Turnbull government encouraging mining, funds exploration
Turnbull invests $100m to secure mining investment, drive discoveries, The Age, 2 sept 17, The Turnbull government will commit $100 million to secure private investment in greenfield mineral exploration across the country to drive a new wave of discoveries and restart the flagging mining sector in its west.
WA had been the biggest beneficiary of the once-in-a-century mining boom during the first decade of the 2000s and into the start of this decade, but has become the country’s worst-performing economy as mining investment abated…..
Speaking at the Western Australian Liberal Party conference in Perth on Saturday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced new tax incentives for junior exploration companies in a move he said would encourage investment and “risk taking”.
Turnbull said the new Junior Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (JMETC) would allow the tax losses in greenfield exploration companies to be distributed as a credit to Australian resident shareholders.
Mining lobby out to silence environmental charities
In its submission, MCA outlined the importance of ensuring all organisations engaged in political advocacy were subject to the same rules of transparency.
“While political parties are obliged to disclose the source of donations greater than $13,200, environmental groups can spend millions of dollars every year without having to disclose the identities or locations of their donors,” the submission said.
“This lack of transparency constitutes a potential threat to Austalia’s [sic] sovereignty, by allowing foreign interests to exert political influence by covertly funding domestic environmental groups.”
This comes as the Australia Institute released a discussion paper last Friday, which examined the mining industry’s own tax-deductible advocacy and found it to be controlled by foreign interests.
“The mining industry is 86 per cent foreign owned and has spent over $541 million in the last 10 years on lobbying Australian governments through its peak lobby groups, which are dominated by foreign interests,” the paper said.
“The MCA lobbies to maintain subsidies and tax concessions for mining companies which costs Australian taxpayers billions every year.”
The Australia Institute found that the decision-making bodies of industry lobby groups were dominated by representatives from foreign owned companies, which were having an undue effect on government policy.
“By influencing Australian government decision-making through spending hundreds of millions of dollars on political donations and lobbying, foreign mining companies are attempting to have their corporate interests prioritised over the interests of Australian communities, environments and industries. This level of influence can distort sound economic policy making,” the paper said…….
Paul Sinclair, the campaign director at the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), told Pro Bono News the Australia Institute report revealed the damaging effect of the mining lobby’s political advocacy. “Donors don’t give money to political parties for no reason, many of them expect a policy outcome,” Sinclair said.
“The Australia Institute report shows there is a clear correlation between donations being made by mining companies and policy outcomes like destroying the price on pollution that was pushing down Australia’s pollution levels.”
He said the mining lobby’s push to limit the advocacy activities of environmental groups would have a disastrous effect on these organisations.
“If the ACF was banned from using more than 10 per cent of our expenditure on advocacy, we would cease to be the organisation that Australians have supported for over 50 years,” Sinclair said……https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2017/09/environmental-charities-engaged-bitter-stand-off-mining-lobby-advocacy/
Victoria takes the lead on Renewable Energy Targets
Mixed Response as Victoria Moves on Renewable Energy Targets, Pro Bono, Lina Caneva, Editor, 5 Sept 17 The Victorian government has become the first Australian state to introduce legislation in a bid to have its renewable energy targets enshrined in law, but the move has received a mixed response. The state government said it was “harnessing the power of renewable energy to drive down prices, attract billions of dollars of investment and create thousands of local jobs.”
Premier Daniel Andrews said the Victorian Renewable Energy Targets (VRET) legislation was the largest renewable energy auction in Australia.
The legislation, introduced into parliament last week, set new renewable energy targets for Victoria of 25 per cent by 2020 and 40 per cent by 2025.
“It’s the first time such ambitious renewable energy targets have been enshrined in state legislation anywhere in Australia,” Andrews said.
“Importantly, the VRET will cut the average cost of power for Victorians by around $30 a year for households, $2,500 a year for medium businesses and $140,000 a year for large companies, while driving a 16 per cent reduction in Victoria’s electricity sector greenhouse gas emissions by 2034-35.”
The government said the competitive VRET auction for up to 650 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity would provide enough electricity to power 389,000 households – or enough energy to power Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and the Latrobe Valley combined.
However Grattan Institute energy program director Tony Wood said Australia desperately needed a nationally consistent energy and climate change policy, with bipartisan support……..
Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton said the commitments made by the state government would “turbocharge” the renewable energy industry in Victoria.
