Australian Conservation Foundation opposes uranium mining in Queensland, where it is still illegal
Uranium fallout http://www.northweststar.com.au/story/2290146/uranium-fallout/?cs=191 May 18, 2014,ANTI-NUCLEAR campaigner Dave Sweeney says the Australian Conservation Foundation will not support uranium mining in Queensland.Mr Sweeney’s comment follows an indirect quote from one of the foundation’s speakers at a recent anti-uranium meeting which was published in The North West Star on May 7.
One of the meeting presenters, Bill Williams, was quoted as saying the foundation would tolerate uranium mining if the state government guaranteed radioactive waste was securely isolated for 10,000 years.
Mr Sweeney said the response did not match the foundation’s views.
Mr Williams was responding to the question: “If assuming uranium mining is legalised in Queensland, what conditions would need to be in place for the Australian Conservation Foundation to support it?”
Mr Sweeney was more recently asked the same question, but said it could not be assumed uranium mining would be legalised in Queensland.
Mr Sweeney said BHP Billiton decided to close its multibillion-dollar uranium operations at Olympic Dam within the past two years.
BHP decided to close down operations in the largest known deposit of uranium in the world, meaning uranium mining in Queensland should not be assumed, he said.
Piliga forest’s groundwater radioactively polluted by Santos
Santos fails to clean up uranium contamination Green Left , May 17, 2014 An Environmental Protection Authority report says gas company Santos can’t fully clean up the uranium contamination of an aquifer in the Pilliga Forest in north-west NSW, saying that attempts to recover the polluted water were “impractical”.
Wilderness Society Newcastle campaign manager Naomi Hogan said: “Santos said it would never threaten groundwater, but it has polluted an aquifer with uranium and other toxic heavy metals, and the EPA report says Santos can’t fully clean up the mess. Santos’s plan for recovery was to pump contaminated water into the waste-water pond which is still leaking, and even that failed.”
Furthermore, the EPA report into the contamination in the Pilliga Forest is based upon a report commissioned and paid for by Santos, the company that caused the damage.
Santos refused to allow the government’s groundwater experts, the Office of Water, to fully review its original report, despite the NSW Health Department calling for it. Santos did allow the EPA to show it to Office of Water staff at a face to face meeting, but Water staff said the Santos report was “very technical” and they “would need to fully review the documents to be able to provide a full report”.
Hogan said: “What is Santos trying to hide by refusing to allow the government’s groundwater experts to review its report into the spill?”…….“The NSW government must tear up the agreement with Santos to fast-track the approval of all these wells until the inquiry is complete.
“The Pilliga is the state’s last great inland forest — its creeks feed the Murray-Darling river system and it’s a major recharge zone for the Great Artesian Basin, a critical water source for farmers and inland Australia.”https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/56479
As the world wakes up to climate change, denialist Australia goes it alone
An island of action denial, The Age, May 18, 2014 Editorial It is obvious after last week’s budget that Australia is no longer part of the world’s weather patterns. Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey have, in effect, excised the continent from the global climate, and lowered a dome of denial to prevent any penetration from outside forces of nature.
This is no mean feat, but, given the Coalition’s attitude towards climate change, not surprising. The budget starkly illustrates the meeting of philosophy with politics, delivered from a position of scepticism. It is an ignoble legacy on which to be judged.
Per capita, Australia is one of the worst polluters of carbon dioxide in the world. So what does the government do? It cuts funding for renewable energy and research. This is a retrograde step and a degradation of vision.
Budget documents reveal that funds for climate-change-related programs will be savagely cut from $5.75 billion in the present fiscal year to $1.25 billion by next fiscal year and halved again by 2017-18.
The Coalition went to the election pledging the removal of the carbon price and replacing it with the establishment of the Emissions Reduction Fund, from which polluters would be paid to cut emissions. However, over the next four years only $1.14 billion has been committed, half the amount Environment Minister Greg Hunt said a month ago would be allocated………. http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/an-island-of-action-denial-20140517-38gr0.html#ixzz32CUYlCpR
Will the Abbott govt listen to a sensible bull, along with all the rest of the bull they are guided by?
