Senator MILNE (2.28 pm)-My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Wong. Minister, do you stand by your assurances to the Senate earlier this year that solar hot water and heat pumps would only account for five per cent of the renewable energy target and their inclusion posed no risk to the integrity of the scheme?

Senator MILNE (Tasmania) (2:30 PM) -My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Senator Wong. It refers to the Green Loans Program, which was supposed to begin in January and eventually commenced in July. Can the minister confirm to the Senate that, in spite of 25,000 home sustainability assessments having been completed, three months into the program not one report necessary to secure a green loan from a lending institution has been approved by DEWHA? When can any of the 25,000 Australians waiting for a green loan expect to see the report that will facilitate the money?

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Australian National Academy of Music
Question
Senator MILNE (2.34 p.m.)-My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Senator Wong. Given that the government has acknowledged that the artistic program of the Australian National Academy of Music is first class, by appropriating the name and reputation of the institution, why is the artistic leadership being handed over to a university appointed advisory board with not one practising musician of international standard on it, rather than leaving it with the current faculty and artistic director, who, by the way, has just won the Grawemeyer prize for composition, music's Nobel Prize?

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
Tasmanian Devils
(Question No. 3188)
Senator Milne (Tasmania) asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, upon notice, on 7 May 2007:
(1) Has the department received the Tasmanian Government's options proposal for the ongoing management of healthy Tasmanian devils in the wild, including plans to release them on Tasmanian offshore islands, particularly Maria Island.
(2) In light of concerns raised by community groups, will the department seek public comment on these proposals.
(3) Does the Government agree with proposals to release Tasmanian devils on various offshore islands.
(4) Does the Government consider the island release option an essential part of the long-term recovery plan for the Tasmanian devil in the wake of the transmissible facial tumour disease.
(5) What ongoing assistance is the Government offering to the research effort into devil facial tumour disease and for ongoing efforts to safeguard the species survival in the wild.
Senator Abetz (Tasmania-Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation)-The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:
(1) No.
(2) If my Department receives a referral from the Tasmanian Government for the release of Tasmanian devils onto Maria Island, or any other offshore island, it will be made available for public comment on the Department's website for 10 business days, in accordance with the requirements of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
(3) The Government does not have a position on these proposals. If a specific proposal is referred to my Department, it will be assessed, and a decision will be made based on the relevant facts.
(4) As above.
(5) The Australian Government provided $2 million for the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years through the Tasmanian Regional Community Forest Agreement, to accelerate research into the Devil Facial Tumour Disease. In the 2007/08 financial year the Australian Government will provide a further $1 million to continue fieldwork that will help suppress the spread of the disease in the wild, monitor the spread of the disease, and continue to ensure that there are populations of Tasmanian devils established in captivity to enable their long-term survival in the wild.