Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to speak to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment Bill 2008, which is another important step in the Rudd Labor government’s program to address climate change. This bill is another example of our determination to tackle this issue. This step is important in itself, but it is also an indicator that we are now getting on with the job of tackling the issue of climate change.

Thankfully, we are now well past the days of inaction and scepticism of the previous coalition government. We are now moving into an age where greenhouse gas emissions have to be recorded and reported on and this information made public. This is another important day for the future of our planet. For me, this gives a real feeling of relief—a feeling that we are now finally getting somewhere on this important matter. I cannot easily describe my feelings of frustration with the previous government. They continued to deny climate change was a matter of urgency. Pretending to believe in human induced climate change but doing nothing to seriously collect information on it, let alone doing something to address it, leaves the consequences, of course, for the next generation. The enormous social and economic consequences would be significant. When the whole scientific world was crying out for them to do something, in my mind that was the greatest act of irresponsibility of any federal Liberal government since Federation. Theirs was a government that said: ‘Who cares about the future? Hang the consequences; we just want to get elected.’

This bill starts to put in place an emissions disclosure and reporting system that has real integrity. With this bill, today is a good day for us. But there is another more important day approaching—31 October 2009. That day will see the first corporate reports by industry on their emissions. That will be another milestone day for Australia’s climate change response. I hope that the media gives it the attention it deserves. It is the first national emissions knowledge day—a very important step. It will show that we are indeed finally really getting somewhere in addressing this great challenge of our generation and what will be an even greater challenge for future generations. Under these climate change initiatives, corporations that go over agreed emissions thresholds must have registered by 31 August 2009 and they must provide information about their emissions and energy use for the 2008-09 financial year.

This bill improves a number of aspects in the administration of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007. It ensures that the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System will collect robust comparable data across the Australian economy. This information is absolutely critical for two reasons. Firstly, it will underpin the emissions trading scheme, which is essential to systematically address climate change. Secondly, it will provide better information to the public. Obviously the first point is intrinsically important. To operate an emissions trading scheme, we need a detailed and comprehensive emissions reporting system, industry by industry and company by company. But the second point is also important. I believe that the public are crying out for information about the world’s emitters. The Australian public are crying out for real data and information on the big Australian emitters. I certainly want to know more. Public knowledge is actually critical in informing a consumer market. Public disclosure is an area where this bill does go beyond existing policy. The impact of these amendments will see an increase in the amount of information collected and publicly disclosed. I believe this important public knowledge will inform consumer behaviour on product purchasing and as such will have a positive effect on addressing climate change. Once the public know who the big emitters are, and consequently what products create the most emissions, I believe the public will make more judicious purchasing decisions. They will buy fewer products that create more emissions. That, I believe, will be the natural outcome.

There is another important area affected by increased public disclosure: it affects investor behaviour. As we know, investor behaviour can have a clear impact on the future of any industry. This bill makes sure that the public and investors get better access to information on greenhouse gas emissions. We should not underestimate the impact that this will have in improving our climate change outcomes. I think, in fact, that it will be profound.

I would not be the first to say that knowledge is power. In this case knowledge about emitters is power to influence the consequences of climate change, power to make more informed decisions. This bill will expand the number of items which can be published relating to a corporation’s greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, including separate public disclosure of both direct and indirect emissions and disclosure of information about the methods used to calculate emissions. This bill will also provide some clarification about what can be publicly disclosed. It will allow publication of data according to a corporation’s business units and will confirm that totals may be published as falling between a specific range of values in cases to avoid revealing trade secrets or commercially sensitive information. Allowing publication of information relating to offsets is very important. It is also important to say that this bill allows corporations to apply to have information withheld from publication if it reveals trade secrets or commercially sensitive information. This will be expanded to cover the new matters which are subject to publication.

I would like to add a warning here: it is very important that we monitor this area closely. Whilst not intended to do so, these sorts of clauses can be used to withhold information under the guise of commercial confidentiality. Whilst most companies do the right thing and most company directors are aware of their corporate governance responsibilities, there are always a few who cut corners, particularly if it is in their commercial interest—even more so if they work in an industry that is under significant pressure. Clearly, some industries will come under great pressure as we have to adapt to climate change. We have no choice. This is part and parcel of the process we are currently undergoing of the great change to new industries. Those companies that are very heavy emitters must change their ways. They must have help and assistance and the transition must be known and measured, but they must change their ways. There is no alternative.

The Iron Lady once said—and I hate to quote her but it is very apt here—for the future of our planet ‘there is no alternative’. It is vital for both public confidence and public awareness that the public knows who the heavy emitters are. So, we have to keep a very close eye on the reporting system to make sure it is working and that corporations are complying fully. I am confident that the government is aware of this and will monitor trends in this area very closely.

As I have already said, knowledge is very important in this issue. On this issue, I would like to suggest a glimpse of a future world, a world where managing greenhouse gas emissions is an even bigger imperative than it is today. One day I would like to see a product market with a lot more information on emissions. One day in the future I believe we will have a system in place where, alongside the ingredients and documented nutritional values of products, we will also have a rating for emissions units for each and every product. In the future, we will have the bar of soap or the jar of Vegemite which has on the packaging the calculation for the emissions trading units. Or perhaps it will be just on the jar, because I am sure the pressure to do away with a lot of packaging will build intensely in the coming years. But that is at a stage in the future hopefully not too distant.

Another important aspect of this bill is that it allows the minister to specify conditions for methods of measuring greenhouse gas emissions and energy—to specify a rating system for such methods. Any reports made in the future will need to meet any such conditions. The bill will allow offsets to be reported separately from the greenhouse gas projects. Currently, the act only allows offsets to be reported if they arise from a project carried out by the corporation. Importantly, this would exclude the possibility of reporting offsets created by the activities of different corporations. The regulations on offsets are still under development. But, as is already the case for greenhouse gas projects, information about offsets may be published. This bill also ensures that a contractor to a member of a controlling corporation’s group may report their emissions directly to the government, and ensures that public disclosure of a corporation’s data according to business units has been included following consultation with industry. Several leading industry players have requested this option.

The Australian government are committed to reducing greenhouse emissions. We are absolutely committed to securing robust, accurate and reliable data to build an emissions reduction scheme based on science and with real integrity. The government are working cooperatively and sensibly with Australian business and state and territory governments to implement the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System. Unlike the previous government—today’s opposition—we are totally committed to taking the necessary steps, in a measured way, towards addressing climate change. The conservative parties throughout history have always been characterised by an ideology that relegates our environment to second place. They have always taken the view, ‘If there is an industry that pollutes, she’ll be right. We’ll fix that up some time later.’ Well, today there is no ‘some time later’. The chooks have come home to roost. The opposition are all under their benches, hiding, on this issue. And their fearless leader? What a joke.

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