Preamble:
The Branch applauds the Albanese Labor government for its significant climate policies, including the renewable electricity transformation, the Safeguard Mechanism, the vehicle emissions standards and bringing land clearing under national environmental laws.
The Branch notes, however, that the Diesel Fuel Tax Credit (DFTC) is working against the Safeguard Mechanism by significantly reducing the financial benefit to Australia’s largest mining companies of moving away from diesel. Capping the rebate at $50 million would affect only the 15 largest diesel users (13 mining companies and 2 coal freight companies). Farmers and tourism operators would not be affected. These 15 companies are receiving around $3 billion a year. Making the excess rebate (above $50 million) available to all Safeguard Mechanism facilities to finance their on site emissions reduction would help to reduce emissions faster at no cost to the budget. It would also facilitate the adoption of new low-emissions technology faster.
The Motion:
The [name] Branch calls on the Albanese Labor government to:
- Reform the Diesel Fuel Tax Credit to ensure it no longer undermines the Safeguard Mechanism
- Use any savings from the reform to create a Decarbonisation Fund
- Make the Decarbonisation Fund available to all facilities within the Safeguard Mechanism to finance on-site emissions reduction.