Federal Labor should make the case for a new carbon tax, former Treasury secretary Ken Henry says, describing the measure as \u201cthe world\u2019s best carbon policy\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Canberra about ways to fix the nation\u2019s broken environment protection laws, Henry said Australia had no hope of curbing carbon emissions without re-embracing a pricing mechanism.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy the hell did we ever drop it? That\u2019s the question,\u201d an exasperated Henry told the National Press Club.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt still boggles the mind that we had the world\u2019s best carbon policy, and then, for purely political reasons, decided that we can afford to do without it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course we need a carbon tax \u2026 and I am not of the view that, without a carbon tax, we should give up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry, now the chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation<\/a>, used Wednesday\u2019s speech as a rallying cry to federal parliament to finally agree on a rewrite of the quarter-century old Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have had all the reviews we need. All of us have had our say. It is now up to parliament. Let\u2019s just get this done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The environment minister, Murray Watt, is designing a new package of federal nature laws<\/a> after Anthony Albanese shelved the earlier version ahead of the election amid lobbying from mining companies and the Western Australian government.<\/p>\n Henry cast EPBC reform as critical to boosting productivity \u2013 the economic priority of Labor\u2019s second term<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cReforming our broken environmental laws is an obvious lever to enhance resilience and lift moribund productivity growth. And reforms provide an opportunity to dramatically cut the cost to government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, I can think of other reforms to boost productivity. Some even harder, though none more important. And if we can\u2019t achieve environmental law reform, then we should stop dreaming about more challenging options.\u201d<\/p>\n Henry is best known as the author of the 2010 tax review for the Rudd government, which inspired the short-lived mining super profits tax.<\/p>\n He has also advocated for a carbon price<\/a> as the least economically damaging method to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n The idea of a carbon price has again been put on the agenda as the Productivity<\/a> Commission examines options to lower the cost of meeting climate targets.<\/p>\n In submissions to the inquiry, the Australian Council of Trade Unions said the commission should examine \u201ccarbon pricing policies\u201d for different parts of the economy, and the Australian Energy Council called for a carbon price to be modelled to help inform emission reduction policies.<\/p>\n With most large-scale developments requiring approval under the EPBC Act, from renewable energy projects to housing estates, Henry argued the government will fail to reach its targets of net zero by 2050 and building 1.2m homes by 2030<\/a> without \u201chigh-quality\u201d national nature laws.<\/p>\n \u201cThese projects, be they windfarms, solar farms, transmission lines, new housing developments, land-based carbon sequestration projects, new and enhanced transport corridors or critical minerals extraction and processing plants, must be delivered quickly and efficiently,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they must be delivered in a way that not only protects, but restores, nature.\u201d<\/p>\n The prospects for Labor\u2019s housing target are already under renewed scrutiny after Treasury officials<\/a> conceded it \u201cwill not be met\u201d in advice to Jim Chalmers accidentally released to the ABC and published this week.<\/p>\n The government has recommitted to establishing a federal environmental protection agency but Watt has yet decide the scope of its powers.<\/p>\n