Energy giant Engie supercharges green city development with support for EVs, hydrogen transport
Renew Economy 21st Oct 2020, French energy giant Engie backs Greater Springfield development, aiming to be ‘world’s greenest city’, with zero emissions transport plan. The post Energy giant Engie supercharges green city development with support for EVs, hydrogen transport appeared first on RenewEconomy.
A new city being developed in south-east Queensland aiming to become one of
the world’s greenest is set to get a boost, with a new roadmap launched with the backing of one of the world’s largest energy companies.Greater Springfield, which is located around 30km south-west of Brisbane and has
grown to a population of 45,000 has released a new master plan that will see electric vehicle charging infrastructure and a hydrogen fuelled bus network rolled out, in an effort to create the ‘world’s greenest city’ by 2038.The city is one of Australia’s largest privately funded city developments, including a mix of residential and business districts, and has attracted a campus of the University of Southern Queensland.
Energy giant Engie supercharges green city development with support for EVs, hydrogen transport — RenewEconomy
Queensland election – all about climate, coal, and minority parties
‘Queensland paradox’ pushes coal and climate to centre stage of election campaign, Guardian, Ben Smee @BenSmee, Sat 10 Oct 2020 As Labor and the LNP try to woo regional and metro voters with at-times contradictory messages, minor parties thrive
On Sunday in Clermont – in the dusty heart of Queensland – the coal fanatic Liberal National party senator Matt Canavan and the mining magnate Clive Palmer will hold a rally, mocking the convoy of climate protesters who made a somewhat unwelcome voyage north last year.
Three days earlier, almost 1,000km away in Brisbane’s trendy western suburbs, the Greens announced state election plans to provide free school meals, funded by a $55bn increase to mining royalties.
Somewhere in between lies what the University of Queensland political scientist Glenn Kefford calls “the Queensland paradox” – the challenge for major parties to woo voters in both Toowong and Townsville with different, sometimes contradictory, messages.
“The state might appear a certain way to outsiders but it’s really interesting and diverse,” Kefford says.
As Labor and the LNP attempt to “walk both sides of the street”, divisive issues including coalmining and climate change have again been pushed to the forefront of the campaign………
Avoiding the third rail
Of course, it’s impossible to talk about Queensland, coal, climate and the election without mentioning the third rail of that debate: Adani.
On the eve of the election, Labor sought to neutralise a potential campaign problem by signing a long-delayed royalties deal for Adani’s under-construction Carmichael coalmine.
Polling released this week shows Labor extending its dominance over the LNP in greater Brisbane. The party also hopes to pick up seats on the Gold Coast and the southern Sunshine Coast.
Of most concern to Labor strategists are the party’s regional seats, including the working-class regional cities of Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and Gladstone, where voters swung fiercely towards the Coalition at the 2019 federal election.
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, began her hi-vis “jobs, jobs and more jobs” campaign by hopping across north Queensland, pushing a pro-mining message.
Kefford said Labor appeared to be attempting to address failures from last year’s federal election campaign in north and central Queensland by running messaging tailored to suit local campaigns in regional areas……….
‘Frankenstein majority’
Queensland politics has become known for its embrace of minor parties,………
“There’s a good chance of [a hung parliament], there’s no doubt,” Kefford said. “The major parties, they have to rationalise what they’re doing and be strategic about their messaging. They can’t be everything to everyone.” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/10/queensland-paradox-pushes-coal-and-climate-to-centre-stage-of-election-campaign
Queensland splinter political party North Queensland First pushing for uranium mining in Queensland
Jason Costigan wants Queensland to export uranium again, Canberra Times, Derek Barry 3 July 20
Big swings to the Greens in Brisbane wards elections
Cr Sri said the shutdown of ordinary life due to the coronavirus pandemic meant the Greens could no longer doorknock, their most effective campaign strategy, and had to rely on telephoning prospective voters instead. …. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/greens-celebrate-record-swings-in-brisbane-wards-20200330-p54fbb.html
How are Australian States progressing on renewable energy? South Australia way ahead
South Australia leading the nation in renewable energy, https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/11/25/renewable-energy-winners/ Samantha Dick
South Australia is shifting to renewable energy faster than any other state or territory.
