Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Net Zero Economy Authority Bill 2024 and the Net Zero Economy Authority (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024 will transition the current Net Zero Economy Agency from an executive agency within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to a standalone statutory authority, that being the Net Zero Economy Authority. Under the legislation, the authority's functions will be to coordinate net zero policy and planning across government, facilitate both government and private participation and investment, support affected workers, support First Nations Australians to participate in the transition and deliver educational and promotional initiatives as Australia transitions to a net zero emissions economy.

There are two broad aspects to this legislation that operationalise the authority's powers. The first is facilitating the new investment in the net zero transition. The authority intends to be a shopfront for industry and investors. It will seek to work with project proponents and state governments to get renewable projects to investment decision. The authority will also mobilise public moneys through vehicles such as the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the National Reconstruction Fund with private financing support, address enabling infrastructure needs and navigate regulatory processes.

The second responsibility of the authority is to assist the impacted workers in that transition area through the Energy Industry Jobs Plan. The Energy Industry Jobs Plan would allow the authority to utilise the industrial relations system to manage the redeployment of workers in closing coal-fired and gas-fired power stations and their dependent employers—for example, coalmines that are reliant on a closing power station. The plan does not specify or anticipate the types of employment that workers may transition into. This is essentially an industrial relations bill disguised as a bill for the regions and the transition.

The coalition will oppose this bill due to the following: its bureaucratic waste duplication; its top-down, Canberra-centric approach, which is set to fail on delivering on the unique needs of the regions; its imposition of new obligations on small, medium and large businesses; and the fact that it is yet another example of Labor's haphazard approach on industry policy which delivers no guarantees for local workers. On top of these significant flaws in this piece of legislation, as we found out in the recent federal budget, the government has doubled the authority's budget to nearly—wait for it—$400 million from 2023-24 to 2026-27 alone, with further funding to total $1.1 billion over the medium term. That's according to Budget Paper No. 2, page 159, of the 2024-25 budget.

The federal government cannot afford to waste over $1 billion on Canberra bureaucrats across the Net Zero Economy Authority, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and the Fair Work Commission, when it has been unable to detail the actions that this authority would perform that are not—not—already being done. The component of the Net Zero Economy Authority that relates to new investment in the net zero transition is a bureaucratic waste which largely mirrors the responsibility of existing federal and state agencies. The investment facilitation aspects of the proposed authority duplicate the role of existing funding agencies such as the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the CEFC; the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, ARENA; and the role of existing mechanisms such as the Major Project Facilitation Agency.

The authority explicitly has responsibility for:

… facilitating public and private sector participation and investment in greenhouse gas emissions reduction and net zero transformation initiatives in Australia, including in new industries …

This is almost copied and pasted from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation's legislated role to 'facilitate increased flows of finance into the clean energy sector,' and to facilitate the achievement of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. Similarly, the role of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency is to (A) improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies; (B) increase the supply of renewable energy in Australia; and (C) facilitate the achievement of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. The level of duplication on the proposed Net Zero Economy Authority's responsibility to promote new investment in the net zero transition and existing Commonwealth entities is beyond a joke; it truly is. How many federal agencies tasked with renewable financing does the Commonwealth require? It's a very, very good question.

This approach, focused on facilitating investment consistent with net zero ambitions, also leans into the government's preference for picking winners rather than genuine investment facilitation and jobs creation. A national body risks a top-down, Canberra centric approach which does not fully consider regional needs and priorities. It is also likely that, once established, the federal government will continue to add additional powers and responsibilities to the authority to support its net zero and climate ambitions.

Will the government rule out giving this net zero authority new powers to streamline and/or expedite regulatory approvals or financing for transformational green energy projects? Following the tabling of Labor's 2024-25 budget, the funding for this authority and its related activities is budgeted to be $399.1 million from 2023-24 to 2026-27 alone, with further funding to total $1.1 billion over the medium term—1.1 thousand million dollars over the medium term. This is on top of the billions of dollars of additional funding being moved into the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the newly badged Future Made in Australia.

Over $13 billion in taxpayer funded subsidies for big business don't address the source of Labor's cost-of-living crisis. Labor's focus should be on dealing with energy costs, high inflation and out-of-control red tape; that's what they should be doing. Instead, Labor continuously fails to address the fundamental realities facing most Australian businesses. With insolvencies at record highs and more businesses going offshore, supporting a small number of big businesses is irresponsible and a slap in the face for small businesses desperately seeking answers from this government to survive, to stay afloat.

The level of duplication between the Net Zero Economy Authority and existing Commonwealth institutions demonstrates a complete waste of more than $1 billion of federal government funds over the forward estimates. The proposed Energy Industry Jobs Plan is a long-held union wishlist item. It was an election commitment carried under Bill Shorten, the member for Maribyrnong, dubbed the Just Transition Authority, and has been adopted in some form in all Australian Labor Party national platforms since 2018.

Australia's current industrial framework features a well-established safety net that applies and has applied for a considerable amount of time to instances of business closure and industry change, especially relating to the closure of coal-fired power stations. Under section 2.10.1(c2) of the AEMC's National Electricity Rules, coal-fired power stations must provide 3½ years notice before being able to close. Furthermore, a national agency to assist regions is also duplicative of state based mechanisms designed to achieve the very same outcome. For example, regional planning initiatives already exist through the New South Wales government's Hunter Regional Plan and the Victorian government's Latrobe Valley Authority Transition Plan. This new authority would also cut across the work and vision of existing regional development of Australian communities which recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating vibrant regions.

