Australian Opposition Demands Climate Reduction Scheme Regulations

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

28 September 2009

The Australian Government’s deadline to the Opposition for their comments on the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme has been countered with an Opposition demand to see the scheme’s detailed regulations.

The Australian government’s emissions trading scheme was defeated in the Senate last month. Had it been accepted, the government would have introduced an Australian emissions unit auction charge, the cost of which would have been established in the first half of 2010 through an auction mechanism. The government wants to re-propose the scheme before the December climate change conference in Copenhagen. However, there is still much discussion in Australia, not only on the workings of the scheme, but also on whether a carbon tax would be a preferable way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In an attempt to put some impetus into the situation, the Australian Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, issued a letter on September 23 to the Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Turnbull, giving a deadline of October 19 for amendments for inclusion into the legislation for the scheme, before its re-presentation to the Senate. Only that deadline, she said, would give the government sufficient time to give proper and careful consideration to any proposed amendments.

Malcolm Turnbull, in turn, has responded to Penny Wong with a letter in which he has requested that the government provides details of the regulations backing the proposed legislation, so that the Opposition may make a proper review of the scheme. Those regulations are, however, unlikely to be available as the government is thought to want to finalise the scheme and its regulations only after the Copenhagen conference.

In the background to this dispute is the government’s possible use of a double defeat in the Senate to call an early general election.

Recommended