In November and December 2011, a package of 18 Bills implementing the carbon price received the Royal Assent. This was the culmination of a number of years of intensive work in which AGS assisted, commencing in 2008.
With the revival of the proposal to enact carbon pricing legislation in 2011, firstly Senior General Counsel Susie Brown and subsequently Senior General Counsel Jenny Burnett and Counsel Adam Kirk were seconded to the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency from OGC to advise on the development and drafting of the legislation. Robert Orr QC again provided support.
At the same time, Counsel Anna Lukeman was seconded to the Department to advise on the development and drafting of the legislation establishing the carbon farming initiative (which involves generation of carbon credits which can be used in the carbon pricing scheme) and the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units (which is the registry for all emissions units held in Australia and is an essential component of the carbon pricing and carbon farming schemes).
After the enactment of the legislation, Jenny Burnett and Anna Lukeman remained on secondment to the Department to provide advice on the drafting of regulations to support the carbon pricing and carbon farming schemes and on the interpretation of the primary legislation.
This is an extract from the 2011–12 AGS annual report