Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Minister Carr, the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Wong. Does the minister agree that energy efficiency is one of the cheapest and fastest ways to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Does he further agree that the vast majority of Australia’s 7.4 million homes are energy inefficient and that the poor uptake of cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities is due to barriers such as high up-front costs and the fact that 30 per cent of homes are rented? Hence I ask: does the minister further agree that cash payments or low-interest loans will not remove these barriers and nor will they address the impacts of a carbon price on low-income households?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. What I think needs to be made clear is that the Australian people decided last year that we as a nation needed to take responsibility for climate change. What this government has done in response is give a commitment to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions at the least cost and adapt to the impacts of climate change which cannot be avoided. We see it as our responsibility as the government, on behalf of this nation, to help shape a global solution to this global problem.

The government is committed to a target of reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent of 2000 levels by 2050. What we do say is that climate change is the challenge of this generation. What we say is that there is probably no more significant issue for this society than developing an appropriate response to climate change, whether it be in terms of our houses—

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It may not be the biggest challenge faced by the Liberal Party.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

of the road transport system or of any other measure.

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. I refer to standing order 197 with regard to interjections. I know we have interjections, but Senator Faulkner is actually interjecting into the other senator’s microphone so we have two people answering the question.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, senators on my left! I am trying to give a response to Senator Joyce and I would appreciate order in the chamber. Senator Joyce, interjections are disorderly, as people well know, but it has been the practice of this chamber that interjections are a commonplace part of the debate that takes place here. I would remind Senator Faulkner that it is possible to hear two voices coming over the microphone.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am afraid we have yet another example of the contempt with which this opposition deals with these issues. We have a contemptuous attitude being displayed by this opposition to one of the most fundamental issues this society can face. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that global temperatures will increase within a range of 1.1 to 6.4 per cent of a degree by the end of the century. If that is not a matter of deep concern, I do not know what is. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics—

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, I would remind you that the question was from Senator Milne, not from the opposition.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I am only too well aware of where the question came from. But I think it is important for the opposition to change its attitude on these issues. What is obviously a prerequisite to them changing that attitude is to understand the seriousness of the issue. What we have quite clearly is a situation where it has been indicated that Australia will be one of the most adversely affected regions of the world. Of course it is appropriate in that context that we take all the steps that we can to improve our houses and our road transport system and any other means which will effectively improve our operations in terms of our impacts on the environment.

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank Senator Carr for that answer. He finally got to the point that whatever we could do to upgrade our homes would be a good idea. In that context of energy efficiency I was asking firstly, whether he agreed that cash payments and low-interest loans would not remove the barriers to the uptake of energy efficiency; and, secondly, whether they will address the impacts of the carbon price on low-income households.

Firstly, given that I think there is an acceptance everywhere that they will not, does the minister agree that financing the up-front cost of energy efficiency would be a highly desirable use of funds from the auctioning of permits under an emissions trading scheme? Secondly, will the government now consider implementing the Greens easy policy to retrofit all of Australia’s houses with solar hot water and insulation? That is a cost-neutral policy.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would have to agree.