Page 959 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 29 March 2011

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As my last point, due to lack of time, I want to talk about food production, especially local food production. Local food production and local delivery will help keep prices down and contribute to food security for the region. Decentralised distribution will lessen the distance our food has to travel. Providing the right business conditions will make it easier to farm in the Canberra region and that will pay off for Canberra consumers.

As the Greens have pointed out before, there is no official system for allocating land for food production in the ACT. We need to identify areas of food production that are close to urban areas. The Majura Valley and the areas surrounding the Molonglo River could well be very appropriate for this and this should be canvassed through the eastern broadacre study.

Members will also know that I have been working to get better support for local food production and gardening in Canberra and, in particular, community gardens, but more broadly all local backyard gardens and other place gardens. I have been arguing also for the collection and composting of our organic waste for use in local food growing. This will avoid the use of oil-based pesticides, fertilisers and herbicides. This is critical, as the oil-based energy used in the production of food can be even more than the energy used in the transportation of food. These are important aspects of planning for a future where we are more self-sustaining and reliant on local production.

In conclusion, I want to emphasise again to the Assembly that peak oil is a serious threat to the ACT and our way of life as well as a serious threat to people throughout the globe. The government must prepare. The government and the people of the ACT need a strategy. We need coordinated action across agencies. Peak oil also represents an excellent opportunity to remodel the way our city operates, particularly around issues such as planning, transport and food production. These changes do not just make us resilient to peak oil; they will also have long-range and far-reaching benefits for the city. The ACT Greens and Greens around the country will continue to raise this issue until we see real action and an adequate response from the government on this important issue.

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (3.16): I am pleased to contribute today to this discussion on a matter of public importance in relation to preparing the ACT for peak oil. Fossil fuels underpin almost all aspects of economic prosperity and welfare in the territory. Electricity and natural gas heat our homes in winter; oil powers the ships, trucks and planes that bring goods and people to our city. We know that oil exists in the earth in considerable abundance. However, it is not unlimited. It is precious and its stocks are declining rapidly.

As a community, we need to understand the need to transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources and how this will occur. This transition needs to be managed at all levels of government. As oil is ubiquitous, the implications of transitioning from oil are vast. It is a matter for all governments, all businesses and


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