Urgency

I move, That urgency be accorded the first reading and referral to select committee of the Climate Change Response (Extension of Penalty Transition for Forestry Activities with Low Volume Emissions Liabilities) Amendment Bill.

This bill was introduced on Tuesday, 4 October and has therefore been available to members and the public for two weeks. However, the Standing Orders that regulate the availability of bills for the first reading following introduction remain those of the pre-digital era, and without the help of an urgency motion it would be delayed in going to select committee. I hope that the Standing Orders Committee remedies this anomaly as part of its tri-annual review.

It is a short, straightforward bill with four clauses. It extends deferral arrangements that would otherwise come into effect on 1 January 2023, so it is essential that it is enacted by the end of the year. Nevertheless, the Government wishes it to go through the select committee process and the use of urgency enables that to occur.