Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make some remarks about this Maritime Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. I don't profess to have the knowledge of Senator Cadell, who has spent a lot of time in the Hunter and Newcastle region, which is a great shipping part of New South Wales, but I certainly understand the importance of its commercial contribution to our state and the country.

One of our great attractions as a successful jurisdiction is that we are a country that maintains high standards. We are a serious country, when it comes to the rule of law, and we try to make our international obligations come to life through the enactment of domestic legislation and regulations. And, in relation to this particular measure, that is what it's doing. It's basically putting into domestic law some of the commitments our country has made through international fora.

Particularly in my home state of New South Wales, the shipping industry is a very significant employer, and so we do want to make sure that we are keeping pace with our international obligations across the board. Unless we do that, we are risking our capacity to attract foreign investment, in particular. I believe it is true in all the environmental matters of policy that moving as fast as we can is an important principle, because foreign investors will be looking for the cleanest and the greenest opportunities in which to invest. Whether that is in relation to our standards for domestic environmental purposes or whether that is the pace at which we enact various pieces of corporate law designed to give investors a complete picture of the environmental footprint, I think that is an important objective for this parliament.

In relation to the disclosure of emissions, scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, they are the subject of a significant consultation through international accounting bodies and the like. Obviously, I pay homage to members of my former profession, the accountants, who are some of the most exciting people that you'll ever have the opportunity to meet. They are working on these standards, and the standards should be taken very seriously by our policymakers, because I believe that the countries that move fastest on emissions disclosure are more likely to capture new investment as the global pool of capital looks for honesty in a particular company's emissions profile.

We shouldn't be doing these things in a reckless way, but we should be looking to do them at a pace which is ambitious. Regrettably, in the past we have not been an early mover on enacting our international environmental obligations. I accept that this is not directly relevant to this bill, but I think it is an important point of reference to make in relation to keeping pace with international obligations.

I look forward to seeing this bill being enacted. I believe that it will be supported by the opposition. We look forward to voting for the bill when we have the opportunity.