Carbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) Bill 2026

Ms MILLER-FROST (Boothby) (11:49): The Albanese Labor government will be known as the government that fast-tracked Australia's renewable energy transition—a renewable energy transition that has been described as the biggest technological shift since the industrial revolution of the 19th century. And just as the industrial revolution shaped economies and societies, the renewable energy transition will change all Australians' lives for the better.

It will mean cheaper energy because renewable energy is consistently demonstrated to be cheaper than gas or coal. It will mean a long-term vision for Australia's energy grid that guarantees a reliable and efficient source of power, taking advantage of Australia's abundance of natural resources like solar and wind. It will mean a more sustainable environmental footprint as we look towards meeting our emissions reductions targets.

The Albanese Labor government will be known as the government that met the energy moment, a government that isn't in denial about our global reality, a government that refuses to waste years on internal ideological squabbles, kowtowing to industry lobbyists while the world literally burns. While Australia and the world find themselves on the brink of environmental collapse, our friends in the Pacific watch sea levels rise and we all deal with the more frequent and stronger storms and freak weather that we've been facing.

This government is prepared to act now to build the infrastructure that will shore up our energy resilience. This government is committed to leaving a world that is liveable for our children and grandchildren and the generations that follow. That is why the Albanese Labor government is committed to ensuring that Australia's carbon market, one of the biggest integrity schemes in the world, is fit for purpose, efficient and transparent.

Carbon credits incentivise big polluters to engage in emissions-reduction activities and help them meet their safeguard mechanism obligations. For example, they encourage industry to employ new technologies, upgrade their equipment or change their business practices to prioritise productivity and energy efficiency. Since 2011, carbon credits have achieved 190 million tonnes of abatement over 2,600 projects, amounting to a market value of more than $4 billion.

Carbon credits are a crucial component of Australia's climate policy framework. They are a crucial part of Australia's objective to achieve net zero by 2050. The Carbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) Bill strengthens and reinforces the regulatory framework around carbon credits.

It will mean that consent needs to be sought for projects on native title land and before carbon credits can be issued. It will grant new powers to the minister to compel a project's transition to an alternative method where the current method poses a material risk to the integrity of the carbon credits scheme. A method is a set of rules and requirements that determine what activities are eligible for carbon credits.

Methods cover a range of projects in agriculture, energy efficiency, landfill and waste, mining, oil and gas, and vegetation. The bill will strengthen the compliance powers of the Clean Energy Regulator to reverse a decision where false or misleading information for a project has been identified and to issue fines rather than pursue a remedy in a lengthy and complicated court process.

It will reassign responsibility for the buying of carbon credits from the Clean Energy Regulator to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, separating their powers and functions and avoiding conflicts of interest. It will streamline the administration of the Carbon Credit Scheme, facilitating easier transitions to new methods and providing the regulator with more flexibility to adjust audit frameworks and manage outstanding consents and regulatory approvals.

It will replace the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee with a carbon abatement integrity committee, a body that will provide crucial advice to the minister and the secretary of the department, spearhead method development, perform compliance checks and routine reviews of methods and reviewed the crediting period extensions during which carbon credits can be claimed.

The committee will require that at least one member be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and the bill will make changes to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme, a single framework for reporting company information about greenhouse gas emissions, energy production and energy consumption. It will streamline the way in which this information is published and improve transparency by empowering the regulator to be able to require a more detailed publication of information.

The bill will make changes to the new vehicle efficiency standard. The new vehicle efficiency standard incentivises manufacturers to send more energy-efficient vehicles to Australia, giving Australian consumers more choice when it comes to electric and hybrid vehicles. The new vehicle efficiency standard has meant more Australians are purchasing more energy-efficient vehicles.

In August this year, electric vehicles outsold petrol vehicles for the first time, an increase of 171 per cent on the same month last year. The bill improves the new vehicle efficiency standard by fixing the timing misalignment for vehicle suppliers, giving them a longer period in which to reduce the emissions value—what determines their eligibility for carbon credits—of the cars they import into Australia in any given year.

