Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change) Share this | Hansard source

Once again, I thank the member for Lyne, supported by the member for Kennedy, for putting forward these amendments. As was discussed on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 a short while ago, these amendments proposed by the member for Lyne would give power to set scheme caps under the CPRS to the Climate Change Regulatory Authority. For the same reasons I articulated on a previous occasion, the government decided in the white paper that scheme caps and gateways should be set in regulations and be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. The government took that decision on the basis that the scheme caps and gateways are enormously important—I think we have a position in common with the member for Lyne on that point—and they have potentially significant implications for the national economy. In the interests of accountability and the interests of elected representatives, we as a government believe it is important that the executive and the parliament, rather than an independent regulator, make decisions about scheme caps and gateways. For those reasons, the government is opposed to the amendments. But we are very respectful of the purposes for which they have been put forward by the member for Lyne. I move:

That the question be now put.

Question agreed to.

Original question negatived.

Bill agreed to.

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