Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I think, with respect, Senator Boswell, that the short answer to that is: no, that is not the government’s advice. We have made clear that we are altering the design of the renewable energy target to deal with the perception that small-scale renewable energy was taking up too much of the target. That is why we have split the renewable energy target into two parts: the larger renewable energy target, which gives a fixed, clear amount of the gigawatt hours that will be met through large-scale projects and then a separate scheme for smaller scale products, such as solar panels—which I think that you referenced—where support will be provided at a fixed price but will be unlimited. That is to give sufficient certainty for large-scale projects at the same time as continuing to give Australian households support for small scale renewables such as solar.