Labor climate spokesman Chris Bowen attacked the government for not matching the timeframe set by the US ahead of this week’s online meeting,with Mr Biden and his Special Presidential Envoy for Climate,John Kerry,promising to reach net zero by 2050.
“The Australian government’s still stuck in the climate culture wars and can’t even commit to the basic,most necessary commitment of net zero by 2050,which has been legislated for in many countries,” Mr Bowen said on Monday.
“Until and unless Scott Morrison commits to a net target of zero by 2050,and a strong roadmap to get there including legislation,then we’re really missing out on the opportunities and we’re not doing our bit as Joe Biden and John Kerry are expecting and requiring and promoting to be done.”
Mr Morrison also used his speech on Monday to promise security regulations across the aviation and maritime transport sectors would be reviewed as part of a $120-million deregulation package to be announced in the May budget.
He told the nation’s top business leaders that up to $430 million a year could be saved through a suite of initiatives including plans to reduce paperwork for businesses and make it easier for companies to comply with workplace rules.
Mr Morrison said a key pillar of the government’s plan for an economic recovery out of the coronavirus pandemic would be deregulation.
He said the budget package would build on what the government was working on before the advent of the pandemic,as it sought to make it easier for businesses to carry out their operations,which in turn would boost the economy.
“We are determined to take unnecessary regulatory burdens off business to unlock investment and to create jobs,” he said.
The $120-million,four-year package,will be built around three themes including reducing the regulatory burdens on businesses in their interaction with government,making it easier for businesses to employ people and setting a foundation for future reforms.
Among future reforms is a planned independent review of aviation and maritime transport security regulations,which have ballooned since the September 11 terror attacks in 2001.
A “targeted” review of Australia’s regulations will be carried out to ensure security laws are targeted at the areas of highest risk and do not stifle business innovation or job creation.
Another review will cover federal government regulators to look for efficiencies and improved performance and to also examine the charges they impose on businesses for services.
Reporting under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme is to be streamlined in a move Mr Morrison said would reduce the time spent preparing reports by 70 per cent and help more than 900 companies.
Another 400 businesses in the health sector would benefit from streamlining digital services around the lodgement of applications in pharmaceuticals,medical technology and medical software industries.
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Even the commercial fishing sector will be targeted through an improved electronic monitoring system that the government expects to help about 610 businesses to more easily meet their regulatory requirements.
Mr Morrison said the government had already made strides in deregulation in areas from agricultural exports to environmental approvals.
But the Prime Minister’s assistant minister,Ben Morton,would now start to “get under the bonnet” of deregulation by working across the entire government and all ministers to come up with “granular” ways to reduce red tape.
“To my mind,there is no real substitute,” Mr Morrison said.
“You can have all the lofty communiques about regulatory reform you like,but ultimately it means working through the detail with stakeholders and understanding what obstacles can be stripped away in order to grow their business.”
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