Opened the debate
Hogan declared that the opposition would not oppose the bill in the House of Representatives but strongly supported referring it to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee for further investigation. Hogan argued that Schedule 2 effectively imposed a new tax on energy and infrastructure projects by redefining real property to include assets like turbines and pipelines, while offering concessions only to renewable energy projects. Hogan warned that these changes could jeopardise the viability of major investments such as the Karratha ammonia urea project and proposed oil refinery capability, which rely on foreign capital. Hogan expressed concern that a political agreement between the government and the Greens might prevent the necessary committee scrutiny of these investment risks.