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

I thank Senator Polley for the question and for her interest in the new clean energy of the future and the very substantial announcement in the budget last night of an investment of $3.5 billion into Australia’s Clean Energy Initiative to support the growth of clean energy generation in this country—part of the Rudd government’s comprehensive approach to the challenge of climate change.

The Clean Energy Initiative is about reducing our carbon pollution and stimulating the economic activity to support thousands of new pollution jobs. It will strengthen Australia’s domestic and international climate change response, underpinned by the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. Under the initiative, the Rudd government will invest $1.6 billion in solar technologies, including just over $1.3 billion for the Solar Flagships program. This is about positioning Australia as a global leader, a world leader, in solar energy technology for the future.

Those who were in the chamber yesterday might recall Senator Cormann advocating for nuclear power. While you are for nuclear power, Senator Cormann, we on this side want to be the world leaders in solar energy—solar energy on this side versus nuclear power on that side. We want to create the clean energy jobs, the low-pollution jobs, of the future.