Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (1) to (5), as circulated in my name, together:

(1) Schedule 1, item 4, page 4 (after line 10), after the definition of issue, insert:

new fossil fuel facility has the meaning given by section 22XJA.

(2) Schedule 1, page 6 (after line 30), after item 21, insert:

21A After subsection 22XE(2)

Insert:

(2A) An exemption declaration must not be made in relation to a new fossil fuel facility.

(3) Schedule 1, page 7 (after line 15), after item 26, insert:

26A At the end of Division 2 of Part 3H

Add:

22X FA Limit on net emissions for new fossil fuel facilities

If:

(a) a person is or was the responsible emitter for a facility; and

(b) the facility is a new fossil fuel facility for all, or part, of a financial year;

the person must ensure that the net amount of covered emissions of greenhouse gases from the operation of the facility during the financial year does not exceed zero.

Civil penalty: The number of penalty units that is equal to the amount (in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalence) by which the net amount of covered emissions of greenhouse gases from the operation of the facility during the financial year exceeds zero.

26B Af ter section 22XJ

Insert:

22XJA New fossil fuel facility

(1) For the purposes of this Act, a facility is a new fossil fuel facility for a financial year (the current financial year) if:

(a) during the current financial year, the facility conducts an activity, or a series of activities, for the purpose of extracting, processing, supplying or exporting coal, oil or natural gas; and

(b) either:

(i) as at 1 July 2023,a calculated-emissions baseline determination has never been made in relation to the facility under the safeguard rules; or

(ii) on 1 July 2023 the facility is an existing facility and during all, or part, of the current financial year the facility undertakes new operations of a kind specified in subsection (2).

(2) For the purposes of subparagraph (1)(b)(ii), the following kinds of new operations are specified:

(a) new operations that increase the annual production of the facility;

(b) new operations that extend the number of years of production of the facility;

(c) new operations that involve the development of new reserves that were not already under production by the facility on 1 July 2023.

(4) Schedule 1, item 67, page 30 (after line 16), after subitem (3), insert:

(3A) Section 22XFA of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007, as added by Part 1 of this Schedule, applies in relation to the financial year beginning on 1 July 2023 and later financial years.

(3B) Section 22XJA of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007, as inserted by Part 1 of this Schedule, applies in relation to the financial year beginning on 1 July 2023 and later financial years.

(5) Schedule 4, page 49 (after line 27), at the end of the Schedule, add:

6 After section 259

Insert:

259A Appointment process

(1) This section applies to the following appointments:

(a) the appointment of a person to be an Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee member under section 257;

(b) the appointment of a person to act as the Chair of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee, or as an Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee member, under section 259 if:

(i) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of 6 months or more; or

(ii) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of less than 6 months but, in combination with previous appointments, the person will have been appointed to act in the office for a total period of 6 consecutive months or more.

(2) An appointment must not be made unless:

(a) the selection of the person for the appointment is the result of a process that includes:

(i) public advertising of selection criteria for the position; and

(ii) assessment of applications against the selection criteria by an independent panel consisting of at least 3 members and chaired by a former judge; and

(iii) shortlisting of at least 3 persons for the appointment that are certified, in writing, by the panel to meet all of the selection criteria; and

(b) the person appointed is one of the shortlisted candidates.

(3) Within 7 days after an appointment is made, the Minister must cause a copy of the written certification (referred to in subparagraph (2)(a)(iii)) for the person appointed to be:

(a) tabled in each House of the Parliament; or

(b) if a House is not sitting—presented to the Presiding Officer of that House for circulation to the members of that House.

(4) In this section:

former judge means:

(a) a former Justice of the High Court; or

(b) a former judge of the Federal Court of Australia; or

(c) a former judge of the Supreme Court of a State or Territory.

Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011

7 At the end of Division 2 of Part 2

Add:

20A Appointment process

(1) This section applies to the following appointments:

(a) the appointment of a person to be a member of the Regulator under section 18;

(b) the appointment of a person to act as the Chair of the Regulator, or as a member of the Regulator, under section 20 if:

(i) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of 6 months or more; or

(ii) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of less than 6 months but, in combination with previous appointments, the person will have been appointed to act in the office for a total period of 6 consecutive months or more.

(2) An appointment must not be made unless:

(a) the selection of the person for the appointment is the result of a process that includes:

(i) public advertising of selection criteria for the position; and

(ii) assessment of applications against the selection criteria by an independent panel consisting of at least 3 members and chaired by a former judge; and

(iii) shortlisting of at least 3 persons for the appointment that are certified, in writing, by the panel to meet all of the selection criteria; and

(b) the person appointed is one of the shortlisted candidates.

(3) Within 7 days after an appointment is made, the Minister must cause a copy of the written certification (referred to in subparagraph (2)(a)(iii)) for the person appointed to be:

(a) tabled in each House of the Parliament; or

(b) if a House is not sitting—presented to the Presiding Officer of that House for circulation to the members of that House.

(4) In this section:

former judge means:

(a) a former Justice of the High Court; or

(b) a former judge of the Federal Court of Australia; or

(c) a former judge of the Supreme Court of a State or Territory.