George the bull sees red over renewable energy ABC Rural Lucy Barbour, 17 May 14, “…..According to Mr Osborne, the wind turbines on his property employed 270 people during construction and currently employ 17 locals.
“It pumps $3 million into the local economy every year in wages, landowner payments, and fencing and agricultural contracts,” he said.
“It’s allowed landowners to plant tens of thousands of trees, protect and expand rare ecosystems on the site, and better manage erosion.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-16/nrn-george-the-bull-renewable-energy-target-revew/5457174
Australia signals to the rest of the world, that we will not co-operate on climate change action
Problems like global poverty and climate change can’t be solved by any one nation alone; we all need to chip in. That is why we have complex international agreements to set out who is going to do what, so that the whole world can benefit.
But with this Budget, Hockey has signaled to the rest of the planet that Australia expects to free ride on the efforts of others. He has abandoned the core Australian value of being true blue.
Hockey exposes us as fair weather friends The Drum 15 May 14 By David Ritter With this Budget, Joe Hockey has signaled to the rest of the planet that Australia expects to free ride on the efforts of others. He has abandoned the core Australian value of being true blue, writes David Ritter.
“Hey True Blue, don’t say you’ve gone…”
As Australians, we like to think of ourselves as reliable and dependable. We make good mates and loyal friends. We have an image of ourselves as a people and as a country that will chip in. We do our bit. Australia will be there.
Unfortunately though, the reality of Joe Hockey’s Budget means that the rest of the world has reason to look upon us as a nation of bludgers: as a country that breaks its word and does a runner. Sadly for our reputation, this Budget breaks both those promises. Hockey has trashed our name in the global village.
Aid spending is the biggest single cut in the Budget, with expenditure capped in a way that means Australia’s promised contribution to the Millennium Development Goals – the global mechanism to help out the world’s poor – has been effectively abandoned.
And while the Government is still rhetorically committed to doing our bit to keep global warming to less than two degrees above pre-industrial levels, the substance of this Budget makes the promise look as empty as the MCG on Good Friday. Continue reading
Australia’s agricultural sector worried that the government has no energy plan to address climate change
Where is the energy plan? http://www.theland.com.au/blogs/a-matter-of-opinion/where-is-the-energy-plan/2698363.aspx By: Louise Preece on 15/05/2014 AS FARMERS responded to the federal government’s budget this week, news also surfaced that the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) would be cut.
The institution was originally established to make energy more affordable, while also increasing the amount of renewable energy used in Australia. ARENA’s current contracted R&D projects will be maintained, but the government said its functions will be shifted to the Department of Industry – along with $15 million to fund new projects in 2015-16. It is one of many research institutions to be cut or merged in the budget.
Combined with the fact that the federal government is reviewing the Renewable Energy Target of 20 per cent by 2020, it sounds out a clear message the Coalition is not willing to strongly back renewable energy in Australia.
While the Direct Action Plan is gearing up to pay companies to reduce greenhouse gases, there is now very little incentive for Australia to work collectively in implementing a common-sense approach to energy in Australia.
The Ag Institute of Australia held a forum on energy last week, which explored alternative energy sources and ways to ease electricity prices.
Victorian president Michael Graefe said the group held the forum partly because it wanted to start a debate on this topic, but he also said energy prices were becoming a huge burden on farm businesses. He said the government needed to take a more balanced approach to energy in Australia, with a bigger emphasis on cost-effectively storing energy from sources such as solar.
In particular, he was very excited about the prospects of geothermal power, where energy is sourced from the ground or bodies of water.
But at the moment, the government is sending a message fossil fuels will continue to provide the bulk of electricity for the country, and limited research will be carried out to change this fact.
