Page 4578 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 19 October 2010
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wrote in saying how nice it was to hear some good news for a change, on the day they heard the minister announce that the government would adopt this target. Against the backdrop of politicians walking away from climate action over the last 12 months, it was indeed refreshing. This was a good announcement; it is a good policy setting; and it has demonstrated real leadership by this government, this parliament and this community.
The community has been represented in this debate by a group called Canberra Loves 40%, and some of their members have joined us in the gallery today. They seemed, in some way, to pop up out of nowhere, but in fact they are a coalition of longstanding local climate change groups that have, through either advocacy or personal action, been passionately working for a safer climate for many years. The speed with which these groups were able to focus on this target for the ACT is testament to their commitment to the issue.
I support the inclusive grassroots campaign that they have run and would encourage them, as a coalition, to stay engaged with the climate and energy debate in the ACT. There is much work to do and many policies yet to come; I think there will be much guidance that they will be able to give us. But if anyone in this place thinks that we are operating in a vacuum and that no-one really cares very much about what is going on in here, Canberra Loves 40% are testament to the fact that that is not true. Our community are very engaged on this issue.
Let me turn to the bill itself. At the heart of this bill is an effort to put climate change policies at the centre of government thinking in all policy areas, all programs. The bill itself does not deliver a mechanism to achieve a 40 per cent reduction on 1990 levels by 2020—as would, for example, an emissions trading scheme. But it legislates for the obligation for government to aim for that target and to implement programs and mechanisms to achieve that target right across all sectors.
It also establishes reporting mechanisms—one that will measure how we are tracking towards that target and another that reports on the progress being made by government. It establishes mechanisms for government to engage in ongoing dialogue with community, businesses and experts about climate change and what actions could and should be taken to meet the target. And finally it provides a mechanism for the government to engage with industry and the community to set voluntary agreements to reduce emissions. The Greens will be tabling amendments that we think will strengthen all four aspects of this bill.
At this point, I would like to make a few observations on the bill put forward by Mr Seselja, which has been on the notice paper since December 2008. I must say that I was a little surprised late yesterday to get notice that he was bringing it on this morning with no prior indication. The Greens will not be supporting Mr Seselja’s bill. We support a higher target than the 30 per cent he is proposing and we believe that the bill has been overtaken by the committee process and the public consultation that have gone on since the commencement of this Assembly and since Mr Seselja tabled his bill.
The government has undertaken further analysis on whether the target of 40 per cent can be met; I think it has shown that it can. Since 2008 we have seen nothing in the
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