This bill adds an onerous additional layer of regulation not previously considered by the fair-work system. The proposed Energy Industry Jobs Plan process overlaps significantly with existing industrial obligations, including consultation, paid leave, union access and enforcement, without dealing with how those overlapping obligations should interact. This bill takes no steps to harmonise measures which will cause confusion, uncertainty and disputation at a workplace level that can and should be avoided. There are justifiable benefits in mechanisms that attempt to keep jobs and employment in these affected communities, but, in reality, this legislation gives the unions a big stick to threaten employers to provide paid time off, facilitate activities to drive union membership and enforce obligations that a dependent business may not be able to afford. There is no sense of limit around what obligations, pay or work conditions can be applied; as much will be left to the Fair Work Commission to determine.

The regulatory impact statement expects a total annual compliance cost of $1.5 million when the costs for individual employers are aggregated. It is important to note that the larger risk in this legislation is not for the large energy generation companies, such as AGL, Origin and Energy Australia, but, rather for smaller businesses which supply goods or services to a closing power station and may be caught up in this energy industry jobs plan process. These businesses, which typically don't have human resources and internal workplace lawyers, are unlikely to have any line of sight as to what is coming.

In his address to the National Press Club earlier this year, current Net Zero Economy Agency Chair Greg Combet could give no guarantee on the transition of coal-fired power station workers to green jobs in the renewables sector. There is a real risk that these workers will be left with fewer employment opportunities and lower rates of pay. While the bill will require employers to offer workers retraining opportunities and to attempt to match employees with new jobs in the green economy, this is unlikely to benefit older, experienced workers who are approaching retirement or workers with highly specialised skill sets.

There is concern about the scope of the legislation, particularly for smaller dependent employers. The explanatory memorandum provides an example of a local cleaning service that has a commercial relationship with a closing generator being classified as a dependent employer. It is not clear what liability or obligations a cleaning service would be expected to adopt under an energy industry jobs plan. It would be up to the Fair Work Commission to determine. There are no carve-outs or exclusions for small businesses in the legislation—none. These organisations are unlikely to have the resources or capacity to administer the services outlined in the bill. It is also unclear whether this plan will apply only to permanent employees of closing or dependent employers or would also capture casual employees.

The energy industry jobs plan is bought and paid for by the union movement. The union movement want the Net Zero Economy Authority to be legislated, because the authority will be able to collect personal information of employees of coal-fired power stations, from financial records to telephone numbers. Indeed, this bill does not even require the relevant employees' consent for their information to be passed from their employer onto the Net Zero Economy Authority and the legally mandated trade union representation on its board.

This bill is not a bill for the regions. Nor is it a bill to support the net zero transition. This is an industrial relations bill that the Labor government are gifting to the union movement. The coalition will oppose the Net Zero Economy Authority Bill 2024 and the Net Zero Economy Authority (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024 because of their bureaucratic waste and duplication; top-down Canberra-centric approach which is set to fail on delivering on the unique needs of our regions; imposition of new obligations on small, medium and large businesses; and the fact that it is yet another example of Labor's haphazard, dysfunctional approach to industry policy which delivers no guarantees for local workers. The coalition will not be supporting these bills.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that more than 150 countries, including almost all major economies and most of our trading partners, have committed to net zero by 2050. So I was very surprised to hear the former speaker, the former deputy prime minister, say that the coalition will not be supporting the Net Zero Economy Authority Bill. I was very surprised, because we know that to reach the crucial milestone of net zero we need to transform industries and complex economies as well as the way we live our lives. That's why I stress again how disappointed I was to see the coalition divesting themselves, cutting themselves off from the 150 other countries that are committed to net zero.

I've been in this parliament a long time. I came here in 2007. I saw what happened when Tony Abbott took control of the Liberal Party on an anti-climate-change ticket. He knocked off Malcolm Turnbull. I then went to that other place. I don't normally go there but I went to that other place and saw the Greens sit with the Liberal Party and the National Party and vote against the carbon pollution reduction scheme, which locked this nation out of the economic opportunities that come with responding to climate change and delivering a better country for the next couple of generations.

I am part of generation X. When I think of my kids in generation Y and generation Z and generation alpha, how can we stand at that dispatch box and say, 'This is not our problem.'? It sickens me to think that the coalition would go down that road again. I should say there were two Liberals senators that crossed the floor and sat with the Labor Party on that vote. I should call out those Liberal senators: Sue Boyce from Queensland and Judith Troth from Victoria, who had the guts to stand up because they believed in the future of this nation and who were then punished by their party for exercising that individuality.

I go back to the legislation before the chamber that I hope the coalition will reassess their position on, because the United Nations calls the transition to net zero 'one of the greatest challenges humankind has faced', and nowhere will it be felt more than in the energy sector, which globally is the source of around 75 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. In Australia the make up in 2022 was: energy 56 per cent; transport 20 per cent; agriculture 17.4 per cent; fugitive emissions, particularly from mining and the like, 10.5 per cent; industrial processes seven per cent; and waste three per cent.

A simple definition of net zero is when carbon emissions, otherwise known as greenhouse gases, are cut to the level that they can be absorbed naturally, leaving zero carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Obviously, it is hard to get to zero because of volcanoes, bushfires, rotting vegetation, animals cutting the cheese, all those other things, so we need to achieve net zero to keep our planet liveable and to try to mitigate the worst effects of climate change and increasing global temperatures. The key to reducing carbon emissions is renewable energy sources. Globally, that will address 75 per cent of the problem. In Australia, as I said, energy is 56 per cent of our emissions.

