E&OE….
Topics: Renewable Energy Target, Geelong Star fishing vessel
LEON COMPTON:
Greg Hunt is the Federal Environment Minister. He joins us this morning. Minister, good morning to you.
GREG HUNT:
Good morning Leon.
LEON COMPTON:
As you might imagine, that part of the RET discussion is attracting a lot of attention in Tasmania. Do you think you’ll be able to get that through the Parliament?
GREG HUNT:
Yes and I would say this that of course, this is a very minor part of the expected generation but of course it was in Labor’s own legislated Renewable Energy Target they advocated, supported, advanced it previously and then they removed it as part of the carbon tax deal with the Greens.
It is a recommendation of the Climate Change Authority. It’s a practice within Europe and most significantly it’s using waste products that are on the floor of the forest that would either rot and create methane, a very significant greenhouse gas, or be burnt and create CO2. So why wouldn’t you use something which is already going to go to waste and it makes very good sense.
LEON COMPTON:
You wouldn’t do it – I suppose one reason is that it might be smarter to invest in other sorts of renewable energy like wind, where you can get more electrical bang for your buck if you like.
GREG HUNT:
Well, we’ll let the producers determine what the cheapest way is to produce the renewable energy. That’s the whole design of the Target. (Inaudible) is that it would be a modest part of the (inaudible) Target, but most significantly if this wood waste is either going to lie on the floor of the forest, rot and create methane, or if it’s going to be burnt and create CO2, surely it’s much better to make use of it, to turn it into something and to reduce emissions as a consequence.
That’s not just the theory, that’s the practice. That was why Labor previously legislated it, why the European Union in many places incorporates biomass and similarly why the Climate Change Authority also recommended that it be reinstated in the original form as legislated by the Labor Party.
LEON COMPTON:
Our academic before the news at 9 from the University of Melbourne said he thinks off the back of this deal there will be more investment in wind farms in Tasmania. Do you think that will follow from this deal if you get it through?
GREG HUNT:
Look, frankly I think that’s likely. I think the legislation will be passed, we’ve got the basis of a deal. I don’t think there’s anything here which will be a deal-breaker. We came to the spirit of compromise yesterday and the Labor Party accepted it. Again, they didn’t want one of their own legislated items in terms of reviews, which is fine.
The Prime Minister put forward a proposal with the discussions with Ian Macfarlane and myself on Thursday night that we could get the Clean Energy Regulator to do an annual report on the progress of the Renewable Energy Target and any electricity price implications. So I think this is a good deal for Tasmania in three ways.
We protect jobs in places such as Bell Bay, we provide jobs through new renewable energy and reduce emissions and we also protect the consumer because what we’ve done is a realistic target – 23.5% which we will be able to achieve but we’ll do it without going into default or penalty which would have been an equivalent carbon tax of $93 a tonne and that was what we were facing when the previous target simply wasn’t going to be built. So it’s a really good balanced outcome and especially good for Tasmania.
LEON COMPTON:
You say you’ll protect jobs in Bell Bay and that will no doubt be a consequence. On the other hand, some of Tasmania and indeed the country’s biggest emitters of carbon pollution are going to be exempt from the Renewable Energy Target.
GREG HUNT:
Well these are trade-exposed sectors and there is bipartisan agreement on this. There are some who would want to drive these businesses offshore and sadly I just heard the story listening to the news of Caterpillar moving jobs from Burnie to Thailand.
That is precisely the sort of risk that we would face if our trade-exposed sectors, such as zinc, such as aluminium, were not given a level playing field and so that’s what’s occurring here. Of course the Renewable Energy Target won’t be 20%, it will be the equivalent of 23.5% so that’s a very significant target and it’s all about making sure that we do our absolute best to provide a level playing field and keep these jobs in Australia.
LEON COMPTON:
Greg Hunt’s our guest this morning, the Federal Environment Minister. Before we leave you Minister, what’s happening, what is the latest with the Geelong Star and the regulation you’ve imposed around it if it wants to go fishing again?
GREG HUNT:
Sure. So this is under the responsibility of Richard Colbeck and AFMA, which is the fisheries management body. But we’ve done two things. Firstly, as a government we took the temporary ban on super trawlers in one fishery and made it a permanent ban of super trawlers in all fisheries using the bipartisan definition.
Now in relation to this particular boat, I’ve taken a very, very strong view. I said it was completely unacceptable the by-catch which they’d had. I wrote to AFMA, I put in place very strong views that they should take steps. They’ve now put in place their own bans and restrictions and they’ve essentially put them on a last-watch (inaudible) and if it happens again they’re out of certain fisheries. I think many people have been surprised by how tough they’ve been.
I would hope that the position that myself and others have taken has compelled AFMA to put in place a really tough restriction with some very final points that if there are any more failures then there will be big consequences. They’ve already imposed consequences but they’ll go further. The dolphin by-catch is simply unacceptable.
LEON COMPTON:
Good to talk to you this morning.
GREG HUNT:
Thanks very much Leon.
(ENDS)