Glenn Lazarus (Queensland, Palmer United Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, Senator Cormann. In relation to the renewable energy target, the government recently announced that it would not be changing the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme for households, but the government has been deliberately vague over the overall position on the SRES. As the government knows, the SRES has two components: the household component, which is those installations less than 10 kilowatts, and the small business component, which is those installations up to 100 kilowatts in size. Is the government trying to cut out the small business component of the SRES just as this important market is starting to thrive?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Lazarus for his question. What the government is trying to do in reforming the renewable energy target is ensure that it operates as it was originally designed to do. Originally the objective was to establish a renewable energy target that would see 20 per cent of our energy come from renewable energy sources. Of course, given the falls in energy demand across the Australian economy, effectively now we are heading for a renewable energy target of 26 per cent. That is hurting the Australian economy, hurting business and hurting families because it is pushing up the cost of electricity beyond what it should be.

We want Australia to be, as the Prime Minister has said in the past, the affordable energy capital of the world. We want to ensure that the renewable energy target effectively goes back to a real 20 per cent target. We do want to quarantine the small-scale renewable energy target. We want to ensure that we provide an exemption from the renewable energy target for emissions-intensive trade-exposed businesses and by doing so get ourselves back into a position where we are pursuing a real 20 per cent renewable energy target. That will help bring down the cost of electricity. That will help bring down the cost of doing business in Australia. That will help make us more competitive internationally. That will help us strengthen the economy. It will help create jobs. Of course, that is what we are all about. We are about reform that will help us build a stronger and more prosperous economy and create jobs where everyone has the opportunity to get ahead. I say to Senator Lazarus that it is a matter of getting the balance right: it is about providing support for the renewable energy target but in a way that is actually sustainable and responsible. (Time expired)

Glenn Lazarus (Queensland, Palmer United Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Small businesses can use this scheme to reduce one of their largest costs—their electricity. We know large electricity companies want to reduce the renewable energy target at the cost of the small business community. PUP will not allow the SRES to be shrunk from where it is now. Small businesses need the right to access the scheme. Why won't the government join PUP and other crossbenchers to give the small business sector the certainty it needs?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We want the small business sector to have certainty, we want larger businesses to have certainty, we want the economy as a whole to have certainty, and we want families to have certainty around how the renewable energy target will operate. It is very important that as we reform the policy settings for the renewable energy target that we provide certainty to the market—of course. But we need to do it in a way that actually does not expose the Australian economy to a disadvantage when we are competing for business in the world. Right now cost pressures that are faced by Australian businesses as a result of the way the renewable energy target is currently operating makes Australian businesses that are competing in a global environment less competitive than those businesses that we are competing with overseas. We want Australian businesses to be more competitive, in particular, because we are actually overwhelmingly environmentally more efficient. Our aluminium sector here in Australia is environmentally more efficient— (Time expired)

Glenn Lazarus (Queensland, Palmer United Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. The scheme is already being phased out over 15 years, which is why it is so imperative that the existing scheme must be retained. Will the minister clearly commit to retaining this important small business scheme and to pledge to do so in the parliament this week so small business can have a restful and certain Christmas?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition clearly supports renewable energy and we clearly support the renewable energy target, but we believe that the renewable energy target needs to be reformed in order to not push up the cost of electricity by more than what is appropriate, not to push up the cost of electricity in a way that makes us less competitive internationally, that will cost jobs. So what I would say to Senator Lazarus and to any senator in this chamber is that our door is open. We are committed to keep talking to the Labor Party, to the Palmer United Party, to the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, to Senator Lambie, to the Family First Party, to the Liberal Democrats—we are even prepared to talk with the Greens, even though the Greens are not a very environmentally focused party these days. We are prepared to talk to anyone who is actually prepared to work with this on finding common ground. But the guiding principle has to be: to achieve an environmentally beneficial outcome in a way that is economically responsible. (Time expired)