Page 486 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 March 2014
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through ensuring that health services are out in the community and widely accessible to those most in need.
We have also seen the funding and the opening of a great community health cooperative in Chisholm, based on a model from the west Belconnen health cooperative. Having recently opened, the health cooperative will see the membership-based bulk-billing model that has been so popular in west Belconnen. I understand that Minister Burch is one of their very first members. With access to the bulk-billing services always in demand, and with the ACT investing $200,000 in infrastructure funding, the south Tuggeranong community now have a new clinic to provide this.
Along with supporting the investment that the government is making in the future of health care in the ACT, this motion supports the investment that the government is making in renewable energy. The motion’s focus on investment in renewable energy is very important for the ACT, and indeed Australia. Investment in renewable energy is a vital factor for reaching the ACT’s renewable energy target to be powered by 90 per cent renewable energy by 2020.
It is important for the future stability of our national economy and local economy, not to mention our way of life, that we reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced. The best way to do this is evidently through renewable energy and the renewable energy target of 90 per cent electricity production by 2020.
Members may be interested to know that 66 countries across the world have introduced a renewable energy target. Some 47 countries also have feed-in tariffs to provide incentives for generators to move to renewable energy. Germany has been deemed to be the most successful, with a move to 123.5 terawatt hours of renewable energy, investing some €26 billion just in 2010. That goes to show how large an effect this investment can have on a nation’s economy.
The announcement of further investment in wind farms by the ACT government shows that a jurisdiction such as the ACT is doing its best to avoid the inevitable problems caused by human induced climate change and achieve the required targets.
The amendments to the Electricity Feed-in (Large-scale Renewable Energy Generation) Act 2011, which allowed for 200 megawatts of generation potential to be awarded by reverse auction to various tenders, provides an opportunity for job creation, economic stimulus and a reduction of our greenhouse emissions.
The job creation potential for these projects is already large, and it is increased yet again by the ACT renewable energy local investment framework. This framework will include regional contractors and the regional labour force in order to benefit local businesses through these wind farm developments. This boosts the local economy to the benefit of all Canberrans.
As part of their contracts, the parties who decide to invest in these projects will be required to show through their planning how these goals will be achieved, thereby guaranteeing benefit to the ACT community. The innovative nature of these programs gives requirement for training and skills acquisition, helping to develop Canberra’s capacity as a tertiary education and trade skills hub.
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