With the climate changing, it is becoming more apparent that Australia needs to get on the front foot in terms of reducing greenhouse gases, before it is too late. A plan on how renewable energy is expected to fit into Australia’s future would be a good start in addressing this issue, but at the moment this isn’t happening.
Maybe the government should take advice from Germany, where it was revealed this week 75 per cent of the country’s power was now being sourced from renewable sources – and power prices had been reduced as a result.
The barest mention of radiation danger in jubilant story of a mum who wants to live on Mars
Brisbane teacher and mum Natalie Lawler in running for a life on Mars CONNOR O’BRIEN THE COURIER-MAIL MAY 14, 2014 NATALIE Lawler has it all: A loving partner, two wonderful children, a career … but she’s prepared to give it all up for a shot at the stars.
No, not The Voice.
Ms Lawler has cast her eyes much, much higher: Mars.
The Brisbane maths teacher is in the running to be one of the first civilians to live on the Red Planet. Ms Lawler was one of 200,000 people across the globe to apply for Mars One’s revolutionary program which may see the first human steps taken on Mars in just a decade. The shortlist is now down to 705, including 27 Australians, and Ms Lawler is among them.
There’s only one catch: It’s a one-way trip. Doesn’t that bother her a bit?………
Australia’s largest energy utility attacks renewable energy
Origin lines up another attack on renewable energy target http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/origin-lines-up-another-attack-on-renewable-energy-target-64459 By Giles Parkinson on 9 May 2014 (This story is shown in excellent graphs) Origin Energy, Australia’s largest energy utility, has launched a new attack on the renewable energy target, arguing that it is exceeding its mandate and should be wound back – to a point where little or no large-scale wind or solar farms are constructed out to 2020.
In a presentation to a Macquarie Group conference this week. CEO Grant King argued that Australia’s renewable energy target was already at 16 per cent of national demand, and suggested that to reflect a “true” 20 per cent target, its scope should be drastically reduced……….
King argues that under this scenario only 9Twh more of renewable energy – both large scale and small scale – should be constructed under the renewable energy target, if it continues to exist.
If it is assumed that there is no further rooftop solar (unlikely unless it is removed from the scheme) this still represents a two third cut in the amount of large scale wind and solar farms that could be built out to 2020. If the figure does include small scale solar, it would mean virtually no large scale renewable energy projects between now and 2020.
This would be welcomed by the incumbent generators such as Origin and EnergyAustralia, as well as the state-owned generators such as Queensland’s Stanwell that want the target dismantled completely. They appear to have the ear of the government, and the industry fears it has the ear of the hand-picked and mostly anti-renewable RET review panel.
The argument presented by the utilities – and the Coalition – is one around costs to customers. ……….The real reason that utilities such as Origin are arguing against the RET – both large scale and small scale – is the impact of their incumbent generation. ……
ACT Energy Minister finds Joe Hockey’s remarks on wind power ‘offensive’
ACT energy minister slams Hockey’s “offensive” wind comments REneweconomyBy Giles Parkinson on 9 May 2014 Simon Corbell, the ACT minister leading its ambitious goal of reaching 90 per cent renewable energy by 2020, has slammed Treasurer Joe Hockey’s dismissal of wind turbines, and says he is “ashamed” of the federal government’s policy position on renewables.
Corbell says he was shocked by Hockey’s comments last week that the wind turbines at the Capital wind farm near Lake George, north of Canberra were “utterly offensive” and a “blight on the landscape.”
The ACT government wants to build 200MW of wind farms in the next few years to help meet its renewable goals, and expects some of these could be built in the region, including a possible extension to the Capital wind farm that Hockey finds offensive.
“It is deeply concerning that federal policy settings could be driven by Joe Hockey’s view of aesthetics as he drives down the Federal Highway,” Corbell told RenewEconomy in an interview on the sidelines of the Australian Solar Council conference in Melbourne.
