Lenore Taylor, political editor
theguardian.com, Thursday 20 March 2014
Legislation to scrap the Clean Energy Finance Corporation was rejected by the Senate three months ago
Tony Abbott in question time on Wednesday. Photograph: Daniel Munoz/AAP
The Abbott government is on track to get its first double dissolution trigger as it reintroduces legislation to scrap the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
The Senate rejected the CEFC abolition bill for the first time on 10 December last year, meaning the requisite three months have passed for a second rejection to create a double dissolution election trigger.
The bill is listed to be reintroduced into the House of Representatives again on Thursday.
The $10bn so-called green bank was set up as part of Labor’s carbon price package to support renewable energy projects through loans, guarantees and equity investments.
It recently made its first major investment since the election of the Abbott government, providing $20m towards a biogas project that will cut energy costs for farmers and manufacturers.
The CEFC is one of the few parts of the carbon pricing package which could survive the new Senate, which sits after 30 June, with both the independent senator Nick Xenophon and the DLP senator John Madigan supporting it.
The CEFC argues that far from being a drain on finances it will next year return money to the budget.
A double dissolution election requires all 12 senators from each state to face the voters and is used, under section 57 of the constitution, to resolve deadlocks between the upper and lower houses. The last was held in 1987. Many governments since that time have had double dissolution triggers but have chosen not to use them to call a full Senate election.
Constitutional experts have said that any double dissolution election called before the new Senate takes effect from July would be likely to be subject to a high court challenge, and double dissolution elections also give minor parties a greater chance of election because a lower quota is required.
