Page 3811 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 22 November 2006
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some policy grunt to the motion. I commend Mr Gentleman’s motion and I commend Mr Mulcahy’s amendment.
MR SPEAKER: Has the amendment been moved yet?
MR MULCAHY (Molonglo) (5.43): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move the amendment circulated in my name.
Leave granted.
MR MULCAHY: I move:
Add the following paragraph:
“(4) that the most effective policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to embrace a ‘no regrets’ environment policy.”.
I propose to amend the motion by including paragraph (4), which I hope Dr Foskey will now be pleased to embrace because it reflects her new appreciation of the policy I was enunciating on Monday. The most effective policy to reduce greenhouse emissions is to embrace a no-regrets environment policy. We heard on Monday that this approach is 30 years out of date, but further research by the Green movement has shown that, in fact, there are many eminent organisations that are very comfortable with this policy.
Basically, my amendment is a way to further advance the discussion. It gives us the opportunity to develop sensible measures that we can work on—on a bipartisan basis—to improve the environment in which we live. Quite seriously, I believe that the people of Canberra are very well disposed towards improving environmental measures. On the weekend, in an interview with the ABC, I commented that I thought we were a reasonably selfish community. I do not resile from that. I think people here are quite indulgent. We have the most and the best of just about everything. As I said in the media, we have the highest level of incomes and the highest level of education. I have lived in other parts of Australia and the world and in terms of urban facilities, we are extraordinarily well catered for relative to other communities and we have an expectation in our community that those standards will be maintained.
Because we have a highly educated and affluent community, people are not averse to recognising that they have a role to play in protecting the environment in which they live and the environment that future generations hope to enjoy in the same style. I think it is important that we do engage more seriously in policy. We cannot just rely on global targets and meetings in Nairobi and Kyoto and everywhere else to make improvements in our hometown.
I know that the ACT contribution, in the scheme of things, is relatively small, but the fact of the matter is that we can take measurable steps. We pride ourselves here on best practice in a number of fields of activity. As I have said in other arenas, as much as I would hope one day that we could have a parliament that reflects world best practice in terms of technology, it would be great if this was in fact a showplace for how to conduct a model legislature. That would call for a lot of lateral thinking. I also
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