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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-02-14 Daily Xml
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CARBON EMISSIONS

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:45): I will take up that invitation from the minister. My question again is to the Premier. Will the government's plans for five wind turbines on city roofs, a carbon-neutral cabinet and a set of solar panels on the Museum fully offset the carbon output tonnage from the expansion of the Roxby Downs mines and the Upper Spencer Gulf power station? In November 2007 the Alternative Technology Association described the Premier's five mini wind turbines put on city roofs as 'a political exercise'.

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) (14:46): I am delighted to answer this question because, unlike any other government, we have already 50 per cent of the nation's wind power. You can add Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland together and we still have more. There was not one wind-powered turbine operating in South Australia before I became Premier. But we also said—and just wait for it—that we would set ourselves a target, unlike virtually anywhere in the world, of having 20 per cent of our power—20 per cent of the state's power, consumption and production—coming from sustainable means by 2014. What did people say? That it was unachievable. I will make this pledge to you today: I believe we will reach that target at the end of 2009.

Do you know something? Why is it that we have a greater take-up of solar panels than any other state, in fact, most of the other states put together? It is because we led by example. We did things such as solar powering the Museum, putting the panels on the Art Gallery, the State Library and the state parliament, and we rolled it out into schools. It was part of a community education exercise which has worked, because the fact is about 50 per cent of the nation's solar power is in this state. I compare our record to your record, and the fact was that you had no commitment.

We also have a commitment, of course, by 1 January 2008 to have 20 per cent of the state government's power needs for hospitals, schools and government buildings coming from certified green power. When we did that it forced other states to come out and match us. So you can argue as much as you like. You can argue with David Suzuki, you can argue with Al Gore, and you can argue with Mikhail Gorbachev. You can argue with all these people around the world who have been pointing to South Australia for its leadership.

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