Climate change is a global crisis. Transforming to net zero is a global endeavour that requires international commitment, cooperation and action. Australia's job is to develop structures and processes to manage this change on a national level, with the problem being that it is a federation. The Net Zero Economy Authority Bill establishes the Net Zero Economy Authority, which will ensure Australia and its regions are well-positioned to prosper in the future net zero global economy. Australia has long been a fossil fuel economy, and I say that as a Queenslander. To work towards net zero by 2050 will mean a transformation in our regions the likes of which we have never ever seen before. That's why we are putting over $189 million over four years from 2023-24 into resourcing for the authority and $53.3 million per year ongoing.

The member for Riverina said we shouldn't do that because the people might be in Canberra. That is his solution to what the UN has called the world's biggest problem. He says, 'No, we can't do it because the people who might help us out might be in Canberra.' Unbelievable. That is so myopic, so shortsighted, like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand. Australia is a land of opportunities from our unparalleled natural resources, particularly sunlight, to the strength of our business sector. We have the rule of law, a stable democracy, a diverse economy and a drive for renewable energy. All of these natural advantages position Australia to prosper as we move forward. But such transformation requires forward planning to support employment and the economies of the regional communities traditionally associated with the fossil fuel industry. To the people in Gladstone, in the upper Spencer Gulf, in the Pilbara, in the Hunter and in the Latrobe Valley, the old industrial power zones, you can be assured that Labor has your back.

The development of the Net Zero Economy Authority is a necessary foundation block for our transformation to net zero. This independent statutory authority will have a substantial and important remit. Its overarching purpose is to ensure that Australia's workers and regions are looked after as we move from fossil fuels to renewables. How we navigate the economic and societal changes on the way to net zero is as crucial as getting there itself.

So how will this Net Zero Economy Authority work? On behalf of the government, the authority will be a partner with industry and public and private investors to get the big transformational projects that we need underway. The key focus of this will be shoring up the economic base for the regions. The regions—they're the focus of this legislation. The core projects will be ones that decarbonise existing industrial infrastructure with new renewable energy industries—old power out and new power in. Those opposite forget about the second part of the equation—new power in. New power means more jobs. The authority will assist in coordinating policy and program design to ensure the necessary changes on the road to net zero are orderly.

You just have to look at the facts about our key energy-producing areas to understand the scale of the task ahead. Gladstone and the Central Queensland region produce more than 40 per cent of the state's energy. The area is home to more than half of Australia's coalmines. Many Queensland mines produce metalliferous coal—coal for steelmaking. Transforming these industries will be a national endeavour.

The bill outlines the remit and governance of the authority, as well as establishing a framework for the Energy Industry Jobs Plan. The bill requires the CEO of the authority to engage in a community-of-interest process once a coal or gas fired power station announces its closure. This process will protect jobs and livelihoods and keep regional communities strong—because we believe in businesses and families in these communities. The Energy Industry Jobs Plan will support workers to access new employment in clean energy industries and implement measures to upskill them if necessary.

Importantly, at a societal level, the authority will also promote an understanding of the transformation to net zero amongst communities. It's crucial that our communities understand 'the why' and are engaged and confident in 'the how'. And it will support First Nations people to participate in and benefit from this economic transformation.

This bill follows the substantial progress already made by the Albanese Labor government on our road to net zero. We've invested over $40 billion in planning and projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The $20 billion Rewiring the Nation program focuses on modernising the existing energy grid so it can transition to renewable energy, which is a lot more scattered rather than just a couple of focused coal-fired power stations.

Traditionally our resources industry and exports of iron ore, coal, liquid natural gas and aluminium have been the foundation of our national prosperity. Labor recognises the vital importance of the emerging industries of rare earth and critical minerals in the move towards renewable energy. Such minerals are the building blocks of a clean energy future and will be an essential part of our defence landscape for the next 20, 30, 40 or 50 years.

We've already put nearly $2 billion into supporting the decarbonisation of existing industries with the Powering the Regions Fund. And the $6 million invested in the Critical Minerals Facility will support the growth of critical minerals production. Australia is a world leader in the provision of critical minerals, and this expansion will assist in the transition to net zero and provide technology, skills, well-paying jobs and economic benefits. As the Prime Minister said:

My Government is committed to transforming Australia into a renewable energy superpower, and harnessing the critical minerals we have at home is crucial to achieving this.

The Albanese Labor government has directed $2 billion into the Hydrogen Headstart program to develop large-scale renewable energy hydrogen projects. And we're proud of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, an initiative opposed by the Liberal Party and the National Party, shamefully. The priority areas for this fund include renewables and low-emission technologies. The National Reconstruction Fund harnesses Australia's strengths and natural resources to position us for a strong and affluent future, making use of our natural wind and solar advantages and all those other things I referred to. We're also collaborating with industry and researchers for input into Australia's first ever National Battery Strategy to develop and support a sustainable and thriving battery supply chain, a chain which will rely on rare earth and critical minerals dug up in Australia.

This forward focused Albanese Labor government, rather than someone driving crazily with their eyes fixed on the rear-view mirror, is getting on with the job when it comes to renewable energy. We've doubled the speed of approvals for new projects. Since coming into office, we've approved 45 renewable energy projects around the country, creating enough power for 2.5 million Australian homes. There are another 128 projects in the approvals process pipeline.

Ten years were wasted with the coalition in government. They didn't have an approvals process pipeline. They had a renewable hose with a dodgy colour-coded tap. We have a renewable energy pipeline. A future made in Australia is one that harnesses our natural strengths and resources. It positions us for emerging markets. It focuses on technology and jobs and provides the building blocks for cleaner and cheaper solutions to energy problems. This is Labor's focus, and we're taking action.

