Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Emo is the gen Y version of goths. That is my understanding. Obviously, in Queensland, having a warmer climate, we do not have as many goths as there are in the UK or somewhere like that—although you still see a lot of capes in the middle of summer in some parts of Brisbane. I was hoping for a combination of the ‘NEM’ and ‘AEMO’ for the sake of my younger children—perhaps the ‘Nemo’—but we did not come up with that, unfortunately. We are stuck with AEMO.

The references in legislation to the old body must be updated. This will apply to two separate acts, including the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 and the Trade Practices Act 1974. COAG agreed to establish the Australian Energy Market Operator to strengthen the governance of the energy market and to help achieve a more consistent national approach to energy sector regulation. I must admit, as someone who is very supportive of free markets to a certain extent, the national electricity market is a great example of it. Anyone with a computer can have a look at the NEM on their screens and see the price changes in operation. It can be right in front of their eyes. They can see the decisions made by people in power stations on whether to press buttons to start up some of the peakers to create electricity. I am sure those opposite would be very supportive of the NEM and how it operates. In my previous job as an adviser at the Department of Mines and Energy, outside the office of the Director-General, Dan Hunt, one could see the NEM on television screens. People would always be quite amazed to see how it was operating all around the country, apart from Western Australia.

Back to the topic before the House. The new Australian Energy Market Operator reflects a convergence of regulatory frameworks for gas and electricity. It makes good business sense for the energy industry to deal with one body, as AEMO will assume the functions that are currently undertaken by mostly state based energy market operators. I also understand that it will undertake new functions for electricity as a national transmission planner and for gas it will produce an annual gas statement of opportunities. That is very important for Queensland, because we have so many great coal seam gas and other gas opportunities. I am sure many of the constituents of the member for Dawson would work in these projects.

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