Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I'm hearing from George again. It's hard to hear him, though, through the mask, so I'll do my best to push on. Australia's emissions are now lower than in any year under the previous Labor government. They are at the lowest level since 1990. We've reduced emissions by 20 per cent on 2005 levels, and we're on track to meet and beat our 2030 commitments. Emissions in the NEM have fallen to their lowest level since records began, and our 'technology not taxes' approach saw a record seven gigs of new renewable capacity installed last year alone. Australia now has the highest total amount of solar PV capacity per person in the world. Of course, we still have no idea what Labor's 2030 emissions target is; we just know that, whatever the problem, taxes are always Labor's solution. It is in their DNA.

On this side, we understand that, to continue to drive down emissions while securing our economy from the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to tap into the expertise of agencies that we already have, such as ARENA, to support Australian innovation. That's why we introduced updated ARENA regulations after the Labor-Greens coalition voted against investment in clean and low-emissions technology. We will enable ARENA to invest in the five priority low-emissions technologies identified in the Technology investment roadmap: clean hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, long-duration storage, green steel and aluminium, and healthy soils. These, and the 1,400 jobs that would come with them, are all things, it seems, that the Labor Party and the Greens are against. We have a very different approach, and it is in stark display— (Time expired)