The establishment of the Net Zero Economy Authority is an important part of this process. Industry, employers and unions all support the establishment of the Net Zero Economy Authority, and the authority will be run by people with the required expertise. There are clear experience requirements for the board. Two members must have a union background, and two members must have a business, industry, finance or investment background. The remaining members must have relevant experience, such as experience in economics, regional development and decarbonisation pathways, to name a few. The board will develop a stakeholder panel so that the insights and feedback from affected groups are front of mind during the changes.

In his 'A future made in Australia' speech, the Prime Minister referred to our natural advantages. Some of these are our resources, both underground and above the ground, which are key components of the future of global energy. We're also ideally located next door to the fastest growing region in the world in human history. The Net Zero Economy Authority will harness these advantages. The authority will be responsible for supporting hardworking Australians through this change and working with employers and unions to move them into new renewable energy opportunities. We will do this, as the Prime Minister said, town by town and worker by worker. These workers are highly skilled, and we need their expertise in getting these new industries off the ground.

The future is all about clean energy. That future is so bright that the nation has to wear shades. I do apologise to all those people from the eighties who had to hear that bad line. But Labor has a plan that accounts for workers, communities, industry, regions and the environment. We want all Australians to benefit from the transition to net zero. The Minister for Climate Change and Energy said, 'We will work in genuine partnership with businesses, unions and communities to help make sure no-one is left behind as we seize on this once-in-a-generation opportunity.'

The establishment of the Net Zero Economy Authority provides the foundation for this crucial and necessary opportunity and change. I ask the coalition again to reconsider their opposition to this legislation, to get with the 21st century. Stop looking for the 19th century. The future is in renewables, and I enthusiastically commend the bill to the House.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's interesting when I listen to the members on the other side talking a lot about regional Australia. Well, it will be regional Australia that will bear the cost and is bearing the cost already. I see the member in front of me right here and the impact that wind turbines are having in her electorate, as well as the disregard in total for her community and for the local environment as a result of that approach.

This is all about Labor's renewables-only policy. When I look at the legislation, I again see a dismissive approach. We see another big Canberra-centric bureaucracy going to dictate yet again to regional Australia what we should and shouldn't have and how it should work. We have unique needs in the regions, but I don't expect—and I know, from many years of experience in this place—that those who will be part of this authority actually live, work, breathe and exist like we do in the regions and understand it well enough to make sound decisions.

I understand that it's a very narrow approach that Labor's taking here—this shopfront for industry and investment around the redeployment of workers. As the coal-fired power stations and also their dependent employees are affected, I'll be particularly interested to see who is actually appointed to this authority and how many of those members will actually come from regional Australia that are on the authority itself that will be making the decisions. How many will there be with small, medium and large business experience—small business in particular? That's what we have a lot of in the regions. They are the ones that will be directly affected by Labor's renewables-only energy policies.

There'll be interesting discussions around what jobs those workers will actually be able to transition to. How will Labor and the Labor government, through this authority, mitigate the impact that this will increasingly have in regional areas and communities? Even in mine, with 7,000 square kilometres of offshore wind proposed, a little like the member sitting at the table—same sort of issues in our patch. The regions carry all the cost of this, and they're dictated to by those who are city based.

There is a lack of clarity and detail in what I've read in this particular bill. How many of the businesses will be affected? This is actually just another boondoggle jobs for mates at taxpayers' expense. It was originally supposed to cost $189.3 million, but I see the latest budget shows that that $189.3 million isn't nearly enough for this latest bureaucracy. The latest budget upped the ante, doubling the budget to over $400 million, with a further $1.1 billion that this is going to cost in the medium term. That's on top of Labor's extra 36,000 public servants in the budget at a cost of $24 billion over the forward estimates.

When we actually see the membership of the net zero authority and look at the numbers that are there, I'll be very interested to see who's actually a member and those that are not just from unions but from actual business and from the regions themselves. We do know that this was another pay-off to the union—a long-held union wish list item that the government is delivering. We absolutely will see that this is, as I said, the next jobs for mates and a massive bureaucratic waste and duplication with that top-down Canberra-centric approach, and it does sideline the very useful Regional Development Australia committees that I worked very closely with in my role as the assistant minister.

I just wonder how the authority will deal with the impact of those 28,000 kilometres of additional transmission lines that Labor has said are needed. How is that going to impact farmers and food producers that are affected, or will the new and improved net zero authority simply facilitate the steamrolling of our farmers and food producers who currently own and work the land and produce critical food for this nation and others? How will the authority deal with the impact of the thousands of hectares that Labor plans to be covered by solar panels and what it does and will do to the soil underneath over the years? Who will be responsible for rehabilitating and restoring the soil health at the end of life of the solar factories? And, of course, who will pay? Will this be part of the net zero authority role?

I can't find exactly how the over $1 billion cost to taxpayers will actually guarantee and result in lower energy bills for taxpayers, businesses and industry. Exactly what jobs will there be for those who lose their businesses or livelihoods because of Labor's approach? Where are the guarantees for local workers that jobs will actually exist in their areas in their regions, where they probably are already paying off a house and living and their kids go to school? What are the jobs that they will be trained or retrained to work in? Where are the details of what those jobs actually will be? Smaller businesses will be affected by this transition that Labor is engaged in. Many of these businesses don't actually know that this isn't all which is going to hit them once Labor's new industrial relations policies start in August.

