Bills Digest no. 92 2007–08
Australian Energy Market Amendment (Minor Amendments) Bill 2008
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced
and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have
any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine
the subsequent official status of the Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage history
Purpose
Background
Financial implications
Main provisions
Contact officer & copyright details
Passage history
Australian Energy
Market Amendment (Minor Amendments) Bill 2008
Date introduced: 20
March 2008
House: House
of Representatives
Portfolio: Resources,
Energy and Tourism
Commencement: Sections
1 to 3 and anything not covered by the Table in clause 2 commence on the
day of the Royal Assent; Schedules 1, 2 and 4 commence immediately after
the commencement of Schedule 1 to the Australian Energy Market Amendment
(Gas Legislation) Act 2007; and Schedule 3 commences at the same time
as Schedule 1 to the Australian Energy Market Amendment (Gas Legislation)
Act 2007.
Links:
The relevant
links to the Bill, Explanatory Memorandum and second reading speech
can be accessed via BillsNet, which is at http://www.aph.gov.au/bills/. When Bills
have been passed they can be found at ComLaw, which is at http://www.comlaw.gov.au/.
The main purpose is to amend the reference to ‘2007’
to a reference to ‘2008’ in the Administrative Decisions (Judicial
Review) Act 1977 (ADJR Act), the Australian Energy Market Act 2004
(Australian Energy Market Act), the Australian Energy Market Amendment
(Gas Legislation) Act 2007 (Australian Energy Market Amendment (Gas
Legislation) Act) and the Trade Practices Act 1974 (TPA) to take
account of the change in the timing of the introduction of legislation
which will establish a national gas access regime.
Over the past decade, the energy sector has undergone major reform.
Much of the early reform was under the umbrella of the National Competition
Policy which arose from the report of the Independent Committee of Inquiry
into National Competition, known as the ‘Hilmer Report’. Reform included
provision for third parties to gain access to gas infrastructure such
as pipelines under Part IIIA of the TPA. More recently, reform entailed
establishing the Australian Energy Market
Commission and the Australian Energy
Regulator.
Problems with the access regime led the Commonwealth Government to ask
the Productivity Commission to report on ways the regime might be improved.
In 2004, the Government released the Productivity Commission’s report,
which was titled ‘Review of the
Gas Access Regime’. The Productivity Commission concluded that access
arrangements could potentially discourage or distort investment in gas
infrastructure.[1] It proposed,
among other things, moving away from cost-based price regulation and relying
instead on price monitoring.[2] The Productivity Commission also advocated arrangements providing
scope to exempt new gas pipelines (on a case-by-case basis) from access
provisions for a 15 year period.[3]
When the Government released the report, it indicated that the Ministerial
Council on Energy (MCE) would be charged with developing a response
to the Commission’s recommendations.[4]
In May 2006, the MCE released
its response
to the Productivity Commission’s report. The MCE noted that its response
contained:
… key policy decisions which will be incorporated
in the new National Gas Law and National Gas Rules. In accordance with
the Productivity Commission’s key recommendations, the following changes
will be made to the Gas Access Regime:
- an overarching objects clause will be introduced to clarify the regime’s
objectives;
- changes will be made to the regime’s scope to align it with the National
Access Regime; and
- a light handed regulatory option will be introduced.
The then Treasurer and the Minister for Industry Tourism and Resources
welcomed
the MCE’s response stating that it would be implemented through legislative
amendments to the Gas Access Regime, following consultation on the draft
legislative package.[5]
Agreement was reached between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories
to establish a harmonised national gas access regime, which would apply
in all participating jurisdictions. The proposed mechanisms are a National
Gas Law and National Gas Rules.
The first step in the process of establishing the national regime included
releasing drafts of the Law and the Rules and seeking comment on them.
On 19 July 2007, second
exposure drafts were released. In October 2007, the Standing Committee
of Officials of the MCE released a response
to comments on the second exposure draft of the National Gas Law.
The second step in the process is the enactment of ‘lead legislation’
by South Australia in 2008. South Australia will enact the National Gas
Law as the Schedule to the proposed National Gas (South Australia)
Act 2008. The Rules appear as National
Gas (South Australia) Regulations under Part 3 of the National
Gas (South Australia) Act 2008.
The third step is that other participating jurisdictions—with the exception
of Western Australia—will follow South Australia by enacting ‘application
legislation’ which will mirror the South Australian legislation. Western
Australia, for its part, will pass complementary legislation to give effect
to the National Gas Law.
The timing for the introduction of the South Australian legislation has
slipped from 2007 to 2008. According to the Minister’s second reading
speech, the delay is the result of proposed changes to the National Gas
Law and Rules to allow for a gas bulletin
board.[6] The change
in timing has resulted in the need to amend the reference to ‘2007’ in
a number of Acts to a reference to ‘2008’.
There are no financial implications arising from the Bill.
The provisions are essentially technical in nature and fall into three
categories:
- those where a reference to ‘2008’ is substituted for ‘2007’ as follows:
- Schedule 1 which amends the ADJR Act at
clauses 1 and 2
- Schedule 2 which amends the Australian Energy
Market Act at clauses 1, 3-6, 9, 12
and 13, and
- Schedule 4 which amends the TPA at clause
1.
- those where the words ‘the National Gas Access (Western Australia)
Law (within the meaning of the National Gas Access (Western Australia)
Act 2008 of Western Australia)’ are substituted for ‘the National
Gas Access Law set out in Schedule 1 to the National Gas Access (Western
Australia) Act 2007 of Western Australia’ as follows:
- Schedule 1 which amends the ADJR Act at
clause 3
- Schedule 2 which amends the Australian
Energy Market Act at clauses 2, 7, 8,
10 and 11, and
- Schedule 4 which amends the TPA at
clauses 1 and 4.
- Schedule 3 amends the Australian
Energy Market Amendment (Gas Legislation) Act by repealing existing
Item 4 of Schedule 2 and substituting the proposed Item 4 which
changes the reference to paragraph 11J(a) to a reference to paragraph
11J(1)(a).
Richard Webb
22 April 2008
Bills Digest Service
Parliamentary Library
© Commonwealth of Australia
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