Month: April 2019

A Shorten Labor Government will work with Australia’s biggest industrial polluters to help them cut their pollution, grow their business and create a cleaner future for the next generation.
Ignoring climate change isn’t the answer. 
Real action on climate change isn’t just about protecting our environment – it’s about future-proofing our economy and protecting jobs.
Under the Liberals and Nationals industrial pollution has risen by 17 percent, and their own projections show it will rise all the way to 2030.
That’s why Labor will work in partnership with business to help bring down pollution – providing overdue policy certainty and helping the industrial sector plan for the future.
There will be no carbon tax, carbon pricing mechanism, or government revenue.
Rather, Labor will reduce pollution from the biggest industrial polluters by extending the existing pollution cap implemented by Malcolm Turnbull – the safeguard mechanism.
The safeguard mechanism was established under the Liberals and Nationals to cap industrial pollution for the biggest polluters, by setting pollution limits or ‘baselines’ for covered facilities.
However, the Liberals and Nationals have failed to make this mechanism effective in bringing down pollution, or incentivising reduction of pollution below a facility’s baseline.
Labor has listened to industry and stakeholders who desperately want stability after this chaotic government – they don’t want to start from scratch with another mechanism. Industry feedback has been unanimous, businesses want Labor to expand the safeguard mechanism, and we’ve listened.
Labor will expand the safeguard mechanism to make it effective and relevant:

• Coverage will be extended to apply to the biggest industrial polluters. Labor will work with industry to extend coverage to a threshold of 25,000 tonnes of direct CO2 pollution annually, and we will consult with industry on this coverage threshold and how it is phased in. It’s estimated around 250 of Australia’s biggest industrial polluters would be captured by this threshold – just 0.01 per cent of all businesses. The agricultural sector will not be covered by the expanded safeguard mechanism, and Labor will work with the red meat industry-owned Research and Development Corporation, Meat and Livestock Australia, to help it meet its commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030. Likewise, electricity sector facilities will not be included – they will be covered separately by Labor’s Energy Plan.

 

• Pollution levels will be reduced: Labor’s safeguard mechanism will reduce industrial pollution in line with Labor’s targets – fixing one of the biggest issues with the current safeguards mechanism, its failure to bring down pollution. Labor will consult with industry on the baselines and trajectories that apply to each covered entity.

 

• Businesses will be able to earn credits for overachievement: Labor will allow for businesses to earn credits and be rewarded for reducing pollution below their baselines, which they can sell or carry over to meet their future pollution cap. This means businesses can make money out of cutting pollution.

 

• Emissions intensive trade exposed industries (EITEs) will be supported to keep Australian businesses competitive – In recognition that emission intensive trade exposed industries face particular challenges in reducing pollution while maintaining their international competitiveness, Labor will provide tailored treatment for EITEs such as steel, aluminium and cement. This will ensure they face comparable impacts from climate change policies as their competitors do in relevant international markets. Labor will also establish a Strategic Industries Taskforce and $300m Strategic Industries Reserve Fund to support these industries in finding solutions to cut pollution and remain competitive.

Labor will consult with industry and experts on baselines that should apply to individual entities and how they will decrease over time.
In addition, Labor will put in place a well-functioning offset market and reinvigorate the land offset market.
Currently, a facility that emits more than its baseline must offset excess emissions by purchasing offsets, primarily from the land sector. But currently businesses cannot access international offsets, or offsets from the electricity sector.
Labor will make it easier for covered businesses to meet any offset obligations, not only by allowing for the creation and sale of offsets if emissions fall below baselines, but also through the purchase of international offsets and potentially offsets from the electricity sector.
We will also boost offset supply through revitalising the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) – including reforms to strengthen the integrity of the CFI, and increasing land and other sector abatement opportunities. This will include exploring the establishment of ‘premium’ land sector credits to provide substantial environmental, biodiversity and other co-benefits, establishing a Carbon Assessment Standard to boost the bankability of offset projects, and re-vitalising offset methodology research and development with an additional $40 million in funding over four years.
Labor’s plan will help industry reduce pollution at least cost, and give traditional owners, farmers, the forestry industry and traditional owners new opportunities to earn income.
Labor will also abolish the Liberal’s ineffective and expensive Emission Reduction Fund (ERF). The ERF has failed to drive down Australia’s emissions, while costing Australian taxpayers $2.25 billion, with the Liberals pledging a further $2 billion for this ineffective policy.
Labor’s approach isn’t about punishing polluters, it’s about partnering with industry to find real, practical solutions to cut pollution, in a way that protects and grows industry and jobs.
The Liberal Party is full of climate sceptics and hopelessly divided on climate change – Scott Morrison even brought a lump of coal into Parliament instead of a climate policy.
The Liberals and Nationals have pushed up power prices and pollution by undermining investment in renewable energy and backing power privatisations – and their chaos and division means industry can’t adequately plan and invest in the future.
There is only one major political party serious about real action on climate change – Labor. That’s because we are determined to pass on a better deal to the next generation – and we will partner with business and industry to achieve it.
Only Labor will deliver real action on climate change and lower pollution, lower power prices and a stronger economy.
More information is available at  https://www.alp.org.au/climate_change_action_plan