“Wind farms in the ACT and the region deliver jobs, certainty and support for the agricultural sector, and they are making our city and our region a centre for renewable energy excellence.” However, Corbell says the federal Coalition’s policy on renewables, and its threats to remove or reduce the renewable nervy targets, and dismantle other institutions such as the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and defund the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
“I’m ashamed from what we hearing from our federal leaders,” Corbell said. “Our federal leaders are locking us in to long-term price increases driven by vulnerability to the pricing of fossil fuels, whether that be coal or gas, and they should be taking a long-term view of the need to provide greater price certainty and lower cost energy by supporting the long-term development of renewable with a stable policy.
“Really, if the coalition says the country is open for business, it should be open for renewable energy as well.”……..
Corbell said the ACT is now the only state or territory in the country to have greenhouse gas reductions written into law. Its target is to cut emissions by 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, much of this through building efficiency and renewable energy.
“Switching to renewable energy is one of the most cost-effective and quickest ways to achieve emissions reduction,” he said.
“You can decarbonise a city like Canberra and do it a relatively low cost. If we can do it, other cities can do it too.” http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/act-energy-minister-slams-hockeys-offensive-wind-comments-87366
64000 job losses in Victoria due to cuts in Renewable Energy Target?
Renewable energy cuts could cost 6400 jobs in Victoria The Age, May 9, 2014 Mark Hawthorne – Senior EditorA cut to the 20 per cent renewable energy target – currently under review – could cost Victoria 6400 jobs, including an estimated 750 jobs in Premier Denis Napthine’s seat alone.
According to data from the Clean Energy Council, 17 Victorian wind farm projects that have received state government approval are unlikely to go ahead if the target is cut by the Abbott government.
Major projects under threat include Origin Energy’s 392.5-megawatt wind farm at Stockyard Hill, WestWind Energy’s 321-megawatt project at Moorabool, near Geelong, and RES Australia’s 247.5-megawatt wind farm at Ararat.
The Clean Energy Council estimates those three wind farms alone would create 3071 jobs in Victoria, including 240 permanent positions.
Three other wind farms under threat are located in Dr Napthine’s seat of South West Coast.
Union Fenosa’s wind farms at Ryan Corner and Hawkesdale and a smaller 40-megawatt Wind Farm Developments project at Woolsthorpe would create about 750 jobs during the construction phase, and 58 permanent positions running and servicing the wind farms.
“Reducing or removing the policy would mean fewer opportunities for construction workers and contractors, as well as all the industries that support them,’’ said Clean Energy Council policy manager Darren Gladman……….
Such is the plight of the renewable energy industry, the country’s two biggest companies in the sector – Infigen Energy and Pacific Hydro – now invest more money overseas than within Australia.
The premier’s office did not comment by deadline. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/renewable-energy-cuts-could-cost-6400-jobs-in-victoria-20140508-zr70r.html#ixzz31Feupyy8
AUDIO: Australian government’s energy policy driven not by reality, but by ideology
AUDIO Australian Solar Council says ideology is driving energy policy http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/ideology-driving-energy-policy-australian-solar-council/5437898 8 May 14 The Australian solar industry has delivered a broadside to the Coalition government, saying ideology is now driving energy policy in Australia. John Grimes, the CEO of the Australian Solar Council, says the government is on the brink of breaking key promises on renewable energy, writes Alexia Attwood. The Australian Solar Council has warned the government is about to dump its one 
million solar roofs program, cut the Renewable Energy Target in half, scrap the last remaining federal subsidies for domestic solar panels and axe more than one billion dollars of funding for research into renewable power.
‘Because they have made an ideological choice it is then skewing all of the other decisions they’re making,’ John Grimes, CEO of the Australian Solar Council, told RN Breakfast.‘This is poor public policy and not in accordance with what the people of Australia want.’
Because they have made an ideological choice it is then skewing all of the other decisions they’re making. This is poor public policy and not in accordance with what the people of Australia want.
