Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Not to be frivolous, it would be common sense—comparing apples with apples. So it would be comparing region with region and area with area. It is about ensuring that there is common sense applied. Of course, we can add some words and guidelines around that, but it is the common-sense approach. It is about ensuring that you do compare apples with apples and that you do not compare apples with another region, another country or another non-specific industry. So it is industry-specific and area-specific. It is about making sure that in that region or in that industry you can have your examples developed. Ultimately, of course, the project will have to have the offset methodologies developed; they will have to go through the integrity process and then go through the reports and be demonstrated. The goal is here. It is about demonstrating that there is carbon sequest­ration and carbon abatement happening. If you can do that through a common-sense apples-with-apples examination and you can quantify it through that process then you are achieving that outcome. I always say to people: it is not rocket science. It is about making sure that farmers, land users, can participate in this.

Progress reported.