This is despite the federal government’s “lack of leadership” and continued support for major fossil fuel projects, says the Climate Council.
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Progress is based on how much electricity is derived from renewable energy, proportion of households with rooftop solar, large-scale wind and solar capacity per capita, and policies to support the transition. South Australia earned this year’s top spot for generating more than half of its electricity from wind and solar, and for setting a target of net 100 per cent renewable energy in the 2030s. Following closely in second place was the Australian Capital Territory, which is on track for 100 per cent renewable energy from 2020. The ACT has also announced impressive plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2045 by cutting emissions from transport and cities. Tasmania was in third place for making headwinds toward 100 per cent renewable energy by 2022, and for researching three pumped hydro sites that could supply energy to Victoria over the next 10 to 15 years. Victoria was ranked fourth, winning points for planning the nation’s most ambitious large-scale wind and solar projects, and for legislating a renewable energy target of 50 per cent by 2030. However, more than 80 per cent of the state’s power still comes from fossil fuels, meaning it has a long way to go to catch up to the frontrunners. Further behind in fifth place was Queensland, where nearly half of Australia’s large-scale renewable energy projects were completed last year. But despite making big improvements, the Queensland government lost marks for continuing to support new fossil-fuel projects like the Adani coal mine. The Adani coal mine, backed by the federal government, will put out an estimated 7.7 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases over 60 years through extracting 2.3 billion tonnes of coal. It is also unlikely the Sunshine State will meet its target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
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Australia’s out of control bushfires (all along the region where the nuclear lobby wants to put reactors!)
‘Uncharted territory’: Dozens of out of control bushfires burn across New South Wales and Queensland, https://www.sbs.com.au/news/uncharted-territory-dozens-of-out-of-control-bushfires-burn-across-new-south-wales-and-queensland Hot, windy conditions are wreaking havoc across New South Wales and Queensland.
Australian firefighters warned they were in “uncharted territory” as they struggled to contain dozens of out-of-control bushfires across the east of the country on Friday.
Around a hundred blazes pockmarked the New South Wales and Queensland countryside, around 19 of them dangerous and uncontained.
“We have never seen this many fires concurrently at emergency warning level,” New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told the ABC. “We are in uncharted territory.”The RFS said on Friday afternoon it received multiple reports of people being trapped in their homes at several locations.
Homes have also been destroyed, the RFS added.
A mayor on New South Wales’ mid-north coast said on Friday the bushfires ripping through the region were “horrifying and horrendous beasts”.
MidCoast Council mayor David West said a fire near Forster threatened a council building on Thursday night.
“It was literally a wall of yellow, horrible, beastly, tormenting flames,” the mayor said.
The mayor was particularly concerned about an out-of-control fire burning near Hillville south of Taree.
Labor challenge to nuclear power fan MP Keith Pitt – where would you put nuclear reactors?
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The LNP Party in Queensland is considering to open a nuclear plant
By SAHAR MOURAD FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA, 5 October 2019 A chilling warning has been issued of a ‘Fukushima-style’ disaster in Australia as the LNP continue to push to explore nuclear power. Nuclear power is currently a banned source of power in Australia despite the country having the world’s biggest uranium reserves, but the Queensland Government is looking to open a nuclear power plant in Maryborough. Bruce Saunders, the Labor member for Maryborough in Queensland’s Legislative Assembly, has slammed Keith Pitt – the LNP member for the federal seat of Hinkler – for his push to open the ‘Fukushima-style’ nuclear plant. ‘Mr Pitt – the man behind it all – owes it to our community to declare where he sits in the widening rift that is LNP energy policy,’ Mr Saunders told The Chronicle. …….. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7540527/Chilling-warning-Fukushima-style-nuclear-disaster-Australia-government-pushes-forward.html |
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With temperatures heading for 40C, New South Wales and Queensland at bushfire risk
Large swathes of NSW at bushfires risk as temperatures set to reach 40Cm Bourke and Brewarrina brace for 40C day as dust storms set to sweep western parts of state, Guardian, Australian Associated Press, Sun 6 Oct 2019 The Bureau of Meteorology says an unseasonal heatwave hitting western and north-western New South Wales could demolish October heat records and place large swathes of the state at bushfire risk.While Sydney’s top temperature was expected to reach a mild 23C on Sunday, Bourke and Brewarrina braced for their first 40C day since March.
