Australia lagging behind in electric cars, though they save lives and cut costs
6 October 2018 Deaths from air pollution would be prevented and the Morrison government would meet its pledge to make electricity more reliable and affordable if more Australians drove electric cars, but a lack of political will is holding back the benefits.That is the widespread view expressed to a Senate probe into electric vehicles in Australia. Electric car maker Tesla, headed by controversial entrepreneur Elon Musk, is among those who assert that “government leadership” is the main barrier to increasing electric vehicle uptake in Australia, while the government’s own infrastructure adviser warned that Australians “risk being left behind” in the global transition.
Australia trails the world in the adoption of electric vehicles. Just 2284 were sold last year – 0.2 per cent of total vehicle sales. This is largely attributed to a lack of vehicle choice, fears about limited driving range and higher upfront costs than traditional cars.
In contrast, electric vehicles make up about 20 per cent of new sales in Norway, and are expected to reach 30 per cent of sales in China by 2030.
The Senate inquiry, chaired by independent South Australian senator Tim Storer, is investigating the benefits and opportunities of electric vehicles in Australia.
It is broadly acknowledged that electric vehicles improve air quality, help address climate change, boost public health and are cheaper to run than conventional vehicles.
……The Morrison government said these two outcomes – making electricity more reliable and affordable – would be its “unrelenting” focus following the demise of the National Energy Guarantee. However the government provided only limited support for electric-vehicle adoption.
Tesla told the inquiry that thousands of Australians had placed deposits for its model 3 sedan and research showed 50 per cent of Australians would consider an electric vehicle for their next purchase.
But it said governments must help ensure Australians could access charging infrastructure and a wide range of vehicle models, and reduce financial and logistical hurdles.
“The main barrier to increasing electric vehicle uptake in Australia is not consumer appetite; rather it is clear government leadership,” Tesla wrote.
The NRMA, ClimateWorks and the Electric Vehicle Council also called on governments to act to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles in various ways, such as implementing vehicle emissions standards, supporting the establishment of charging infrastructure and setting targets for government fleets. ……
The Senate committee is due to report in December. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/electric-cars-would-save-lives-and-cut-costs-but-australians-risk-being-left-behind-20180914-p503th.html
Greens propose 30 renewable energy zones, backed by grid fund
REneweconomy 3 October 2018 The Australian Greens are proposing to create up to 
30 special renewable energy zones across Australia, backed by a $2.8 billon grid transformation fund to help drive the transition towards 100 per cent renewables.
Morrison government cynically tries to hide the truth on greenhouse gas emissions
Our emissions reduction target of 26-28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 is woefully inadequate and is not aligned with what the science says is necessary to effectively tackle climate change. Rather than doing it at “a canter” we’re like the champion sprinter, Chautauqua, stuck in the barriers.
Australia is one of the most vulnerable developed countries in the world to the impacts of climate change.
A cynical attempt to avoid scrutiny https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/climate-change/a-cynical-attempt-to-avoid-scrutiny-20181001-p5074d.html, By Martin Rice, 1 October 2018 —
It had held onto the information for months, seemingly waiting for the right time to “take out the trash”. The news for it, and for us, was grim. Australia’s greenhouse gas pollution levels have risen yet again.
The reporting of Australia’s rising emissions has been buried on a number of occasions, with data released on Christmas Eve, on weekends, holiday periods, or during major events. It’s a cynical attempt to avoid scrutiny.
For climate policy to be a winner, greenhouse gas pollution levels must be trending downwards; there are no Norm Smith or Clive Churchill medals for the federal government, with emissions increasing by 1.3 per cent for the year to March 2018. Worse still, greenhouse gas pollution has risen three years in a row – we’re chasing the wooden spoon.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the ABC Insiders program that people “choose and pick their figures to make a political argument”. This is not a political argument. The figures tell us very clearly that emissions are going up.
The Prime Minister also repeated his claim that Australia will meet its Paris obligations “at a canter”. There are numerous reports – from the Australia Institute last week and the UN Environment Program last year – that outline why Australia won’t meet its 2030 Paris commitments.
Our emissions reduction target of 26-28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 is woefully inadequate and is not aligned with what the science says is necessary to effectively tackle climate change. Rather than doing it at “a canter” we’re like the champion sprinter, Chautauqua, stuck in the barriers.
Australia is one of the most vulnerable developed countries in the world to the impacts of climate change. Heatwaves are becoming longer, hotter and starting earlier in the year. In the populous south of the country, dangerous bushfire weather is increasing, and cool season rainfall is dropping off, stretching firefighting resources, putting lives at risk and creating challenges for the agriculture industry.
The unprecedented bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 and 2017 resulted in mass coral mortality, with the 2016 bleaching event at least 175 times more likely to occur due to intensifying climate change. Not only is the reef a natural icon of global significance, it’s a multi-billion dollar economic asset, contributing around $6.4 billion to the Australian economy a year (of which $5.7 billion comes from the tourism industry), and supporting 64,000 direct and indirect jobs. Climate change is putting this industry, and the broader economy, at risk.
