E&OE….
Topics: Threatened Species Summit, entitlements, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, renewable energy, climate change
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
The Environment Minister Greg Hunt joins us, he's been at the zoo at another function, he joins us on the line. Greg Hunt, good afternoon.
GREG HUNT:
And good afternoon Raf, I've literally just stepped off stage so I apologise if I am a little bit late from our first National Threatened Species Summit. And we've brought together people from around the country, and there will be incredible projects such as eradicating feral cats from ten million hectares, of supporting the hooded plover, removing feral goats from Kangaroo Island, just working on threatened species around the country, it's one of the best things I've been involved with in my time in parliament.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Look, I want to ask you about both Bronwyn Bishop and renewables but I can't help but ask a base question – is it an expensive process? Does the Federal Government need to cough up significant funds?
GREG HUNT:
Yes, so we are. We've already announced just over $110 million for what's called Threatened Species Recovery and then in the Agriculture White Paper, but which hadn't had much real focus was an additional $100 million for eradicating feral animals, they have been identified as the biggest threat to Australia's native wildlife that are currently in place, and so that has comprised of $50 million for existing threats such as feral cats and wild dogs and $50 million for any emerging threats – whether that's diseases, plants or sort of feral animals that might come in.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Do you think the Speaker Bronwyn Bishop should apologise? She's repaying the money with interest but do you think she should apologise?
GREG HUNT:
Because I've been down the tunnel with an Environment Minister's meeting yesterday and a Threatened Species Summit today I have the barest of information. All I've just been told as I've stepped off stage is there's been an issue and she is repaying some funds, so that is literally the full extent of my knowledge and I think that's obviously an acknowledgement that something wasn't right and so she's taking action.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Okay and look I think it's completely acceptable Minister, I understand you are not across the detail, but you will know I'm sure it gets brought up with you from time to time, do you think when politicians do this they should apologise?
Look, I don't think she's breached the rules she said she thought it was- she understood it was within the rules, but this is about, this isn't the world's biggest issue I know that, there's huge, broad policy implications that we often need to discuss, however this is about trust between politician and electorate isn't it?
GREG HUNT:
I'll just speak for myself, that in life in general my approach has been if I make a mistake, acknowledge and apologise, in fact I'll often pre-emptively apologise to my wife at the start of the day for any sins I may commit during the course of the day in terms of just sort of being a dumb Aussie male and getting things wrong. So that's a general principal, I just don't know enough about the circumstances, I've had the briefest of messages…
RAPHAEL EPSTEIN:
Sure.
GREG HUNT:
…that the Speaker has said that she will repay, which is I think a pretty significant starting acknowledgement.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
I'll give it one more brief try Greg Hunt, is it hypocritical for the Speaker, a Liberal Speaker, to have to cough up some cash after your party's vigorous pursuit of Peter Slipper over $900?
GREG HUNT:
Well, I think she's taken immediate action with the issue being raised so, you know, as far as I know, it's a sort of set of actions taken within a day or a few hours of it having been raised and the difference here is that somebody has responded immediately, taken responsibility and obviously it will come at some significant personal cost.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Okay if I can ask you something that I'm sure you know far more detail about than I and that is the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and I guess you've kicked off a process to steer some of their funding away from things like wind and small scale solar.
Can I put this to you, if you – recently you've also asked the Clean Energy Finance Corporation which is like a green bank to raise – to give you a higher rate of return and you're also telling them to not invest in things that are more established like wind farms and small scale solar, isn't that setting them up to fail, asking them to do riskier things while also asking for a higher rate of return?
GREG HUNT:
No, in fact in the last 48 hours, what we've seen is a tremendous response. Two things in particular that have been extremely important are the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has responded with a fund for large scale solar. So, they've indicated that they will be able to participate in this space and I think in the – literally in the last few hours, there's been an announcement by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation that they will be supporting a large scale solar off-grid storage program for some millions of dollars.
And so, it's a really good response and what we're looking to do is support large scale solar to make sure that the Finance Corporation does what it was intended to do which is large scale solar, emerging technologies, energy efficiency and that's because the Renewable Energy Target is providing, on its own scope, a doubling of wind and other forms of large scale renewable energy that are established and a double to a tripling of the household solar program so…
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Can I ask you about…
GREG HUNT:
…that's going great guns.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
I've heard you say quite a few times this week emerging technology is where the Clean Energy Finance Corporation should focus. I did a – forgive me, but I did a word search on the memorandum that goes along with the legislation to set up that green bank, I couldn't find emerging technology anywhere but I found quite a few things like a commercial filter and a commercial approach.
