Importance of Renewable Energy Target to Australians
What You Can Do About Australia’s Renewable Energy Target, Energy Collective, February 16, 2014 Anyone who reads the paper knows that the Renewable Energy Target is currently the subject of an inordinate attack. However, when you look at the facts it’s clear that this is completely unwarranted.
The question was put to me “Can you suggest how we in small business can best educate the decision makers about the benefits of the RET? It all seems a bit remote from the man in the street, but the decision will affect us all.”
This statement is right on the money; if you have solar, if work in solar or if you want solar, any change to the RET will affect you. If we add up how many Australians live in homes with solar, work in solar and the general (positive) attitude to solar, it means this decision affects Millions of Australians. I don’t know that our decision makers quite understand this fact. Yet.
Before I get to what to do lets start by understanding what is driving the focus on the RET, by considering it in the broader context of Australia’s most important and current issues………..http://theenergycollective.com/solarbusiness/340196/what-you-can-do-help-save-renewable-energy-target
Mexico Conference towards ending nuclear weapons launches ICAN’s new report
Learning from history March 1 marks 60 years since the Bravo nuclear test on Bikini Atoll, in the Marshall Islands. ICAN Australia From 1946 until 1996, more than 315 nuclear test explosions were conducted in the Pacific Islands by France, Britain and the United States. The Bravo nuclear test of 1954 was the largest ever conducted by the US, yielding a force 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Radioactive fallout travelled across 11,000 square kilometres and many communities in the Pacific still cannot return to their home islands due to radioactive contamination.
ICAN has produced a report entitled Banning Nuclear Weapons: a Pacific Islands Perspective, which was distributed at the recent Second Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in Nayarit, Mexico, and can be downloaded here. Report author Nic Maclellan also has an article here on Inside Story. Speaking of history, for an enthralling piece of poetry performed by Marshallese poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, click History Project.
The end of the Mexico Conference was nothing short of exhilarating, as the Conference Chair summed up the meeting with this:
“The broad-based and comprehensive discussions on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons should lead to the commitment of States and civil society to reach new international standards and norms, through a legally binding instrument.
It is the view of the Chair that the Nayarit Conference has shown that time has come to initiate a diplomatic process conducive to this goal…
It is time to take action. The 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks is the appropriate milestone to achieve our goal. Nayarit is a point of no return.”
As the dust settles on Mexico, we’re looking forward to a challenging year ahead coaxing the Australian Government onto the right side of history. Get in touch if you want to help us get there.
Now for your post-Conference reading:
– Nuclear Weapons: it’s high time for Australia to be bold and call for a ban – David Donaldson, The Guardian.
– Report from the Nayarit Conference – Ray Acheson, Beatrice Fihn, and Katherine Harrison.
The world is noticing Australia’s anti-science, climate denialist government
With Australia holding the presidency of the G20 this year, a stance of doing less than our fair share – which the authority says will mean cutting emissions 40 to 60 per cent by 2030 – is unlikely to go unnoticed by world leaders.
Authority’s good advice falls on deaf ears http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/authoritys-good-advice-falls-on-deaf-ears-20140227-33mao.html February 28, 2014 Peter Hannam Environment Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald The Abbott government is likely to pay as much heed to the Climate Change Authority’s report on Australia’s carbon emission reduction goals as it did to all the independent body’s previous work: zilch. Continue reading
Will the real candidate please stand up? Rafferty’s rules in South Australian election
to The Editor The Advertiser, from Dennis Matthews, 26 Feb 14 It takes a special sort of politician to name a group of candidates after oneself. It is even more bizarre when that politician is not one of those candidates. Yet that is exactly what has happened with three groups in the South Australian Legislative Council election. In two of the cases the politician is not even a South Australian and in the other case the person is already a member of the Federal Upper House.
On top of this there is one group of candidates running under a party name that appears to be based in Canberra and has no information about South Australia or about the state election on its website.
Talk about Rafferty’s rules. At this rate it won’t be long before we have a group running under the name of a non-Australian politician with interests contrary to those of Australia.
Draft native title welcomed by Noongar elders
Noongar elders emotional as draft native title bill tabled in Parliament. ABC News, By Stephanie Dalzell, 26 FEB 14, ,A draft bill officially recognising the Noongar people as traditional owners of South West land has been tabled in Parliament.
It follows a deal offered in July to resolve a long-running native title dispute.
As it was tabled, 79-year-old Janet Hayden wept.
For her, the bill means a decades-long battle for recognition has finally ended.”It’s a total relief because we’re walking in these doors here, and walking out, and something’s been done,” she said.
Under the $1.3 billion offer, $600 million will be paid into the Noongar Boodja Trust in instalments over 12 years.