“The renewable energy auction is a major step forward for communities, businesses and the state’s renewable energy industry,” Thornton said.
“This will turbocharge significant private investment in low cost renewable energy to fill the gap and bring power prices down.
“Victoria is realising an immense opportunity to grow its economy and preserve its future energy security through the establishment of a strong and long-term VRET scheme, which will ensure the roll-out of renewable energy projects well beyond 2020.”
Thornton said the auction round was the largest renewable reverse energy auction program to date in Australia, building on the success of the ACT government’s program.
“This is a significant addition to the Victorian government’s clean energy commitments to date, which include solar trams, solar schools, an energy storage initiative and a renewable energy certificate purchasing initiative,” he said.
Victoria’s opposition leader Matthew Guy said the Coalition would oppose the plan. https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2017/09/mixed-response-victoria-moves-renewable-energy-targets/
6 September REneweconomy news
RenewEconomy-
Billionaire Cannon-Brookes backs home energy loan start-upAustralian tech investor Mike Cannon-Brookes has tipped close to $4m into home energy loan start-up Brighte.
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Gas and hydro get big $ in energy markets, solar and wind paid lessHydro and gas generation get higher half hourly prices than coal in Australia’s energy market. Wind & solar PV take a discount.
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Wind and solar facing “valley of death” despite changing economicsAustralia faces energy crisis caused by failure of Labor and Coalition to face reality of both climate change and the technological transformation of the energy sector.A bunch of reasons to be optimistic about clean energy in AustraliaRenewable energy is increasingly profitable without subsidies, and coal has become uninvestable without government intervention – this used to be the opposite.Know your NEM: Baseload and reliability to take centre stageNo one will be surprised if AEMO projects a potential problem this summer in reports to be released this week.
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Electricity bill relief package welcome news for households doing it toughPIAC’s Energy + Water Consumers Advocacy Program (EWCAP) has welcomed the NSW electricity bill relief package, announced yesterday
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Renewable Energy Market Report: Connection worries force prices upThe key issue at moment around LGC prices remains the commissioning dates for new fleet of wind and solar generation.
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How Tesla’s big battery can smash Australia’s energy cartelRegulator report cites seven different occasions where Australia’s big energy players used market power to push up prices nearly 100-fold. No wonder South Australia has pushed for Tesla big battery, which is likely to be able to smash this cartel, despite being derided by the Coalition.
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New “ethical” debt fund targets renewables “merchant” marketWith $50m in backing from Future Super, new debt fund taps renewable energy “sweet spot” – including small to medium solar projects with no PPAs.
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Will wind and solar be penalised by baseload hysteria?AEMO report will be critical to design of policy and market rules, but wind and solar industry fear they are going to be unfairly penalised, when it is the fossil fuel fleet causing much risk to the energy system.
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The dilemma of North Korea’s nuclear weapons
North Korea: What can actually be done to deal with a nuclear Pyongyang? http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-03/north-korea-is-it-time-to-accept-it-will-remain-a-nuclear-threat/8868138, ANALYSIS, By chief foreign correspondent Philip Williams, From the first tweak of the seismograph it was clear this was no ordinary tremor — it signalled the most powerful bomb of all.
The North Korean TV newsreader announced with a flourish this was the state’s first hydrogen bomb.If that now means Pyongyang has the weapon and the delivery system that could wipe out a Los Angeles, a San Francisco or a Sydney in a flash, then the world is now a different place.
Nuclear weapons are supposed to be a deterrent — make yourself so dangerous no-one will ever dare challenge you — and it is a fact that barring some Scuds aimed at Israel during the 1991 Gulf War and some border skirmishes between China and Vietnam and India and Pakistan, no nuclear-armed state has ever faced a serious attack by another country.
Clearly the thinking for three generations of Kim is that the regime is made safe if everyone fears you. And the clear impression you are crazy helps too — no-one wants to aggravate a disturbed mind.
But what to do? US President Donald Trump has described the test as hostile and dangerous and said Pyongyang “only understands one thing”.
Appeasement was not working, he said, and the rogue nation has become a “great threat and embarrassment” to China. He later tweeted the US was considering “stopping trade with any country doing business with North Korea”.
That would include both China and Russia. While both signed on to the latest UN sanctions, cutting trade altogether would be a far more serious step.
