Page 1928 - Week 05 - Thursday, 5 May 2011
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they can use to deliver services and infrastructure that will provide a long-term benefit to the community.
We cannot wait to see what everyone else is doing or hedge our bets on the initiative of other jurisdictions. Rather we have to be prepared to listen to the evidence and respond accordingly, even if there is no-one to follow. Of course the evidence is now so compelling and so many other countries and jurisdictions have taken actions and adopted initiatives that there is always someone else to copy; we just have to look.
The chief economist of the International Energy Agency said last week that world oil supply peaked in 2006. I do hope the Canberra Liberals are suitably embarrassed at their ignorance on this issue. The demand for oil is continuing to grow and supply is falling. What is euphemistically referred to as oil crunch, the time when demand actually exceeds supply, is predicted to hit between 2012 and 2013. And that of course can mean only one thing. The IEA predict that the price of oil will rise 20 to 30 per cent in the next few years. Clearly, the faster we can reduce our reliance on oil the better off we will be.
Not only does renewable energy technology offer enormous benefits for our domestic use; the export market for these technologies is enormous. China, for example, will spend around $350 billion to meet its renewable energy target for 2020 and already Australian companies are starting to take advantage of this. There is no reason why others within the ACT could not do the same, especially given our world-class education institutions. Why couldn’t we be renowned as a world leader not only in research and development but also in the trade skills necessary to build and run the new technology? This will obviously involve an enormous amount of private participation and we should be mindful of the need for and potential of private sector involvement. The government should be encouraging and facilitating both private and institutional investors, including our own superannuation provision account, to assist in funding the transition.
One example of something the government could do is to issue energy efficiency bonds that could be repaid through the savings generated by making government properties more energy efficient. Additionally, funds raised could be used for other renewable energy initiatives and increased public transportation initiatives. National income is growing strongly and in the household sector there continues to be caution in spending and borrowing and a higher rate of saving out of current income. An investment fund that offers competitive very low risk returns I am sure would be an attractive and ethical investment option that capitalises on and encourages this trend. It would not cost the government anything and there is no doubt that it would be a very effective means of raising the necessary capital to fund these types of very necessary initiatives.
The community of course will be pleased that in this budget there are no new taxes or charges and that the only proposed increases are the standard indexed charges.
We need a tax system that is progressive, fair and stable. We should not be creating barriers to the efficient use of resources and we should be encouraging economic activity in ecologically sustainable initiatives. Government charges can also be an
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