Tuesday, 16 August 2022

Hawthorn electorate solar homes

Mr KENNEDY (Hawthorn) (19:13): (6481) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Solar Homes. The action I seek is for the minister to join me and visit a home in Hawthorn with solar panels funded through the Solar Homes program. We all know of the ambitious climate strategy of this government, including the Climate Change Act 2017 and over $2 billion invested in the clean energy economy. The Solar Homes program is a vital component of this overarching strategy. In its first year alone over 33 000 households took up this program and installed solar PV and solar hot water systems. Over 10 years this program will allow solar panels, solar hot water systems or batteries to be installed on over 770 000 homes across Victoria. This will generate an eighth of Victoria’s 40 per cent target for renewable energy by 2025. It is difficult to underscore just how significant this is. Climate change is the great challenge of our time, and this has been reflected in my constituents voting out high-profile conservative members in successive state and federal elections. Hawthorn is a part of this city in which people are embracing not just solar panels but the science on climate change. I am proud of my community and I am proud of my government for reflecting its values through programs like this. This program alone is creating thousands of jobs and exhibits how we as government can work to alleviate the consequence of climate change. Whether it is correspondence sent to my office, conversations out on the hustings or chats on the tram, time and time again climate action has been brought up as a priority.

Now that we have been joined by an actual partner on climate action in Canberra, I am looking forward to our federal colleagues joining us in enacting real and substantive measures to fight climate change. Reaching these goals starts at the household level, with ordinary people adopting solar panels, supported by our government, and slashing their power bills in the process. If any of you go for a stroll through Hawthorn’s leafy streets, you will find that many of us have already taken up this challenge. I look forward to the minister’s visit.