Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I'll take the government at their word that they did not share with the Greens the modelling that they so desperately sought originally in this debate and somehow that desire for transparency and understanding what underpinned the government's proposal here suddenly just evaporated. Anyway, I'll let that speak for itself.

I just want to unpack the answer around modelling of the impacts of the changes arising out of the agreement with the Greens and others. I would like to understand from your answer—so, Treasury did some analysis of onsite abatement, I think you said? I'm sure you'll have a chance to respond when we come back in the afternoon, because we're about to suspend, I understand. But was any analysis taken by any department or any minister's office—any third party outside of government—around what impact these changes that have been agreed to with the Australian Greens would have on, for example, power prices, fuel costs and inputs into the manufacturing process, such as in industries like the fertiliser manufacturing sector?

I think it's important to understand that the government who went through a very lengthy consultation process, publicly, and presented a bill—one that we disagreed with—highlighted the importance of getting it right. I just wonder whether you can indicate to the Senate whether you've gone through the same level of in-depth analysis to assure yourselves of what you're signing up to here to get a bill through isn't going to have a negative impact, given that you've put so much work into making sure that this thing actually works in the way that the Australian government said it should before the election. Again, I disagree with the assessment the government is putting forward here: that it'll improve environmental and economic outcomes. I think it will, in fact, be disastrous on both counts. But, when we come back to the debate a little later on today, I would just like to get an assurance from you that you haven't sold us up the creek with no modelling on the Greens' proposals that you've agreed to.

Progress reported.