According to the Parliament of Australia: Committees website the purpose of parliamentary committees is mainly to conduct inquiries into specified matters which includes taking submissions, hearing witnesses, sifting evidence, discussing matters in detail and formulating reasoned conclusions. Committees are a convenient vehicle for this activity and by concentrating on specific tasks or subjects, also offer the benefits of specialisation.
An important function of committees is to scrutinise government activity including legislation, the conduct of public administration and policy issues. Committees may oversee the expenditure of public money and they may call the Government or the public service to account for their actions and ask them to explain or justify administrative decisions.
A parliamentary committee consists of a group of Members or Senators (or both in the case of joint committees) appointed by one or both Houses of Parliament. Through its committees the Parliament obtains information from Government agencies and peak bodies and advice from experts on the matters under investigation.
Public input is also important. Through its committees Parliament is able to be better informed of community problems and attitudes. Committees provide a public forum for the presentation of the various views of individual citizens and interest groups.
On Thursday 9th August 2007 the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry and Resources met to inquire into and report on the development of the non-fossil fuel energy industry in Australia. The Committee will undertake a comparative study of the following renewable energy sectors: solar, wave, tidal, geothermal, wind and hydrogen. The case study will examine the relative state of development of these sectors and their prospects for economically viable electricity generation, storage and transmission.
Today they focused particularly on solar energy. Mr. Steve Hollis, the chief executive officer and executive director of Lloyd Energy Systems Pty Ltd, gave a PowerPoint presentation, showcasing the two types of solar power technology, the ways in which to store solar energy and the expenses involved with solar energy usage.
Mr Hollis showed examples of solar energy plants in the US and Spain and explains the system being built by Lloyd in Cooma. The positives of the project are mainly beneficial to rural areas, improving the energy networks. Throughout the presentation Mr. Hollis states that solar energy is in demand because “it is simple, it is scalable, it is very agricultural, environmentally friendly: there are no nasties whatsoever; there are no emissions or anything like that. It suits remote areas, developing countries and it is very cost competitive in those sorts of applications.”
Mr. Bruce Higgs, the executive director of Cynergy Pty Ltd was also meant to give a presentation but could not do so because of time constraints.
Having experienced a Committee Hearing, I understand the importance of the process and the topics that are discussed at the hearings. This Committee Hearing and the ones following on from this one play a significant role in the development of policies on future ways of creating and storing renewable energy. Without Committee Hearings it would be impossible for the government to get the essential information needed in order to make decisions. The discussions that take place at Committee Hearings are in depth and the chance for evidence to be given from both sides of the argument to be given and the opportunity to ask questions ensures that every avenue is investigated.
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