Up to 320,000 hectares of Crown land will also be transferred to the trust in multiple parcels, and new programs will be established to assist economic, housing and community development……http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-26/draft-noongar-native-title-bill-tabled/5286320
Leaving the Renewable Energy Target as it is makes good business sense.
It’s in Australia’s interests not to be left behind in the growth industries of the future – and those include renewable energy.
How to save business billions, without cutting renewable jobs Suzanne Benn Chair in Sustainable Enterprise, UTS Business School at University of Technology, Sydney Patrick Crittenden Researcher and PhD Student at University of Technology, Sydney The Conversation 26 February 2014 The debate about the future of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) has largely focused on the issue of immediate costs to business. But if we’re thinking about Australia’s long-term economic interests, there are a number of reasons why leaving the target as it is makes good business sense.
Instead of trying to reduce power bills by undercutting investment and jobs in one growing industry, there are other ways for big and small businesses to cut their power bills – starting with the cost savings available from using energy more efficiently.
Billions in opportunities
A 2012 report for the federal government found that Australian industry could cut its energy use by 11% without adversely affecting business activity, saving A$3.3 billion in the process. Doing so would also cut 15 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Looking at medium to large industrial businesses across mining, manufacturing and transport, the study found that many of those savings could be made with a payback period of less than two years.
It is important to note that the study also found that there are often multiple barriers in the way of making those investments and savings. But there are plenty of examples of why it’s worth the effort to overcome those barriers, as case studies published last year by the Department of Industry highlight…..The possibility of Australia’s main renewable energy scheme being watered down or scrapped sends a negative message to investors in wind, solar and other renewable generation options. For example, Meridian Energy has already stated it will not invest further in renewable energy in Australia if the RET is scrapped.
Australia needs to build a more innovative industry and manufacturing base for the future, including creating more jobs in nanotechnology and biotechnology. It’s in Australia’s interests not to be left behind in the growth industries of the future – and those include renewable energy. http://theconversation.com/how-to-save-business-billions-without-cutting-renewable-jobs-23528
High electricity prices due to network costs, not carbon tax
Michael West: Study shines a light into dark corners of electricity pricingIf Tony Abbott truly wants to achieve lower power prices, he will need to be better advised. He could start by recognising for instance that it is not the carbon tax and renewable energy costs that are primarily responsible for energy price hikes. The culprit is network costs; and it is his own state governments that are making the killing. http://www.theage.com.au/business/study-shines-a-light-into-dark-corners-of-electricity-pricing-20140223-33ah7.html
Abbott govt will today try to block Clean Energy Regulator
Carbon credit crunch as federal government takes first step to scrap the tax THE DAILY TELEGRAPH FEBRUARY 24, 2014 THE federal government will today take the first step in scrapping the carbon tax by introducing a surprise regulation to cancel an auction of billions of dollars of carbon credits.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt will block the Clean Energy Regulator from selling any more credits to businesses, which was to be conducted before June this year. In an unexpected move that will take Labor and the Greens by surprise, a regulation signed secretly last week will be tabled in both houses of parliament this morning.
……, the move will also force Labor leader Bill Shorten to side with the Greens in the senate to veto the government……http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/carbon-credit-crunch-as-federal-government-takes-first-step-to-scrap-the-tax/story-fni0xqrc-12268354407
As the Abbott govt promotes climate denialism, USA and China take climate change seriously
US Secretary of State John Kerry travelled to Jakarta. He delivered a forceful speech on Sunday describing climate change as ”perhaps the world’s most fearsome weapon of mass destruction”
Tony Abbott can no longer turn his back on this weapon of mass destruction Peter Hartcher SYDNEY MORNING HERALD POLITICAL AND INTERNATIONAL EDITOR 19 Feb 14 On the same weekend Prime Minister Tony Abbott was touring drought-stricken areas, some of which are suffering once-in-a-century rainlessness, a couple of pretty interesting things happened in the global approach to climate change.
China and the US signed an agreement to address climate change and to work towards a joint platform for global negotiations. Continue reading
Even THE AUSTRALIAN knows that Tony Abbott’s “Direct Action” policy is adud
Direct action to miss the mark GRAHAM LLOYD THE AUSTRALIAN FEBRUARY 19, 2014 THE Abbott government’s direct action plan would result in greater domestic carbon dioxide emissions savings than Labor’s carbon price, according to new research by carbon advisory firm RepuTex.
The savings were unlikely to be enough, however, to meet Australia’s 5 per cent emissions reductions target by 2020 without significant changes.,,,(Subscribers only) http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/direct-action-to-miss-the-mark/story-e6frg6xf-1226830949811#
Australia’s opportunity for new industries – renewable energy
Renewable energy great solution to void in industry, Pierre Mars SMH, 12 Feb 14 “…Australia has such a nascent industry, renewable energy. Further, once the capital costs are recovered, recurring costs are low: sun, wind, waves and hot rocks are free and abundant in Australia, providing low cost energy as a competitive advantage for future industry.
