Page 3454 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 17 September 2019
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MS CHEYNE: My question is to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, can you please outline the key components of the recently released ACT government climate change strategy and how the ACT is leading the nation and the world to reach zero net emissions by 2045?
MR BARR: I thank Ms Cheyne for the question and, indeed, can advise the Assembly of the importance of this strategy and the emissions reduction path that it pursues. At its heart the strategy is around how we can reduce our energy usage and save money, how we can provide more support for consumers and how we can enhance our city’s infrastructure to respond to a change in climate. The strategy outlines what government can do better, how we can be more efficient across aspects of our activity from school heating and cooling to public transport, to public housing, to government offices.
The strategy outlines action in close cooperation with the community. Many people in the community are already taking personal action. Others will do so at their own pace. The time frame here is over more than 2½ decades. We take this action in close cooperation with the community. It is a strategy that brings every Canberran along and leaves no-one shouldering the burden without benefits from a clean energy future. Many of the actions in the strategy deliver other improvements, importantly day-to-day cost savings for households, more comfortable homes to live in and a more liveable city for Canberrans, as well as an economic boost by attracting research, investment and job opportunities.
In a fortnight’s time our final contracted wind farm will switch on, the last step to achieve our 100 per cent renewable electricity target for the ACT by 2020. This is an important achievement for our city and one that is worth recognising. (Time expired.)
MS CHEYNE: Chief Minister, why is a just and supported transition for workers such an important part of the strategy?
MR BARR: This is an essential component of the government’s strategy. We recognise that achieving the emissions reduction task over the coming 2½ decades is only possible with widespread community support. That also means working closely with workers as we manage the transition to a clean energy economy. We will as a government work actively to retrain our own workforce. A very practical example of this will be that as we transition our public transport fleet to electric-powered or hydrogen-powered vehicles we will work with our mechanics to ensure that they are properly trained to work on the new fleet. We will also work with the private sector to identify opportunities for workforce retraining to keep jobs in Canberra and, importantly, to train people for new industries.
Low income households will be disproportionately affected by climate change. We need to help them. That is why we are taking practical steps to improve household comfort and city-wide amenity, from incentives to switch to lower cost heating and cooling to more trees in our public spaces.
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