Page 4802 - Week 15 - Thursday, 8 December 1994
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MRS GRASSBY: I hope that you can hear this, Minister. Can the Minister report on the - - -
Mr Humphries: He has the question in front of him. Of course he can hear it.
Mrs Carnell: Is it pink today?
MRS GRASSBY: Maybe somebody could gag Mrs Carnell. She never knows how to shut up.
Mr De Domenico: We will gag you. You will not be here in March.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order!
MRS GRASSBY: I think they have all been smoking the hemp they want. Can the Minister report on the ACT's past record, and the current initiatives in this area?
MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, I have seen a newspaper report on the Australian Conservation Foundation study. That report indicated a need for greater emphasis on improving end use energy efficiency and reducing land clearing for agricultural purposes, which is less related to the ACT. The ACT Government is responding vigorously to its responsibilities in this area, as all members have acknowledged.
Mr Moore: Just give her one of these.
MR WOOD: I will take that. There is no greater acknowledgment.
Mr Moore: But we have all read it.
MR WOOD: Yes, and what did Mr Moore say about it?
Mr Moore: I was very positive.
MR WOOD: Yes, Mr Moore was very positive. There is no greater indication, Madam Speaker, of the priority we have given to the environment than for us to open ourselves to whatever criticism may flow. There is no greater acknowledgment. This was an acknowledgment of the great work we have been doing, along with suggestions for how we may improve. That is exactly what the Government sought.
Madam Speaker, as a participant in the national greenhouse response strategy, we are committed to an action plan which was intended to meet national targets established in the light of international debate. Whilst land clearing for agriculture is not a significant issue in the ACT, there are still very many important areas where we do take action. The recently released national greenhouse gas inventory revealed that around half of Australia's lead emissions come from the energy sector. We are not a significant energy producer, but we are a significant consumer of energy, and we need to be more efficient.
Mr Lamont: Hear, hear!
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