Legislative Council Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1) 53 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Ministerial Statement Clean Energy Summit Clean Energy Summit The Hon. I.K. HUNTER Legislative Council Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:10): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement on the Clean Energy Summit held in Adelaide and to table the communiqué arising from it. Leave granted. The Hon. I.K. HUNTER Legislative Council The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: On Monday 1 December, the Premier hosted a Clean Energy Summit in the House of Assembly at Parliament House. The Premier called this emergency summit in response to the continued uncertainty in the renewable energy sector caused by the Abbott government's review of the Renewable Energy Target. The recent Warburton review, commissioned by the federal government, has thrown into question the RET, creating political and economic uncertainty and stalling significant investment in the renewable energy sector. At a time when the international community is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in renewable energy, the Australian government has taken a backward step that threatens to undermine the nation's capacity in this growing industry. As a former Liberal Party leader and an economics expert, Dr John Hewson AM was reported in The Advertiser on Monday 1 December as saying, 'There is no logic to it.' Dr Hewson joined Professor Ross Garnaut AO and the chief executive of the Clean Energy Council, Mr Kane Thornton, in delivering keynote speeches to over 70 key industry, community and opinion leaders from around the country to discuss the future of the national RET and clean energy investment in Australia. The summit heard how changes to the national RET will jeopardise billions of dollars of investment and tens of thousands of jobs. Participants called on the federal government to urgently end uncertainty regarding the future of renewable energy in Australia. The outcome of the at times passionate discussion is the communiqué that I table today. The communiqué presents to the federal government a unified and clear position that continuing the decade-long bipartisan support for the RET is integral to securing future investment in renewable energy and the associated economic and environmental benefits. It is clear from the renewable sector that they seek a better-informed national debate on clean energy, and they hope that the summit and the communiqué is one step forward in attaining commitment towards renewable energy and investment across all levels of government decision-making. We are facing an uncertain future because of climate change. The last thing we need is more uncertainty in the way we deal with it. We need a unified, determined and proactive approach so that we can create a sustainable future for generations to come.