Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Hansard source

The grant of course has been publicly announced—quite some time ago, in fact. The shadow minister has really achieved something. He has found a press release which announces it. So I am not quite sure why he is asking.

We have worked with that industry and, by capturing their methane emissions and installing remote-site electricity generation capacity, they can reduce their emissions significantly. Some of the facilities eliminate their carbon price liability altogether, while others significantly reduce their carbon price liability. They can generate electricity, which they can then supply to their own facility. Some meat processing facilities not only supply all their own energy but sell some into the electricity grid and gain another source of revenue. Others are investing in different technologies and are finding, as the manager of the AJ Bush & Sons facility at Bromelton has found, that the carbon price is an important incentive which has a positive environmental outcome, a positive commercial outcome and makes them more competitive. Businesses, with the assistance of government working with them through the Clean Technology Investment program, are achieving those important outcomes. Why on earth would you oppose that?

We have introduced a reform which is demonstrably economically responsible, environmentally effective and socially fair, yet all the other side of politics can do is deceive, misrepresent and run the most mendacious campaign we have ever seen. They are creating uncertainty for the business sector and uncertainty for investors in renewable energy. They are a complete farce on this issue.

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