Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question without notice is to the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, Minister Cormann. Can the minister confirm Minister Hunt's remarks that the Emissions Reduction Fund central to Direct Action will now be called the Carbon Farming Initiative amendment bill, and that $1.9 billion of the $2.5 billion will be allocated to soil carbon, new tree plantings and carbon-in-the-landscape projects? If so, can the minister tell us what price per tonne the government has calculated would be paid so that these projects would be viable?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I can confirm is that we will be pursuing initiatives through the Emissions Reduction Fund, through our Direct Action policy, which will actually make a difference to emissions in Australia and in the world. We are pursuing a policy that will actually reduce emissions in Australia in a way that helps achieve a reduction in emissions in the world—unlike the alternative policy, the Labor-Greens carbon tax, which just shifts emissions to other parts of the world. Your policy, the carbon tax policy, makes overseas emitters more competitive than businesses here in Australia who, for the same level of economic output, would be able to deliver particular products and services in a way that is less emissions-intensive.

Our policy in relation to the Emissions Reduction Fund is there for all to see. It is very clear. It is a policy that is consistent with the approach taken by countries around the world. It is very mainstream, and it is outcomes focused—unlike the approach taken by the previous government, which just pushes up the cost of electricity, pushes up the cost of living, pushes up the cost of doing business, makes us less competitive internationally, puts jobs at risk and, of course, according to the previous government's own modelling, was leading to reductions in real income growth as a direct result of the Labor-Greens carbon tax policy. Our policy is not going to do any of that. Our policy is going to help achieve genuine reductions in emissions in a way that is economically responsible and sustainable.

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for his answer and I ask: is Minister Hunt freelancing again? Is this the first you have heard of the fact that the Emissions Reduction Fund is now to be called the Carbon Farming Initiative amendment bill? And can you confirm that—if it is the case that $1.9 billion of the $2.5 billion is going on tree plantings et cetera—there will be no impact on greenhouse gas emissions from power stations and big polluters, and they will be able to permit for nothing?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is so much wrong with the assertions underpinning the questions that have been put by Senator Milne that it is very hard to come up with a sensible answer. But let me attempt to provide a sensible answer to what is not a very sensible question, and that is: we are pursuing a policy which seeks to reduce emissions in a way that is economically responsible—that does not detract from economic growth opportunities in the future; that does not hurt the Australian economy for no purpose. We are seeking to reduce emissions by competitively tendering the lowest-cost opportunity to achieve the highest-impact emissions reduction through a proper, competitive, market based system. Unlike the previous government, which does not understand about markets, and unlike the previous Labor-Greens government, which thinks that introducing a new tax is somehow a market-based mechanism, on this side of the chamber we understand that you do not wilfully hurt your economy, you do not wilfully impose— (Time expired)

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I will try for the third time: what is the price you have calculated you are going to pay for Carbon Farming Initiative permits? And, secondly, is the changing of the rule for permanently storing carbon in the land from 100 years down to 25 years designed to encourage managed investment schemes and plantation forestry, contrary to the existing scheme?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The quality of the question, sadly, has not improved, so I will continue to do my best to provide a sensible answer, but the fundamental problem with the question that has been asked is that the Greens clearly do not understand about markets. The price under our scheme that you are asking about is going to be set by the market through a competitive system.

Our system is the ultimate market based mechanism to reduce emissions through a proper competitive tendering process. Instead of imposing a big new tax on everyone, instead of imposing a tax that pushes up the cost of electricity, pushes up the cost of gas, pushes up the cost of living, pushes up the cost of doing business and makes it harder for Australian businesses to be successful and costs jobs—instead of all that, we are pursuing a policy that helps reduce emissions in a way that does not detract from economic growth, and we make no apologies for it.