Page 5991 - Week 14 - Thursday, 8 December 2011
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Let us look at amendment No 8. Amendment No 8 tells us where we are going to get this generation. It could be a number of places. It could be here in the ACT. It could be in the Bega Valley, Bombala, Boorowa, Cooma-Monaro, Cootamundra, Eurobodalla, Goulburn Mulwaree, Gundagai or Harden shires; Queanbeyan City Council; or the Palerang, Snowy River, Tumbarumba, Tumut, Upper Lachlan, Yass Valley or Young shires—or, if a regulation prescribes areas that make up the region, the prescribed areas.
Mr Doszpot: Is Tasmania on it?
MR SESELJA: Tasmania could be on there down the track; we do not know. We do not know what might come in the regulations, Mr Doszpot. It does highlight some of the absurdity of this legislation that we could have, for instance, generation of renewable electricity in the Bega Valley. Bega is about 227 kilometres from Canberra by road, two hours and 53 minutes; it is not seen as a particularly close part of our region. Eden would fall within this—264 kilometres or three hours and 29 minutes by road. We could head out to Tumbarumba, which is 265 kilometres by road, three hours and 10 minutes.
Let me take the example of Eden. We have got a situation here where we could have renewable electricity generated in Eden, but paid for by the people of the ACT and subsidised by the people of the ACT under this scheme, contributing to the local economy there in Eden—presumably generating economic activity for the people of Eden but funded by the people of the ACT through their electricity bills so that New South Wales can actually emit more. They get the benefit to their local economy from our subsidy under our scheme.
The way that the ETS will be structured, with the ACT needing this to get to its 40 per cent target, will not just allow New South Wales to get an economic benefit that is funded by the people of the ACT but also allow them to emit more under the ETS. That seems to be a point that Mr Rattenbury did not understand in his response that, oh well, it is not based on anything. Well, here it is. We know that is how the 40 per cent works. We know that is how the ETS works. We only have to hear from Richard Denniss as to how that works—that well-known climate sceptic and right-winger Richard Denniss, who says that under this scheme, under the scheme put in nationally, when the ACT goes hurtling towards a 40 per cent target, we will allow other parts of Australia to do less than the national average. That is how it will work.
Mr Doszpot: So nil effect.
MR SESELJA: Indeed: nil environmental impact. But the economic impact may be felt in Bombala, Eden, Boorowa, Young, Cootamundra, Tumut, Gundagai or Tumbarumba. Parts of the New South Wales economy could get a bit of a boost as a result of our subsidy.
This highlights some of the absurdity of this legislation and the way it has been framed. We have a 40 per cent target where Canberrans are going to be asked to do far more than the national target. We are going to be asked to do eight times the
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