Beijing would have to cut off oil supplies and Moscow send back the North Korean labourers who “volunteer” to work in Siberian forestry camps in what have been described as slave-like conditions.
The whole region and beyond is in a fix. China especially is feeling the squeeze from the United States, and even Australia has argued Beijing has not applied full muscle against North Korea to mend its errant ways.
But the Chinese Government has agreed to the latest sanctions and deeply resents the assertion it could stop Kim Jong-un if it really wanted to. There is nothing for the Chinese to gain from a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula.
Not only would there be the risk of nuclear contamination, what really worries Beijing is the thought of millions of refugees pouring over the border seeking shelter from a nuclear storm. Not to mention the terrible human and economic cost of shattered neighbours.
The constant refrain from Mr Trump and Malcolm Turnbull for China to do more and do it now could soon become counterproductive. Beijing’s influence on North Korea’s leadership is often overstated.
Its troublesome neighbour has repeatedly embarrassed China by testing bombs or missiles at an inopportune moment. This latest test happened at the opening of a major BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) conference held in China and hosted by President Xi Jinping.
Not only was his thunder stolen, he and guest Vladimir Putin were forced to issue a joint statement condemning the test but urging a negotiated solution. Mr Trump underlined that via a tweet, saying: “North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.”
For his part, the US leader has wedged himself with rhetoric — it was only a couple of days ago he said the time for talking was over. But what does that leave?
The US military will have its plans ready, just in case. And Mr Trump is the only person with power to order what would be the destruction of North Korea. Is he really contemplating the death of millions, the ruin of cites on both sides of the 38th parallel?
Only if North Korea crosses his red lines. Do they exist in the seas off Guam, Hawaii, or the West coast of the mainland itself?
Surely Mr Kim and his predecessors have not come all this way to self-destruct. After all, these bombs and missiles are supposed to protect, not trigger an end game conflict. No party to this conundrum wants this to happen.
But the scene is set, the main players less than predictable and the talk tough. North Korea will never willingly trade away its newfound military clout, it is seen as vital for survival, but successive US presidents have made it clear they will never live with a nuclear armed and able North Korea.
It is a country that revels in regular threats to wipe out entire US cities. It is no longer trash talk that can be ignored and no-one, it seems, has a plausible answer.
One commentator suggested arming both South Korea and Japan with nuclear weapons to act as a foil to the North. That would mean five countries in the region with the ability to erase entire cities from the planet.
Our once relatively safe and increasingly prosperous neighbourhood is taking a serious turn for the worse. Only two people on the planet can change all that, and neither is showing signs there is a safe way out.
Asked by a reporter if the US would attack North Korea, Mr Trump said: “We’ll see.”
Greens warn Labor not to do clean energy deal that protects coal power
Guardian, Katherine Murphy, 4 Sept 17, Opposition told to be wary of doing a Finkel review deal with the Coalition that would prolong the life of coal plants The Greens are attempting to warn Labor off doing a deal with the Turnbull government on a new clean energy target, saying a Finkel handshake could trigger a “valley of death” for short-term investment in renewables, and lock in coal, rather than stranding it.
With parliament due to resume on Monday, and with the Turnbull government inching closer to finally resolving and outlining its energy policy, the Greens climate change spokesman, Adam Bandt, will bring forward a bill to prolong and expand the existing renewable energy target scheme.
While the Bandt bill won’t win parliamentary support, in political terms, it is a clear shot across Labor’s bow as the opposition begins to assess whether or not to sign on to the clean energy target – in the event the Coalition overcomes its internal brawl, and proposes one…….https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/04/greens-warn-labor-not-to-do-clean-energy-deal-that-protects-coal-power
Minerals Council to lobby Malcolm Turnbull in favour of nuclear power
Turnbull faces new push for nuclear power, news.com.au , SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 Malcolm Turnbull faces calls to remove legal hurdles for nuclear power in a report giving the government advice on ensuring enough baseload power for future electricity needs.
The Minerals Council, which will host the prime minister at its annual dinner in Canberra next Wednesday, has released a paper setting out the case for nuclear power. Nuclear power has relatively strong support among coalition MPs, but it remains a political hot potato and has been repeatedly ruled out by governments because of its cost.
The paper, Removing the Prohibition on Nuclear Power, by the Minerals Council’s Daniel Zavattiero says Australia is trying to build a reliable, affordable and low emissions electricity system with “one hand tied behind its back”.
