Senate debates
Monday, 7 November 2011
Bills
Clean Energy Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Income Tax Rates Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Household Assistance Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Tax Laws Amendments) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Fuel Tax Legislation Amendment) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Customs Tariff Amendment) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Excise Tariff Legislation Amendment) Bill 2011, Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment Bill 2011, Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Unit Shortfall Charge — General) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge — Auctions) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge — Fixed Charge) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (International Unit Surrender Charge) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Charges — Customs) Bill 2011, Clean Energy (Charges — Excise) Bill 2011, Clean Energy Regulator Bill 2011, Climate Change Authority Bill 2011; In Committee
11:10 am
Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source
With respect to Senator Xenophon, I think it is actually the same set of questions. What I would say, again, is this: this is about how you manage that uncertainty. What you are flagging, as opposed to 'advocating'—I accept I verballed you—is a policy proposition that says: let's fiddle with the auction process within government to manage this risk. We say: no, we believe financial markets will, as they do now, provide the ability for firms to hedge risks. Let's remember, firms hedge risk all the time; not just on a carbon price but on a whole range of issues: exchange rates, whatever the commodity price is and so forth; this is not a new concept. If we are wrong in that then the government has the capacity to provide financing through the mechanisms I have outlined.
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