I suspect that the unions may keep a lower profile until after the election, but I hope businesses are actually ready for more union control and interference in their businesses. This new authority adds yet another layer of regulation, overlapping existing industrial relations obligations for businesses. I just don't know what's going to happen to the smaller dependent employers noted in the explanatory memorandum. What liability or issues will those currently involved in providing goods and services—cleaning services or subcontractors—to those businesses and industries that are going to be shut down have? And I'm just not sure where the people are going to come from for the smaller businesses to do the administration required. That's not just the people; how will the small business pay for them? Along with having to report constantly on scope 3 emissions, it tells you that the Labor government doesn't understand small businesses at all. The ones that don't have IR and HR capacity in their business actually work all day and do all their accounts and business management at night. They can't afford to employ people do this work, but that's what's going to be expected. And we already know this comes at a time where we've had an extra 16,000 business insolvencies since July 2022. This layer, upon layer, upon layer for small and medium business is exactly what this government is doing to them.

Labor can't keep taking small-business people for granted—those medium and larger businesses and investors who actually invest, those who actually take the risk, have a go and who are prepared to invest in, start and run a business. Unless they do so, there are, or will be, no jobs for our workers—unless perhaps you're one of the new Canberra bureaucrats: 36,000 of them will get more jobs. But this bill is a further waste of taxpayers' money; it duplicates existing state based mechanisms. We see that it's part of the additional $315 billion of Labor's homegrown inflation that's hurting Australians—inflation that's worse than in the US, Singapore, Germany, Spain, Japan, Canada and many other countries.

We also know that after two years of Labor, a typical family with a mortgage is more than $35,000 worse off. I've asked what this new authority, at a cost of $1.1 billion to the taxpayer over the medium term, and $400 million over the next few years, buys? A rebranded agency and highly-paid jobs for Labor's mates. The eight board positions are two from unions, two from business and four other positions at the 'discretion' of the authority. Won't that be an interesting decision that will be made?

But there are also issues here that I think Labor hasn't addressed. This is just another bureaucracy having to be paid for by taxpayers. I actually have a question for Labor: the government is providing support for workers whose jobs are disappearing because of Labor's policy decisions. But there are other Labor policy decisions where jobs and productivity are disappearing. So I just wonder: where is the live sheep export industry statutory authority? I didn't see that in the budget. Where is the same level of support for those who will lose their jobs and livelihoods with Labor's shutdown of live sheep exports, if this is all about jobs in the regions? The live sheep export industry is a $1.3 billion industry, but Labor has only committed $105 million over five years to the transition, and only $64.6 million for sheep producers. That doesn't really come close to the $1.1 billion that Labor is proposing for this new Net Zero Economy Authority. That's apparently just to do some work; it has nothing to do with the lives of the people affected. I just wonder: why isn't the same level of support provided to sheep producers and their communities? They're massively affected, but very little is provided for them. Apparently this is to benefit the regions in maintaining their social cohesion, employment and identity—what about those regions that are affected, particularly in Western Australia, by the live sheep export trade shutdown? What about the live sheep trade producers and their communities? Don't they deserve the same as the massive change that Labor is proposing through its renewables-only policies? They actually do. They have 3,000 people and jobs affected in that industry, but unfortunately farmers and regional people actually don't matter to this Labor government.

Labor has repeatedly turned its back on farmers in regional and remote communities, and unfortunately we've seen some real contempt shown by the government. I know it had a real crack at introducing a biosecurity tax on farmers—another levy on farmers. Farmers are already paying $500 million a year in various ag levies, and yet the government wanted them to pay another $50 million a year simply for the biosecurity risk created by their competitors coming on shore. As each of the containers came into Australia, Labor wanted the actual farmers to pay for that. I know that a few weeks before the minister announced the shutdown of the live sheep export industry, five Labor MPs in WA recommended in a discussion paper that the WA government should provide more support for alternative proteins such as insects, algae and tofu. Well, how good is that? This is a really serious issue in Western Australia.

I see such a contrast in what Labor is planning to do in supporting its own policy in relation to shutting down industries in regional Australia in the coal and resources sector and in energy with its plans for its ag policies. It's a completely opposite approach to supporting those communities that are going to be just as affected in the same way. Compare $64-odd million and $100 million in total for the live sheep, and yet what have we got for energy? There's $1.1 billion for what Labor's proposing in its renewables-only approach to this particular piece of legislation and its plans. This is a serious concern. This is just another major Canberra bureaucracy that has extraordinary costs for taxpayers and is a real challenge. Labor is ignoring the massive impost it is making with its policies on regional and more remote parts of Australia.

Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia's transitioning to net zero by 2050 through investment in low-emission and renewable energy industries. Key steps along the way are increasing renewable energy to 82 per cent by 2030 and setting an ambitious 2035 target, which will be revealed in March next year.

This is a huge change from two years ago, when the then coalition government had no plan for energy let alone a plan for our transition. Their energy plan was then characterised by energy chaos and secrecy—22 energy policies, which have now, in a moment of clarity, birthed the nuclear frolic. We are still waiting to hear where exactly these reactors would be built, and we are none the wiser as to how much this will cost or how much Australian taxpayers will have to cough up. How much will they have to forgo, perhaps in health or education or aged care? There will have to be cuts to make this a reality. And, of course, there is that minor problem of nuclear waste.

Meanwhile, the Albanese government isn't wasting time—because there is no time to waste. We are in the teeth of the climate emergency and must get ahead given the standing start that we inherited. The Albanese government has committed over $40 billion across two budgets to turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower. Rewiring the Nation plan will invest $20 billion to modernise our electricity grid on the east coast to enable large-scale renewable energy projects—we're talking about gigascale solar and wind to connect to this system. The Safeguard Mechanism will reduce 250 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the equivalent of taking two-thirds of the nation's cars off the road. There is $2 billion going towards green hydrogen manufacturing through our Hydrogen Headstart program. There is the new Critical Minerals Strategy, which will make us an indispensable part of the global race to net zero. There is $1.3 billion to establish the Household Energy Upgrades Fund. There is $1 billion towards solar panel manufacturing through the Solar Sunshot program. And there is a further $41 million in energy efficiency grants to small businesses.We're also creating 10,000 new energy apprenticeships to ensure training and jobs for the future as our economy transitions to becoming a renewable energy superpower. In addition we are giving farmers $20 million in order to help them store carbon in the soil. In fact, we have developed a sectoral plan for our agriculture industry which will help them be part of this energy transition and make a contribution.

