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The Limestone Association of Australia Inc. (LAA) represents the interests of its members nationally, which produce and process limestone for use in various sectors, principally agriculture as a soil amendment as well as being used in manufacturing and civil works.
• Whilst recognizing that emissions reduction, particularly amongst Scope 1 facilities is a socially desirable objective, the overriding priority needs to be maintaining strategic industries’ capacity onshore servicing a viable economy and providing meaningful employment. An increasingly turbulent world of trade sanctions and blockades etc. is demonstrating the need for the foregoing. Hence food security, defence industries and other drivers of the economy need to be maintained at critical mass. It is hoped that theses factors will be fully recognized in future Safeguard Mechanisms.
• Any future policies relating to emissions should not extend to involve Scope levels that would affect agriculture and the supply chain for agriculture, which would typically include such inputs as limestone and gypsum. This could lead to unnecessary production cost increases along the supply chain to consumers, loss of critical mass and food security gaps as imports are substituted.
• Scope 1 facilities that are trade exposed should not be disadvantaged should comparative industries’ overseas baseline emissions increase and nor should Scope 1 facilities be disadvantaged should those overseas facilities baselines decrease. Hence a revised Safeguard Mechanism should recognize such These facilities are key drivers of the national economy and their onshore viability should override complying with externally imposed policies.
