Senator LEES (6:27 PM) —I cannot go to dinner and leave Senator Bob Brown's comments unanswered. I just say to Senator Brown that if he wants to talk to a couple of industries that have had huge boosts then one he needs to talk to is the rail industry. What we did under that bill—and I have not brought all the correspondence with me—has made a huge impact with the success in particular of rail freight. We would not have a photovoltaic industry without the original money that was in this package. You can go and ask the industry. Again, I do not have the correspondence with me, but that has been hugely successful. Perhaps I should go to dinner leaving some questions to Senator Brown. What have you achieved in your time here by way of money for the photovoltaic industry, for the rail industry, for cleaner fuels?

No, we do not have a magic wand. We did not expect the impact of what we did back in 1999 to be equivalent to a magic wand. We do not believe you can jump from where we are today, with the mess that we are still in, to nirvana and find everything perfect and in complete order and exactly as we would want it. But the Measures for a Better Environment package that we negotiated with the government have made significant improvements. We have real outcomes. We have done the hard yards. I say again to Senator Brown: I do not see any packages that you have negotiated for the rail industry or the photovoltaic industry. I do not see any packages that you have negotiated to improve engine specifications and to clean up diesel fuel. It is a step-by-step process. We are not going to get there in one leap. It takes hard work. It takes a lot of discussions. It takes putting a considerable amount of evidence before government and a process where, yes, industry is involved. I did not mention the mining industry, but certainly the trucking industry I would congratulate for coming on board with many of these initiatives. I also congratulate particularly one of our key fuel providers, one of the big companies which is investing a lot of money in research in clean green energy, particularly in solar energy. We certainly have a long way to go, but we have also made a significant impact.

Sitting suspended from 6.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.

The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN (Senator McLucas)—The committee is considering the Energy Grants (Credits) Scheme Bill 2003 and amendment (R3) on sheet 2916 revised moved by Senator Lees. The question is that the amendment be agreed to.

Question agreed to.