Page 3787 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 29 October 2014
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The transport for Canberra policy will be the foundation for transport planning for the next 20 years, prepared in conjunction with the ACT planning strategy, so that important relationships between land use and transport can be used to support a shift to more sustainable transport, including capital metro.
The ACT recognised that the pursuit of its emission reduction targets will not be without a cost, and an analysis of the cost-of-living impacts of action on climate change is released annually and demonstrates that effective action is affordable. This represents an unprecedented level of transparency in providing estimated costs and savings from various energy efficiency works and renewable energy measures, as well as the modelling and key assumptions that are there for all to see.
The ACT government is mindful of the cost to, and needs of, people who are less well off in our community. The ACT human services blueprint, planning strategy and transport for Canberra strategy are integral to the sustainable development of our city as it grows, ages and becomes more urban intense. These strategies seek to ensure that all Canberrans have the capability to fully participate in city life and encourage active travel with the consequence of its health benefits.
The ACT government is acting on the best available scientific advice on the need to reduce its emissions. We are demonstrating that transitioning to a low-carbon economy is feasible and affordable. The ACT is showing leadership on climate change mitigation for the nation, and we are attracting new industry to our region that will help us grow and diversify our economy.
We know the majority of Australians support sensible, long-term and strong action on climate change, which flies in the face of Tony Abbott’s insistence to take Australia backwards. The lack of leadership at the federal level, demonstrated by the Abbott government’s plan to cut the federal renewable energy target, will ruin the renewable energy industry, result in the loss of jobs and see investments move offshore. Australia was leading the world in climate policy, but Tony Abbott’s destruction of federal Labor’s climate change policies is forcing us out of step with the rest of the world and out of tune with the wishes of the Australian people.
Tony Abbott’s action to repeal carbon pricing and replace it with a direct action plan is an international joke. It does nothing to tackle pollution, it is expensive, it is inefficient and it will leave Australia lagging behind in the race to create the jobs of the future. Their decisions are putting us behind where we need to be if we are to create a more sustainable and livable future for Canberra.
In contrast, the ACT government’s actions are attracting the renewable energy sector to the region and fostering investment, innovation and the creation of new types of business operating towards a low-carbon economy. We will continue to move ahead with reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting large-scale renewable energy.
I am astounded by the moral poverty of those who argue that the ACT’s ability to impact global warming is small and that because of our size we should hold off on taking action on climate change. This position denies the fact that global warming is a
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