Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

At the last election, the coalition made two commitments to the Australian people: firstly, that we would abolish the carbon tax and, secondly, that we would implement the direct action plan through the Emissions Reduction Fund that is at its heart. The repeal of the carbon tax was the incoming government's first piece of legislation before this parliament. The carbon tax increased electricity and gas prices for Australian households, was a greater than $15 billion drag on Australian businesses over its first two years and fundamentally failed in its primary task.

The government has delivered on this commitment. Repeal of the carbon tax led to the largest reduction in household electricity prices on record. Nearly five years ago the coalition also announced our plan to tackle climate change through the Emissions Reduction Fund. Since coming to office, we have worked exactly as we said we would, step by step, to develop the Emissions Reduction Fund, in close consultation with the community, business and the broader Australian electorate. Passage of this bill with these amendments will put our direct action plan into action and deliver on our election commitment.

The Emissions Reduction Fund

The fund is the centrepiece of the government’s approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It implements a new, long-term framework for stable and sustainable climate change policy in Australia. It is my view that this will lay the foundation for a system for the next 20 to 30 years, if not beyond.

The Emissions Reduction Fund is a major environmental program as well as a major investment in emissions reductions. The $2.55 billion contained within the fund is an opportunity for community and environmental projects and for businesses and farmers to participate in emissions reductions across the country. Unlike the carbon tax, which punishes business, the Emissions Reduction Fund will create positive incentives for businesses, households and farmers to undertake practical projects to reduce emissions and unlock co-benefits.

Passage of this bill will provide a future for the more than 170 existing Carbon Farming Initiative projects. Without this bill those projects would be at risk. It also will see the benefits of the fund extend to all sectors of the economy. For example, the fund will support energy efficiency projects to reduce business and household costs; or land sector projects that help reduce erosion, improve water quality or protect biodiversity, where they are underpinned by a reduction in overall emissions. It will support projects in the transport sector; projects to capture waste coal mine gas; projects to clean up power stations; or strategic burning of savannah lands by Indigenous and other groups.

Acknowledgements

I want to acknowledge that the bill passed through the Senate on 31 October with amendments. For that, I would like to thank the Palmer United Party. I particularly want to thank Senator Xenophon, Senator Madigan and Senator Muir, Senator Wang, Senator Lazarus and Senator Lambie for their support and constructive contributions.

I also want to acknowledge the work of the department and the Clean Energy Regulator, led by Chloe Munro. Within the department I acknowledge Steven Kennedy, for his extraordinary work, Shayleen Thompson, James White, Kushla Munro, Kristin Tilley, Hilton Taylor, Peter Nicholas, Trevor Power—as the initial architect of our proposal—Maya Stuart Fox, Tas Sakellaris and all of the officers within the Emissions Reduction Fund division within the environment departments. Within my own office I acknowledge the extraordinary and unparalleled work of Temay Rigzin and Alex Caroly, my chief of staff Wendy Black, Sarah Meredith. Also, within the Prime Minister's office I acknowledge the strong and unswerving support of Sarah McNamara and Peta Credlin. Their assistance was essential.

The government’s view has been clear and consistent. We accept and embrace the science of climate change. We remain firmly committed to our national emissions reduction targets in relation to 2020. These target represents a substantial effort and, as I indicated last week, are comparable to other advanced economies. We will support international actions as we head towards the Paris conference, and we want a good global agreement. Australia has a track record of delivering on its emissions targets and we will achieve this as well.

Fundamentally, we believe that there is a better way to reduce emissions than through a punitive tax on electricity. This is why we are delivering on the Emissions Reduction Fund. At the end of the day we commend this bill to the House. We commend the amendments to the House. We can reduce emissions, but we can do it without a carbon tax.

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