Wilcannia, Cobar and Dubbo were also set to exceed 37C while dust was forecast for most parts west of Griffith and Bourke.
The BoM warned the fire danger rating in almost every NSW/ACT region was high or very high for Sunday, prompted by heat, high winds and low humidity.
By early afternoon, no bushfires were rated higher than “advice” alert level.
Meteorologist Jake Phillips said the bureau was particularly concerned by conditions to the west of the Great Dividing Range. “It’s quite unusual to see temperatures this warm,” Phillips said.
“In large areas of the state we’re seeing daytime temperatures between 8C and 12C above average for this time of the year, and in some places more.
“As we move into tomorrow, it’s quite likely we will see some places getting pretty close to or maybe breaking October records, the most likely areas being the northern tablelands and north-west slopes.”
Very high fire danger was forecast in ACT and 10 NSW regions: greater Hunter, central ranges, southern ranges, Monaro alpine, lower central west plains, upper central west plains, far western, New England, northern slopes and north western. On Sunday afternoon none were yet subject to total fire bans.
All other regions except eastern Riverina had a high fire danger rating…..
The BoM said Queensland was also set to scorch through another heatwave this week, with hot, dry and windy conditions increasing fire danger, particularly in the south-east….. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/oct/06/bushfire-danger-soars-as-parts-of-nsw-forecast-to-reach-40c
Queensland Liberal National Party opposes nuclear power
Queensland LNP breaks with federal branch to oppose nuclear power, Amy Remeikis, 3 Oct 2019 Queensland LNP says it supports a greater focus on energy efficiency measures
One of the biggest detractors of the federal Queensland Liberal National party’s push to investigate nuclear energy as a potential power source for Australia has come from within its own house.
The state LNP opposition has publicly declared its opposition to making any changes to the current bipartisan ban on nuclear energy generation, declaring the government would be better served in its goals by focusing on renewable energy sources, in a marked split from their federal state colleagues.
Australia is once again looking at nuclear energy as a potential solution to its power woes, after a group of Coalition MPs, led by a cohort from Queensland, pushed the federal party room into investigating the prospect, through a parliamentary inquiry.
But in a move which has surprised their federal counterparts, the Queensland state LNP spokesman for energy, Michael Hart, made a written submission to the inquiry, announcing his arm of the party’s opposition to any attempt to allow nuclear energy generation, citing the risks to the communities and the environment.
Instead, Hart said the Queensland LNP supports “greater focus” on “energy efficiency measures, along with encouraging investment in renewable energy options like wind and solar, in combination with battery storage when it is technologically and economically feasible to do so”.
“It is considered that Australia’s rich renewable energy resources are more affordable and bring less risk than the elevated cost and risk associated with nuclear energy,” Hart submitted.
“The LNP encourages additional jobs and investment in Queensland’s renewable energy industry, while also supporting resource jobs and exploration which provides baseload power and employment for thousands of Queenslanders.
“In addition to the possibility of accidents and operational failure, nuclear facilities can be a potential target for terrorists. Securing insurance around such possibilities would be virtually impossible.
“In conclusion, the commercial, as well as the political risks, associated with nuclear energy are substantial. To this end, the LNP is strongly committed to an energy policy that delivers safe, affordable and reliable energy to consumers, while fulfilling Australia’s international emissions reduction obligations.
