Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I am going to write that down. Senator Birmingham just said that something we put forward is an elegant solution! I am very pleased and I thank him for the contribution. Senator Milne, we have sought in this debate to manage a range of policy objectives. What we are saying is that there is the capacity in this scheme to alter the price if required within certain circumstances. That is no different, Senator, to your amendment (8), which is to appoint a small-scale technology certificate advisory board and to give the power to the minister to alter the multiplier. If you think about the effective subsidy for Australian households, it is a product of the number of RECs times the price of the RECs times the multiplier. We are saying that we need some capacity to look at the price in the event that what is predicted is substantially wrong, if the number of certificates is over the six million that is predicted. You are saying the same thing, except you are choosing to look at the multiplier. They are the same policy issues. If you are critical of this position then you would withdraw that amendment, because it effectively does the same thing. I think this is a sensible arrangement. It seeks to give certainty to both sides and, for that reason, it is being supported.

Question agreed to.