CEFC saved by the Senate

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) was saved yesterday after the Senate, led by the Labor Party and Greens, rejected legislation to abolish the scheme for a second time.

The rejection has the potential to trigger a double dissolution, with Greens Leader Christine Milne challenging Prime Minister Tony Abbott to call an election over the issue.

“The Senate won’t stand for Tony Abbott’s head-in-the-sand approach on global warming, and we’re not afraid of a double dissolution election over renewable energy,” she said.

Milne described the CEFC as “an excellent institution” that is “creating jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency, reducing Australia’s pollution and returning money to the budget”.

“The Abbott government has admitted the CEFC is profitable, but they’re so driven by ideology that they want to wipe their hands of it and sell it off. It’s just further proof that there is no budget emergency,” she added.

The government continues to take steps to replace the policies of the former Labor government, yesterday introducing legislation to parliament to implement the Emissions Reduction Fund - the centrepiece of the Coalition’s Direct Action Plan.

The Carbon Farming Initiative Amendment Bill 2014 expands on and streamlines the existing Carbon Farming Initiative to provide incentives for businesses and organisations to come forward with emissions reductions opportunities that they’ve identified across the Australian economy.

Competitive auctions will be held and the government will enter into contracts to buy emissions reductions from successful bidders at lowest cost. The Clean Energy Regulator will administer the Emissions Reduction Fund and will be able to enter into contracts worth up to $2.55 billion from the commencement of the fund, with further funding to be considered in future budgets.

But Milne has suggested that the Senate will continue to stand firm against the Prime Minister’s climate change policies, saying he “does not have the skills to negotiate with the crossbench in the Senate, so you can expect that huge parts of his agenda will be blocked”.

“The Greens won’t entertain any compromise on our values, so we are ready for an early election, if Tony Abbott has the ticker for it.”