Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

Aussi environment politics .. Turnbull wins party battle over ETS negotiations

fuagf comment: Obama, as i understand exclude farmers from cap and trade .. Rudd, didn't .. had them
coming into it in 2015 i think .. another sticking point is why would we before others do .. Conservatives
want to wait .. to follow .. Turnbull is much too liberal for many of his fellow conservative liberals.

Samantha Maiden, Online Political Editor
The Australian .. October 18, 2009 8:30PM

MALCOLM Turnbull has won the battle with his party room to negotiate with Labor over an emissions trading scheme.

But Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce has warned he's unlikely to win the war with some MPs determined to reject any final legislation in the Senate.

Vowing to protect jobs and limit electricity prices for small business, a confident Mr Turnbull emerged smiling from the marathon four hour meeting.

He had issued a "back me or sack me" ultimatim to MPs.

While many told the meeting they opposed an ETS, others warned divisions were already hurting marginal seat MPs and could hurt the Liberals in looming by-elections.

"It's a very good outcome," Mr Turnbull said as he walked out of the four-hour meeting. "Shadow cabinet's recommendations have had very strong support and so we'll be going forward on that basis."

Outspoken ETS critic Wilson Tuckey said Mr Turnbull had found success. "Mr Turnbull has got party room support on his much-repeated words that he can put some amendments up to (climate change minister) Penny Wong," the Liberal MP said.

Key amendments discussed at the meeting included more compensation for small businesses that face rising electricity prices and excluding agriculture from an emissions trading scheme.

The Australian Online understands the Liberal leader outlined six key areas to the party room that he believed must be fixed by the government before the Coalition would support the legislation in the Senate.

These include allowing emissions intensive trade exposed companies such as the concrete and aluminium industry to secure free permits to pollute for a longer period of time.

The amendments will also demand that food processors are treated like emissions intensive industries to protect consumers from rising food prices under an emissions trading scheme.

And Mr Turnbull wants the government to offer concessions to the coal industry in line with other international agreements to exclude so-called fugitive emissions from an emissions trading scheme. Fugitive emissions are gases created as a by product of digging for coal as opposed to burning coal.

Another condition of securing Coalition support for the legislation is to increase compensation to electricity generators in line with independent advice warning some may go broke if a carbon trading scheme is introducing.

Mr Turnbull addressed the meeting, asking for MPs' support for his amendments without referring to the threat of an early election or his earlier threat to “back me or sack me” on negotiating with Labor.

It's understood several senators have warned Mr Turnbull they can't support emissions trading scheme legislation before Copenhagen talks in December.

Marginal seat MPs including Fran Bailey and Jo Gash have warned rebel MPs that climate change sceptics are damaging their chance of re-election.

They have warned that climate change is still a big issue in their seats and any failure to play a constructive role could hurt their electoral prospects.

Andrew Robb, who has taken leave to deal with depression also spoke to the meeting backing the amendments proposed by acting climate change spokesman Ian Macfarlane.

Liberal senator Cory Bernardi told the meeting he did not support and emissions trading scheme but was happy to have the amendments drafted.

But MPs believe Mr Turnbull can cobble together enough support to secure the passage of legislation – if Labor agrees to accept the majority of their amendments.

“We don’t need universal agreement to get this through the Senate,’’ one Liberal MP said.

The Coalition has unveiled a plan to save thousands of Australian jobs and limit increases in electricity prices for small business through common sense amendments to Labor’s flawed and rushed emissions trading scheme.

In a statement this evening, the Opposition said the shadow cabinet and joint party room had agreed agreed to a package of amendments that would form the basis for good faith negotiations with the Rudd Labor Government. The statement said key export industries, including coal mining, food processing, natural gas and aluminium would be better protected, "saving thousands of Australian jobs under threat from Labor’s scheme".

"The package also protects farmers from the scheme by exempting agriculture altogether," the statement said. "By allowing agricultural offsets which include carbon sequestration in soils and vegetation, there is the opportunity for financial and land management benefits in the rural sector."

The Coalition would continue to advocate an intensity-based cap and trade approach to the electricity sector, as this
more than halves the initial increase in electricity prices, reducing the economic costs of achieving emissions cuts.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/turnbull-wins-party-battle-over-ets-negotiations/story-e6frg6nf-1225788054127