Having been banned in 1998, the paper suggests the ban could be lifted with a single amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, removing four words – “a nuclear power plant”.
However, any projects would still have to meet stringent environmental and safety requirements.
Mr Zavattiero said a new generation of venture-capital backed nuclear start-ups are coming through, with designs for smaller reactors with significantly reduced up-front costs.
“Any objective science-based discussion devoid of hyperbole and emotion invariably finds that nuclear power is clean, economic and reliable, that it plays a vital role in the world today, will continue to do so in the future, and that it makes no sense for it to be banned in Australia,’ Vimy Resources chief Mike Young said.
A review of the electricity sector by chief scientist Alan Finkel found that while nuclear power had zero emissions “any development will require a significant amount of time to overcome social, legal, economic and technical barriers” and deal with the waste issue……..http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/turnbull-faces-new-push-for-nuclear-power/news-story/13f1fa010017160b8c72ebbf340e03ab
Climate change and the link to Australia’s record-breaking winter warmth
Australia’s record-breaking winter warmth linked to climate change https://theconversation.com/australias-record-breaking-winter-warmth-linked-to-climate-change-83304 Climate Extremes Research Fellow, University of Melbourne, September 1, 2017 On the first day of spring, it’s time to take stock of the winter that was. It may have felt cold, but Australia’s winter had the highest average daytime temperatures on record. It was also the driest in 15 years.Back at the start of winter the Bureau of Meteorology forecast a warm, dry season. That proved accurate, as winter has turned out both warmer and drier than average.
While we haven’t seen anything close to the weather extremes experienced in other parts of the world, including devastating rainfalls in Niger, the southern US and the Indian subcontinent all in the past week, we have seen a few interesting weather extremes over the past few months across Australia.
Drier weather than normal has led to warmer days and cooler nights, resulting in some extreme temperatures. These include night-time lows falling below -10℃ in the Victorian Alps and -8℃ in Canberra (the coldest nights for those locations since 1974 and 1971, respectively), alongside daytime highs of above 32℃ in Coffs Harbour and 30℃ on the Sunshine Coast.
During the early part of the winter the southern part of the country remained dry as record high pressure over the continent kept cold fronts at bay. Since then we’ve seen more wet weather for our southern capitals and some impressive snow totals for the ski fields, even if the snow was late to arrive.
This warm, dry winter is laying the groundwork for dangerous fire conditions in spring and summer. We have already had early-season fireson the east coast and there are likely to be more to come.
Climate change and record warmth Continue reading
Tony Abbott to join Britain’s Nigel Lawson in climate denial lecturing in Britain
Tony Abbott to lecture leading climate-change sceptic think tank, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/tony-abbott-to-lecture-leading-climatechange-sceptic-think-tank/news-story/ce897ce09992d942256245dd08edf0fd, GRAHAM LLOYD, 1 Sept 17, Former prime minister Tony Abbott will give the annual lecture to one of the world’s leading climate change sceptic think tanks, the Global Warming Policy Foundation in London.
The title of Mr Abbott’s address will be “Daring to doubt”.
The invitation-only lecture will be held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in Birdcage Walk, London, on October 9. Mr Abbott will follow John Howard who addressed the foundation’s lecture in 2013 with a speech “One religion is enough”.
The foundation is chaired by former Thatcher government treasurer Lord Nigel Lawson.
The foundation is one of the world’s most active groups promoting debate about the state of climate change science.
It republishes articles and material both supportive and against the mainstream science view and commissions research on climate change-related issues.
The foundation is funded by private donations and does not accept gifts from energy companies or anyone with a significant interest in an energy company.
Mr Abbott’s spokeswoman said the trip would be privately funded by the foundation
2 September REneweconomy news
RenewEconomy-
Australia’s energy future on grid edge – can AEMO give it a push?AEMO again stresses vital role that demand management solutions – and not more baseload coal – will play in the safe, stable and economic running of Australia’s electricity grid, as it transitions away from centralised fossil fuel generation and towards distributed renewables.
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Worsening climate change melts winter heat recordsAustralia has experienced its hottest winter on record as a result of intensifying climate change.
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Fossil fuel marketing terms swamp the ABC and mainstream mediaThe term “low emissions coal” has been used 100s of times in Australia’s mainstream media – which is a lot for something that doesn’t exist.
