Done and Dusted

Direct Action climate plan passes the Senate with help from Palmer United Party

Political News
Date
October 31, 2014 - 5:05AM

Done deal: Clive Palmer and Environment minister Greg Hunt. Photo: Andrew Meares
More than three months after repealing the carbon tax the Abbott government has finally succeeded in replacing Labor's climate policy with one of its own.
After a marathon debate that stretched into Friday morning, the government's Direct Action plan passed the Senate with the support of crossbench senators from the Palmer United Party.
The bill underwent a number of last-minute changes and will need approval from the House of Representatives, where the government has the numbers and the result is assured.

Greens leader Christine Milne said Clive Palmer's proposal for an ETS was "a sham and a shonk from the start". Photo: Andrew Meares
Labor and the Greens fiercely opposed the government's alternative climate plan but didn't have the votes to defeat it.
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The legislation will establish the $2.55 billion emissions reduction fund, an incentive pool for companies to voluntarily find ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
Companies opting into the scheme will compete for government money by devising projects that can reduce emissions cheaply.

Senator Nick Xenophon negotiated "safeguards" to force major companies to pay a fine if their emissions continue to rise. Photo: Andrew Meares
The government says it is confident it can meet Australia's five per cent emissions reduction target by 2020 by funding these green projects, such as cleaning up power stations or capturing gas at landfill sites.
Greens leader Christine Milne said the deal between the government and PUP showed Clive Palmer's proposal for an emissions trading scheme was "a sham and a shonk from the start".
"The big polluters can now put out their hand for taxpayers dollars in order to be paid to do something they should have been doing anyway," she told the chamber.
As part of the deal, the government abandoned its pledge to scrap the Climate Change Authority, and tasked the advisory body with exploring PUP's policy for a "dormant" emissions trading scheme.
This ETS would only take effect once Australia's major trading partners adopted similar schemes.
The Greens said the deal also did not appear to forbid the logging and burning of native forests for energy under the Direct Action scheme, with senators expressing particular alarm that taxpayer funds could be used to pay for the burning of Tasmanian forests.
Senator Lisa Singh, Labor's environment spokeswoman in the Senate, told the chamber Direct Action was "a program built on begging big polluters not to pollute".
"It addresses the problem of climate change with all the sincerity you'd expect of someone who once declared it was crap," she said.
Both Labor and the Greens questioned whether companies owned by Mr Palmer would benefit by receiving grants under the Direct Action scheme.
In exchange for his vote, independent senator Nick Xenophon successfully negotiated for "safeguards" which will force the government, in conjunction with the clean energy regulator, to set baselines emitters cannot exceed that are in line with meeting Australia's international obligations.
"In this case the safeguard mechanism needs to be big stick to the ERF's (emissions reduction fund) gentle encouragement," Senator Xenophon said.
But the safeguards will not come into force until 2016, with Senator Xenophon telling the chamber the previous timeline of 2015 was unrealistic.
Fellow independent John Madigan also supported the legislation, but Family First's Bob Day and Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm opposed it.
Much scorn has been heaped on Direct Action over the years, not all of it from the coalition's enemies.
Liberal minister Malcolm Turnbull - who was dumped as party leader in part for his support of an ETS - once described Direct Action as a "con" and a "fig leaf" that would do nothing for the environment.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt insists it will achieve its emissions target on time and to budget.
AAP with Lisa Cox

What was said

"Arguably the Palmer United Party has achieved more for the environment in three months than the Greens have in all the years they've been here." - Frontbench minister Mathias Cormann thanks PUP while taking a dig at Greens leader Christine Milne.
"Taking money from low-income families and spending it on dodgy activities with a spurious scientific basis punishes the poor." - Family First senator Bob Day, who voted against the bill.
"Direct action is a pointless policy with no discipline on pollution whatsoever." - Labor senator Lisa Singh, who led the opposition's filibustering of the bill.
"When you jump on the climate bandwagon and have a hissy fit you ultimately miss the details." - Independent senator John Madigan in defence of the policy.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/direct-action-climate-plan-passes-the-senate-with-help-from-palmer-united-party-20141031-3j9bq.html#ixzz3HerykNrY