GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

Ms PORTOLESI (Hartley) (14:17): Will the Premier please inform the house what the state government is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the property sector?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:17): Thank you very much. The interesting thing is that I was watching members opposite, because, over many years, I have been a student of their psychology.

Mr WILLIAMS: I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: The member for MacKillop.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacKillop.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: The point of order is one of relevance. The opposition is sitting quietly, listening intently to the answer to the question and, again, we hear a lot of rubbish from the Premier.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I will hear what the Premier has to say. I do not think that anything he has said so far is unparliamentary.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: It is interesting that they did not even want to hear my diagnosis. When the Deputy Premier was reading out his address, the one sentence that caused members opposite to wince—

Ms CHAPMAN: A point of order, Mr Speaker.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —was the fact that there are now 87,000 more jobs than when they were in cabinet.

Ms CHAPMAN: Mr Speaker, the point of order is that, clearly, the Premier has neither responsibility for nor qualifications in psychology, and he should stick to the subject.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I uphold the point of order. The Premier will get to the question.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Thank you, sir. It is true that my doctorate is an honorary one. Today I announced a $2 million building tune-ups project to make commercial buildings in Adelaide's central business district more energy efficient.

I am advised that the property sector accounts for nearly 25 per cent of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. While improved efficiency standards can be set for new commercial properties, the greatest challenge is to make existing buildings more sustainable.

The four-year project will bring the state government together with the Adelaide City Council and major property developers to reduce our CBD's carbon footprint. I am told that it has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 70,000 tonnes a year. This will be achieved by working with building owners to apply sustainable designs that will lift the performance of their buildings by at least one star rating.

The project will underpin the third sector agreement under the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Act 2007 with the Property Council of South Australia. I am told that the agreement and the building tune-up program will place the Adelaide commercial building sector at the forefront of energy efficiency innovation in Australia. I understand the Property Council wishes to replicate this agreement in other states and territories in Australia, and once again this is about taking a leadership role and developing partnerships with industry and business to tackle climate change.

As emissions controls and carbon constraints become a reality, all levels of government and industry must start preparing now. That is why the sector agreements are a crucial mechanism through which we can tackle carbon emissions. The agreements are reciprocal and require both parties to take on a leading role in developing and funding activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to formulate and implement greenhouse action plans in support of the target in the legislation, which is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050.

I announced the building tune-ups project this morning at the Local Government Association's Beyond Carbon Climate Change Summit, where I signed another sector agreement with the LGA President, Joy Baluch. For the first time, every level of government will be working together with the unified aim of tackling climate change. Under the new agreement the state government, with the LGA, will work to have 25 councils with climate change adaptation plans completed by the end of next year. A community education program will also be launched to help households reduce their own carbon footprint.

I am advised that a 12-month work plan is being finalised and will include an efficient street lighting program with councils, an improvement in the purchase of green power contracts, access to research undertaken by Professor Barry Brook, Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change at the University of Adelaide, to assist council areas affected by potential sea rises and flooding. These sector agreements provides us with the unique opportunity to work together in a way that is not only good for business, but also good for our local communities, good for our state, and good for our planet.

When we announced that as a state government that we would purchase 20 per cent of our power for schools and hospitals and government buildings, we challenged local government in this state to match us, and I was delighted that a large number of the councils responded positively. Now that we have made the decision to be the first government in Australia, by 2014, to have 50 per cent of our power coming from certified green power, I make a similar challenge to local government and to businesses to match us. This is putting our money where our mouths are and obviously we are looking forward to a very strong partnership for the future.