Page 2582 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 14 October 1992
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The size of the bins - 120 litres - will also encourage the extensive recycling facilities at Canberra's tips and recycling centres. Madam Speaker, one of the major recent developments of ACT Electricity and Water has been the sponsoring of an energy efficient house in Tuggeranong. This house is currently under construction and will be used as a model and educational classroom for primary school projects. As well as this, ACTEW, in conjunction with the Department of Education, has developed a schools kit called "Act Now". ACTEW also produces for public consumption information brochures on the wise and efficient use of electricity and water.
As the only public transport system in the ACT, ACTION has a major responsibility to the commuters of Canberra and to the encouragement of the efficient use of fuel. As we all know, using ACTION is far more fuel efficient than using private cars. Forty people on a bus use far less energy and fuel than 40 cars with no passengers. To this end, ACTION has undertaken several steps to encourage use of ACTION buses and has undertaken trials of alternative fuel-efficient buses. ACTION's park and ride program encourages commuters to leave their cars out of the city and conserve energy by taking ACTION to work. The considerable incentives to commuters to use park and ride include saving petrol, saving on parking costs, and fast and convenient travel to and from work.
ACTION has undertaken two trials using the newest forms of efficient and clean fuel. The compressed natural gas trial commenced in February this year, and negotiations are currently under way to produce two natural gas vehicles for permanent use by ACTION. By early December this year the diesohol trial will be under way. A bus will be run on a combination of diesel fuel and ethanol, which is an organic fuel source. ACTION is currently negotiating an order of buses which will meet the European Community requirements for standard diesel engines, which are ahead of any other requirements in Australia. These buses will also have noise emission levels below existing national limits.
The ACT Housing Trust is a leader in environmental design of dwellings in the ACT. In fact, the Housing Trust's design standards specify a number of energy efficiency requirements, including dwelling siting and orientation, insulation, window location and type of heating. Housing Trust dwellings are constructed or purchased to meet these standards. The Housing Trust continues to upgrade its existing buildings. This practice is obviously energy efficient but is also cost efficient and assists Housing Trust tenants in conserving energy themselves. As well as this, the Housing Trust, in conjunction with a firm of architects, has developed new fuel efficient dwellings in the new Gungahlin suburb of Palmerston. New Housing Trust houses will be monitored, at no cost to the Housing Trust, by a consultancy group which will measure temperature change over time as compared to energy use.
These Housing Trust developments will ensure that public housing in the ACT is among the most energy efficient in the country. The progressive measures put into place by the ACT Government since self-government in the area of fuel and energy efficiency have ensured that the ACT has developed an environmental policy comparable with the best in the country. Whilst we can and should congratulate both the Government on its initiatives in the area of fuel and energy efficiency and Lake Tuggeranong College on its wonderful success at Amaroo Park recently, we should use the success of that college to give us as law-makers and policy-makers the impetus to continue our efforts and support our community's initiatives.
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