Having set this course, we recognise that communities and certain regions, industries, people and families who have worked to power Australia for generations and who have built our wealth will be affected by this transition. If we get this right, those same communities will be among the biggest beneficiaries of this transition. The Net Zero Economy Authority is being established to ensure that these workers, industries and communities can seize the economic prize of Australia's net zero transformation and share in its benefits.

There's offshore and onshore wind; green hydrogen, a tiny molecule with big ambitions, supported by our $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart program; critical minerals processing and refinement; and novel energy sources such as biomethane, solar thermal, geothermal. But there's more from this third budget. We are unlocking more than $65 billion of investment in renewable capacity, through the Capacity Investment Scheme, by 2030. With one in three Australians homes having solar, we're investing $27 million to integrate consumer energy sources such as batteries and solar into the grid. The new vehicle efficiency standard, which has now passed after decades of inaction in this country, will save Australians around $95 billion at the bowser by 2050 and reduce transport emissions. It will also make us healthier. The government is committing $1.5 billion to manufacturing clean energy technologies, including $1 billion towards Solar Sunshot and half a billion dollars towards Battery Breakthrough.

Then, of course, there's the skills investment. The government will expand our New Energy Apprenticeships Program to include work in the clean energy sector, including in construction and advanced manufacturing. This will provide a $10,000 incentive to attract 10,000 new energy apprentices into the sector. The government will commit $30 million to turbocharge the TAFE teaching workforce for clean energy courses and $50 million to upgrade and expand clean energy training facilities. The government will invest $55 million to establish the Building Women's Careers Program to support women's participation in these key industries, including clean energy and manufacturing.

The Net Zero Economy Authority will coordinate transition activities, coordinate investments that create jobs in the regions and support workers through a transition that will span decades. This initiative is about community and people. We do not get to net zero unless we go there together. Pitting the cities against the regions, pitting one generation against another, and finger waving and preaching are not going to get us there. That's the politics of division which led to the climate wars and stagnation in this country. We don't want any of it. But providing an orderly plan which puts people at the centre and creates a pathway to secure, well-paid jobs in manufacturing, underwritten by renewable energy is a future worth signing up to. As I said in my maiden speech, our journey to a low-emissions future will be contingent on taking our coal and gas communities along with us. We owe them much and we are, after all, the party of the Hunter and Higgins—a broad church indeed. The Net Zero Economy Authority will provide the framework and common purpose so that our transition can occur successfully.

These bills, the Net Zero Economy Authority Bill 2024 and the Net Zero Economy Authority (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024, are about taking the country forward together. The bills establish the legislative basis for the Net Zero Economy Authority. We are also proposing amendments informed by the Senate committee's inquiry and feedback from stakeholders, including the ACTU, the Australian Industry Group and the Business Council of Australia. We want to cut red tape for employers and help them better engage with workers. We want employees and employers working together, rather than at loggerheads. We want to try a different model.

The Net Zero Economy Authority has five main functions. The first is to facilitate investment. The authority will work with project proponents, state governments, and the private and public sectors to get projects up. It will be the government's shopfront for industry and investors.

The second function is worker transition. It will support workers in emissions-intensive industries to access new employment or acquire skills to improve their employment prospects. This will include the establishment of the Energy Industry Jobs Plan to directly support employees impacted by the closure of some coal-fired and gas-fired power stations. We want the workers in the Latrobe Valley, Gladstone, the Hunter and all other impacted areas to be supported and not abandoned.

The third function is policy coordination. It will coordinate net zero efforts across government and key stakeholders given that this involves energy, skills, manufacturing, resources and immigration—to name a few. It is a whole-of-government effort. The Net Zero Economy Authority is the conductor to keep the orchestra in tune.

The authority's fourth function is communications and engagement, building community confidence with the transition—no-one held back, no-one left behind. The eight-member advisory board of the Net Zero Economy Authority must include two representatives each from business and the unions, and will value experience in industrial relations, economics, decarbonisation pathways, energy markets, regional development and First Nations advocacy.

We can only get to net zero if we all go there together. The transition needs to be well-managed, leaving no-one behind. If we don't get this right, our mandate to transition will evaporate. It is too important to be left to chance. I commend this bill to the House.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Net Zero Economy Authority Bill 2024. This bill represents a significant opportunity for Australia as we decarbonise and work towards a net zero economy by 2050. Most importantly, this bill represents an opportunity for regional, rural and remote Australia—the communities that will host the wind, solar, batteries, hydrogen and transmission lines that will power the rest of the nation.

The transition to renewable sources of energy will be as transformational for our country as the development of our current sources of energy. I want to ensure we grab this opportunity for investment into regional Australia to reap the rewards of true regional development: a thriving workforce; reliable and cheap energy for households and businesses; access to affordable and accessible housing, health care, child care; better roads and more. Australians are proud of the nation and community building that came with Snowy Hydro, and this is the moment to do it again.

There are two things I'm going to address in speaking on this bill. Firstly, that the authority is currently set up to support communities transitioning out of coal and gas; and, secondly, that the authority should also support communities transitioning into renewable energy so we can achieve true regional development right across our nation.

