The Environment Minister in Australia’s conservative Liberal-National government, Greg Hunt, has revealed the government may be able to introduce its emissions reduction fund without legislation.
The $1.5 billion fund is a key part of the coalition government’s Direct Action plan to cut emissions and address climate change once it succeeds in abolishing the current carbon price laws introduced by the previous Labor government.
AAP Newsagency reports the mechanism for setting up the fund has been separated from the bills to repeal the carbon price laws to give them a better chance of passing parliament.
Labor has said it cannot support repealing the carbon price, especially while there is doubt about the scope and detail of Direct Action.
Labor and the Australian Greens Party will hold the balance of power in the upper house Senate until July 1 next year and can block repeal of the legislation until then.
Mr Hunt, who is currently consulting on the design of the fund, said he is exceptionally confident the government would enact it one way or another.
“There are a variety of ways to do it,” Mr Hunt said.
“Our primary approach is through legislation but there are other options to do it, there is no doubt about that.”
Mr Hunt said Labor should be in no doubt about the coalition’s “comprehensive policy” and was merely making excuses.
“Australians are waiting for Bill Shorten to make up his mind as to whether he will be `Electricity Bill’ or whether he will support our push for lower bills,” Mr Hunt said.
Mr Hunt was referring to Liberal-National claims that repealing the carbon price will lower consumers electricity bills, a view that is disputed by a number of experts.
AAP reports Mr Hunt said Labor had already said it had terminated the carbon price when it proposed at the recent general election to bring forward the start of an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to July 2014.
Labor says any future mechanism for dealing with carbon emissions must involve a market-based system such as an ETS.
The emissions reduction fund involves spending $1.5 billion over three years from July 2014 to buy a variety of greenhouse gas abatement.
A green paper on the issue will be released before Christmas and a white paper early in the new year.
The shadow ministry, meeting for the first time on Monday, reaffirmed Labor’s commitment to reducing carbon pollution and will discuss it further ahead of parliament resuming on November 12.
AAP reportst senior Labor MPs have not yet settled on a strategy to deal with the legislation.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said Labor wanted to see more detail about the Direct Action policy.
“Every side agrees the carbon tax needs to be terminated and a new set of arrangements need to be put in place,” Mr Bowen told Sky News.
“But the key question is what follows it.
“We have said a market-based mechanism is the best way to deal with it and we have great concerns about Direct Action,” he added.
