Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move opposition amendment (1) on sheet 6148:

(1)    Schedule 1, items 111 and 112, page 61 (lines 23 to 30), omit the items, substitute:

111  Subparagraph 17A(1)(a)(i)

Repeal the subparagraph, substitute:

                   (i)    starting on 1 July 2011; and

The opposition also opposes items 111 and 112 in schedule 1 in the following terms:

(2)    Schedule 1, items 111 and 112, page 61 (lines 23 to 30), items TO BE OPPOSED.

This amendment and the motion to oppose items in schedule 1 relate in particular to issues around the treatment of waste coalmine gas. When the changes to the renewable energy act were debated in this place last year, the coalition negotiated with the government. We negotiated outcomes to provide for the protection of waste coalmine gas to give that sector some certainty that they would be included under the renewable energy certificate scheme into the future. I do not want to go back over the merits or otherwise of the sector—that could be a lengthy debate.

The nature of the amendments we negotiated last year was that either the minister would have to, by 1 July 2011, prescribe a starting date for the inclusion of waste coalmine gas or else it would be included within the renewable energy trading scheme on 1 July 2011. In this legislation the government is seeking to remove that inclusion. We do not think that that is reasonable. We think that that removes certainty for that sector. In the end, that sector faces an uncertain future at present because of the uncertainty that surrounds the current GGAS. The current scheme in New South Wales was scheduled to end at the introduction of the CPRS. There is no particular clarity now around when the CPRS will be introduced. Even in the modelling for this legislation the government has modelled alternative scenarios and, as a result of that uncertainty, there is a level of dysfunctionality in the GGAS market. So the coalition believes that the certainty for waste coalmine gas is best provided by allowing the sector to operate within the RET scheme, giving them that certainty for the future through till 2020.

As a result, there are two alternatives moved. Amendment (1) is simply to provide that waste coalmine gas be a prescribed inclusion in the RET on 1 July 2011, to bring it in then and give certainty about the starting date. That is our preference, given the fact that the government has now taken the CPRS off the table. We think it is reasonable to provide that certainty over the starting date. But, if that is not accepted by the chamber, then we will simply seek to remove the government’s amendments from this bill and leave the deal that was negotiated last year intact.

We are very disappointed that the government has decided to go back on that deal, that it decided not to stand by amendments that were negotiated and put in this act only last year. We know circumstances in some ways have changed since then, but in other ways the reality is that this industry still generates as many jobs, still generates as much energy, still is just as important to the operation of the energy sector in Australia, still provides as much opportunity as it did last year and still faces uncertainty from the scheme that it used to operate under, the GGAS. So we would urge the government, urge the chamber and urge all senators to support amendment (1) in particular to give the sector the 1 July certainty. But, if that is unsuccessful, then at the very least I would urge the chamber to stand by what it decided last year and leave last year’s deal intact.