E&OE….
Topics: One Stop Shop reforms, Carbon Farming Initiative, Home Insulation Programme compensation.
LYNDAL CURTIS:
The Environment Minister Greg Hunt joins me now.
Greg Hunt, welcome to Capital Hill.
GREG HUNT:
Pleasure.
LYNDAL CURTIS:
Does the Greens’ deal with Clive Palmer spell the end to your bid to simplify environmental approvals?
GREG HUNT:
No, not in any way, shape or form. I think the important thing to understand and to start with is in 2012 at the April Council of Australian Governments meeting, Julia Gillard, the then PM, flanked by Wayne Swan and no doubt with the support of Chris Bowen and Bill Shorten made it clear that this was the number one objective to come out of that Council of Australian Governments meeting.
LYNDAL CURTIS:
But don’t those changes need to happen through the Environmental Act I mentioned?
GREG HUNT:
Well firstly, a large part of those changes have already occurred. There are two different parts. There are the assessment agreements between the Commonwealth and the States. We’ve reached agreement with all States and Territories in one form or another on those assessments.
Only yesterday we announced the coming into operation of the agreement with South Australia. Then we’re also working on the approvals agreements with all States and Territories and making real progress. There are some changes which would enhance and improve them which would come from the legislation, and remember this – this is about an additional 69,000 jobs and improved environmental standards.
So I would think that the ALP standing in the way of 69,000 jobs after having championed and advocated and demanded these changes, might just want to review its position.
LYNDAL CURTIS:
Can you do those changes in another way without needing the legislative change that the Greens don’t want?
GREG HUNT:
We’ve already made significant change, we’ve got the first round of agreements with all States and Territories…
LYNDAL CURTIS:
But the changes to the legislation you mentioned…
GREG HUNT:
…at various levels of development and then there are other ways of dealing with some of this through what are known as the bilateral agreements for approvals. But then on top of that, this can be optimised through legislative change and I’m still very, very confident that at the end of the day the crossbench won’t stand in the way of 69,000 jobs, of a net benefit to Australia of $160 billion between now and 2025 according to Minerals Council, and annual savings in business costs alone for dealing with Government of about $420 million.
LYNDAL CURTIS:
You have some other changes you’d like to make, one of those is in your Direct Action programme, the Carbon Farming Initiative, which is before parliament. You are also maybe making changes to the Renewable Energy Target.
Can you get those through the parliament and in what timeframe can you make those changes?
GREG HUNT:
Sure. Look our goal is to obviously work through these as quickly as possible. My hope and indeed quiet confidence remains that through very constructive discussions with the crossbenchers, which is in particular Nick Xenophon, who is working on behalf of many of them, but also with the Palmer United Party, we’ll be able to do this before Christmas.
This is about cleaning up Australia’s emissions and again the idea that the Greens and the ALP would stand in the way of supporting the Carbon Farming Initiative and 159 existing projects, but also the potential to clean up power stations, to clean up waste coal mine gas, to sponsor energy efficiency on a grand scale and to support the renewal of our national soil bank and therefore its carrying capacity for carbon as well as its productivity.
That beggars belief that they are so destructive that they won’t even support their own programmes which they championed when they were in Government.
LYNDAL CURTIS:
And just finally, the Prime Minister’s given you the task of looking at compensation for the Home Insulation Programme, for the families of the four young installers who died.
There are also other Ministers are looking at compensation for the businesses affected by the scheme, is that likely to amount to hundreds of millions of dollars? All up?
GREG HUNT:
Look, I certainly don’t want to speculate on a figure because these will be discussions with the families and the businesses and there’s a quantification process. It’s also very sensitive, in the human respect, because these are young lives that were lost. I have spoken with some of the families, I have called all of them, and left messages with those with whom I haven’t been able to speak.
Our first priority is to be fair and reasonable. It’s clear that the Government was at fault. The Royal Commissioner found manifest fault on behalf of the then Australian Government and similarly the Royal Commissioner found manifest fault on behalf of the Government in relation to small business damage.
I won’t speculate on a figure as you wouldn’t expect me to, but I will say we will work as quickly as possible to find the right person to get the right result.
LYNDAL CURTIS:
Greg Hunt, thank you very much for your time.
GREG HUNT:
Thank you.
(ENDS)