Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. I think she is referring to the Climate Change Authority advice which I tabled in the House earlier today. I commend it to all honourable members—it's a very good report—together with the other documents I tabled. The Climate Change Authority advice I tabled underlines the size of the challenge. I think the honourable member would agree. We have had 12 million tonnes of average annual emissions reduction over the last decade. We need to hit 17 million tonnes from today and every year in order to meet our targets, in order to meet net zero. That is a big task. But the government's determination—and, I'm sure, the country's determination—is up to that task.

In relation to the honourable member's question, what the government intends to do is exactly what we promised to do, and that is to reform the safeguard mechanism, to drive down emissions in existing facilities and in all facilities. We will not reduce emissions in Australia unless we get them down from our 200 biggest emitters. That is the case.

Yesterday I introduced the safeguard mechanism reform bill into the House. That's one small part of the reform—although it was, to be fair, something the previous government was planning to do, so I would expect them to support it, given they'd actually promised to do it, but we'll see what they do. But that is one small part of the reforms.

I'll be issuing a draft regulation in coming weeks which will outline the government's approach, following a very extensive consultation process, which includes how to deal with new entrants into the safeguards facility, whether they be entrants which go over the 100,000-tonne limit for the first time or greenfields entrants. It will explain all of those details, after 240 submissions which the government has very extensively gone through. I think I'm right in saying that the honourable member put in a submission, which I read and which was well thought out. I look forward to issuing that draft regulation. And I will take questions from honourable members here in the House or privately.

See this speech in context