Australia's carbon market plays a substantial and meaningful role in reaching our 2050 net zero target. Our carbon market is one of the best of its kind in the world. This bill is about improving and maintaining the transparency, accountability and integrity of Australia's carbon credit scheme.

It's about strengthening Australians' confidence in the system. This bill will help cultivate an environment in which emissions-reduction activities are an attractive proposition for investors who want to do their bit. It will support vital research and development in new emissions-reduction technologies.

While striving towards our emissions-reduction targets, the economic benefits will flow to industries, local communities and landholders, and it will create more long-lasting jobs. This bill is a trifecta of successes. It will benefit the climate, it will benefit the economy and it will benefit Australian communities.

This important bill is just one plank of the Albanese Labor government's comprehensive mission to reduce the production of emissions in this country and to do what we can to pull ourselves back from the point of no return, from the point of complete climate disaster. It is non-negotiable. We need to do all we can to mitigate the effects of climate change, which are already currently being felt across the globe in economies and communities, while ensuring that Australians can affordably and reliably access the energy they need.

We, unlike those on the opposition benches, have been steadfast on this question. The Albanese Labor government has set a target of between 62 and 70 per cent reduction on 2005 standard emissions by 2035, while those opposite have opposed this and just about every other climate target and have abandoned net zero by 2050. Our commitment to net zero by 2050 and our interim targets are practical and achievable.

They're informed by scientific consensus and backed by industry. Eighty per cent of global GDP is covered by national net zero commitments, with global investment in clean-energy projects amounting to over US$2 trillion. That is why we've introduced a reformed safeguard mechanism that will require that Australia's biggest polluters cut their emissions by five per cent every year and we've committed to making Australia's energy grid 82 per cent renewable electricity by 2030.

Australia is on track to meet these objectives while embracing technological changes along the way that will also improve the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of our methods. The Albanese Labor government has made and continues to make record investments in renewable energy. Since we came into government, Australia's wind and solar capacity has increased by 60 per cent.

We have had record levels of renewables in line with record demand for them. Coal and gas generation are at historic lows, which is good because these are the most expensive forms of energy. The reason that these power stations are closing is not because they've suddenly become greenies; it's because they are no longer economical.

They can't compete against renewables. Renewables and batteries have been more accessible and affordable than ever before, all of which has translated to cheaper electricity bills for all Australians. The government introduced a $1.7 billion energy savings package to help households, businesses and local governments to cut their bills.

We've invested in clean energy right across the country, including a 30 per cent discount on solar batteries, an initiative that has experienced one of the highest uptakes in my electorate of Boothby and has been wildly popular across the country. This not only benefits those houses that put the batteries on but also drives down demand for expensive gas generated electricity in the evening, benefiting everyone by taking the peak down.

From July this year, the government's Solar Sharer Offer has meant that retailers are now required to provide three hours of free power every day by tapping Australia's excess and abundant solar energy. We have invested in the electrification of our economy, including, as this bill seeks, to reinforce the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, giving consumers more choice and better choice when it comes to electric vehicles.

When we came to government, there were only 45 types of EVs on the market. Now there are over 160. When we came to government, there were no EV models under $45,000 on the market.

Now there are eight models that can be bought for less than $45,000. To encourage greater uptake in EVs, the government has made EVs more affordable with tax discounts. On top of this, we are building more EV chargers right across the country.

We've expanded clean fuel use by supporting green hydrogen and low-carbon liquid fuels in industry. We continue to harness new technologies to facilitate the renewable energy transition, and we will, with this bill, bolster Australia's carbon credit scheme. Australia is primed to take the renewable energy transition to the next level, the biggest global energy shift since the Industrial Revolution.

We have the policies to back it, the natural resources to give life to it and the technologies to facilitate it. The Albanese Labor government has a vision for Australia that recognises the global environment in which we exist. The coalition has opposed us at every turn.

While we want Australia to be a renewable energy superpower, they would prefer that we languish in tired squabbles about the realities of climate change, denying what is before us. It is happening. Countries around the world are experiencing the effects of climate change every day now, and it's the Albanese Labor government that is committed to taking urgent and appropriate action.

I commend the bill to the House.