Page 3505 - Week 08 - Thursday, 23 August 2012
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Responding to some of the issues raised by Mr Rattenbury, he is critical of the government’s so-called failure to support rooftop PV. Of course, rooftop PV continues to be installed in the ACT, even after the full subscription of the medium and micro feed-in tariff schemes. Mr Rattenbury should know that, in the last 12 months, an additional two megawatts of rooftop solar has been installed. Those two megawatts are not installations that are supported by a feed-in tariff. We see continuing investment in rooftop solar here in the ACT. That is a very, very pleasing development. Of course, it highlights the increasing cost competitiveness of rooftop PV, the dramatic reduction in prices driven by the upscaling of the manufacturing of PV in countries such as China and their increasing domination of the PV market. We see very important uptakes of renewable energy here in the city. Of course, the government is finalising right now the results of our first auction for large-scale solar, and I expect to make announcements on that matter in the coming weeks.
Turning to some other elements of the budget, it is focused on continuing to improve the government’s own emissions profile. Achieving carbon neutral operations for the ACT government is a very important commitment. There is $5 million for the carbon neutral government fund, allowing government agencies to invest in a range of measures around energy efficiency and so on that will allow government agencies to reduce or moderate their electricity bills and at the same time reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The use of the revolving loan facility is a very effective mechanism at facilitating capital upgrades in energy efficiency and similar measures by allowing the dividend to be paid to the agency implementing the measures and then the principal repaid to government agencies. The government is continuing to invest in an important range of measures around energy efficiency, as I have already mentioned.
There are important grants for the Heart Foundation—$485,000 to support the healthy active living principles across the ACT. That is a great initiative on the part of the Heart Foundation and one the government is very pleased to be supporting. But we are supporting a range of practical environmental measures in addition to the one I have just mentioned. There is $101,000 for the northern corroboree frog captive breeding program, maintaining a very important captive breeding program for the endangered northern corroboree frog. The government is building on ecological research into kangaroo management in the ACT, providing close to $250,000 for that important investment. And as we approach our centenary and recognise that Canberra has a unique legacy as one of the few truly planned cities of the 20th century, there is funding to the Planning Institute of Australia to hold its annual national congress here in the planned national capital of Australia in its centenary year.
I note Mr Rattenbury’s critique of the urban wetlands projects and his regret that funding has not continued for more of these projects. I encourage Mr Rattenbury and his colleagues to read carefully the ICRC report into the use of non-potable water sources and the cost effectiveness of those measures. There is no doubt that urban wetlands provide a range of benefits, including environmental benefits and water quality control benefits, and the government will continue to consider urban wetlands in that context. But we are also conscious of the fact that, when it comes to their use for the recycling of non-potable water for irrigation purposes, the ICRC has recommended very clearly that the inner north project should be trialled before more
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