PM: Well, the weather Gods have conspired today so that we're inside rather than outside, which you know, Penny and I are very pleased about because we would have been able to display our full range of football skills outside, which you've all been spared, and Chris, you could have showed us something genuinely serious about the skills necessary in the game.
What are we here to do today? It's a great initiative of the AFL which we're supporting as the Government to ensure that this weekend's Green Round in the AFL is about how do we encourage mums and dads, fans, supporters, clubs, players - right across the country on doing their bit to bring down greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, to do their bit on climate change.
Governments do their bit on climate change, and we're having that debate here in Canberra at the moment. But it's important the community does its bit on climate change, and a huge slice of our national community is what happens in footy. I'm told that we've got, on any given weekend, 250,000-300,000 people going to games right across the country. Viewing audiences this weekend, I'm told, is about one million people.
So we have a very simple message as a Government, which is: how do we, as Australians all, do our bit on climate change - Government doing its bit, the community doing its bit, and footy fans doing their bit as well. So we're pleased to partner with the AFL on this one.
People ask ‘well, what are the practical things that can be done to bring down carbon pollution?' Well if you're in a football club, practical stuff like have you got insulation in your ceiling to bring down your overall cost of energy - good for the club's electricity bills over time, as well. On top of that, what can you do to bring in a solar hot water system for the showers and the other needs that you've got within the club itself? What can you do with solar panels on the roof? What can you do, also, in terms of encouraging your fans and your supporters to use public transport where that's available? These are the practical things, together with energy efficient light bulbs which all go towards making a difference.
Each club, each player, each footy family making their difference on climate change in Australia because together we can make a difference worldwide. The Government's agreed to contribute up to $200,000 to our new climate change partnership with the AFL. We believe this is a good investment for the future, and we look forward to the AFL being our partners in this so that Australia can make a difference on climate change.
Enough from me, and now I'm turning to Penny - over to you.