Posted 25/06/2014 by Tarek Dale
On 23 June 2014, the Government re-introduced a package of Bills to repeal the ‘carbon tax’. A separate Bill was also introduced to repeal the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT). On 24 June 2014, the House agreed to several debate management motions that will have the effect of expediting the passage of the Bills through the House so that they are able to be considered by the Senate when it meets on 7 July 2014.
The re-introduced Bills are identical to those rejected by the Senate in March 2014. Under section 57 of the Constitution, passage of the same bill more than three months after it is rejected by the Senate is one step in a series of requirements for a double dissolution trigger (a 2010 Library paper on double dissolutions provides more context).
Carbon tax repeal package of Bills
The key objective of the carbon tax package of Bills is to repeal the legislative framework that imposes a liability on certain businesses for greenhouse gas emissions associated with their production activities from 1 July 2014.
There are 11 separate Bills that are part of the carbon tax package. These 11 Bills are:
With the exception of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (Abolition) Bill 2014—which has been presented in a similar form on two separate occasions but negatived in the Senate—the reintroduced Bills are identical to the carbon tax repeal package of Bills that were negatived in the Senate on 20 March 2014.
New Bills digests are being prepared to incorporate additional relevant information. In the meantime, several Bills digests prepared by the Parliamentary Library on the previous carbon tax repeal package of Bills provide a guide to the policy background and the provisions of the Bills:
- Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [and] True-up Shortfall Levy (General) (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [and] True-up Shortfall Levy (Excise) (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013, Bills digest, 16, 2013–14.
- Customs Tariff Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [and] Excise Tariff Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [and] Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [and] Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013 [and] Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013, Bills digest, 17, 2013–14.
- Clean Energy (Income Tax Rates and Other Amendments) Bill 2013, Bills digest, 18, 2013–14.
- Climate Change Authority (Abolition) Bill 2013, Bills digest, 25, 2013–14.
- Clean Energy Finance Corporation (Abolition) Bill 2013 [No. 2], Bills digest, 54, 2013–14.
Minerals Resource Rent Tax repeal Bill
The key objective of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2013 [No. 2] is to repeal the MRRT. It also proposes to abolish or amend expenditure on a range of programs that have been linked to the MRRT. The previous MRRT repeal Bill, the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2013, was negatived in the Senate on 25 March 2014.
The Minister's second reading speech noted that the Government plans to introduce an amendment to its Bill, in order to adjust the timing of increases to the Superannuation Guarantee Charge percentage (Schedule 6) as announced in the 2014–15 Budget.
The changes to the Schoolkids Bonus (Schedule 8) takes effect from the date of Royal Assent; because this will now take place at a later date, the removal of the Schoolkids Bonus is effectively delayed. The dates for other policy changes are the same as those in the original Bill.
The Government has not announced any changes in relation to the Income Support Bonus and its provision to the children of veterans, although Mr Palmer has previously stated that this is a condition of Palmer United Party support.
A new Bills digest is being prepared to incorporate additional relevant information. In the meantime, the Bills digest for the previous MRRT Bill provides a guide to the policy and provisions of the Bill.