Clean Energy Bill 2011 and related bills

The majority voted in favour of an amendment to the Clean Energy Bill 2011 that would defer commencing the carbon price mechanism until after the election of the 44th Parliament. It was introduced by Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham.

The Clean Energy Bill 2011 is part of a package of eighteen bills to implement a carbon pricing mechanism, which is a key policy of the Labor Government.

The eighteen bills are:

• Clean Energy Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Income Tax Rates Amendments) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Household Assistance Amendments) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Tax Laws Amendments) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Fuel Tax Legislation Amendment) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Customs Tariff Amendment) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Excise Tariff Legislation Amendment) Bill 2011
• Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment Bill 2011
• Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Unit Shortfall Charge—General) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge—Auctions) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge—Fixed Charge) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (International Unit Surrender Charge) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Charges—Customs) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy (Charges—Excise) Bill 2011
• Clean Energy Regulator Bill 2011
• Climate Change Authority Bill 2011

Background to the bills

The carbon pricing mechanism is set to begin on 1 July 2012.(Read more about the carbon pricing mechanism on the Clean Energy Regulator’s website.) It is an emissions trading scheme that puts a price on carbon emissions. It will apply to “liable entities” (a group that includes companies that emit a high level of greenhouse gases). Initially the price of carbon will be fixed by the mechanism but from 1 July 2015 the price will be set by the market.

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