Kerry Rea (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, and the Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change. Will the minister outline how the government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is in the national interest?

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Bonner for her question. Today the government is on the cusp of delivering one of the most significant economic and environmental reforms in this country’s history because—if the deal that is presently before the opposition is agreed to—the CPRS will, for the first time in our economy, place a price on carbon pollution. This will enable Australia to start the very important work of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. It will also drive investment in abatement and low emissions technologies. To protect jobs and smooth the transition to a low carbon economy, the deal before the opposition enhances transitional assistance for industry and jobs. A key element of the deal is that, in relation to the coal industry, the inclusion of coal mining in the scheme and it will contribute to the abatement effort overall in the economy. There is an enhanced $1.5 billion assistance package in the deal to protect jobs and assist the industry transition—$1.23 billion is in the form of free permits to the gaseous coalmines over the first five years of the scheme and there is also included a $270 million abatement fund to assist waste coalmine abatement.

A further key element in relation to emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries is that there is enhanced assistance to emissions-intensive activities. These include permanently incorporating the global recession buffer, announced by the government on 4 May, into the assistance rates. Those rates will commence at 94½ per cent for the most emissions-intensive industries, and 66 per cent at the second tier. The proposed deal retains the annual 1.3 per cent carbon productivity contribution to ensure that emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries retain an incentive to reduce emissions. There is also assistance to be reviewed regarding any new global agreement and evidence of comparable efforts by trade competitors.

Importantly, this deal also strengthens environmental outcomes, including through measures to further encourage and account for voluntary action and through a new energy efficiency mechanism to be developed next year, with input from a new prime ministerial task group on energy efficiency. The deal also creates a new green carbon fund to build resilience for natural ecosystems under threat from climate change and there is also a commitment that the IPCC advice on mitigation is taken into account when setting scheme caps and gateways. The deal also retains assistance to households for increases in costs of living associated with the introduction of the CPRS.

If passed this legislation will, as the Prime Minister said earlier, be a very significant milestone in our economic history and also a milestone in environmental reform. Since coming into power, the government has taken very strong action to meet the challenge of climate change. We have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, introduced the renewable energy target, committed to significant reduction targets and made the largest ever investment in energy efficiency, carbon capture and storage, and solar technologies. The CPRS is the key plank of our action against climate change. Labor is extremely committed to this important reform and to acting in the national interest. It is now up to the opposition to vote in the national interest, support the deal and support the passage of the CPRS legislation this week.