I didn't – and you tell me if I'm wrong – I didn't see anything in that legislation or its explanatory memorandum that required a focus on emerging technology. It's all about a commercial filter, getting those things just over the line, that are almost commercially viable and getting them over the line. Yet you say the original focus was renewable technology, I don't understand that.
GREG HUNT:
Okay. So, I also did a word search in this space and in what's called the second reading speech, Greg Combet who was the responsible Minister at the time, made it absolutely clear that – and I quote – technologies with a track record have generally had fewer problems accessing finance as the financial market has experienced.
As such, the Corporation is not expected to fund these projects. Couldn't be clearer and there is a lot of – as you go through the broader second reading speeches and that does have legislative impact under what's called the Acts Interpretation Act. It talks about the…
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
You mean the Hansard has an impact on the intention, is that what you mean?
GREG HUNT:
Correct. And it was very clear that this was about emerging technology, about funding the things which were not well understood or well established in the market as the quote I've just given you shows and so what we're doing is actually following the original purpose and intention but more significantly the Renewable Energy Target agreement means we are facing a doubling of…
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Yeah, I understand that the RET…
GREG HUNT:
…(inaudible)large scale renewable energy…
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
…and the RET makes a big difference, I acknowledge that. However, I just don't quite understand why you keep saying the original intention. Those who drafted the legislation and the Government who – the then government who created it say that that wasn't its original intention. I'm not sure why you go back to saying…
GREG HUNT:
Well, I've just read from the…
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Yes, I know and Greg Combet has disagreed with that.
GREG HUNT:
…(inaudible) producing the legislation by the then Minister. I think…
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
But they do disagree with that…
GREG HUNT:
…unfortunately you may have forgotten that.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
I'm just curious – it's a little bit like and forgive me – indulge me a little, the whole issue around Bret Walker who was, you know – who was the security legislation monitor, Tony Abbott says oh well, he's changed his mind, this is about a citizenship proposal. It's unclear to me why the Government just – doesn't just say well, we don't quite agree with what Greg Combet wanted the CEFC to be.
We want it to be something different. We don't quite agree with what Bret Walker says, we want to do something different with citizenship. Why does the Government keep going back and saying well, actually no, the people who say it had one purpose, they're not quite right? It just seems an odd argument to me.
GREG HUNT:
On this occasion, I think we'll have to respectfully disagree because the words couldn't be clearer of what was said on 23 May in 2012 when the actual legislation was introduced. What they actually said at the time, as such, the Corporation is not expected to fund these projects and so what it is expected to fund is new emerging technologies to look at large scale solar, to look at energy efficiency, to look at geothermal and that's exciting and I don't think there's a problem with us making sure that it focuses in that area – both as a policy measure now but also as faced with the very thing from the 23 May 2012.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Look, there are many people lining up to have a chat about many things including Bronwyn Bishop and the environment. I will get to those calls soon. Greg Hunt, one quick question if I can. The Prime Minister says some countries are airy fairy in meeting their commitments.
Which countries did he mean? I mean, I was trying to look at the Kyoto stuff, most of the countries other than Canada met their targets. Which countries aren't real and genuine about their targets?
GREG HUNT:
Well let me give you three examples. Of course, Canada – and this is not a criticism, it's simply an observation, failed to meet its originally stated target. We had Japan which significantly failed to meet its originally stated targets and United States, fantastic trends, Al Gore said that they would be minus seven on the – at the Kyoto…
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Yeah but that didn't ratify.
GREG HUNT:
…Conference. Exactly. They said that they'd be minus seven, they made that commitment there and it turned out that by 2010, they were approximately plus eight per cent so they missed their target by 15 per cent. Sometimes in Australia the conservation groups say ha, you should be like the United States and I love the US.
I think what's happening now with their emissions reduction is tremendous but they missed their target by the best part of 15 per cent and yet there's an almost airbrushing of that fact by some of the conservation groups in Australia. Weirdly strangely.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Okay. We'll have lots of fun trading numbers I'm sure over the next few months. Greg Hunt, thanks for your time.
GREG HUNT:
Thanks very much Raf.
RAFAEL EPSTEIN:
Greg Hunt Environment Minister at the zoo on that endangered species forum as well.
(ENDS)