JOHN GRIMES, AUSTRALIAN SOLAR COUNCIL CEO
The concerns for the future of both large- and small-scale solar power will dominate the 52nd annual Australian Solar Industry Conference and Exhibition, which opens today in Melbourne.
‘It is being supported at the highest levels of the government and this is a campaign to wind back support for renewable energy,’ said Mr Grimes. ‘We’ve engaged in good faith, we have provided good policy advice to governments over the years. We are completely non-partisan. We will support any party that has good solar policy.’…….
Mr Grimes said the government is set to cut $1.5 billion from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and phase out the small scale renewable energy scheme, ending the last remaining federal subsidy for domestic solar installation.
‘We think support for the small scale scheme is finished and to soften the blow we expect they will make a concession towards small businesses, that they will phase this out for small businesses over time but close it completely for the general community,’ said Mr Grimes. ‘For a lot of people it will put going solar out of their reach.’
‘Scaling back, reducing, cutting subsidies for household solar is only the first step … You ain’t seen nothing yet.’
Giles Parkinson shows 10 conservative politicians lined up against renewable eneergy
Australia’s conservative politicians railing against renewables By Giles Parkinson on 7 May 2014 Support for Australia’s 20 per cent renewable energy target is supposed to be bipartisan – at least that is what the Coalition government led by Tony Abbott would have us believe.
Of course, it has been clear for several years now that this is a mirage. Australia’s conservative politicians – be they at a federal or state level – have long railed against renewable energy, usually along the myth-busted lines that they are too expensive, cannot be relied upon, and do nothing to reduce emissions.
In fact, as practical experience has shown in South Australia, with a near world-record 31 per cent of variable renewables in 2013, wind and solar can do the job, can lower the wholesale and retail price of electricity, and can lower emissions.
Other studies show that, despite the pleadings of the incumbent fossil fuel industry, the current RET of 41,000GWh by 2020 is not expensive. In fact, it is more likely to reduce the cost of electricity to consumers, apart from its happy outcomes of decarbonising the grid and forcing dirty and inefficient coal-fired generation out of the market.
More recently, the rhetoric against wind farms has moved from costs and efficiency to visual amenity, and an insistence that the health impacts are not settled. It seems now that the mere sight of them ruffles the hard right ideologues, and even some deemed more moderate. It is as though they cannot accept the utility of any technology that might form the centrepiece of Green policy making.
So perhaps it is time for the conservatives to admit that bipartisan support for renewable energy is a myth. Here’s a roll call of the leading players to act as a reminder………….http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/australias-conservative-politicians-railing-against-renewables-36034
UK way ahead of Australia in large scale solar energy
UK Outshines Australia In Large Scale Solar http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4294 8 May 14 The UK renewables industry is now supporting 100,000 jobs and is set to be to be the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) market in Europe in 2014.
According to a recent report published by the Renewable Energy Association (REA); the UK’s renewable energy industry has attracted almost £30 billion of private sector investment since 2010; which enabled the industry to sustain over 100,000 jobs in 2013. Approximately 15,000 renewables jobs in the UK last year were in the solar sector.
While small scale solar in the UK has dropped off to a degree, commercial and large scale installations are powering ahead; which will boost solar employment again.
NPD SolarBuzz states more than 325 solar farms in the megawatt (MW) class would have been completed within the UK at the end of April, with more than 60 different installations having a capacity exceeding 10 MW.
NPD SolarBuzz says another 444 large-scale ground-mounted solar PV facilities are currently at various stages of planning in the UK and 124 have planning applications approval.
It’s a curious situation – RenewEconomy’s Giles Parkinson points out sun-drenched Australia has just one megawatt-scale ground mounted solar farm (Greenough River Solar Farm) and only a handful in development.
One of the issues holding back large scale solar in this country is uncertainty over the future of the Renewable Energy Target, which is currently under review.
Australian Solar Council CEO John Grimes states the RET Review process is heading to a biased and predetermined outcome; which threatens billions of dollars investment and thousands of current and future jobs in the solar sector.