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Queensland removes feed-in tariff cap on regional solar systemsSolar PV systems of up to 30kW in size will now have access to 11c/kWh feed-in tariffs in regional Queensland.
- Big energy players back major power shift, as GreenSync unveils deX
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GreenSync’s game-changing distributed energy trading platform officially unveiled with backing of AEMO and major energy market players.
Time for Australia to have an inquiry into nuclear waste production and storage.
Advertiser, (Dr) MARGARET BEAVIS, 1 Sept 17, THE federal Government is still pushing hard for South Australia to take Australia’s nuclear waste. They make a big song and dance about nuclear medicine, but leave out facts that don’t suit them.
Firstly, most waste is not from nuclear medicine, but from CSIRO and industrial uses.
Secondly, most countries, including the UK and the US, import nuclear medicine. We sometimes do, too, with ANSTO reactor breakdowns or maintenance. Less than 1 per cent of waste comes from actually using nuclear medicine, as it loses radioactivity so quickly almost all goes in the normal rubbish.
Thirdly, the proposed facility for the most toxic waste (which lasts over 10,000 years) is 
substandard – way below world’s best practice.
Finally, they don’t mention that taxpayer-subsidised ANSTO is massively ramping up production of waste. There is no shortage of nuclear medicine – this is about grabbing market share, leaving us with lots more future waste. And no community consultation.
What we need right now is an inquiry into nuclear waste production and storage. Dodgy claims and a shonky dump should not be used to pressure SA communities.
Aboriginal women’s long walk to stop uranium mining in Western Australia
‘Walkabout’ protesters get their day in court to fight uranium mining in WA http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/walkabout-protesters-get-their-day-in-court-to-fight-uranium-mining-in-wa-20170831-gy82w9.html, David Allan-Petale, 31 Aug 17,
A group of indigenous women have completed a month long ‘walkabout protest’ against uranium mining in Western Australia that saw them travel on foot through remote lands being considered as mine sites.
The protest was kindled by the WA government’s move in June to allow four uranium projects previously granted environmental approval to proceed, whilst blocking any future mining bids.
Toro Energy’s Wiluna project, Vimy Resources’ Mulga Rock project, and Cameco’s Kintyre and Yeelirrie projects all had the approval before Labor won the March election.
Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston said Labor, which banned uranium mining when last in power between 2002 and 2008, had received advice it could not legally deny secondary approvals for the purpose of frustrating those already granted.
“In making this decision, the McGowan government has carefully considered the potential liability risk for WA taxpayers,” Mr Johnston said.
The Conservation Council of WA is part of a legal challenge against a proposal by the Canadian uranium company Cameco to develop a uranium mine at Yeelirrie, 70 kilometres south-west of Wiluna in the northern Goldfields.
Shirley Wonyabong, Elizabeth Wonyabong, and Vicky Abdullah from the Walkatjurra Walkabout against uranium mining protest are part of this legal challenge, and they started their walking protest to highlight their struggle against it.
“Yeelirrie is important to my family. We have fought to protect this site for over 40 years and we won’t stop now,” Vicky Abdullah said.
“I grew up here, my ancestors were Traditional Owners of country, and I don’t want a toxic legacy here for my grandchildren.
“We have no choice but to defend our country, our culture, and the environment from the threat of uranium mining – not just for us but for everyone.
“The last government made a mistake approving the Yeelirrie mine – now we have a chance to make that right through the courts.”
The women were joined by fifty other people from around the world who wanted to join the protest, which saw the group walk through traditional lands, including Yeelirrie.
They finished the walkbout on Thursday, and were told by supporters that the Supreme Court will hear an application for Judicial Review of uranium mine proposal on November 14.
Minerals Council wants “clean” “affordable” nuclear power for Australia
Australia should add nuclear to the clean energy mix: Minerals Council, SMH, James Massola. 1 Sept 17, Australia should develop a nuclear power industry to reduce its emissions, the Minerals Council says, and the Turnbull government should take the first step by removing legal road blocks.
In a new paper titled Removing the Prohibition on Nuclear Power, the lobby group argues just four words – “a nuclear power plant” – need to be cut from the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act to begin clearing the legal path to the development of a nuclear industry…….
Most contentiously, it argues the technology is safe, citing a British study by Friends of the Earth – a claim opponents would dispute by highlighting the Fukushima, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island disasters – and affordable, which opponents would also dispute.
