy?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it is useful for the Senate to know just what occurred under the Howard government when it comes to renewables, because the fact is that investment in renewable energy went backwards when those opposite were in government. What happened was that between 1997 and 2007 the proportion of our electricity supply from renewables declined from 10½ per cent to 9.5 per cent. So, whenever those opposite come forward professing support for the renewables sector, they should be reminded of the stark facts which are presented and the stark reality of their own record in government, which is that they presided over a decline in renewable energy. They also went to the last election with a 15 per cent clean energy target, which included nuclear power and clean coal—so not only a smaller target but a target where solar, wind and wave would have to compete with nuclear energy and clean coal. That is their record on renewables. (Time expired)