Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for the question, Senator Duniam. As I indicated, the government undertook an extensive process of consultation, including in the earliest parts of this year, following the release of our detailed discussion paper about the approach that we wanted to take. A couple of days ago, on the 27th, Minister Bowen made an announcement about some of the changes that we proposed in response to representations from a range of different stakeholders.

There are a number of changes, some of which are being dealt with in the amendment that's before you. It's a single amendment, and I think the impact of that amendment is clear to you. But there are some others that will be dealt with through different means, one of which is that we have made it clear publicly that there will be additional funding available for the manufacturing sector and for trade exposed industries through the Powering the Regions Fund. There will also be a change in the approach and some specific treatment for hard-to-abate value added manufacturing, including a different threshold for manufacturers to qualify for a discount on their decline rate. That reflects the particular characteristics of this sector as a value-adding industry. Those changes would be reflected in the rules rather than the core legislation, and that's consistent with the overall architecture of the legislation before the chamber.

The government has also committed to commissioning a review to examine the feasibility of an Australian carbon border adjustment mechanism. That has obviously been the source of some discussion and an area of some interest for the industries we are engaged with.

Most of the remaining changes are dealt with through the legislation. I would only say that we have, of course, emphasised that the Chubb review remains an area of focus. The government will continue with implementation of the Chubb review to ensure integrity in the carbon market. I am conscious, Senator Duniam, of trying to provide a balance between what is quite a level of detail that will be contained in the rules and material that we can engage with in the debate this morning. Those are the main points and the ways that we intend to progress them.