Unfortunately, the Abbott government’s policies on climate change will strangle this industry at birth so Australia may be importing renewable energy technologies instead of exporting them.: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-letters/renewable-energy-great-solution-to-void-in-industry-20140212-32i8t.html#ixzz2tbjZJeo6
Author Bill Gammage to launch festival
Keynote speaker to address Aboriginal land management Feb. 14, 2014, One of Australia’s greatest historians is set to be keynote speaker at an upcoming dinner launching the Festival of International Understanding.
Mr Ryan said Prof Gammage’s research on Aboriginal land management, including fire-stick farming, will resonate with many different audiences in Cowra.
“We have a large Aboriginal population, we also have a lot of people interested in conservation farming and we’ve got an Aboriginal men’s group who are looking to do mosaic burning here in Cowra with the assistance of the Local Land Services, so it’s really appropriate,” Mr Ryan said……..http://www.cowraguardian.com.au/story/2086570/keynote-speaker-to-address-aboriginal-land-management/?cs=12
South Australian election to end support for renewable energy?
In the current campaigning South Australia, renewables are hardly mentioned. They do not yet feature in any of the major parties policy platforms, and nor are they likely too. This is despite the fact that in South Australia nearly one in five houses has modules on the roof, and rooftop solar contributes more than 15 per cent of electricity on some days, and recently has been contributing more than 10 
per cent for more than 6 daylight hours.
Even with the likely roll-out of rooftop solar, and more wind farms (depending on the fate of the RET, which is not an election issue yet either), the state is likely to be the first to reach 50 per cent, and could do this by 2020, as several government reports have also concluded.
Australia may lose last mainland state supportive of renewableshttp://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/australia-may-lose-last-mainland-state-supportive-renewables-98625 By Giles Parkinson on 7 February 2014 The public feuding within the ruling Labor Party in South Australia in this past week confirmed to many that the last Labor state government in mainland Australia is about to lose power. And with it will go the last government openly supportive of renewable energy.
Voters go to the polls in South Australia and Tasmania on March 15, and the Labor Premiers in both states may be replaced by their conservative opponents. Continue reading
Audio: Tony Abbott’s war on renewable energy
Audio Prime Minister vows to revisit renewable energy target http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2013/s3939181.htm Stephanie Smail reported this story on Thursday, February 6, 2014 ELEANOR HALL: The Prime Minister is vowing to look closely at changing Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET), as Queensland’s biggest energy generator warns that the target is pushing up costs in the industry…..In its submission to the Federal Government’s Energy White Paper, Stanwell blames energy policies, including the renewable energy target and the carbon tax, for its soaring costs……
Mr Abbott agrees that Australia has become one of the world’s most expensive countries for energy.
He says the carbon tax needs to go and other energy policies might need tweaking…..
STEPHANIE SMAIL: Kane Thornton from the Clean Energy Council says there’s no evidence to support claims the renewable energy target is to blame for soaring power prices.
He says a move to overhaul the target would be a backward step.
KANE THORNTON: We would see a fairly significant impact on the amount of new renewable energy that came into the energy sector in Australia and that would obviously therefore have to increase our exposure to both that old coal-fired power generation but also higher cost gas generation.
That would ultimately mean that we’d be exposed over the longer term to higher retail electricity prices because of that increased cost of gas and also obviously the carbon footprint from our energy sector would clearly trend upwards again…….
STEPHANIE SMAIL: The Federal Government’s Energy White Paper is due to wrap up in September.
Tony Abbott a bad representative for Australia
At Davos, Tony Abbott ignored the main focus of this global meeting, which was about climate change
Tony Abbott: Bad Prime Minister, New Politics, FEBRUARY 3, 2014 by EDDY JOKOVICH “……. on another new level of arrogance was the speech Abbott made at the Word Economic Forum in Davos. I mean, just who was that speech aimed at? For a domestic audience? Surely, there aren’t enough stupid people in Australia to be receptive to that type of economic simplicity. It was dreadful. It was woeful. The small business shopkeeper mentality came to the fore. And it would be no way to manage a country’s economy.
Yet, the mainstream media reported this as some kind of economic revelation, bravery, and setting the course for a brilliant economic future. A more critical and accurate assessment of Abbott’s performance comes from Mike Seccombe at The Global Mail (‘Abbott’s Davos Moment’)……..http://www.newpolitics.com.au/tony-abbott-bad-prime-ministerhttp://www.newpolitics.com.au/tony-abbott-bad-prime-minister
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 