Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

The incorporated speech read as follows—

This bill amends the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 to implement the Government’s response to a review into the operation of the Act, and reaffirms the Government’s commitment to the mandatory renewable energy target – the MRET scheme.

The MRET, which requires that minimum amounts of additional renewable energy be sourced by wholesale electricity purchasers, is a sizeable greenhouse abatement measure. Australia was the first country in the world to introduce such a nationally mandated renewable energy target backed by legislation.

It has led to some $3 billion in renewable energy investment, and is expected to increase renewable energy generation by more than 50 per cent compared to pre-MRET levels.

And I understand that more than 230 power stations have been accredited since 2001 small and large producers using a wide range of fuel types.

This bill will continue to support and encourage the renewable energy sector, and deliver significant benefits.

In particular, I am pleased that among other things, this bill will now serve to clarify the gaming arrangements (ie the generation of renewable energy certificates without an equivalent increase in the amount of electricity from renewable energy sources.)

This clarification addresses the legitimate concerns of CSR and other renewable energy stakeholders who were concerned that the gaming provisions in the bill could unintentionally penalise or discourage, for example, sugar mills and refineries from optimising or expanding their core operations or improving their electricity generation efficiency and capacity.

This was obviously not the intention of the Government and so I pursued this matter on behalf of concerned stakeholders including CSR to clarify this aspect of the bill and remove the uncertainty.

The government has consulted closely with stakeholders to clarify their concerns and develop a solution that meets legitimate stakeholder concerns, while preserving the effectiveness of the gaming provisions in discouraging a potential practice which could damage the integrity of the scheme.

The outcome is an amendment that will allow regulations to be made which will specify certain matters that the Renewable Energy Regulator must take into account when making his or her decision on gaming.

This government amendment has the support of CSR – and I’m sure others – and will provide some assurances to these stakeholders in relation to this issue of gaming.

The next step will be ongoing discussions between these groups and the government to ensure that the concerns about unintended consequences are dealt with appropriately.

I have worked closely on this issue with CSR - Australia’s largest sugar company (and one of Australia’s oldest companies) which is expanding its capacity to commercially generate renewable electricity.

They are heavy investors in Queensland, and Australia, and I’m pleased these changes will help minimise the risks to their expansion in the renewable energy industry.

I support this bill because it will enable ongoing encouragement of the additional generation of electricity from renewable energy sources and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.