A Senate inquiry into a bill that would introduce mandatory reporting of greenhouse emissions and energy use today recommended changes so the Bill would not automatically override all state and territory laws requiring reporting of greenhouse emissions and energy use data.

The report of the Senate committee that conducted the inquiry says clause five of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Bill should be redrafted so the Bill only overrides those state and territory laws specified in regulations.

In its current form, clause five says the Act will operate to the exclusion of all state and territory laws which require reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas projects, energy use or energy production.

The wording prompted widespread criticism from state governments and others. The clause “has the perverse effects of giving the federal minister power of veto over state programs and functions ranging from resource development, planning and development controls, energy regulation, energy planning, infrastructure planning and climate change policy and programs,” Queensland’s submission said. State governments of NSW, SA, WA and Victoria raised similar concerns, as did WWF Australia and constitutional law expert Professor George Williams.

The Senate committee also recommends changes to clause 27 so that state and territory governments would have access to data collected under the reporting scheme, rather than having only discretionary access.

Labor members of the committee support the recommendations but say the bill has more widespread problems. “Rather than reducing uncertainty for industry, the Bill in its current form has the potential to increase uncertainty due to unintended consequences such as the introduction of legal ambiguities,” they say.

The Australian Greens support a redraft of clause five and clause 27. But they also call for the scheme to be fully rolled out in two years, rather than three, and call for more detailed public disclosure requirements.

The bill gives effect to an April 2007 decision by the Council of Australian Governments to introduce a mandatory greenhouse emissions and energy reporting scheme.

About 700 companies would be obliged to report under it. A mandatory reporting scheme is an essential precursor to the introduction of emissions trading.

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Bill 2007 [Provisions] (The Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, September 2007)