Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Resources and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Kennedy for his question but, unfortunately, I am not given the leniency that he is given, in terms of time, to answer that very detailed and lengthy question. Having said that, I say that, like the member for Kennedy, the government is seriously concerned about alternative fuels, and ethanol is one option. But our responsibility is to put in place an alternative fuel strategy that is not only environmentally smart but also economically smart. I say that because we, as a nation, are potentially on the verge of having serious problems in terms of the import of oil and refined products. By way of example, in 2006-07, Australia’s annual oil and refined products net deficit was $4.8 billion. Unfortunately, this deficit is potentially set to grow to $28 billion by 2017.

For that very reason, in addition to ethanol, the government is trying to explore a range of alternative fuels in association with also giving proper consideration to vehicle technologies as the potential means of reducing Australia’s oil reliance and, in doing so, also paying proper attention to the issue of reducing greenhouse emissions in Australia. In that context, I thank the honourable member for the question. We will give serious thought to his ideas, because we always welcome practical ideas from the member for Kennedy.

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