James Bidgood (Dawson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Australian Energy Market Amendment (AEMO and Other Measures) Bill 2009. This bill makes amendments to a number of Commonwealth acts to facilitate a nationally consistent approach to energy market regulation, as it is in the national interest to have a standardisation, a universal approach. Obviously this is efficient, avoids duplication, avoids unnecessary administration and promotes good service. The amendments are required for the establishment of the Australian Energy Market Operator, which the Council of Australian Governments at its meeting on 13 April 2007 requested be established by 1 July 2009.

Although the AEMO will be a company limited by guarantee, it is proposed that statutory functions will be conferred on it by way of amendments to the National Electricity Law, a schedule to the National Electricity (South Australia) Act 1996, or the NEL, and a schedule to the National Gas (South Australia) Act 2008, known as the NGL. The NEL and the NGL form part of a complementary scheme of regulation in which they are templates enacted by South Australian law and adopted and applied, as amended, from time to time by South Australia and other participating jurisdictions.

Upon its establishment, the AEMO will assume the responsibilities and functions of existing electricity and gas market operators, including the National Electricity Market Management Company Ltd ACN 072 101 327, known as NEMMCO, along with the retail and wholesale gas market operation functions performed in the various jurisdictions, except the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The AEMO will also undertake a number of significant new functions to enhance investment decision making on the need for and location of new infrastructure in the energy section. The most significant are the National Transmission Planner function and the production of an annual gas statement of opportunities.

Although only minor amendments are required to Commonwealth legislation, they are critical to the ongoing operation of the national electricity market, which uses a cooperative legislative model, with South Australia as the lead legislator. Amendments are also required to correct references to Western Australian legislation, which will enable key elements of the national gas access regime to apply to parts of the Commonwealth’s offshore area.

Following on from the comments made previously by the member for Oxley, I do concur that once we have a national approach, a united approach and a national standard of regulation across the whole country, it will create huge efficiencies in regulating and monitoring what is happening with our energy sources. Also, there are issues such as cleaner coal, which we are actively supporting. We had an agreement between industry and government that we would put in half a billion dollars and industry would put in $1 billion in order to create cleaner coal. I think that is a more accurate description. ‘Clean’ coal does not sound quite right. What we are doing is achieving cleaner coal, which, when it is burned, releases less carbon into the atmosphere. We know full well that the coal industry is absolutely vital to our economy.

To its credit, the Rudd Labor government has put forward a stimulus package of $42 billion. It has been absolutely welcomed by the community. It was particularly welcomed by the green section of the community when they saw the investment in insulation in 2.2 million homes. We are going to help every home across the nation that does not have insulation to be more energy efficient. This energy efficiency means that between now and 2020 we are going to reduce the carbon going into the atmosphere by 49 million tonnes. That is efficiency. That is a good investment. Perhaps the other side of politics do not realise that this is going to reduce 49 million tonnes of carbon in the atmosphere, which fulfils our obligation under the Kyoto agreement to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. That is absolutely vital.

We are going to be producing cleaner coal from Western Australia, from the coalfields of the Bowen Basin and various other areas of Australia, along with gas and thermal coal. We need to be conscious that we have efficient regulation and no duplication. These amendments just tidy things up to make a more streamlined, efficient system. As the member for Oxley said earlier, not only do we have cleaner coal, with the research that has been done on it, and the investment in insulation in every home across the nation—2.2 million homes—also we have a commitment to solar hot water systems and photovoltaic research. So there are lots of things going on, particularly with thermal coal and the thermal mining possibilities which I am conscious of, particularly in Queensland. It does annoy me that the other side of politics does not seem to get it that this is all about jobs—in this case, it is about creating thousands of green jobs. When we, with our political determination, put forward our policies on an emissions trading scheme—and how we are going to cost that and what efficiencies it will bring—we will be seen as making clear, decisive decisions in bringing forward a system which will account for carbon escaping into the atmosphere. That is the responsible but not the popular thing to do. It is very difficult to get the balance right between the green lobby groups and the business lobby groups, but someone somewhere has to stand up to be counted.

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