Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

The minister describes the cleaner fuel grant, as I understand it, as a loophole. How is it that as recently as the 2003-04 budget and the subsequent legislation which put in place the Energy Grants Credits Scheme—that decreasing benefit to biodiesel—that loophole was not discovered given its size and prominence? Clearly the minister disputes this, but this was a great announcement at the time as a way of allowing excise to be introduced by 2011 while making sure that biodiesel was not disadvantaged. How come this loophole was not discovered at the time when the payments were very clear? I certainly understood them, I am sure Senator Joyce did. How come this has suddenly become a loophole, when it was not two or three years ago?