Page 2451 - Week 07 - Thursday, 4 August 2022
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At that time, our Labor and Liberal colleagues did not support that policy. One of them, who I will not name, as they are still in the Assembly, said the idea was ridiculous. Then, prior to the 2020 election, the ACT Greens again put forward our policy to begin the phase-out of fossil fuel gas. We said, “It is a bold but necessary policy, and we need to go through this journey with the community.” Our Labor and Liberal colleagues did not support that policy. A different colleague, who again I will not name, as they are also in the Assembly, dismissed the policy as crazy.
The most recent chapter in this dramatic tale is set right here in the Assembly today. In a jaw-dropping twist, this 2022-23 budget contains significant funding to support the ACT’s phase-out of fossil fuel gas, as we commit to replacing this expensive and polluting fuel with clean, renewable electricity. Members will have seen today’s announcement about the electrification pathway the ACT government is pursuing. It is a policy to which this government, made up of both Greens and Labor members, is now committed. Our government partners have joined the project and we are implementing this electrification pathway together.
I mention this story because, in many ways, it is the quintessential story of the Greens and our efforts in the ACT Assembly. We are not afraid to campaign for these progressive, evidence-based, long-term, necessary policies, with courage and with conviction and persistence. Others will sometimes ignore, ridicule or attempt to stymie these efforts. But then, even if it is years later, we see that these policies are adopted. Sometimes they are adopted; sometimes they are co-opted.
More often now we achieve them through hard work, as part of government. But the important thing is that the policies are increasingly implemented. The gas transition is one of several significant environmental and social policies that have, over the years, been ignored or scorned by various politicians, by vested interests, and, yes, even sometimes by our colleagues here in the Assembly. But we continue to see them realised in government policy, and in government budgets, just like in this year’s budget.
That is because the Greens are working hard, both as part of government and as an engaged crossbench, to see these policies realised. And it is because the policies are not ridiculous or crazy at all. They are progressive, nation-leading policies that advance social justice and respond to climate change. When we implement them in a thoughtful, evidence based and compassionate way, they are widely beneficial.
I say they are progressive and nation-leading, but I should not have to label them as such, because this is the work that governments should be prioritising all around the nation. It is noticeable that the place where we see this leadership is here in the ACT. And it has been this way for over a decade. Look at the long list of issues on which we are breaking new ground: from 100 per cent renewable electricity to leading harm minimisation drug policies like pill testing. The ACT is leading the way on these issues because of the key fact that in the ACT we have Greens in government and Greens in the balance of power.
Let me return again to the gas transition, because it is a central part of this budget’s response to climate change. As the Greens have said in the past, climate change cannot just be a token part of ACT budgets. Every ACT budget must be a climate
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