Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move Australian Greens amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 6057:

(1)    Clause 5, page 3 (after line 30), after subclause (1), insert:

     (1A)    On receiving any advice provided by the Board under subsection (1), the Minister must cause a copy of the advice to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 5 sitting days of that House after the day on which the Minister receives the advice.

(2)    Clauses 26 and 27, page 14 (lines 4 to 18), omit the clauses, substitute:

26  Chief Executive Officer

        (1)    There is to be a Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy.

        (2)    The Chief Executive Officer is to be appointed on a full-time basis.

        (3)    The Chief Executive Officer is to be appointed by the Governor-General by written instrument.

        (4)    The Chief Executive Officer is appointed for the period specified in his or her instrument of appointment. The period must not exceed 4 years.

Note:   For re-appointment, see subsection 33(4A) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

26A  Duties

        (1)    The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the day-to-day administration and management of the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy and the control of its operations.

        (2)    The Chief Executive Officer is to act in accordance with any policies determined, and any directions given, by the Board in writing.

        (3)    The Chief Executive Officer has such other duties (if any) not covered by this Act that are determined by the Governor-General.

26B  Delegation

                 The Chief Executive Officer may, in writing, delegate to a member of the staff of the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy all or any of the duties or powers of the Chief Executive Officer, unless the regulations otherwise provide.

26C  Outside employment

                 The Chief Executive Officer must not engage in paid employment outside the duties of the Chief Executive Officer’s office without the Minister’s approval.

26D  Remuneration and allowances

        (1)    The Chief Executive Officer is to be paid the remuneration that is determined by the Remuneration Tribunal. If no determination of that remuneration by the Tribunal is in operation, the Chief Executive Officer is to be paid the remuneration that is prescribed in the regulations.

        (2)    The Chief Executive Officer is to be paid the allowances that are prescribed in the regulations.

        (3)    This section has effect subject to the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973.

26E  Leave of absence

        (1)    The Chief Executive Officer has the recreation leave entitlements that are determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.

        (2)    The Minister may grant the Chief Executive Officer leave of absence, other than recreation leave, on the terms and conditions as to remuneration or otherwise that the Minister determines.

26F  Resignation

        (1)    The Chief Executive Officer may resign his or her appointment by giving the Governor-General a written resignation.

        (2)    The resignation takes effect on the day it is received by the Governor-General or, if a later day is specified in the resignation, on that later day.

26G  Termination of appointment

        (1)    The Governor-General may terminate the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer for misbehaviour or physical or mental incapacity.

        (2)    The Governor-General may terminate the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer if:

             (a)    the Chief Executive Officer :

                   (i)    becomes bankrupt; or

                  (ii)    applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors; or

                 (iii)    compounds with his or her creditors; or

                 (iv)    makes an assignment of his or her remuneration for the benefit of his or her creditors; or

             (b)    the Minister is satisfied that the performance of the Chief Executive Officer has been unsatisfactory; or

             (c)    the Chief Executive Officer is absent, except on leave of absence, for 14 consecutive days or for 28 days in any 12 consecutive months; or

             (d)    the Chief Executive Officer engages, except with the Minister’s approval, in paid employment outside the duties of his or her office; or

             (e)    the Chief Executive Officer fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with section 13 or 14.

26H  Other terms and conditions

                 The Chief Executive Officer holds office on the terms and conditions (if any) in relation to matters not covered by this Act that are determined by the Governor-General.

26I  Acting Chief Executive Officer

Acting Chief Executive Officer

        (1)    The Minister may appoint a person to act as the Chief Executive Officer:

             (a)    during a vacancy in the office of Chief Executive Officer, whether or not an appointment has previously been made to the office; or

             (b)    during any period, or during all periods, when the Chief Executive Officer:

                   (i)    is absent from duty or Australia; or

                  (ii)    is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of the office.

Validation

        (2)    Anything done by or in relation to a person purporting to act under an appointment is not invalid merely because:

             (a)    the occasion for the appointment had not arisen; or

             (b)    there was a defect or irregularity in connection with the appointment; or

             (c)    the appointment had ceased to have effect; or

             (d)    the occasion to act had not arisen or had ceased.

Note:   See section 33A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

27  Staff

        (1)    The staff of the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy must be persons engaged under the Public Service Act 1999.

        (2)    For the purposes of the Public Service Act 1999:

             (a)    the Chief Executive and the staff of the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy together constitute a Statutory Agency; and

             (b)    the Chief Executive is the Head of that Statutory Agency.

Note:   The Chief Executive may also engage consultants or other persons on behalf of the Commonwealth for the benefit of the Board (see section 44 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 as it applies in relation to the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy as an Agency).

(3)    Clause 28, page 15 (line 6), omit “or 17”, substitute “, 17, 26C, 26E, 26G or 26I”.

Before I begin discussing the two amendments which I have moved to the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy Bill 2009, I will reply to Senator Carr. In no way did the Greens hold up consideration of this legislation. What we said was that we did not want it to be just waved through as non-controversial legislation when we had amendments that we wanted to discuss. The government could have put this on the Notice Paper at any time in the sittings last year, but it did not do so. You could hardly suggest that the Greens stopped the government putting this on the Notice Paper or bringing it on last year, as the government chose not to do so, so let us dismiss that immediately. It is true it was taken out of ‘non-controversial’ but that is the only thing that occurred and the government could have brought it on and discussed it at any time, so let us not have any nonsense about that.

