Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In respect of Senator McKenzie's question to me on 20 September 2012, I seek leave to incorporate additional information into Hansardon behalf of the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government.

Leave granted.

The answer read as follows—

In respect of Senator McKenzie's question on 20 September 2012 I seek leave to incorporate additional information into Hansard on behalf of the into The Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government.

The Government is supporting jobs and assisting businesses to transition to a clean energy economy. Regional Australia will benefit from the $8.6 billion Jobs and Competitiveness Package, the $1.257 billion Coal Sector Jobs Package, the $300 million Steel Transformation Plan and $1.2 billion to support industry investment under the Clean Technology Programs.

The Government will monitor the potential impacts of the carbon price on regions where impacts are acute and structural adjustment assistance may be required. Under the $200 million Clean Energy Future—Regional Structural Adjustment Assistance (RSAA) the Government will provide, if required, structural adjustment assistance to support workers, regions and communities that remain strongly affected by carbon pricing after other forms of assistance have been provided (this will be determined on a case-by-case basis as needed).

The Government will provide $6.2 million over seven years from 2012-13 to the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport to monitor the effects of carbon pricing on regions. The cost of this measure will be met by reallocating funding from the $200 million Clean Energy Future—Regional Structural Adjustment Assistance (RSAA) program.

The monitoring framework for the RSAA program will provide the capacity to investigate and verify claims about the impacts of carbon pricing and when considered necessary to design appropriate responses where responses are not already available under the Clean Energy Future program.