Page 5683 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 6 December 2011
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We have suggested to the government that the Australian capital region may be an appropriate definition so that we actually still keep it in our region where I think we are increasingly operating on a regional basis. I think the region is an appropriate context to operate in. With the establishment of a wind farm at Crookwell or Lake George, the benefits still flow to our region and that is an appropriate context. I look forward to seeing the amendments on Thursday and continuing the discussion with the government on that one.
I should briefly comment on Mr Seselja’s entirely ideological speech that I believe demonstrates a complete lack of engagement in this legislation. The fact that the Liberal Party took a briefing on this late yesterday, I think, demonstrates the fact that actually they did not care really what the detail was. I think Mr Seselja’s speech was perhaps largely written before that briefing.
Anyone who does understand the legislation will appreciate, from some of the things he said, the lack of grip of the details was quite clear and frankly almost embarrassing. Some days it must be quite depressing to see the world through Mr Seselja’s eyes. It is a world that is fairly bleak and I think the complete lack of any suggestion of solutions or amendments underlines that lack of commitment to finding a better path forward.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the staff in the department for the detailed discussion we have had since this bill was tabled just a couple of weeks ago. Alan Traves and Jon Sibley have been very helpful in our discussions. The Greens support this bill in principle and I will be making some further remarks during the detail stage on those specific issues that I have flagged that are of interest to us.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (11.59): I thank Mr Rattenbury and the Greens for their support of this legislation.
Today I am proud to bring to the Assembly this landmark legislation that will set the standard for renewable energy generation across Australia and deliver upon ACT Labor’s vision of making Canberra the solar capital of our nation. This legislation presents the Assembly and the community with an opportunity—an opportunity to play our role in contributing to a more sustainable future, powered by renewable energy; an opportunity to reflect and implement the aspirations of our community to lead the nation in addressing the challenges of climate change; and an opportunity to move towards a cleaner energy future.
Electricity generation and its use are at the heart of our climate change challenge. It accounts for 63 per cent of our emissions and currently this electricity is overwhelmingly sourced from generators beyond our borders and is overwhelmingly powered by the burning of non-renewable fossil fuels, often heavily subsidised by governments and of course subsidised by future generations in terms of its environmental impact.
The only way to decouple electricity use from the production of dangerous greenhouse gas emissions is to move to renewable energy sources, and that is the
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