Our carbon market plays a significant role in protecting our environment and supporting our economy. This is as much an economic argument as it is an environmental one. Global standards are shifting, and technology and innovation are reshaping industries and supply chains around the world. Australia cannot afford to fall behind. In an increasingly competitive global market, keeping pace with technological progress and innovation is essential to ensuring Australian industry remains competitive and can access emerging markets and opportunities. When we fall behind, we risk closing doors for Australian businesses, not only by limiting their ability to compete in global supply chains but also by restricting their access to new investment, new technologies and new markets. A credible and effective carbon market helps Australia respond to these changes. It creates incentives for businesses to invest in new technologies, improve efficiency and develop innovative approaches to reducing emissions. In doing so, it supports our environmental objectives while helping Australian industry remain competitive, productive and well positioned for the future. The opportunity before us is not simply to reduce emissions; it is also to ensure Australian businesses can adapt, innovate and compete in a global economy where environmental performance and technological capability are becoming increasingly important.

At the heart of this market is the Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme, which provides the regulatory framework for carbon crediting in Australia. The scheme encourages individuals and businesses to undertake projects that reduce emissions or store carbon. It does this by supporting the adoption of new technologies, the upgrading of equipment, changes to business practices that improve productivity or energy use, and improvements in vegetation management. Carbon credits generated under the scheme also support other key mechanisms that help Australia's largest emitters reduce their emissions. These include compliance with the safeguard mechanism and participation in voluntary carbon markets. The safeguard mechanism is Australia's principal policy tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the country's largest industrial facilities. Like the ACCU scheme, it operates through an incentive based framework, encouraging facilities to keep their net emissions below legislated baselines. The safeguard mechanism applies to entities with operational control of facilities that emit greenhouse gases.

The scheme also works alongside voluntary carbon markets, where individuals and businesses choose to take action beyond their legal obligations. This can include purchasing and cancelling ACCUs and other eligible offset units as well as surrendering large-scale generation certificates and renewable electricity guarantee-of-origin certificates when they are not legally required to do so. Individuals and businesses may choose to take these actions for a range of reasons, including their commitment to environmental sustainability, the desire to distinguish themselves in the market and the pursuit of internal organisational targets.

Taken together, Australia's carbon market reflects both voluntary and compliance-driven demand. The bill before the House today recognises the importance of this market to our environment and, importantly, to our economy. It builds on existing regulatory frameworks and voluntary action by strengthening Australia's carbon credit scheme, implementing recommendations from independent reviews and responding to stakeholder engagement undertaken over many years. At its core, the bill strengthens the integrity and transparency of the scheme, improves its administration, enhances emissions reporting and makes technical adjustments to the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard. The bill implements findings from independent reviews and introduces administrative improvements, informed by more than a decade of experience operating the scheme.

The changes provide greater flexibility and ensure an appropriate separation between purchasing decisions and the regulation of the scheme. The bill also replaces the purchasing principle of least-cost abatement with value for money. This will allow the government, when purchasing ACCUs, to consider a broad range of factors, including non-carbon benefits, where appropriate to its strategic priorities. The bill introduces a new ministerial power to make a method transition declaration in extraordinary circumstances. This power is intended to prevent existing projects from continuing to earn ACCUs under a method where an integrity issue has arisen that is of such seriousness that it poses a risk to the scheme as a whole. Importantly, however, this power is constrained by legislative criteria and conditions. Any decision must be informed by advice from the independent Carbon Abatement Integrity Committee, public consultation and consideration of the impacts on existing project proponents.

The bill also strengthens the Clean Energy Regulator's compliance and enforcement powers. These changes include extending the 'fit and proper person' test to agents of project proponents, introducing new ACCU relinquishment provisions to ensure that credited abatement is accurate and conservative, and empowering the regulator to issue infringement notices and injunctions. These measures will help resolve lower-level compliance breaches and support more-efficient enforcement.

The bill further supports investment in emissions abatement research and development by introducing newness requirements tailored to projects that are undertaking research and development that supports the development of new methods. It also enables a single project to include both sequestration and separate emissions-avoidance activities. This will support the development of innovative ACCU methods and allow new activities to be incorporated over time. The bill also streamlines and simplifies scheme administration. This includes making it easier for projects to transition to new methods and extend their permanence or crediting periods, providing greater flexibility to adjust the audit framework in the future and giving the regulator more flexible tools to manage projects with outstanding consents or regulatory approvals. Together, these reforms are designed to strengthen the scheme's integrity while making it more practical and effective to administer.