“We believe this can be achieved without lifting the moratorium on nuclear energy generation. Accordingly, we would encourage the committee to ensure an increased emphasis is placed on measures to encourage investment in renewable energy that creates green jobs and lowers electricity bills, for both consumers and industry, which does not (underlined) include nuclear energy”.
The state Labor government established a 50% renewable energy target by 2030 upon winning power in 2015.
The federal inquiry was established after a group of Coalition MPs, led by Hinkler LNP member Keith Pitt and Queensland LNP senator James McGrath, pushed for an investigation into whether nuclear power should be considered as part of the mix, as the government hunts for a long term solution to Australia’s surging energy prices.
Not wanting to reignite the war that led to the downfall of the national energy guarantee, and ultimately, Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership, the government acquiesced to calls for an investigation, which was established after a recommendation from Angus Taylor.
The state LNP position stands in stark contrast to their federal colleagues, including conservative senator Amanda Stoker, who said that “Australia must develop a nuclear energy industry”, as well as her Queensland colleague Gerard Rennick.
McGrath has publicly pushed for the nuclear discussion in numerous interviews and his own social media, as well as within the party room. Pitt, who describes himself as “technologically agnostic”, said the discussion had to be had.
“The first priority for the nations future energy needs will always be reliability and affordability,” he said. “As technology changes I expect our energy mix will also change over a period of time. I am completely technology agnostic in terms of the fuel types that might be utilised. Currently Queensland has the country’s youngest fleet of coal fired generators and I expect they will continue to be a critical part of Queensland’s energy mix into the future.”
He demurred from any questions on the split between state and federal lines, saying the state arm could “speak for themselves”, but attacked the state Labor government for its price management of the state owned power assets.
But the submission did give Queensland Labor senator, Murray Watt, a late week boost.
“This submission shows the LNP’s state MPs have had enough of their federal counterparts’ pointless culture war against renewable power,” he said. “Even the LNP’s state MPs acknowledge that renewables are a cheaper and safer way of meeting our future energy needs.
“They have also slammed their federal counterparts’ pursuit of nuclear power as a massive waste of time and resources.
“The Queensland LNP’s federal representatives should stop wasting everyone’s time by pursuing their obsession with nuclear power and get behind cheaper and safer means of meeting our energy needs.”
Climate change now brings Queensland into a new era of bushfires
‘This is an omen’: Queensland firefighters battle worst start to season on record More than 50 bushfires are burning with the most dangerous in the Gold Coast hinterland destroying the Binna Burra Lodge, Guardian, Australian Associated Press 8 Sept 19, Queensland is in uncharted territory as firefighting crews battle to get the upper hand in the worst start to the fire season on record.
More than 50 fires were burning across Queensland on Sunday afternoon, the most dangerous in the Gold Coast hinterland where it had destroyed homes and the heritage-listed Binna Burra Lodge.
One of the oldest nature-based resorts in Australia, which dates back to the 1930s, now lies in ruins………
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services’ predictive services inspector, Andrew Sturgess, said the state had never before seen such serious bushfire conditions, so early in spring.
“So this is an omen, if you will, a warning of the fire season that we are likely to see in south-eastern parts of the state where most of the population is,” he said.
The acting premier, Jackie Trad, said climate change meant the state was facing a new era of fire risk.
“There is no doubt that with an increasing temperature with climate change, then what the scientists tell us is that events such as these will be more frequent and they will be much more ferocious,” she told reporters.
Fire authorities have warned the danger posed by the Binna Burra fire will not be over for days, with strong winds expected to persist until Tuesday.
“We’re still very much in defensive mode,” Queensland Fire and Emergency Services’ assistant commissioner, Kevin Walsh, said on Sunday………
Dams and water tanks on rural properties are empty. Stanthorpe itself is subject to emergency water restrictions of 100 litres per person per day, with the supply not expected to last until the end of the year. After that the council will have to truck water in.