It’s not just large scale solar in the shadow of the grim reaper; residential solar also faces uncertainty. In a worst case scenario, if all subsidisation was removed it would add thousands of dollars onto the cost of an average solar panel system.
100% renewable energy can be achieved, and with views less offensive than coal and gas facilities
the amount of land taken up by wind farms is trivial, compared with the footprint of an open-cut mine or a gas processing hub – a few tens of square metres per tower, plus access tracks. The farmers who host the wind generators continue farming as usual, but benefit from what is effectively a second cash crop that pays them thousands of dollars per machine per year.
While Mr Hockey might find the view of wind turbines along Lake George “utterly offensive”, others might take exception to the sight of open-cut coal mines, coal and gas export terminals, oil spills, fracking equipment, smog, and coal seam fires.
Renewable energy target can go all the way to 100% – if we let it http://theconversation.com/renewable-energy-target-can-go-all-the-way-to-100-if-we-let-it-26318 Andrew Blakers Director of the Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSES) at Australian National University 7 May 14 The political outlook for renewable energy is not great – and I’m not just talking about the view out of Joe Hockey’s car window.
The Renewable Energy Target (RET), which aims to deliver 41 million megawatt-hours of extra renewable energy by 2020, is under review by the federal government. The signs are not promising for preservation of the target, given the views espoused by the Treasurer and the composition of the Review Committee.
But the RET is not an end in its own right. It is also a stepping stone for moving to a 100% renewable power sector by 2050. The problem is that getting there requires not just a practical plan, but also the political will to put it into action.
Investing in renewables
A prime purpose of the RET is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In conjunction with energy efficiency, the RET has been doing this so effectively that Australia’s emissions from electricity generation have been falling since 2008. The RET allows renewable energy to compete directly with old-build gas and coal power stations as they move towards the end of their useful lives.
Despite the fact that the government may be preparing to wind back the RET to something more modest, it is not an especially challenging target in its current form. The most likely way to hit the 2020 target will be to deploy wind and photovoltaic (PV) solar power, which are by far the leading types of renewable energy being deployed around the world. To hit the target, Australia will need about 9000 megawatts of new capacity from each of these two technologies.
Australia already has about 6000 MW of wind and PV capacity, mostly constructed over the past five years. So that means building about 1200 MW each of PV and wind power each year for the rest of the decade. Not too difficult, considering that 1000 MW of PV power was installed in 2012, mostly on rooftops. Indeed, there are now more than 1.3 million PV rooftops in Australia.
In terms of costs, both PV and wind are competitive with new-build gas and coal power stations. And the outlook for coal is not as certain as many in the sector in Australia would like, with new analysis suggesting that the industry could decline because of softening import markets in China and India. As a share of the Australian power generation market, coal has been declining since 2008, as a result of improved energy efficiency and the rise of renewables.
As all current fossil fuel power generators will have reached the end of their useful lives before 2050, they will have to be steadily replaced over the coming 35 years. Installation of solar and wind will allow this to be done with minimal additional cost and with near-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
The RET as a stepping stone
Moving to 100% renewables by mid-century might sound like a tall order. But the current RET actually puts us on track to do it – all it would require would be to carry on at the same rate of investment beyond 2020.nstalling around 1200 MW each of new solar and wind power every year, as required by the RET, would be enough to replace the entire existing fossil fuel electricity sector by 2050.
There would be no need to decommission existing power stations early – rather, they could just be replaced as they reach the end of their useful lives. Thus the RET offers a stepping stone to 100% renewable energy by natural attrition – an important attribute if we are to avoid spending money unnecessarily.
The RET offers a way to ensure that ageing coal-fired power stations are replaced by low-emission renewable alternatives. Wind and solar power are essentially unconstrained by environmental, resource, material supply, security and other problems that beset fossil fuels. The need for the RET will decline over time as retirement of existing generators gathers pace.
The political will?