A Shorten Labor Government will reduce pollution, invest in renewable energy and take real action on climate change – to ensure we hand on a better deal to the next generation.
After six years of chaos, uncertainty and rising pollution under the Liberals, Australians need stability and certainty on climate change policy – that’s what our plan delivers.
Ignoring climate change is simply not an answer.
Australia needs leadership – to protect jobs, grow the economy, cut pollution and deal with more extreme weather like droughts and floods, with natural disasters already costing the economy $18 billion a year.
At the same time, Australian households are seeing their power bills soar – families and businesses are taking this into their own hands and backing renewable energy because they know more renewables means lower power prices.
Labor is committed to reducing Australia’s pollution by 45 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero pollution by 2050.
We are also committed to 50 per cent renewable energy in our electricity mix by 2030.
Labor’s plan will tackle climate change to keep the economy growing by:

• Investing in renewable energy and batteries to grow jobs and cut power bills – With almost two million Australian households having solar panels, Australians are enthusiastic adopters of renewables. Labor will empower Australians to take advantage of cheaper, clean renewable energy and storage, by offering $2000 rebates for solar batteries for 100,000 households, with a target of 1,000,000 batteries by 2025. We will also double the original investment in the Clean Energy Finance Corporation by $10 billion, supporting new generation and storage across the country. Labor’s investment will support our target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030 for the nation’s electricity generation, which will see cleaner and cheaper power and more than 70,000 new jobs.

 

• Boosting clean transport and infrastructure– A key part of tackling pollution will be tackling transport emissions – which make up almost 20 per cent of Australia’s emissions and one of the fastest growing sources of pollution. Labor will implement Australia’s first national electric vehicle policy, setting a national electric vehicle target of 50 per cent new car sales by 2030 and introducing vehicle emissions standards to reduce pollution and make the cost of driving a car cheaper for consumers.

 

• Working in partnership with business to help bring down pollution – Labor will reduce pollution by big polluters over the decade by extending the existing pollution cap implemented by Malcolm Turnbull – the safeguard mechanism. Australia’s biggest industrial polluters (about 250 – or just 0.01 per cent of all businesses) will be covered by Labor’s scheme, which will not include the agricultural sector. Pollution caps will be reduced over time and Labor will make it easier for businesses to meet these caps by allowing for industrial and international offsets. Facilities can also earn credits and make money from reducing pollution below their baselines. Labor will not introduce a carbon tax or new a carbon pricing mechanism and our reforms will not raise any government revenue.

 

• Supporting trade exposed industries to keep Australian businesses competitive – Emission intensive trade exposed industries (EITEs), such as steel, aluminium and cement, face additional barriers to cutting pollution while staying competitive in global markets. In recognition of this, Labor will provide tailored treatment for EITEs under the extended safeguard mechanism. This will ensure they face comparable impacts from climate change policies as their competitors do in relevant international markets. Labor will also establish a Strategic Industries Taskforce and $300m Strategic Industries Reserve Fund to support these industries in finding solutions to cut pollution and remain competitive.

 

• Helping the land sector to cut pollution while giving farmers and the forestry industry new opportunities to earn income – No one knows our land better than our farmers – they’ve been leading the way in responding to climate change. The agricultural sector will be exempt from the expanded safeguard mechanism – we won’t have targets for farmers. Labor wants to see Australia’s land sector supply more affordable offsets for pollution, which will reduce the cost of abatement for business and give farmers and regional communities greater economic opportunities. We will review and reinvigorate the carbon farming initiative, and develop a high-quality, well-functioning offset market. Labor will also put in place new federal legislation to bring broad-scale land clearing under control. Where states properly regulate land clearing, such as in Queensland, Labor will take no action.

In addition, Labor has taken the decision not to allow the use of Kyoto credits to meet its Paris targets. By allowing the carryover of Kyoto credits, the Liberals’ already weak target effectively falls from 26 per cent to 16 per cent. Using Kyoto credits is fake action on climate change, and Ukraine is the only other country in the world to confirm they will do this.
Labor will restore and reform important institutions like the Climate Change Authority, and to make sure we can adapt to a changing climate, we will conduct the first ever comprehensive Climate Change Assessment on the likely and potential impacts of climate change on all aspects of Australian life.
Our policy has been developed in consultation with industry and experts, and it builds on already announced policies like our Energy Plan and Hydrogen Plan.
It’s a good plan for families, for industry – and for the planet.
The Liberal Party is full of climate sceptics and hopelessly divided on climate change – Scott Morrison even brought a lump of coal into Parliament instead of a climate policy.
The Liberals have helped push up power prices by having 13 different energy policies, undermining investment in renewable energy, supporting taxpayer money for new coal plants and backing power privatisations.
There is only one major political party serious about real action on climate change – Labor.  That’s because we are determined to pass on a better deal to the next generation.
Only Labor will deliver real action on climate change to deliver lower pollution, lower power prices and a stronger economy.
More information is available at  https://www.alp.org.au/climate_change_action_plan

Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, today commented on new tax statistics released by the ATO revealing tax credits to oil and gas giants have ballooned to $324 billion.
“The PRRT is the most egregious rort in the Australian tax code.
“The failure of successive Liberal and Labor governments to address this problem has resulted in oil and gas companies accumulating a whopping $324 billion worth of tax offsets.
“This equates to around 70% of the Commonwealth Government’s total revenue.
“The Government’s Bill scheduled to be debated in parliament this week will raise only $6 billion in additional revenue over ten years.
“While the world is in the middle of an LNG boom, we’re practically giving the stuff away.
“The fundamental flaw with the PRRT is the overly generous uplift rates applied to carried-forward expenditure which is used to offset taxable income.
“Most problematic are exploration expenses which compound at 15% above the long-term bond rate, and can be transferred from one project to another within a company.
“On current trends, it is an open question whether PRRT tax offsets will ever be expired. Some companies might ride a multi-decade long boom and end up tax positive.”

Greens’ climate change spokesperson and Co-Deputy Leader, Adam Bandt, said that Labor’s climate announcement today was a jumble of Liberal party ideas without any plan to transition out of thermal coal. Mr Bandt also said his party would oppose the ‘fake action’ of international offsets contained in Labor’s plan. The Greens will work to kick Scott Morrison’s government out but then toughen up Labor’s proposals in the Senate.
“There are a couple of good ideas here, but overall this is a dog’s breakfast of Liberal party leftovers, with no plan for coal and no hope of meeting the Paris Agreement goals,” said Mr Bandt.
“Coal is the single biggest contributor to climate change. If you don’t have a plan for coal, you’re not serious about climate change.
“The Liberals love coal and Labor won’t say its name, but without a plan to transition out of coal, we will not meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.”
‘Safeguards’
“The NEG and so-called ‘safeguards’ were created by the climate change-denying Liberal party and should be put in the bin, not reheated by Labor and served up as a climate policy.”
“By adopting the ineffective safeguard mechanism with huge carve outs for some sectors, it looks like the free ride for big business in this country on climate will continue under Bill Shorten.
International offsets
“Labor has also confirmed it will adopt a dodgy accounting trick that even Tony Abbott opposes by allowing business to use international offsets.”
“International offsets delay climate action in Australia. More coal will be burnt at home and the transition to 100% renewables will be delayed.”
“We cannot outsource our emissions reduction obligations to a pig farm in Ukraine.”
“The Greens welcome Labor’s rejection of the dodgy carryover credit scam, but international offsets are also ‘fake action’ because Australian polluters will buy overseas permits from other countries but keep polluting at home.”
The passage of Labor’s plan through Parliament
“I’m desperate to turf to the conservatives out, but I’m bitterly disappointed Labor isn’t taking the climate emergency seriously, hoping that being only slightly less bad that the Liberals will be enough to get them elected.”
“Labor is still jumping at Tony Abbott’s shadow, unwilling to put together a coherent economy-wide climate policy at the very time the public mood has shifted in favor of strong action and a carbon price.”
“This announcement shows why you need Greens in Parliament. The Greens will work towards a change of government then, in the Senate, toughen up Labor’s poorly cobbled-together patchwork of Liberal party policy rejects.”
Electric cars
“Not only does the target lack ambition, but the policy lack mechanisms that would get us even close to 50% electric vehicles by 2030,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens transport and infrastructure spokesperson.
“Labor’s EV announcement is nothing but an attempt to grab some headlines on climate change without any actual substance.”

Labor’s electric vehicle policy including a target of 50% by 2030 is weak and lacks any clarity or mechanisms to achieve the target, say the Australian Greens.
“Not only does the target lack ambition, but the policy lacks mechanisms that would get us even close to 50% electric vehicles by 2030,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens transport and infrastructure spokesperson.
“We have the opportunity to join countries like Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland which have a target of all new vehicles sales being electric vehicles by 2030. This is also what the NRMA is calling for.”
“Labor’s target is weak and leaves Australia stuck in the slow lane.”
“Labor’s 105g CO2/km light vehicle emissions policy won’t play a part unless it is introduced immediately and ramped up over time. Where is Labor’s timeline for implementation?”
“This is a weak electric vehicle target for Australia, when we already have the lowest uptake of OECD countries and other countries are zipping us by with bold, ambitious EV policies that are working.”
“Labor’s EV announcement is nothing but an attempt to grab some headlines on climate change without any actual substance.”
The Australian Greens electric vehicle policy includes:

• setting a target of 100% of new passenger vehicles being electric by 2030
• strong vehicle emissions standards of 105g CO@/km by 2022
• removing import tariffs and other taxes such as GST, stamp duty and registration,and
• rolling out fast charging infrastructure.