The bill sets up a new statutory body called the Net Zero Economy Authority, whose functions include ensuring Australia's emissions-intensive industries and regions decarbonise and diversify, and supporting workers and communities through that change. I support an end to fossil fuel industries and I support a shift towards renewable energy that lowers our carbon emissions. I believe measures that support this goal, including those in this bill, are absolutely critical if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

During my first election campaign in 2019 and my second in 2022, people across my electorate came to me passionately wanting our parliament to address climate change. They were tired of years of inaction from government. They knew then, as they know now, that as long as greenhouse gas emissions continue, our temperatures will rise, and this will have devastating impacts to our health, our economy and our connection to our magnificent natural environment at home and around the world.

I know, like my constituents, that decarbonising our electricity supply to renewable energy is one critical way to protect all that we love. It's why hundreds of members of my community and rural people from across the nation came together in 2020 to help me draft the Local Power Plan, a blueprint to bring in new jobs, new opportunities and an infinite supply of cheap, clean local power in regional Australia. And the plan demonstrated that in the regions, people are hungry for practical ideas about how to seize the momentous opportunity before us—that is in achieving net zero and utilising renewable energy to build a generation of shared prosperity.

I want to briefly address 'net zero' in the title of this bill, because we must be very cautious about including controversial offsetting methods like carbon capture and storage in net zero. We must also be cautious about thinking that expanding gas production is part of achieving net zero. The authority must focus on renewable energy and multisector decarbonisation. I support the objective of the Net Zero Economy Authority to promote orderly and positive economic transformation associated with achieving net zero emissions by 2050. I also agree with the assistant minister, who said in his second reading speech when introducing the bill:

We know there are communities in which the experience of the transition will be most concentrated.

This government knows that we must support these communities and those that live in them.

He went on to say:

We will leave no-one behind.

He refers to 'communities'. Whenever the Labor government refers to communities affected by the shift towards the net zero economy, they list places like the Hunter, Latrobe and Gladstone, where coal-fired power stations and gas-fired generators are closing. The assistant minister further said, in introducing this bill:

The authority will help place these regions in a position to continue to play the vital role they always have.

I have no argument with that. We must replace jobs in these communities as they transition out of fossil fuel generated electricity to a renewable economy and its why, ultimately, I support this bill. But I argue that we must, in parallel, consider the communities who have never been associated with electricity generation and who are now being asked to host the wind, the solar and the hydro that will power our future energy systems. What is this bill doing to ensure that the transition brings community benefit to these people? If the answer is, 'Nothing yet,' then I say, 'You are leaving these communities, like those in my electorate and many like them, behind.'

In my electorate, communities may not be transitioning away from fossil fuel generated energy, but they are absolutely at the forefront of the transition into renewable energy: generation, storage and transmission. Indi hosts two renewable energy zones. Grid scale solar projects are being built apace by large international companies near Glenrowan, Wangaratta and Benalla, while the Meadow Creek solar farm in the King Valley and the Seymour wind farm in the Strathbogie Ranges are in the early stages of planning. Battery energy storage systems have also recently been proposed in Tolmie and the Alpine and Kiewa valleys. These are landscapes that have never hosted a coal-fired power station. They are mostly farming properties, producing high-value beef and dairy. The visual landscape is rolling hills and bushland.

These regional communities need to be at the decision-making table. They need to be consulted with early in plans to generate, store and transmit power. These communities also deserve to benefit from these projects. While community benefit funds may assist in providing scholarships and small grants to local groups, we need to be thinking about bigger, transformative, nation-building benefit. I'm talking about a tangible, sustainable, long-term benefit to regional Australia. I want to see towns and communities across regional Australia truly prosper and thrive—not simply replacing jobs where they will be lost. I want regional Australians to look back in 20 years time and say, 'Australia's shift towards a net zero economy was when we got the best roads, when we got the best new health care, when new businesses came and when long-term, high-paying jobs for our towns became a reality. It's when regional development really happened, and we're benefiting from it for generations to come.'

Communities, not just landholders, deserve to benefit from hosting large-scale renewable energy infrastructure. Take the Strathbogie Shire communities in my electorate, for example. These communities have long-term energy security issues. In fact, many communities in Strathbogie Shire have experienced up to 11 power outages between November 2023 and February 2024—this year. These communities are on the edge of the grid, and their energy security in a modern Australia is absolutely appalling. These same communities are at the forefront of a renewable energy project proposal of wind turbines and transmission lines that are being touted as part of the solution to keeping the nation's lights on. But under the proposal it's unclear whether this energy project would keep the lights on for this local community, who will see turbines and transmission lines in their backyards.

There's an opportunity here that's not being realised: cheap, reliable power where it's generated, to bring benefit to the local people who are generating this power. If communities start talking about renewable energy in terms of benefit, rather than what they don't want to see, we'll get so much further along the path to net zero. This really is as much about achieving regional development as it is about simply seeking social licence.

That's why I'm pleased that one of the new authority's objects is to 'ensure Australia's regions and workers are supported in relation to, and benefit from, Australia's transition to a net zero emissions economy'. 'Engagement', 'benefit' and 'support' are important words. They're easy to say in a speech; they're easy to write in a bill. But how you achieve them is another thing entirely. This leads me to the actual details of the bill before us. As far as I can see, the only practical measures to achieve the authority's objective of supporting communities in relation to Australia's transition to a net zero emissions economy are in part 5 of the bill. Part 5 sets out the authority's powers to create energy industry jobs plans. These plans will support workers in coal-fired power stations that are closing and gas-fired generators that are closing to transition to new jobs via retraining, redeployment and other practical measures. Energy industry jobs plans create a clear pathway for the authority to assist communities in the Hunter and Latrobe valleys. I welcome that, but it's really the only 'how to' in this bill. There is nothing setting out how the authority will 'ensure Australia's regions and workers are supported in relation to, and benefit from, Australia's transition to a net zero emissions economy'. There is nothing for the communities across my electorate, and across regional Australia more broadly, whose land use and workforce aren't transitioning from an economy powered by fossil fuels but very much transitioning to one powered by renewables. They're experiencing something completely new, and right now they feel it's happening to them, rather than with them.