Climate Change Authority Act 2011

8 Before section 57

Insert:

56 Appointment process

(1) This section applies to the following appointments:

(a) the appointment of a person to be an Authority member under section 18;

(b) the appointment of a person to act as the Chair of the Authority, or as an Authority member, under section 20 if:

(i) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of 6 months or more; or

(ii) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of less than 6 months but, in combination with previous appointments, the person will have been appointed to act in the office for a total period of 6 consecutive months or more;

(c) the appointment of a person to be an associate Authority member under section 22;

(d) the appointment of a person to act as an associate Authority member under section 24 if:

(i) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of 6 months or more; or

(ii) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of less than 6 months but, in combination with previous appointments, the person will have been appointed to act in the office for a total period of 6 consecutive months or more;

(e) the appointment of a person to be the CEO under section 43;

(f) the appointment of a person to act as the CEO under section 44 if:

(i) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of 6 months or more; or

(ii) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of less than 6 months but, in combination with previous appointments, the person will have been appointed to act in the office for a total period of 6 consecutive months or more.

(2) An appointment must not be made unless:

(a) the selection of the person for the appointment is the result of a process that includes:

(i) public advertising of selection criteria for the position; and

(ii) assessment of applications against the selection criteria by an independent panel consisting of at least 3 members and chaired by a former judge; and

(iii) shortlisting of at least 3 persons for the appointment that are certified, in writing, by the panel to meet all of the selection criteria; and

(b) the person appointed is one of the shortlisted candidates.

(3) Within 7 days after an appointment is made, the Climate Change Minister must cause a copy of the written certification (referred to in subparagraph (2)(a)(iii)) for the person appointed to be:

(a) tabled in each House of the Parliament; or

(b) if a House is not sitting—presented to the Presiding Officer of that House for circulation to the members of that House.

(4) In this section:

former judge means:

(a) a former Justice of the High Court; or

(b) a former judge of the Federal Court of Australia; or

(c) a former judge of the Supreme Court of a State or Territory.

9 Application provision

The amendments made by items 6, 7 and 8 of this Schedule apply in relation to an appointment that is made on or after the commencement of this item.

I would also like to thank the Minister for Climate Change and Energy for his very constructive engagement and communication about this bill.

My first amendment aims to introduce integrity into the selection process for major appointments to climate related Commonwealth bodies. Earlier this month I introduced a private member's bill called the Transparent and Quality Public Appointments Bill 2023—my 'ending jobs for mates' bill. That bill is currently before the House and is about restoring integrity and trust in politics. Australians deserve to be able to trust the institutions which underpin our democracy, so it is crucial that the appointment process for important public positions be not only based on expertise but also transparent and free from undue political interference. My bill sets out a process to achieve just that.

The climate sector has not been immune from questionable appointments to major positions, not by a long shot. The current chair of the Climate Change Authority—the authority tasked with providing expert advice to the Australian government on our response to climate change—is a former fossil fuel executive. How can such an appointment not inherently bias the advice of that authority? So in line with my campaign to end the jobs for mates culture in Canberra I am moving amendments to this safeguarding mechanism legislation to introduce a straightforward and independent selection process for appointments to the Climate Change Authority, the Clean Energy Regulator and the currently called emissions reduction assurance committee.

We must be able to trust decisions and the advice flowing from these critical bodies on this most critical of issues at this most critical of times. Currently, the ties between the government and the fossil fuel industry and their donors and lobbyists and carbon credit training bodies is all a little bit too close. The process I am proposing is simple and will be familiar to all Australians who have ever applied for a job. First is the public advertising of the selection criteria for the position. This is to be followed by an assessment of the applications by an independent selection panel and then the shortlisting of at least three people for the appointment, following which the minister is required to choose a person from that list and only that list. We need experts on these bodies who will provide frank and fearless advice. The appointment process such as this, which is at arm's length from the minister but which also maintains their final discretion, is the only way we can have confidence that the right people with the right expertise are being appointed, not more party-friendly appointments who are more likely to do the bidding of the party or feel obliged to return their favours.

But it is my second amendment which is more important and more urgent. It is urgent and necessary because this safeguard mechanism in its current form does almost nothing to address this country's addiction to fossil fuels, an addiction which the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has described as a mutually assured destruction, an addiction which the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has repeatedly told us over the last few years must end. This warning was reiterated loud and clear as recently as last week in its latest report, and the message is simple: there must be no new oil, gas or coal projects or expansions if we are to leave a planet that is liveable for future generations. The UN, the International Energy Agency agrees and even the Pope agree. It is clear what needs to be done.

However, there are more than 100 new coal and gas projects in the approvals pipeline. The government has already approved an extension to one of the world's worst polluting project on the planet, the Scarborough gas fields in WA. If all these projects proceed, the government will be doing a major disservice to people of Australia, who voted overwhelmingly at the last election for strong action and leadership on climate change.

My second amendment is this: that all new expanded or extended fossil fuel projects or facilities must be net zero carbon from day one and throughout the life of the facility. Australia's future and the planet's future depend upon us ending our addiction to fossil fuels, so I urge everyone in this House to support these constructive and common-sense amendments.

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