REGULATIONS AND DETERMINATIONS
Mr TEHAN (Wannon—Manager of Opposition Business) (15:15): I move: That the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Improved Forest Management in Multiple-use Public Native Forests) Methodology Determination 2026 made under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 on 25 June 2026 and presented to the House on 29 June 2026, be disallowed. This is a very simple motion.
It seeks to prevent the federal and state Labor governments from stopping the destruction of native forestry industry on the altar of net zero. This is about jobs. This is about timber industry jobs and how the government wants to absolutely destroy them.
And the worst thing is, they want to do it without being upfront about it. This is another sneaky way of hurting jobs in this nation, and especially jobs in rural and regional Australia. It has to stop.
What have you got against regional and rural Australia? What have you got against timber worker jobs? We need these timber worker jobs.
We need them. And not only that, we need the timber because the timber is sustainably harvested in this country. And do you know what happens when you close it down here?
It all gets imported. And where does it get imported from? Those countries that don't sustainably harvest.
That is what is occurring here, and the government should be up front about it. That is why we have moved this disallowance motion. Enough with your pretence of trying to get to net zero.
All you're doing is killing jobs and industry in this nation time after time after time after time, and we are going to oppose it every single step of the way. The regulation, which was authorised by the member for Fremantle on 25 June 2026, allows state governments to cash in climate credits for forestry they have saved. So let's put what they've done into real language: when you lock up the timber industry, you're going to allow state governments to get the carbon credits from it.
That's what you've done. Basically, the minister sitting here at the table, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, cannot meet his targets, will not meet his targets, but is quite happy to target timber workers for his net zero approach. That is what this is about.
We will not stand here and allow this to happen. The interesting thing about this is that we know that this is what this is all about, because the New South Wales state Labor government are the ones who've asked for it, with their Great Koala National Park—which they can't afford to pay for. We know this is going to lead to noxious weeds and feral animals in the farms adjacent to this state forest because the government will not finance and they will not fund the state parks around it.
This is junk credit costing timber industry jobs. We will not sit here and allow it to happen. If allowed to stand, the new regulation would see the cessation of commercial timber harvesting across entire regional forest agreement areas.
These areas were negotiated in good faith so that timber jobs could stay in Australia. And yet this sneaky, underhanded way just seeks to undermine these agreements. We all know what will happen.
One state government after another, Labor state governments will fold, and the timber industry will pay the price. The worst thing is it's not only the timber industries which will pay the price. Where will we get our timber from?
We'll have to import it. Will it be sustainably harvested overseas? This is the question that we want answered by the minister today.
Let's hear him stand up today and say: 'All the timber that we begin importing as a result of my policies will be sustainably harvested. There'll be no issues, and it will all be done in the same way that we harvest timber here.' Let's hear him stand up and say that. It'll be a bit like his commitment that all batteries installed would be done safely and to all technical specifications.
Did we get that guarantee? No, of course not. Will we get a guarantee on this?
No, we will not. Despite the fact that we are having this debate publicly in the parliament, understanding how this net zero regulation has come about has been cloaked in mystery. Work by the government to activate this net zero regulation began in 2024 by the Australian National University.
Despite multiple FOI requests—why doesn't this surprise you? Remember, the sun was going to shine in, the Australian sun was going to shine in. Despite multiple FOI requests, which have been blocked, the modelling on which this regulation rests has never been released publicly.
They believe in their cause so much, but of course they cannot release— Mr Rick Wilson interjecting— Mr TEHAN: Yes, that's it! The consultation period for the enactment of this regulation ran over summer for just 28 days. There is no transparency.
There's as much transparency on this as there is in the Capacity Investment Scheme. Of course, there is so much so much transparency around that one—billions and billions of dollars being locked away, and we get nothing from the government. There is no transparency.
I'm going to allow others to speak, because we've only got 40 minutes. I would like to go my full time, but I want to make sure there are others in the debate. These transparency issues are our substantial concern.
First of all, it's net zero window dressing. Second, carbon leakage will increase. Third, and most importantly, is where those opposite should apologise today in this place.
I don't think the minister has the word 'apology' in his vocabulary, but this is where he should apologise. This will cost forestry jobs. Not only that—it will hurt prime agriculture land.
NSW Farmers has raised that concerns the park declaration restricts private native forestry on adjacent private holdings and creates pest, weed and fire management risks. I saw the minister scoffing about this. It is creating a bad precedent, and that is why this House must oppose Labor's net zero zealotry.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): Is the motion seconded?