The bill also introduces more flexible powers to require the publication of information reported under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme. The scheme provides a single national framework for companies to report information about greenhouse gas emissions, energy production and energy consumption. By enabling more of the information submitted under the scheme to be published, these amendments will improve transparency around emissions and energy data. They will also make the scheme more effective and efficient to administer while allowing more detailed information to be published when needed through a flexible regulation-making power.

The bill also makes technical amendments to the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act 2024 to adjust the timing and alignment of key milestone dates, ensuring that the standard operates as originally intended. The Albanese Labor government legislated the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard in 2024. This helps give more Australians more choice when it comes to buying their next vehicle, with a greater and better range of cars, including more hybrid and electric vehicles. And we can see these new standards at work, with Australians increasingly choosing to buy electrical vehicles. In the last month alone, electric vehicle sales overtook petrol car sales in Australia. More Australian drivers are choosing lower running costs and greater choice. More than 27,000 battery electric vehicles were sold, accounting for nearly one in four new vehicle sales. These figures reflect the broader trend across the year, with electric vehicle sales increasing significantly.

The amendment in this bill addresses a timing issue affecting how vehicle suppliers meet their emissions targets under the standard. It will ensure that the scheme continues to operate as intended. Australia's path to net zero depends on credible action and on institutions that people can trust. Our carbon market is an important part of that effort. It supports emissions reduction, encourages investment and provides a framework for businesses and individuals to contribute to our environmental and economic objectives. This bill builds on that foundation. It strengthens the integrity and transparency of carbon crediting, improves emissions reporting and makes practical adjustments to the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard. These are important steps towards ensuring that our policies remain credible, effective and fit for purpose.

These reforms in the bill before the House are just one part of the Albanese Labor government's achievements when it comes to the environment and the transition of our energy sector. Since coming to government, the Albanese Labor government has taken real action to protect our environment and secure our future energy supplies whilst investing in the workforce and industries of the future in the clean energy sector. And we haven't wasted a moment. The Albanese Labor government has approved a record number of renewable energy projects, enough to power more than 11 million homes. While the coalition spent years during its wasted decade waging climate wars and lobbying against renewables, we on this side the House are getting on with preparing Australia for its future energy needs, harnessing the economic opportunities of the transition and ensuring that Australian industry and workers remain central to this process.

To achieve this, the Albanese Labor government has ensured that renewable projects are considered as quickly as possible. This includes investments through our Future Made in Australia plan. This investment will develop and maintain a national priority list of renewable energy projects and accelerate environmental assessments for some projects on that priority list. The National Renewable Energy Priority List supports critical renewable energy projects across Australia. The list specifically focuses on projects that are important to help Australia meet its renewable energy targets and supports the facilitation of faster approvals through a 'faster to yes or faster to no' approach when it comes to environmental decisions. As of March last year, the priority list had identified 56 priority projects, including 24 transmission projects and 32 generation and storage projects. Faster approvals and timely rejections allow the sector to get on with the job of supporting the projects needed for the energy transition and create the jobs that come with it.

We're also giving households more agency over their energy consumption through our Cheaper Home Batteries program. Over 500,000 cheaper home batteries have now been installed across Australia under this government's program, helping households and businesses store cheap solar, cut power bills and take pressure off the grid. This is a game changer for energy bills, with many able to save a thousand dollars or more on their energy bills each year. And, with those savings on bills, people will be able to pay down the cost of their battery faster. In my electorate, 2,396 cheaper home batteries have been taken up across our community to date, with Mickleham and Craigieburn leading the way. This demonstrates that families in our outer suburbs, right across this country, including in my electorate, are centre stage of this government's efforts for more, cheaper and cleaner energy. That's local households and businesses investing in energy upgrades that help lower their bills and give them back control of their energy costs, helping families save both now and into the future.

These reforms are not just about strengthening environmental integrity. They're also about maintaining a credible and effective framework that gives businesses the confidence to invest, innovate and participate in Australia's transition to a more competitive, lower emissions economy. For these reasons, I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.