Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Resources) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Australian Energy Market Amendment (National Energy Retail Law) Bill 2011 and to indicate that the coalition will support the amendment. The bill amends legislation to apply to the National Energy Retail Law, the National Energy Retail Rules and the National Energy Retail Regulations as Commonwealth law and thereby facilitates its nationally consistent and effective application. It provides for the conferral of functions and powers of the Commonwealth bodies acting within the framework, including the Australian Energy Regulator and the Australian Competition Tribunal. It also provides for judicial review of decisions of the AER under the NERL.

It is a procedural bill but, nonetheless, an important bill. The NERL is the final major component of the National Energy Market Reform program agreed to by the Council of Australian Governments in response to the 2002 COAG energy market review entitled Towards a truly national and efficient energy market and as set out in the Australian Energy Market Agreement. I am advised that participating jurisdictions have committed to commencing legislation applying to the NERL by 1 July 2012. The amendments to the Commonwealth legislation in this bill will ensure that the relevant Commonwealth bodies, which are conferred with functions, powers and duties under the NERL, including the AER, are able to perform those functions and duties and to exercise those powers from the commencement date.

I am particularly glad to take this opportunity to speak on this bill today, given that it puts in place the final pieces of a comprehensive program of national energy market reform which began under the COAG process in 2002 and took major steps during my time as the responsible minister. This has not always been an easy process. At times, dare I say, it has been an entertaining but fruitless process. However, in the long run we have succeeded. In the end, energy market reform is literally the driving force behind our economy and it is therefore important that we maintain the momentum on this reform and complete it. As I say, it was a difficult process. I saw state energy ministers come and go, particularly from New South Wales, with monotonous regularity—names that are simply blasts from the past. Whatever happened to Kim Yeadon? We know what happened to Carl Scully. There were ministers who saw energy market reform as something that should not happen because their state treasurers were opposed to changes that may endanger their income supply from the energy assets that those states have. Of course, we know what has continued to happen with regard to those energy assets and the impact that they are having on electricity prices.

Ms Hall interjecting—

Am I interrupting you, Jill?

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