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

Again, the contribution just now from Senator Hanson-Young goes to motivation. The reason that the government is bringing forward this bill—and I have canvassed this extensively over the period of the committee stage—is because we think it is in the national interest for there to be an orderly, predictable and certain means of regulating projects that engage issues around the London protocol, particularly the transport and movement of carbon dioxide. I haven't heard anyone, in the contributions so far, suggest that regulating projects of that kind would be a bad idea. I think it should be within the ability of this chamber to agree that, if a project were brought forward that involved the transport or movement of carbon dioxide, we'd want it to be regulated consistent with the arrangements in the London protocol. That is the motivation for bringing forward the legislation.

In assessing our national interests, of course, any good government, any party of government, has regard to the broadest possible range of stakeholders. The suggestion in the contributions in the last while from Senator Hanson-Young that there is something improper about engaging business stakeholders or engaging international partners around the approach we take to decarbonisation is odd and troubling. This is a significant economic transformation of our economy between now and 2050. Of course we should listen to the broadest possible group of people and of course we should communicate our intentions clearly to those stakeholders. I don't have a copy of the letter that you referred to. In fact, Senator Hanson-Young, I haven't actually seen the newspaper article you referred to. I note your questions, and, if I can update the Senate, I will.