To bridge this gap between what the authority is supposed to do and how it will achieve it, I will move a number of amendments to this bill. These amendments are for communities like Meadow Creek, Dederang, Bobinawarrah, Ruffy, Benalla and the many others still to come who will host wind turbines, a solar farm, a battery or a transmission project. These amendments set out how the authority can ensure communities are meaningfully engaged by renewable energy project developers, through a developer rating scheme and local energy hubs which would bring evidence based, neutral information and guidance to local communities. My amendments set out how these communities, through community benefit plans, can receive touchable, tangible benefit when a project is built in their backyard. My amendments would ensure we have a bottom-up, not top-down, approach when it comes to figuring out what communities want from this new economy. My amendments would also add sensible, simple provisions that really should already be there, like acknowledging renewable energy zones, requiring the authority to submit annual work plans, and ensuring that the board which provides advice to the authority includes a member with expertise or experience, professional credibility and significant standing in regional, rural and remote development advocacy and community leadership. It's not much to ask, actually—quite a modest ask.

Many of my amendments implement the recommendations of the Community Engagement Review, which I worked with the Minister Bowen, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, to establish last year. They are recommendations for a developer rating scheme; a communications program, so that the public understand energy transition; and a package to realise community benefits. I'm pleased to see the government acting on the Community Engagement Review's recommendations through the budget, but this announcement, again, lacks detail of the how to. It fails to show regional Australia how it will benefit from the renewable energy transition. The budget announcement didn't indicate any future legislation for the how to. That is why I'm moving amendments to this bill. To achieve community engagement and benefit, there must be measures set out in the primary legislation, not just line items in a budget, which can be removed at the whim of a political party.

I will move around 18 amendments to this bill. It shows that the bill is a start but it has a long way to go for regional Australia. Rather than simply criticising the government for introducing a bill that ignores regional communities like those in my electorate, though, I am putting forward sensible, constructive amendments—amendments which I know will give communities and developers all the tools to make this transition the best thing to happen to the regions in a generation and put regional communities right at the forefront of their own future.

Unless we legislate practical measures for this authority to undertake, the bill is just words on a page. It's a nice intention from this government but one which delivers no meaningful outcomes for regional communities like mine. My amendments are about action. So I call on this government: support my amendments and improve this bill so that you truly fulfil your noble intention of leaving no community behind as we transition to a cleaner economy and a stronger future.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is really important legislation before us tonight, and I'm so pleased to support it and be part of a government that takes climate change and our responsibility to our communities really seriously. The global shift to net-zero emissions is Australia's opportunity to become a renewable energy superpower. The shift to net zero is happening. Australia, along with the rest of the world, is reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by the middle of this century. That's why this legislation is before us. Our government is introducing the Net Zero Economy Authority Bill 2024 and the Net Zero Economy Authority (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024 to establish the Net Zero Economy Authority to ensure that Australian workers and regions realise and share in the benefits of the net-zero economy. Our government has also announced $189.3 million over four years and $53.3 million per year ongoing in resourcing for the authority.

The authority will support the economy-wide net-zero transformation that is underway by acting as a catalyst for private and public investment. The authority will also support major projects development, job creation and transition, along with skills and community development. We know that global efforts to reduce emissions have already started transforming traditional industries. This transformation will create new opportunities to broaden Australia's industrial base and strengthen our sovereign capability. This is really significant. The Albanese government is already delivering a strong policy agenda to reduce emissions by 43 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 and to net zero by 2050. This authority will be pivotal to delivering this goal, realising the broader benefits for our nation and ensuring that no community is left behind. The legislation before us tonight is another step forward—a significant step forward—in our plan for a net-zero economy.

Importantly, this new Net Zero Economy Authority will be a new statutory agency, and its functions will be to coordinate policy and planning; facilitate both public and private participation and investment; support affected workers; support First Nations Australians to participate in the transition; and deliver educational and promotional initiatives as Australia transitions to a net-zero-emissions economy. The Net Zero Economy Authority's mission will be to promote orderly and positive economic transformation for Australia, for regions and for workers as the world decarbonises. This recognises that the way in which we navigate economic transformation is as important as reaching the destination of a net-zero economy.

As emissions-intensive industries and technologies decarbonise, the authority will help ensure Australians can access the opportunities new net-zero industries bring. I'm very excited about the opportunities new net-zero industries bring. I recently had the great privilege of visiting and meeting with scientists at the CSIRO in my electorate of Chisholm and hearing about the innovative discoveries and new technologies that are going to enable an exciting new future for our nation with plenty of good, secure, well-paying jobs.

The Prime Minister has previously stated:

There is no nation on earth better placed than Australia to achieve the energy transition here at home and power it in the world.

The Net Zero Economy Authority will play an important role in one of the most significant economic events in Australian history and position us as a renewable energy superpower. This is really consistent, again, with what I heard just recently from scientists and experts in the field from the CSIRO. We are committed to working across governments with regional communities and industries and with our international partners to secure the opportunities of Australia's net zero future.