Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Hunter has just interjected. I listened to his speech with great interest. He said, quite correctly, that energy is an increasing issue, particularly due to global warming. Many scientific experts agree with the prospect of global warming; others discount it. I am not a scientist, but I listen to all aspects of the argument. He also said, and I agree, that most energy comes from finite resources. It is important that governments of all persuasions obtain maximum benefit from any resource available—that it is not wasted. The member for Hunter also said that we need energy independence from other countries. That is true, and for the first time what he is admitting in essence is that fuel prices are influenced by other nations, including the cost of oil. The basis of that argument is supply and demand. But, as I said, in principle we reject the opposition amendment.

As the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources said when introducing this bill, a secure, reliable and affordable energy supply is of fundamental importance to Australia. For this reason, it is vital that the regulatory regime governing the nation’s energy sector is sound. The Productivity Commission’s review of the gas access regime has been a key input into the work of the Ministerial Council on Energy on natural gas and a major motivation behind the two new greenfield incentives for gas pipelines agreed to by the council.

The first incentive allows the proponent of a proposed pipeline to seek a full exemption from regulation under the gas access regime for the pipeline’s first 15 years of operation. The second incentive allows proponents to seek an exemption from price regulation for a proposed international transmission pipeline, which will deliver foreign gas to Australia. The key driver for this incentive is the importance of securing Australia’s long-term energy security needs, while recognising the additional complexity of international infrastructure projects.

These measures are another example of how this government’s collaborative approach to energy policy with the states and territories is making substantial progress towards our goal of a truly national and efficient energy market. The incentive mechanisms were included in a bill to amend the South Australian ‘lead legislation’ for the gas access regime which passed the South Australian lower house on 30 May.

The Energy Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 implements key changes to Commonwealth legislation to ensure the two greenfield gas pipeline incentives can function properly. First, they remove the possible application of regulation under part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act to a pipeline granted one of the incentives. Secondly, they ensure that the gas access regime can remain a certified effective access regime, notwithstanding the availability of these incentives. This bill is a positive signal to market participants aimed at cutting regulatory burden and encouraging investment in greenfield pipelines to help meet our rising energy demand. As I have said, I do not accept the amendment put forward by the member for Batman, but I commend the bill to the House.

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