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

I rise to indicate that the Greens will not be supporting the opposition’s amendment or motion to oppose items in schedule 1 in relation to waste coalmine gas. I would remind the chamber that the only reason this was even considered for the renewable energy target was that GGAS, the scheme in New South Wales, was to end when the CPRS was introduced, but the CPRS was not introduced and GGAS is not ending.

There is no place for waste coalmine gas in a renewable energy target. It is not a renewable source of energy and I object to having it there in the first place. To now argue that, even though the New South Wales scheme is continuing, they should get eligibility here is pure, utter, absolute rent-seeking, because the proposed price of the REC is higher than they will get in New South Wales under GGAS. They have looked at it and said, ‘Oh! We can get more money under the RET than we can get in New South Wales with GGAS.’ Their argument was, ‘Oh dear, we will be left out in the cold; GGAS is ending, there is nothing to take its place and therefore we need to be considered,’ so the government moved to put them in the RET, even though it is not renewable energy, above the target at that time. We now have a scenario where they can see a windfall gain at the taxpayer’s expense. It is simply not on.

We should have a better mechanism for dealing with the established industries in the New South Wales scheme into the future than putting them in the renewable energy target, regardless of whether there is an emissions trading scheme or whatever arrangements are made in the future. What other industry can sit back and say, ‘Oh well, we’ve got a choice of subsidies here; we will go for the Commonwealth subsidy because it’s higher’? That is all that is going on here. It is disgraceful. If this industry wants to have people listening to it in the future, it had better do better than just saying, ‘We actually want more from the community than is a reasonable thing.’ This started out as a gap in the proceedings because of the confusion around when GGAS would end and when the CPRS would start. The fact that a mechanism was put in place to try and plug the gap is not a reason to be back here opting for a higher paying scheme. I completely reject on behalf of the Greens these opposition amendments. The industry will be no worse off than it is now, because it will still be under the auspices of GGAS in New South Wales.