Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was very pleased to hear the member for Lowe’s contribution. It brought home to me that he knows that climate change is real. He is not a climate change sceptic like many on the other side. He is a man of foresight, a man who can appreciate that, unless we address the issue of climate change, it is going to have an enormous impact not only on Australia but on our planet.

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment Bill 2008 makes a number of enhancements to the administration of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007. The act requires mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and energy data by large corporations. The act was originally passed by the previous government in 2007. This bill expands the amount of corporate information which will be published by the government in other respects. The bill imposes no regulatory burden on industry beyond the original intent of the act. The bill will expand the number of items which can be published relating to corporate greenhouse emissions. That includes separate public disclosure of direct emissions, indirect emissions and methods used to calculate emissions. This bill will also provide some clarification about what can be publicly disclosed, including: allowing publication of data according to a corporation’s business units; confirming that totals may be published as falling between a specified range of values in cases to avoid revealing trade secrets or commercially sensitive information, which is vital; and allowing the publication of information relating to offsets. Corporations can apply to have the information withheld from publication if it reveals trade secrets or commercially sensitive information.

When it comes to climate change, when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the opposition has let the Australian people down. When the opposition sat on the government benches in this parliament, it failed to sign Kyoto—it failed to recognise that greenhouse gases were causing enormous problems for our planet. It was because we recognise the absolute importance of addressing the issue of greenhouse gases that in April 2007 the Prime Minister authorised the Garnaut review. That was in April, while we were still in opposition. That showed that we had a vision, that we recognised that climate change was a reality and that we recognised that the then government was full of climate change sceptics and people that had a very narrow approach to looking at the environment and evaluating issues that could wreak enormous degradation upon our planet.

The Garnaut review was an independent assessment of the impacts of human induced climate change on the Australian economy. Professor Garnaut released his draft final report on 4 July. This report, along with his final report on 30 September this year, will provide a valuable contribution to the government’s climate change policy. Professor Garnaut’s July report is a timely reminder that the world is warming and this is causing more droughts, water shortages and extreme weather conditions. Last week I was in Darwin with the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties receiving submissions and evidence on the Kyoto protocol. Whilst we were there we learnt a lot about the issues confronting the people of the Northern Territory and Darwin relating to and arising from climate change and the associated greenhouse gases. Professor Garnaut’s report highlighted that in Australia we would be having more drought, water shortages and extreme conditions. In a place like Darwin, extreme conditions means more cyclones, and that would be a real challenge for that community.

One of the recommendations—and one that we on this side of the House embrace—is for an emissions trading scheme. We are committed to reducing our greenhouse gases by 60 per cent by 2050 and introducing an emissions trading scheme. That is at the absolute heart of Australia’s efforts to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest possible cost to our economy. The ETS is an economically responsible way of tackling climate change because it will move us from the heavy greenhouse pollution economy of the past to a clean economy of the future, at the lowest possible cost to families and businesses. Emissions trading has been proven to be the most significant economic and structural reform in Australia since the trade liberalisation in the 1980s. The principle that will guide the design of the ETS is a cap-and-trade scheme. The caps—that is, the limits on emissions—will be designed to place Australia on a low-emission path in a way that best manages the economic impacts of the transition while assuring our ongoing economic prosperity.

It is vital to Australia’s future that we reduce our carbon pollution. That is why the green paper was released. It set out some possible directions that could be taken. It set out the basic mechanism of a cap-and-trade carbon pollution scheme and it contained 10 key commitments. These 10 key commitments include investing in households and economic growth. This commitment states:

Every cent raised from the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme will be used to help Australians—households and businesses—adjust to the scheme ...

The government recognises that there will be a real need for adjustment, but it also recognises that it is vitally important to our country and to our planet that we go down this path.

The key commitments also include a cent-for-cent offset in fuel price impacts and increasing payments to pensioners, carers and seniors. So it is looking after those people who are most vulnerable in our community. They also include commitments to helping low-income households and middle-income households and reviewing and improving assistance measures. That will look at the adequacy of payments to people who are receiving benefits and at the overall impact of the scheme.

The key commitments also include ramping up energy efficiency. That is what we talk about a lot on this side of parliament. That is something that seems to be missing from the opposition, with its failure to support the government on these issues.

The key commitments also include supporting heavy vehicle road users. We all know that, for heavy vehicle road users, fuel taxes are going to be cut on a cent-by-cent basis to offset the initial price impact of fuel associated with the impact of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. This will be one of the measures that will be reviewed after year 1. As I started to say, we all know that heavy vehicle users will have to be looked after and have special issues that need to be examined in relation to Australia’s carbon reduction scheme.

We will also be creating the Climate Action Fund, which is a very important part of the government’s approach. That commitment includes capital investment in innovative new low emissions processes, industrial energy efficiency projects with long payback periods and dissemination of best and innovative practices among small to medium sized enterprises. Finally, we will be keeping the energy industry strong.

That is a plan to address a real issue. That is a plan to address the degradation caused by greenhouse gases. It is a recognition that climate change is real. It is a recognition that the opposition has failed to deal with this matter and it is a recognition that this government will act and act decisively to address the issue of climate change.

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