Demolishing the effectiveness of the RET will make it more difficult to meet the government’s greenhouse emissions target of a 5% reduction on 2000 levels by 2020. The sooner Australia adapts to the radical changes in the global electricity industry, caused by dramatic falls in renewable energy costs, the better. If the federal government leaves the RET alone, Australia will be on track for an all-renewable electricity system by mid-century.
Meanwhile, the amount of land taken up by wind farms is trivial, compared with the footprint of an open-cut mine or a gas processing hub – a few tens of square metres per tower, plus access tracks. The farmers who host the wind generators continue farming as usual, but benefit from what is effectively a second cash crop that pays them thousands of dollars per machine per year.
While Mr Hockey might find the view of wind turbines along Lake George “utterly offensive”, others might take exception to the sight of open-cut coal mines, coal and gas export terminals, oil spills, fracking equipment, smog, and coal seam fires.
They might also have an opinion about whether consequences such as oil-related warfare and global warming are more offensive than an allegedly spoiled view.
Australian government under the control of the fossil fuel industries
The fossil fuel industry and who really runs Australia Independent Australia Sandi Keane 6 May 2014,The age of entitlement is over in Australia — except for the dominant fossil fuel industry and those rich enough to be able to buy political patronage. Deputy editor Sandi Keane reports.
Treasurer Joe Hockey urges all of us to “share the pain” for his confected “budget emergency”,but, sadly, ‘sharing’ isn’t in the fossil fuel industry’s playbook.
Big Carbon has always balked at sharing profits from Australia’s mineral wealth.
In stark contrast to Norway, where a mining tax of 78% has resulted in a sovereign wealth fund twice the size of its GDP, Australia’s effective tax rate for foreign multinational miners is a mere 13%.
Instead, whilst crying poor, the mining industry managed to stump up $22 million for an anti-tax campaign and, in 2010, bring down a prime minister — Kevin Rudd.
This week, Australia’s dominant fossil fuel industry threw down the gauntlet to Hockey’s razor gang after it threatened to trim the luxurious 38% diesel fuel tax rebate.
The speed and the manner in which Hockey and Abbott caved in left most in little doubt about who really governs this country.
From The Land (5/5/14):
‘Correspondence leaked to the ABC between top mining executives warned of a “profound” political impact from cuts to the diesel rebate, greater than that faced by Labor with the mining tax. The letters showed the government faced a potentially damaging fight with the nation’s biggest mining firms over the rebate.’
According to The Australia Institute, the fossil fuel industry receives more than $10 billion per year in government subsidies, with the mining industry hogging most of it. The diesel fuel rebate or Fuel Tax Credit Scheme, is worth $4 billion per year. It might have been designed originally for farmers, but the lion’s share goes to the mining industry.
In 2012, nine out of ten people polled voted for the money to be redirected to health and education. But, unless you are one of the powerful business elites, you – sadly – have very little sway with this Government.
Because miners and moguls run Australia.
So we taxpayers will see just our pockets looted to reduce a budget deficit of just 15% of GDP — one of the lowest of any G20 economy. (great table here on national deficit)
Way to go… or so they thought.
Thankfully, as reported recently by Renew Economy’s Giles Parkinson, the AER has started cracking down on rorting. It now requires Victorian network operators to base their expenditure plans on actual usage rather than forecasts. It’s a good start but the regulation system is a complicated one and progress will be slow.
One outcome the energy industry hadn’t counted on was the growth of solar rooftops. The infrastructure profit bonanza started falling in a heap when the public wised up in tandem with the rising power prices. As solar doesn’t need over-priced poles and wires, that’s half the household bill saved for starters.
In a special report on the ABC’s Background Briefing, ‘The Price of Power’, The Australia Institute’s DrRichard Denniss explained solar’s “trick” to reporter Jess Hill:
“Solar rooftops are wreaking havoc on the traditional power industry, because they produce the most amount of energy at the time of day when the power industry makes the most money.”……….
1 This month
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
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 