Page 818 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 2 May 2007

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and global problem. The ACT government has implemented, and will continue to implement, policies to ensure that we do our bit to tackle global warming and that we do what needs to be done to secure the future of Canberra, this region and Australia.

One of the most effective actions that we have taken to date as a community has been through the introduction and implementation of the greenhouse gas abatement scheme that, in its first year of operation in 2005, reduced greenhouse emissions by 316,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. That 316,000 tonnes reduction in carbon dioxide is equivalent to the removal of 73,000 vehicles from ACT roads for a single year. Currently we also run two highly effective programs to reduce our greenhouse footprint: the Home Energy Advice Service and the ACT energy wise program. The advice service provides advice on energy efficiency over the phone and answers email inquiries. Appointments can also be made to discuss more complex issues with energy efficiency specialists.

Between November 2004 and March 2007, 1,242 Canberra households completed ACT energy wise audits. Under the ACT energy wise program, for just $30 a professional energy auditor from the home energy advice team will visit the home, check the features of the house that affect energy use and identify where savings can be made. Participants receive a written report that sets out a plan to capture the energy savings identified. Home owners who spend at least $2,000 on energy efficiency improvements identified during the audit are eligible for a $500 rebate.

Those are just a couple of the examples that I have time to mention in this limited period. There are a range of others, and I certainly look forward in the next month or thereabouts to releasing a climate change strategy that will actually take this community through the next decades in relation to addressing this major issue for the nation.

Question put:

That Mr Mulcahy’s amendment be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Ayes 6

Noes 9

Mrs Dunne

Mr Stefaniak

Mr Barr

Mr Gentleman

Mr Mulcahy

Mr Berry

Ms MacDonald

Mr Pratt

Mr Corbell

Ms Porter

Mr Seselja

Dr Foskey

Mr Stanhope

Mr Smyth

Ms Gallagher

Question so resolved in the negative.

MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (12.00): In closing the debate, I remind members, as the Chief Minister has just done, that the ACT government has a number of practices already in place. The Chief Minister did not have time to list all of them, but I will list a few more for the enlightenment of those opposite.

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