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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 9 Hansard (4 September) . . Page.. 2944 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

That is why the ACT Government is in the process of developing and awaiting the outcomes of three quite important pieces of information. The first is the final draft of a national greenhouse strategy, which will confirm the viable measures which the ACT can take part in. The second and perhaps most important of all is the release of the national greenhouse gas inventory of 1995. Why is that important? It will give us up-to-date figures on what exactly our contribution to the greenhouse effect is. Are we up from 0.29 per cent, down, at the same level, or what? The third thing we need to take account of is amendments to the ACT greenhouse gas inventory, which in turn is derived from the national inventory and estimated from data to reflect the Assembly's requirements for non-ACT emissions.

It seems to me that Ms Tucker would prefer that the Government pluck a figure out of the blue and say, "Yes, that is our target. We will make that our target". Obviously, that is not a sensible approach to take. We need to have that information. I have referred to that information. Ms Tucker shakes her head. It cannot be what she means. Surely we need that, Ms Tucker. She sits there mute, unable to contribute. What can she say? She can say very little.

Ms McRae: She can say nothing. She will be thrown out.

MR HUMPHRIES: She can say very little without being thrown out; that is true. I would submit that we have heard a lot of nonsense in this place about the information that is required and about the extent to which we are already taking steps to produce reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. I come back to the point. This is a matter of public importance about the ACT Government's action to reduce the ACT's greenhouse gas emissions. Those things are matters which are well in hand with a number of measures taken in the last few years which I think we can all be justifiably proud about and which in all cases put the ACT ahead of the pack on a national basis.

I refer to only a couple of those things. There is a very important project going on at the moment to provide for the generation of electricity from methane extracted from ACT landfill sites - not a feature of most other jurisdictions, but one that we are developing, I think, at an appropriate pace. The contract has been finalised between ACTEW and EDL for the generation of that electricity. The Mugga Lane site is nearing planning approval stage, and public comment closed just last week. That project will produce approximately two megawatts of electricity per annum once it is up and running. Of course, Belconnen will also be in that boat after a period of time.

The other important step that we have taken - when I say "we" I mean the ACT - is the energy rating scheme which Mr Wood introduced as Minister for the Environment a few years ago, now requiring every home in the ACT constructed after this point to meet rigorous standards about energy conservation and solar design. Those sorts of things are producing, I think, quite significant inroads into the problems of greenhouse gas emissions in our community. To say that the Government or governments are not concerned about these things, are not progressing these things, are not pushing these things forward, after I have listed all those things, is just nonsense. I think by her silence Ms Tucker confirms what we know - that the - - -

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