Senate debates

Thursday, 17 July 2014

Bills

Asset Recycling Fund Bill 2014, Asset Recycling Fund (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2014; In Committee

1:52 pm

Photo of Scott LudlamScott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I will provide some comments on behalf of the Australian Greens. We support the Labor amendments that Senator Conroy foreshadowed and Senator Carr has just spoken to. The idea that the Australian government would effectively sneak through the abolition of a $3½ billion education and research fund for university and research infrastructure projects beggars belief. To bring it forward under the rubric of 'privatise everything' and at the stroke of the pen knock over $3½ billion worth of university and research infrastructure work is extraordinary.

The EIF is one of three nation-building funds, along with the Building Australia Fund and the Health and Hospitals Fund. It was established to build a modern, productive and internationally competitive Australian economy by supporting world-leading, strategically focused, infrastructure investments that will transform Australian tertiary education and research. What part of that statement is offensive to the Liberals and the Nationals? How could you conceivably come in here and gut funding for something that had that as its intention? How can you then front press conferences day after day talking about innovation, economic growth and strength and staying at the forefront? What century is it that you are try to keep us in?

As a result of the Commission of Audit on the future use of nation-building funds—and I guess without too much surprise: you commission these reports and they will give you what you expect in large part—the government announced that the EIF would be axed, that no further funding rounds would be held and existing projects would continue to be funded, but basically it turned off the funding tap for such an important fund.

One of the reasons that the Greens are strongly in support of the amendments and strongly defend the EIF is the kinds of projects and work it has been funding. When you look at those you realise exactly why it is that the coalition loathes it so much. The EIF supports clean energy research infrastructure. It provided $4 million to the University of Queensland to build research infrastructure to support the AGL Energy Photovoltaic Solar Flagship. There we go! That starts to give us a bit of an idea of why the coalition might hate it. It has the words 'energy efficiency' in it, it has the word 'solar' in it, therefore wipe it out. The EIF regional priorities round funded 10 projects, including Creative Futures Tasmania and advanced design and engineering training in Victoria. Round 3 included the EIF sustainability around. Oh, another word that the coalition cannot abide! Anything with the word 'sustainability' in it is being abolished as well. Nineteen projects were approved for funding across tertiary education and research sectors, including the advanced manufacturing centre at Swinburne University and the Indian Ocean Marine research Centre at the University of Western Australia. Why would we need people to be researching oceanography? Get rid of that. Central Tech Green Skills Training Centre at Central TAFE in WA? Yes, absolutely—the word 'green' is in that one. The University of Wollongong's Retrofitting for Resilient and Sustainable Buildings? Obviously that is the kind of thing that the Liberal and National parties hate. The Greens strongly support these Labor amendments and commend them to the chamber.

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