Page 3322 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 21 August 2018
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on Facebook. This person suggested that the bus debate was superfluous because under the Chief Minister’s vision the entire city will eventually all be living in the one big thousand-storey apartment building and the debate will just become about the size of the elevators.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (3.53): I would like to talk about a number of areas, first of course—what would you expect me to start with?—climate. We have talked a little about climate today, particularly the ESA announcement of starting the bushfire season early. I think this is a reminder for all of us that climate change is real. It is happening here. As Minister Gentleman usefully said, we need to do something about it.
Doing something about it requires action from a large range of portfolios. In transport, for example, we have to transition to a sustainable zero emissions transport sector. In building and planning, we have to build zero emissions buildings. We need to plan for a city that is more compact to facilitate more sustainable lifestyles.
For the entire time that Greens members have been members of the Assembly, we have been strong advocates for the environment and strong advocates in respect of climate change. We started off well in the Assembly when Brendan Smyth was minister for the environment. He had an excellent climate change policy. That unfortunately fell by the wayside.
But then the Seventh Assembly passed legislation committing the ACT government to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are on track for a 40 per cent reduction on 1990 levels by 2020. As we all acknowledge, I think this is a considerable achievement but I suspect it would not have happened without the Greens being here. We are going to do this by reaching 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2020. We are showing Australia and the world that it is possible to make emissions reductions and to lead with renewable energy.
We started this in the 2008 parliamentary agreement with Labor a decade ago and this policy has continued in the ACT. It has brought new investment to the ACT. It has brought new renewable energy companies to set up here. It has brought benefits for ACT energy consumers. It has brought benefits for the world as a whole by showing that a different energy future, a zero emissions energy future, is possible.
We now have a world-leading target of zero net emissions by 2045. In coming years ACT budgets will have to invest in initiatives to achieve this target although, positively, some of the modelling recently done suggests that the investment, at least in the short run, will not need to be very high because the improvements, as with renewable energy, are moving into the electric transport sector.
The cost of transition will be comparatively minor but we do need continued investment in active transport and public transport. We need to shift away from always planning for the private motor vehicle, even when that private motor vehicle does become electrically powered.
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