BIG WEEK FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IN CANBERRA

Media Release

Date:  28 February 2014

The last sitting day of the week in Canberra was grey and gloomy, ominously signalling the end to a very bad week for Australia’s environment.

In any other week, the Government’s rejection of expert advice, being elusive about policy details and playing Parliamentary games would have been big news in the Press Gallery. Unfortunately, with the loss of 5000 Qantas jobs, the Prime Minister’s questionable support for a junior minister and the Government’s gobsmacking mismanagement of the Manus Island riot information dissemination stole the headlines.

On Monday, the Senate Environment and Communication Committee held its first estimates hearing of the year. Labor looked forward to using this opportunity to obtain more information about the Government’s supposed climate policy. After four years, a Green Paper, months of consultation and a full day of grilling, we are still no clearer on how the policy will work – both on a day to day basis and how it will achieve its objective. What is clear is that not even department officials know this detail either. Staff from the Department of Environment and Clean Energy Regulator, the two agencies tasked with implementing and administering the Emissions Reduction Fund, were unable to answer any questions about the plan for the execution the Government’s policy. But, they could very easily outline the Government’s plan to dismantle Labor’s policy.

The Department was able to confirm Labor’s long-held fears that the Government is planning to include World Heritage Areas in the Delegations of Approval Memorandums of Understanding with the states and territories under the EPBC Act. Under questioning by Labor’s Senator Anne Urquhart, department officials confirmed World Heritage Areas ‘were in scope’ of negotiations for the development of the MOUs. This is, quite simply, devastating news. The Australian Government has the great honour and responsibility to protect Australia’s natural assets. This Government seems willing to shirk that responsibility by handing over approvals for projects that may affect areas like the Great Barrier Reef to the likes of Campbell Newman.

Earlier that day, Greg Hunt had signalled his intent to halt upcoming carbon auctions associated with Labor’s Clean Energy Act. Mr Hunt heralded this move as ‘the first step in repealing the carbon tax’. The voluntary carbon auctions were designed to allow businesses to buy carbon units at a fixed price before Australia’s existing fixed carbon price moved to an emissions trading scheme in 2015/16. Given the uncertainty in the industry created by the Government’s attempts to repeal Labor’s legislation in the Senate, we know businesses will not take part in this auction. Labor took the practical decision to allow the Government to stop these auctions from going ahead. The Government took the political decision to mislead Australians by claiming by doing so Labor is walking away from its emissions trading scheme policy. Mr Hunt’s comments were entertaining but not true. Labor’s pre-election commitment was to bring the emissions trading scheme forward to 1 July 2014. If we had done so, the existing carbon auction arrangement would have been significantly different. Our decision this week was purely practical and in no way impacts Labor’s rock-solid support for an emissions trading scheme.

Closing out the week, the Climate Change Authority – earmarked for abolition by the Government – delivered its recommendations for Australia’s emissions reduction targets. The previous Labor Government established the CCA to review Australia’s emissions reduction targets and provide independent advice on the suitability of these targets. The Government doesn’t believe in independent expert advice and as such is trying to scrap the CCA, without success in the Senate. The CCA recommends Australia aim to reduce its emissions by 15% of 2000 levels by 2020. Labor expects Greg Hunt and Tony Abbott to seriously consider the CCA report. The Government is required to provide a formal response to the report by 31 May 2014.

We will be back in Canberra on Monday, hoping for clearer skies and better news for the Australian environment.