Manufacturing Australia (MA) has welcomed the Federal Government’s plan to cut unnecessary regulation by repealing the Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) Program.
The EEO requires large energy-using businesses to assess their energy use and to identify and report on cost-effective energy savings opportunities. The Australian Government has introduced a bill to repeal the EEO Program and the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Act 2006.
MA Executive Director Ben Eade said that the program was outdated, inefficient and was doing nothing to improve energy efficiency despite costing millions of dollars to administer.
“With energy costs rising, Australia’s large manufacturers are already doing everything they can to improve energy efficiency and keep their bills down for commercial reasons,” Mr Eade said.
“EEO is not driving further energy efficiency. Instead, it is driving up red tape and compliance burden for manufacturers, with some companies paying up to half a million dollars in administrative costs.”
Mr Eade encouraged the Federal Government to continue cutting unnecessary regulations and further relieve the regulatory burden on Australian industry.
“Rather than asking what should governments do to help manufacturers, often we should be asking what should governments stop doing in order to help Australian manufacturers,” he said.
“Inefficient, costly and ineffective regulations stunt productivity and impede growth in our largest manufacturing companies. Removing red tape costs like those associated with EEO allows companies to instead invest in hiring or up-skilling people, improving equipment or growing their business. It’s time to roll back the regulations that impede Australian manufacturers, and strengthen the regulations that help Australian manufacturers compete internationally.”
The oil and gas industry has also welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to repeal the Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) program.
“The Australian oil and gas industry has long maintained that the EEO imposes a range of unnecessary administrative and compliance costs on participants that do nothing to enhance energy efficiency. These costs can approach $500,000 a year for some companies,” said David Byers, Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) Chief Executive, in a media release.
“The repeal is consistent with the Government’s commitment to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on Australia industry.”
In its Regulation Impact Statement on the repeal of the EEO legislation, the Department of Industry noted that: “rising energy prices and the improvement of internal energy management processes have reduced the need for the EEO legislation. Repealing the legislation would reduce the compliance costs of the 464 participating businesses by over $17 million per year.”