“We need rain. That’s the only thing that’s going to save us,” Stanthorpe woman Samantha Wantling said.
In New South Wales firefighters were battling several out-of-control bushfires with strong winds making for challenging conditions. Despite cooler weather, damaging winds of up to 70km/h were expected to ramp up fire activity with very high fire danger in the state’s far north coast, north coast and New England areas. ……. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/08/crews-battle-two-huge-fires-threatening-south-queensland-towns
Queensland extinguishes native title over Indigenous land to make way for Adani coalmine
Queensland extinguishes native title over Indigenous land to make way for Adani coalmine
Palaszczuk government did not announce decision Wangan and Jagalingou people say makes them trespassers on their own land, Guardian, Ben Doherty@bendohertycorro, Sat 31 Aug 2019 The Queensland government has extinguished native title over 1,385 hectares of Wangan and Jagalingou country for the proposed Adani coalmine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin – without any public announcement of the decision.
The decision could see Wangan and Jagalingou protesters forcibly removed by police from their traditional lands, including lands used for ceremonies.
W&J Council leader Adrian Burragubba, and a group of Wangan and Jagalingou representatives, had been calling on the government to rule out transferring their land, arguing they had never given their consent for Adani to occupy their country.
In a meeting with government officials Friday, seeking a halt on leases being issued for mine infrastructure, they learned the state government had instead granted Adani exclusive possession freehold title over large swathes of their lands on Thursday, including the area currently occupied for ceremonial purposes.
“We have been made trespassers on our own country,” Burragubba said. “Our ceremonial grounds, in place for a time of mourning for our lands as Adani begins its destructive processes, are now controlled by billionaire miner Adani.
“With insider knowledge that the deal was already done, Adani had engaged Queensland police and threatened us with trespass.”
To mine any land under a native title claim, a miner needs an Indigenous land use agreement, essentially a contract that allows the state to extinguish native title.
Adani has a ILUA over the land: five of the 12 native claimants have opposed it, but have lost successive legal challenges in court to prevent it. Seven, a majority, of the native title claimants support the Adani mine.
Burragubba and a group of supporters set up camp on the land ahead of its legal transfer to Adani. He said they will refuse to leave.
He said a notice received by the council said their country “is to be handed over to Adani on 3 August 2019”. The notice also says “Adani will request the assistance of police to remove Mr Burragubba and his supporters from the camp”.
Burragubba, whom Adani has bankrupted over costs from legal challenges, said his group would not abandon their protest nor quit their lands.
“We will never consent to these decisions and will maintain our defence of country,” he said. “We will be on our homelands to care for our lands and waters, hold ceremonies and uphold the ancient, abiding law of the land.” ……..
Australian governments will give $4.4bn in effective subsidies to Adani’s Carmichael coal project, which would otherwise be “unbankable and unviable”, new analysis reported this week has found.
The Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis concluded that the project would benefit from several Australian taxpayer-funded arrangements – including subsidies, favourable deals and tax concessions – over its 30-year project life.
It said the project would be further supported by public handouts, tax breaks and special treatment provided to Adani Power, the proposed end-user of the thermal coal in India.
“If these subsidies were not being provided, Adani’s Carmichael thermal coalmine would be unbankable and unviable,” the IEEFA report said……..https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/31/queensland-extinguishes-native-title-over-indigenous-land-to-make-way-for-adani-coalmine
Queensland Labor and Liberal Coalition say NO to nuclear power
Nuclear energy policy emerges as Queensland election issue, SMH, By Tony Moore, August 25, 2019 Nuclear energy has emerged as a 2020 Queensland election issue after Labor confirmed its anti-nuclear stand amid a new investigation into nuclear power led by three Queensland federal LNP MPs.Labor’s 2019 state conference on Sunday cemented the party’s opposition to the energy source after three high-profile federal Liberal National Party MPs recently triggered the first federal government inquiry into nuclear power in a decade.
