Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Select Committee on Australia's Clean Energy Future Legislation I present the committee's report entitled Advisory report on the Clean Energy Bills and the Steel Transformation Bill 2011, incorporating supplementary remarks and a dissenting report together with the minutes of proceedings. I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

The committee reviewed the Clean Energy Bill 2011, the other 17 bills in the clean energy package and the Steel Transformation Plan Bill 2011. The committee has concluded the bills should pass. Australia is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least five per cent below 2000 levels by 2020. This lies at the heart of Australia's efforts to introduce a mechanism to place a value on greenhouse gas emissions and to achieve lasting reductions over time.

The government has a plan to meet this target and looks beyond it to meet longer-term commitments to reduce our emissions, which is set out in the 18 bills and the clean energy legislative package and the Steel Transformation Plan Bill 2011. The design of the plan has been the subject of considerable public debate and discussion on policy development. Our national commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions is based on scientific evidence about the adverse impacts on our planet and a nation of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity both now and over the longer term. The scientific evidence is well founded, is accepted and continues to be appropriately tested and scrutinised; however, the committee also noted that many unfounded and unwarranted attacks have been made on scientists in the course of this debate.

As a nation we have been discussing this issue for more than 10 years. There have been numerous reviews since 1999, all of which have concluded that a market based emissions trading scheme is the most appropriate way to act. Other countries are acting, through mechanisms designed to suit our own situations, including through emissions trading schemes.

Since 2009 the Australian parliament has considered legislation to introduce a mechanism to put a price on greenhouse gas emissions. The bills in the clean energy legislative package reflect this decade of policy development, consultation and scrutiny. In considering the package the committee has looked at whether it provides a foundation for future economic growth and for the transition to an economy based on cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. It is clear that a regulatory framework which provides certainty over time and allows businesses to make the decisions about the most appropriate way to act is preferable to one in which the government directs outcomes. The consequences of not having a robust and certain framework are clear: businesses will face greater risk associated with making decisions and act or not act accordingly. The package provides the certainty that businesses need to make those decisions to ensure future investment.

It is appropriate that people, in considering a reform, should consider the short-term impacts that will have. The government has addressed these through a series of measures to provide transitional assistance to emissions-intensive trade exposed industries, household assistance to low- and middle-income earners and measures to improve energy efficiency and the development and adoption of new technologies. Beyond this, the longer-term costs of not taking action must also be considered. There are the direct economic consequences of squeezing the task of meeting our 2020 commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions into a shorter and shorter time frame. But further inaction or delay also poses deeper and more long-lasting impacts for us all. There is a clear and real detriment from not tackling the task of greenhouse gas emissions reduction in a coordinated way. It will stifle investment in clean energy and energy efficiency, delay the adoption of new technologies and increase the ultimate costs we all must bear. The costs of economic change are greatly reduced when they occur gradually, which the package proposes.

The impact of delaying investment in our energy sector is real and serious. Individual Australians are now experiencing the costs of not making necessary investment in energy infrastructure due to a lack of certainty on addressing greenhouse gas emissions reduction. They have faced significant increases in electricity prices precisely because we have not taken action, and these impacts will continue. These costs far outstrip any impact on placing a price on greenhouse gas emissions now.

In considering how to meet our commitment to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions, we must ensure that the regulatory framework does this, at least cost, in a way which is tailored to the Australian economy and which ensures the transitional costs are minimised. It is also critical that this framework gives clarity and certainty for investors over time, particularly in our critical energy sector. The committee is confident that the package delivers these outcomes.

The committee received evidence from a range of businesses, local governments and others who may be covered by the mechanism. While many of these acknowledged the benefits that would flow from the full range of reforms encompassed by the package, including the recently passed carbon farming initiative, there was a degree of uncertainty about its application from some groups. This uncertainty is to some extent understandable, given the high level of much public discussion and the misconceptions about the reforms that have been gained. To deal with this, considerable effort is needed in the implementation of the package to ensure that those covered by it are aware of its implications, their obligations and the opportunities available to them. I commend the report to the House and I encourage everyone to read it.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 2 pm, the debate is interrupted.