The call to re-think the prohibition on nuclear power comes as the Turnbull government grapples with how, or whether, to implement a post-2020 clean energy target, as recommended by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel’s review of the electricity sector.
It also comes after Fairfax Media revealed in March that at least one in 10 of Mr Turnbull’s MPs backed nuclear power to be part of Australia’s energy mix…….http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-should-add-nuclear-to-the-clean-energy-mix-minerals-council-20170831-gy7ysq.html
Australian government watering down the climate recommendations of the Finkel energy report
Coalition watering down Finkel review climate ambitions, leaked document reveals
Draft implementation plan lacks electricity emissions trajectory, Paris agreement alignment and low-income subsidies, Guardian, Michael Slezak 31 Aug 17, The climate ambitions of the Finkel review appear to be being watered down by the government as it is implemented, according to a draft Coag Energy Council implementation strategy obtained by the Guardian.
The draft implementation plan removes a key recommendation for an agreed emissions trajectory for the electricity system, alignment with the Paris agreement and subsidised solar and batteries for low-income houses.
Sources tell the Guardian the document was prepared by the federal government and distributed to state and territory representatives on the morning of the meeting, leaving little time for state representatives to analyse it…..
At a teleconference on Friday last week, state and territory energy ministers were presented with a draft implementation plan for discussion.
That document, obtained by the Guardian, appears to water down those recommendations in relation to climate change, and removes some altogether.
One key recommendation in the Finkel review that has been severely weakened in the draft implementation document is a change that would force the electricity market to align efforts to meet government emissions reduction commitments made as part of the Paris agreement.
But the draft implementation document removes the reference to international emissions reduction commitments, instead saying merely that the agreement will “reaffirm Australian governments’ commitment to the [national electricity market] and a national, integrated approach to energy and emissions reduction policy”.
Among Finkel’s key recommendation for an “orderly transition”, he called for three things: the clean energy target; a three-year notice of closure for existing large generators; and “an agreed emissions reduction trajectory”. All three moves were part of one recommendation, numbered 3.2.
The Coalition has not agreed to adopt the clean energy target but it has agreed to the three-year notice-of-closure rule, which appears in the implementation plan. However, the plan does not contain any mention of an agreed emissions reduction trajectory…….
Another Finkel recommendation calls for low-income households to be given subsidised access to “energy efficient appliances, rooftop solar photovoltaic and battery storage systems”.
Explicit references to renewable energy has been removed in the draft implementation plan and replaced with “energy efficiency and demand management technologies”.
Sources say representatives of the ACT raised the question of the trajectory being removed, and asked for it to be included. Representatives of Queensland and Victoria also apparently raised concerns about some of the other changes.
Sources said the document, which was prepared by the federal government, was circulated to state energy ministers only hours before the meeting was held, leaving little time for proper scrutiny.
The document is expected to be finalised and sent to heads of government today. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/31/coalition-watering-down-finkel-review-climate-ambitions
Australian government cracking down on environmental activists
Charity crackdown would be a ‘torpedo’ to environmental groups, Bob Brown says, ABC, 7.30 , By Liz Hobday and Gus Goswell , 31 August 17, The Federal Government has denied it is trying to silence environmental activists, as prominent voices in the environment and charities sectors speak out against a series of regulatory changes.
Key points:
- Federal government is proposing changes to regulations dealing with charities
- Some environmental groups could face the loss of their tax-deductible charity status
- Charities concerned about appointment of coal seam gas company boss
- Government will not re-appoint charities commissioner
As Treasury canvasses a proposal to limit tax concessions for green groups, there have been changes at the top of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), including the appointment of Peter Hogan, chairman of coal seam gas company, Carbon Energy, to the regulator’s advisory board.
That has raised the ire of environment groups, many of which are registered charities.
“We’ve got the Turnbull Government arranging to put the fox in charge of the chicken coop,” former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown told 7.30……..
former ACNC advisory board member, and now head of the Community Council for Australia, David Crosbie says the sector is under attack.
“It feels, right now, there is a campaign to try and restrict the voice of charities,” he told 7.30.
“And there are a number of elements to that.”
Tax deductibility status at risk
Among the changes is a push to make environmental groups curb their activism or risk losing their charity taxation status. Continue reading
1 This month
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/235274195556
19 May – Webinar- Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-05-19 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-05-19 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 