Queensland Labor immediately questioned the LNP’s nuclear power policy before Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington on Sunday afternoon issued a single line statement rejecting nuclear power.
“The state LNP does not support nuclear power in Queensland,” Ms Frecklington said.
Three high-profile Queensland federal MPs – Senator James McGrath, Bundaberg-based MP Keith Pitt and Sunshine Coast MP Ted O’Brien – quietly re-opened a federal government inquiry into nuclear power, which began quietly on August 7.
Mr O’Brien is chairing the House of Representatives Standing Committee investigation into nuclear power, which will receive submissions until September 16.
He said nuclear power had evolved over the past 20 years and it was time to look again.
“The committee will look at the necessary circumstances and requirements for any future government’s consideration of nuclear energy generation, including using small modular reactor technologies,” Mr O’Brien said.
The Labor conference several times highlighted clear policy differences between Labor and the LNP in the 12-month run down to the 2020 Queensland election.
On Sunday ALP delegate Ali King, from the United Voice union, received unanimous support for the party to reconfirm its opposition to nuclear power in Queensland.
Since the (May) federal election we have seen an emboldened LNP federal government flirting with every policy fantasy of the hard right,” Ms King told the conference.
“The most disturbing of these is their insistent push towards imposing nuclear power on a reluctant Australia.”
Cost evaluations showed energy produced from nuclear fusion would be more expensive than renewable energy and the long timeframe – “possibly a generation” – made it impractical, Ms King argued. ……
Nuclear power development is currently banned in Australia under the Federal Government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
“It is this restriction that the LNP are ultimately trying to dismantle,” Ms King said. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/nuclear-energy-policy-emerges-as-queensland-election-issue-20190825-p52kl3.html
Reaction against Robert Parker’s nuclear reactor plan for Ipswich, Queensland
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Nuclear for Ipswich to combat growing carbon emissions, Navarone Farrell, Queensland Times, August 21, 2019 SWANBANK is one of 10 sites in Queensland touted for a nuclear power station after talks at a lobby group summit.
Ipswich Residents Against Toxic Environments president Jim Dodrill said moving towards nuclear energy based on the premise of carbon footprint reduction “was nonsense”. “We’re absolutely opposed to (nuclear). It doesn’t make any sense economically, it doesn’t make any sense environmentally and it certainly doesn’t make any sense in the long term in regards to the waste from that form of power generation,” he said. “People do try to confuse the issue in relation to (nuclear’s) carbon footprint. The carbon footprint of nuclear is very, very high – not in the direct generation of power, but in the indirect. “You’re talking about moving the fuel over great distances, you’re talking about a lot of storage and the logistics of the fuel and the waste and the set up of that kind of generator. “It would be, in the long-term, no better than burning coal.” Mr Dodrill said moving towards another form of non-renewable energy would be a step backwards and that the rest of the world has moved on from nuclear. “It would make no sense for somewhere like Ipswich – or any city anywhere in Australia – to move into a type of power generation that’s (becoming defunct),” he said. “It’s nonsense altogether… (this agenda) is obviously being pushed by a particular sector of the far right in Australian politics.” Bundamba Labor MP Jo-Ann Miller, a fierce opponent of any more “stinks and smells” energy in Ipswich, ridiculed the idea. “Australia cannot even work out what it needs to do in relation to the nuclear plant in Sydney,” she said. “It’s certainly is at no stage of looking at nuclear-based power. Our city for many, many years has been a nuclear-free zone and that’s the way it should stay. “We do not want incinerators and we do not want nuclear power plants in our back yards, it’s a no-go.”… “How dare they consider Swanbank and my electorate without even having a conversation with the local people, and I can assure them that our locals would be very much against it,” she said. https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/regional/nuclear-for-ipswich-to-combat-growing-carbon-emissions/news-story/61af3052d10672573bb761eed16af606 |
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Bankrupted traditional owner vows to keep opposing Adani
Bankrupted traditional owner vows to keep opposing Adani, SBS, 16 Aug 19, A Queensland traditional owner forced into bankruptcy by Adani after failed legal actions says it means nothing to him. A traditional owner forced into bankruptcy by Adani after numerous failed legal actions against them has vowed to continue to speak out against its Queensland coal mine.
