Ministerial Council on Energy

The Ministerial Council on Energy comprises the Australian, State and Territory government Energy Ministers and, it states, "has responsibility for national policy and governance of the Australian energy market."

Plan to Crackdown on Power Station Protests
At its December 2008 meeting, the Ministerial Council on Energy issued a communique listing as one of its "key outcomes" that "Ministers also agreed that the Chair would write to the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General requesting that penalty regimes for unlawful disruption of energy facilities be reviewed noting the importance of energy security."

In a section on "Critical Infrastructure Protection", the communique stated that "Ministers also resolved that the Chair would write today to his counterpart at the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) emphasising the importance of protecting critical energy infrastructure against unlawful disruption. The Chair has requested that, as a matter of urgency, the SCAG undertake a formal review of penalties that should apply to unlawful disruption, and noting the importance of energy security to the Australian economy and way of life."

Legislation on Carbon Capture and Storage
The council also stated in the communique that they "discussed progress in the introduction of a regulatory framework for the geological storage of carbon dioxide, noting that Commonwealth legislation governing the injection and storage of greenhouse gases in Commonwealth waters had received Royal Assent. Ministers noted that Victoria had passed its legislation governing the injection and storage of greenhouse gases onshore and that Queensland had also introduced its Bill." (see Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Bill).

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