It is the right of every senator in this place to have a matter that needs to be looked at debated. Given the mess that the government made of the renewable energy target, the mess that they made of the insulation scheme, the mess that they made of green loans and the mess that they made of just about every single one of the renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives, the Greens, or any opposition member for that matter, would be derelict in their duty if they did not heavily scrutinise what the government want waved through as non-controversial. I note Senator Carr did not respond to my very specific question about whether the interim board would be the board after this legislation has been passed. I do want an answer to that before we deal with these particular amendments.

As I indicated earlier, the first thing that my amendments do is say:

… On receiving any advice provided by the Board under subsection (1), the Minister must cause a copy of the advice to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 5 sitting days of that House after the day on which the Minister receives the advice.

That is purely and simply a transparency measure, saying that this is a supposedly independent board. Given the way it is set up, it is not. You could hardly say it is independent given that the bill provides, in the establishment of the ACRE, that the CEO will be an employee of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism under the direct direction of the minister. That is hardly what you would call an independent CEO position. We are saying that we want to see the advice that is given to the minister and the rationale for that advice—so allowing the parliament to scrutinise the government’s decision to see if it is in line with the advice or contrary to the advice and how it has been nuanced or whatever. That is a pure transparency measure. I indicate that I would have moved these amendments separately if I had been able to secure opposition support for either of them. Now that Senator Minchin is in the chamber, I would put again to Senator Minchin that, if it were the opposition’s intent to support the transparency measure at least and not the CEO part of the measures, then I would be quite happy to go back and move them separately so that that could occur. Senator Minchin, I would appreciate your remarks on that before we end this particular process. So that is the first thing.

The second thing is in terms of the chief executive officer. As it currently stands, even though the government says the board will be an independent body under the Minister for Resources and Energy, we know that the CEO is going to be an employee of the department, recommended by the secretary, and the minister will appoint the board. The advice from the board will go to the government in secret and the government will announce its decision. So I hardly think that is independent or transparent and it certainly would give no confidence to anyone in the renewable energy sector that they would ever get to the bottom of how decisions were made and the rationale for why they were made. We believe it is essential that the CEO has independence. That is why we have moved and set down that the chief executive officer be appointed by the Governor-General by written instrument, that the appointment be for a period specified not exceeding four years, that the CEO be responsible for the day-to-day administration and management of the centre, that the CEO not act in accordance with any policies determined or directions given by the board in writing, and the CEO have such other duties not covered by this act that are determined by the Governor-General. Then there are the delegation powers, remuneration, termination of appointment, acting and so on and so forth.

It is very clear that the CEO is to act in accordance with any policies determined and any directions given by the board in writing. If you had an independent board and a CEO who is appointed independently and who takes directions from the board, then you would not get the politicisation and the pork-barrelling that is able to occur in the way the government has set this up.

You might say, ‘Why are the Greens so suspicious?’ It is for the very reasons I set out in my speech on the second reading. The interim board gives me no confidence whatsoever that the people who have been appointed to it have sufficient expertise to make judgments about new renewable energy technologies—and a new concept for the delivery of energy in Australia, delivery of energy in a renewable energy context, in a distributed context, in an intermittent context and in the context of working with Infrastructure Australia to look at intelligent grids. This new field of renewable energy is really exciting and I am heartily disappointed when I look at a list that shows me there is Graham Hunt, Professor Mary O’Kane, John Ryan, Emma Stein, Errol Talbot, Dr John Wright and Drew Clarke. Out of that list there is really only Dr John Wright who has shown any real enthusiasm for renewable energy anywhere in the past.

As I was about to say at the end of my speech on the second reading, if I were one of the renewable energy technologies looking to apply for the $300 million under the scheme that it will be overseeing, I would not have the confidence that I was going to get the sort of hearing or consideration I would want under the Renewable Energy Demonstration Program. That is $300 million worth of funding and, as Senator Wortley read out, the duties of the board are to make decisions and recommendations about this.

I would like to hear specifically from the minister what processes, if the interim board is not to be the board, will be gone through to make sure that we get some leaders from the sector who have real expertise or from educational institutions and whatever who have real insight into the future. I note that Sarah Clough is the Acting CEO of ACRE and that she is currently a branch head in the Department of Resources and Energy and Tourism. This is consistent with the requirements under the government’s legislation that the person who is to be the CEO is to be a member of the department.

It is a critical issue of credibility. The community has every right, as indeed the Greens do, to question the board membership. There is a whole new renewable energy grid in northern Europe. Look across to the US administration and the appointment of people like Steven Chu. The minute President Obama appointed him there was confidence in the energy efficiency sector that there was someone who actually ‘got it’, who understood energy efficiency, who had worked in it, who knew exactly what needed to be done. There was a huge surge in confidence in the sector.

I do not have confidence in this interim board to deliver innovation and excitement for renewable energy. What is more, I am worried that there will be open hostility and competition, because how can you have a person who has been responsible for promoting nuclear energy and another person who got the Prime Minster’s medal for nuclear energy turning around and promoting renewable energy which is in direct competition with nuclear energy? That is the reality here. That is why I want the minister to confirm that the interim board is not to be the board and to indicate to the Senate how they are going to go about finding the right people for the board. I would like to hear an explanation as to what is wrong with requiring the board’s advice to be tabled so that we have transparency. Indeed, if it is supposed to be an independent board, why can we not have an independent CEO of this board?