Page 1402 - Week 04 - Thursday, 26 March 2009
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A recent report from the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australian Conservation Foundation Green gold rush identified six key green industries—renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable water industries, biomaterials, green buildings and waste recycling—that could grow an additional 500,000 green jobs by 2030 and take on a significant proportion of global market share. Sharan Burrow, President of the ACTU, explained that by establishing a strong domestic market in these sectors, Australia will also develop the skills and expertise necessary to compete in the international green energy market, which is currently worth $1.4 trillion. We cannot afford to miss the boat.
The call for decisive action is also supported by a recent CSIRO report, Growing the green collar economy: skills and labour challenges in reducing our greenhouse emissions and national environmental footprint. This report found that well-designed policies can substantially decouple economic growth from environmental pressure so that living standards continue to increase at current rates, avoiding blockages that might otherwise occur while our national environmental footprint reduces over time.
Achieving a rapid transition to sustainability would have little or no impact on national employment, with projected increases in employment of 2.5 million to 3.3 million jobs over the next two decades. Employment in sectors with high potential environmental impacts will also grow strongly, with projected increases of more than 10 per cent over 10 years. This will add 230,000 to 340,000 new jobs, in addition to normal employment turnover in transport, construction, agriculture, manufacturing and mining sectors.
The report calls for concerted action by government, business and educational institutions to develop and implement new approaches to green education, training and jobs. This will produce a triple dividend of greater wellbeing, cost saving and greater competitiveness, and reduced environmental impact, which can be earned if measures would be taken to report the skill revolution required for a low carbon, environmentally sound society.
The report by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts for this Appropriation Bill (No 3) 2008-09 has called for measures similar to the examples I have been speaking of, firstly, by recommending that the ACT government explore the feasibility of providing tax incentives or other forms of incentives in relation to education programs to encourage private landlords to make energy efficient modifications to their rental properties; and, secondly, by recommending that the Department of Treasury, as part of the asset management plan refresh, ensure that ecological sustainable development is aligned with standardised agency asset management plans.
The Greens note that the committee was concerned about the level of research that underpinned this appropriation bill and welcome the recommendations which advised that governments should consider detailed statistics, such as unemployment by industry sector, before framing further stimulus packages and that future spending plans have a clear basis on how spending proposals may be evaluated.
The opposition have called for the diversification of the economy, and the Greens would agree that expansionary fiscal measures should be diversified to develop a
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