Low Carbon Economy Strategy

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:17): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation a question about the low carbon economy strategy.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: The minister outlined earlier today that the government is releasing its low carbon economy strategy and stated that the government would adopt a target of zero net carbon emissions by 2050. In the report it also recommends that South Australia should produce 100 per cent green energy relatively quickly using a mix of solar, wind and other sources, yet not through a nuclear power station. It's also noted that InDaily had reported on the government's investment strategy in this area. My questions to the minister are:

1. Has independent modelling been conducted to assess how many jobs will be created and over what time frame?

2. Will the government's low carbon plan result in an increase in household energy costs?

3. What advertising budget has the government allocated to promote its strategy to the public?

4. How much taxpayers' money will the government spend for the minister and the Premier to travel to attend international forums overseas?

5. What incentive package will the government offer to attract international companies to South Australia to implement its low carbon strategy?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:19): You can hardly believe it, can you, that in this day and age you would actually have a member of the Liberal Party stand up in here, after they just dumped their climate-sceptic prime minister, after they had just got rid of the bloke who said that climate change is crap, and they have a new bloke who has been banging on for years and years about climate change and how important it is, and how we have to have an emissions trading scheme at a national level, and they come in here today and ask these tired, old, Tony Abbott-style, ideological questions about one of the most important issues that this country, this state and this world is facing today?

What do they come in here with? What do they come in here with but this rubbish, this absolute Tony Abbott rubbish, that 'climate change is crap' business again. Let me just take them through some of the key issues. Let's just remind ourselves along the way of the amazing successes that this state has had in terms of renewable energy—$6.6 billion worth of investment in renewable energy in South Australia. Why does it come here? Because Tony Abbott and the Liberals at a national level think, 'Oh, wind farms are ugly.' They much prefer the open cut monstrosities of coal mines to wind farms. We have the Leader of the Opposition in this place who thinks that wind farms are ugly, and he would not want to be near one. It beggars belief.

Let me just refer to a few august journals of recent times. Let's have a look at The Weekend Australian, not known for its pro global warming issues. 'Global climate fund worth billions', it says. The Hon. Ms Lee might like to listen to this:

World leaders are preparing to announce a multi-billion-dollar fund to spearhead research into low-carbon technologies at the opening of next week's climate change summit in Paris.

A 'multi-billion-dollar fund to spearhead research into low-carbon technologies at the opening of next week's climate change summit in Paris'. That might just set off a little bell for you. Where is that investment going to be, Ms Lee? Where is it going to be if we don't stand up for South Australia and say, 'We are leading in this area and we want a slice of that investment for South Australia, for South Australian jobs.' Let's have a look at The Australian Financial Review—

The Hon. J.S. Lee: Answer the question!

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Ms Lee.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: They don't like these answers, Mr President.

The Hon. J.S. Lee interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Ms Lee, you've asked your question. The minister is answering it in the way he sees fit, so you sit there and listen.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER:The Australian Financial Review is another august journal not known for its support for the Labor Party in the great scheme of things. It states:

As The Australian Financial Review has argued before, some sort of global emissions trading scheme will be the only way to achieve the lowest cost, most efficient cuts [to emissions]. This will mean scrapping the Coalition's price-distorting direct action plan.

This is The Australian Financial Review:

This will mean scrapping the Coalition's price-distorting direct action plan. A price signal with an overall emissions cap is the only way to discover the truly efficient energy producers.

This is a market mechanism—a market mechanism. These are the people who espouse the market at every turn, and yet at this stage they are saying, 'No, we don't want a market approach to global warming. We don't want a market approach to how we might cap our emissions.' Let me go to The Saturday Age. This paper occasionally takes a slightly different line, but it is balanced:

It is a 'nonsense' to claim deep emission cuts would devastate the economy and at the same time ignore the cost to the economy of floods, heatwaves, and other climate change fallout, says Australian National University Energy Changes Institute director Ken Baldwin…Professor Baldwin says Australia must 'balance the costs of acting against the costs of not acting'.

'It's a nonsense to say this will cost us money in order to reach a 45 per cent target without saying how much that saves by doing nothing about climate change,' he said, pointing to predictions of extreme weather, lost agricultural production, increased health problems and infrastructure failure.

What the like of the Hon. Ms Lee do in this place and elsewhere is pretend that there are no costs to not acting. They pretend that there is absolutely no cost to our economy, to our agricultural sector, to our health sector, to our community, for not being out in front and leading on climate change. It is rubbish; absolute rubbish. The cost of not acting will mean we will have to pay more and more the later we leave it to act. Everybody understands this except some of those troglodytes from the Tony Abbott era who have not passed through the Legislative Council yet, but their time will come, I am quite sure.

In terms of attracting international investment, I have already outlined $6.6 billion worth of investment in South Australia. We have 41 per cent of the nation's installed wind generation capacity in South Australia. How did that come about? By chance? Not at all. That came about because we went out of our way as a state to welcome these energy innovators into our state and to set themselves up—and employ South Australians, Ms Lee. Another thing you forget about is that this investment will employ South Australians in jobs.

The Hon. J.S. Lee: How many?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, let's talk about Snowtown—Snowtown when they put up the wind farms. Let's not worry about the several hundred who are employed in the construction and erection of these towers. What about 15 people now in Snowtown with good, long-term, well-paying jobs, building the resilience of that local community for the next 10 or 15 years? You want to wipe them off the face of the state.

Well, that's not what we will do. We will go to Paris, we will spruik the benefits of South Australia's investment in renewables, and we will spruik our strong support as a state for action on global warming. We will invite businesses and industries right around the world who want to develop innovations to seize these opportunities, these economic opportunities, which will come about from being an early adopter and an early leader, to come to Adelaide, come to South Australia, set up here and employ South Australians in the economy of the future.