hero missions

qpsu climate heroes
supported by acf

letter from the federal treasurer

Below is a letter from Wayne Swan, the Federal Treasurer, about the QPSU Climate Heroes campaign.

I am writing in relation to the Queensland Public Sector Union's 'Climate Heroes' campaign,
supported by the Australian Conservation Foundation. I commend your efforts in raising awareness about climate change. I received a number of emails from Climate Heroes earlier this year and would like to take this opportunity to respond to the issues raised in those emails.

I share your concerns about climate change and I assure you the Government is committed to showing global leadership in tackling climate change. Climate change is more than an
environmental challenge - it is an important and pressing economic challenge as well.

Indeed, climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing Australia and the world.
The Government released its Green Paper on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme for
consultation on 16 July 2008. The paper outlines the Government's approach to the design of the Scheme, which is planned to commence in 2010. The Scheme is fundamental to the Government's climate change strategy - the Government considers that it is the most effective way to reduce carbon pollution while minimising the impact on business and households.

The Government recognises that reducing carbon pollution through the introduction of the Scheme requires a substantial transformation of our economy. Placing a limit and a price on emissions will change the things we produce, the way we produce them, and the things we buy. It will not be easy, and it will require hard decisions.

II would encourage your members to provide their views on the proposed design features in the Green Paper on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. Feedback from the cornmunity, non-government organisations and businesses over the coming months will be taken into account when preparing a White Paper and accompanying exposure draft legislation, to be released at the end of the year. Submissions are due on or by 10 September 2008.

While the operation of the Scheme will help bring cleaner technologies into the market over time, the Government is also committed to introducing policies to accelerate the development and use of low emissions technologies in the near term. In the 2008-09 Budget the Government detailed a range of measures including the new 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target, a $500 million Renewable Energy Fund and a $150 million Energy Innovation Fund.

The Renewable Energy Fund will provide grants to support research, development and deployment oflow emissions technologies, while the Renewable Energy Target will accelerate their use. In addition, the Energy Innovation Fund will ensure that Australia continues to develop world-leading clean and renewable energy technologies by providing support for solar thermal and photovoltaic research, as well as general research and development in the areas of energy efficiency, energy storage technologies and hydrogen transport fuels.

With regard to the photovoltaic rebate means test, the Government is strongly committed to helping Australians take practical action to tackle climate change, build a strong solar industry and harness our abundant solar resources. In 2008-09 there will be more Cornmonwealth spending on solar power and more installations of solar power systems than in any previous year. However, the overall level of funding under the Solar Holmes and Communities Plan has not changed. The Government committed $150 million towards the program and in the 2008-09 Budget brought forward an additional $25.6 million in funding sufficient to double the number of rebates planned to be offered this year from 3,000 to 6,000.

The Government has also introduced a means test of $100,000 for household rebates under the Solar Homes and Communities Plan to ensure that funding is targeted towards those Australian families who most need assistance with the high upfront costs of photovoltaic systems.

Since the means test was put in place, demand for household solar power rebates has increased to record levels, higher than at any point in the history of this program. In the six weeks leading up to the introduction ofthe means test, the Department of the Environment, Wattr, Heritage and the Arts was receiving an average of 365 rebate applications per week. From the time of the May 2008 Federal Budget to late July 2008, this application rate had increased to 522 per week.

In light of the continuing strong demand for the rebate since the means test was introduced, the Government recently decided to further increase funding this year to continue meeting demand.

The means test remains in place, and the level of the rebate for residential photovoltaic system continues at $8 per watt, capped at 1 kilowatt, with a maximum rebate of $8,000 per installed system.

Renewable Energy Certificates generated by solar power systems will also continue to 'reduce the upfront cost of installing solar photovoltaic panels for all households. Critically, the Government has committed to a target to have 20 per cent of our electricity supply powered by renewable energy by 2020 through an almost fivefold increase in the legislated national renewable energy target.

The increase in the renewable energy target will create significant opportunities for the solar power industry.

The Government is also committed to developing a national approach to renewable energy
feed-in-tariffs. Feed-in-tariffs ensure that consumers with solar photovoltaic systems receive a particular price for energy exported to the electricity grid. We recognise that feed-in-tariffs can provide a further strong incentive for households to purchase renewable energy systems driving further investment in renewable technologies at the household level.

The Government also recognises that public transport has an important role in addressing current and future growth in urban passenger travel. The Government has established the new advisory council, Infrastructure Australia, to bring national leadership to overall infrastructure development and help boost the economy's productive capacity. An immediate priority for Infrastructure Australia will be to conduct an audit of the nation's significant infrastructure and produce an Infrastructure Priority List to guide private and public investment. Urban transport systems, including public transport, will be a focus of Infrastructure Australia's work.

In relation to concerns about the tax system, I announced in the 2008-09 Budget that the
Government will conduct a comprehensive review of Australia's tax system to create a tax structure that positions Australia to deal with the demographic, social, economic and environmental challenges of the 21 st century. The review will encompass Australian Government and state taxes, except the goods and services tax (GST), and interactions with the transfer system. Among the issues to be considered will be the balance of taxes on work, investment and consumption and the role for environmental taxes, as well as the relationship between the tax system and the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

The review will be conducted in several stages. An initial discussion paper was released by the Treasury on 31 July 2008. The review panel will consult the public to allow for community and business input, and will provide a final report to me by the end of2009. The issues raised by your members fall within the broad scope of the review. As such, I have forwarded the correspondence to the review team to be considered as part ofthe review.

I trust this information will be of assistance to you, and I would appreciate it if you would place a copy of this letter on your website for the information of its readers.

I have written in similar terms to Mr Don Henry.

WAYNE SWAN.