Wangan and Jagalingou man Adrian Burragubba was formally bankrupted in the Federal Court in Brisbane on Thursday.
Mr Burragubba’s property will be held until $600,000 in legal costs are paid to the miner following unsuccessful legal attempts to stop the Galilee Basin project…… https://www.sbs.com.au/news/bankrupted-traditional-owner-vows-to-keep-opposing-adani
Water shortage hitting Queensland town Stanthorpe
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Day zero approaches for Stanthorpe as locals face prospect of levy to cover cost of trucked-in water https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-05/stanthorpe-drought-bites-as-town-runs-out-of-water/11381886, ABC Southern Qld , By Elly Bradfield Locals describe it as the “worst drought in living memory” but things are about to go from bad to worse in the southern Queensland town of Stanthorpe, with the town water supply weeks away from drying up.
Key points:
If there is no rain by the end of spring, the council has estimated it will have to truck 45 loads water per day, costing up to $2 million a month, to supply the town. The Queensland Government has refused to be drawn on whether it will contribute, but the council said it would be forced charge ratepayers a levy if governments did not step in. Families strugglingBusiness has doubled at the laundromat, but owner Chris Reedy said that was a bitter pill to swallow with the community struggling.
“They struggle to put food on the table, let alone come and do washing for hygiene,” he said. “I feel depressed to see people in that state … especially families and young kids. “I’ve been helping out a bit with free loads to try to help out where I can.” He described spirits in the town as “at an all-time low” and raised concerns about people’s mental health. Without water you can’t make concreteTraditionally the winter period was concreter Lachlan Carnell’s busiest time, but with most farmers cash strapped, work has dried up and he has been forced to tell staff to “take whatever [work] they can get”. Without water you cannot mix concrete, so everyone’s a bit stressed at the moment,” he said. “The plant will have to start trucking in water, which is going to stress us the contractors and the clients because obviously the concrete is going to go up in price.
Levy threat causes fearAt the motel, owner Michael Jensen raised concerns about the impact of a water levy on the already struggling town. “I think it could have been handled a lot better because there’s a lot of people out there now that are very scared of what’s ahead of us,” he said. “We have an ageing population and a lot of those older people, including my parents for example, just have to try to find that extra money if it does come to that situation.” Mr Jensen broke down when he described the impact of the drought on his community. “If we don’t get water in the next three to six months I fear for the actual community,” he said. “It’s tough; tough for everyone especially the farmers.” ‘Not just farmers who struggle’Secretary of the Stanthorpe and Granite Belt Chamber of Commerce Amanda Harrold said the levy would be “the last straw” for many people. “It goes all the way through the town through families, the retail, the shopping centres, all the way to the school, to the hospital — what services will be kept if we have a dwindling community?” she said. “It’s not just the farmers who struggle in a drought. “This community cannot bear the cost of this, there just won’t be the money.” She said business was already down 20 to 50 per cent. “We are lucky that some tourists are coming to town, but with tourists comes the water usage, so it’s a really hard balancing act.” With the $84 million Emu Swamp Dam now fully funded, there is some hope for locals that the region can be protected from future droughts. But the Bureau of Meteorology has warned the town is unlikely to receive the soaking rain needed in the coming months. |
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1.This month
For international nuclear news go to https://nuclear-news.net/
Submissions to the Senate Committee Inquiry into National Radioactive Management Amendment Bill. 2020. Go to our summaries of significant submissions, conveniently listed in alphabetical order at Kimba waste dump submissions or see all submissions listed at Read the Submissions