NSW and Queensland are experiencing severe drought conditions, with dire consequences for farming and rural communities. Southern Australia, particularly along the eastern coast and hinterlands, could experience devastating bushfire conditions this season. There would be little reprieve for firefighters exhausted from battling fires in the height of the Australian winter (yes, winter!) or helping suppress fires overseas.
The burning of coal, oil and gas is causing temperatures to rise at unprecedented rates and is making extreme weather events more intense, damaging and costly. The window of opportunity to effectively tackle climate change is closing fast. We need to rapidly and deeply cut our emissions.
The solutions are available. We need to accelerate the transition to clean, affordable and reliable renewables and storage technologies and ramp up other climate solutions in the transport, agriculture and other sectors.
At a time when credible federal government climate policy remains missing in action, it has never been more important for transparent greenhouse gas pollution information. Yet the federal government has consistently withheld or hidden vital emissions data; it’s a serial offender when it comes to climate censorship.
Martin Rice is the Climate Council’s acting chief executive and head of research.
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science chief economist enthusiastic about the lithium industry
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Lithium ‘buzz’ could be worth hundreds of billions to Australia, WA Today By Hamish Hastie, 2 October 2018 —Australia has the potential to capture more wealth and jobs from its lithium sector by moving down the battery supply chain but this would be contingent on a number of factors, one of the federal government’s top economists thinks.
In his resources and energy quarterly update Department of Industry, Innovation and Science chief economist Mark Cully said lithium and battery demand could result in billions of dollars for a country that grabbed the opportunity………https://www.watoday.com.au/business/the-economy/lithium-buzz-could-be-worth-hundreds-of-billions-to-australia-20181002-p507cb.html |
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PM Morrison’s dodgy claim about Australia meeting Paris climate commitment
PM claims Australia will meet Paris target ‘in a canter’ despite emissions climbing
Morrison says rate of increase not as high as previous years and renewables investment will ensure Australia meets commitment, Guardian, Amy Remeikis, 30 Sept 18, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise, but Scott Morrison seized on the silver lining, maintaining Australia would meet its Paris commitment, despite the government having no legislated instrument to help it get there.
Figures released on Friday showed Australia’s emissions increased 1.3% in the year to March 2018, up all sectors – except land use and electricity, where renewable technologies were having an impact on the latter.
The prime minister jumped on the rate of the increase not being as high as in previous years……..
Morrison said Australia would meet its Paris targets “in a canter”, largely based on investment in renewable energy technologies, despite concerns a lack of legislated instrument may impact investor confidence in the sector. …..
“We still have large-scale and small-scale policies there. We still have the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and we still have the Emissions Reduction Fund for the period that it’s currently for, and we’re on track to hit it.”…..
Critics of the government’s stance have repeatedly called for legislation to ensure Australia meets the targets it agreed to when Tony Abbott signed the nation up to the Paris agreement.
But with the national energy guarantee a casualty of the leadership spillwithin the Liberal party, the government has no legislated instrument to ensure emission reductions, and no plans to create one…..
He said lowering electricity prices remained the government’s priority and criticised Labor for its policy. ….Labor has said it will look to legislate a version of the national energy guarantee the government abandoned as policy to ensure Australia does meet its targets. The Greens announced its parliamentary team will take a “hard line” on making sure any future Labor government does not back down.
Research released earlier this month found that emission reductions targets were not responsible for driving up power prices. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/sep/30/pm-claims-australia-will-meet-paris-target-in-a-canter-despite-emissions-climbing
Great Barrier Reef scientists told to focus on projects to make government look good
Emails tabled in Senate inquiry recommended ‘trade-offs’ to Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Guardian, Ben Smee @BenSmee 26 Sep 2018
Great Barrier Reef scientists were told they would need to make “trade-offs” to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, including focusing on projects that would look good for the government and encourage more corporate donations, emails tabled in the Senate reveal.
The documents, including cabinet briefing notes, contain significant new details about the workings of the foundation and the government decision to award it a $443m grant, including:
- The executives of mining, gas and chemicals companies – and international financial houses that actively back fossil-fuel projects – were among the guests at a six-star retreat hosted by the foundation less than a month after the grant was announced;
- The media companies Foxtel and Fairfax and the tech giant Google are among a tightly held list of donors to the foundation;
- The only CSIRO employee contacted about the grant before the announcement in April was in Patagonia, and did not get the email. Documents have previously revealed that the government’s peak science agency was cut out of the decision to award the grant;
- In August, as scrutiny of the grant intensified, public servants pushed to block a long-planned meeting between the then science minister, Michaelia Cash, and the head of the foundation, Anna Marsden, because of concern about the “optics”.
Emails sent by staff at the Australian Institute of Marine Science outline how government expectations, the ability to leverage private donations and public perceptions “may drive the [foundation] to prioritise shorter-term research initiatives in order to demonstrate progress and return on investment”.
“Where it becomes challenging is that … interventions with the largest future benefit also take the longest to develop,” the institute’s executive director of strategic policy, David Mead, wrote in an email to colleagues.
“Among other trade-offs, we will need to determine to what degree we focus on quick wins or whether we progress longer-term strategic interventions and accept that we will only partially progress them during the next five years (perhaps with little outward visibility of success/progress).”
The emails also reveal an initial state of uncertainty about how a $100m allocation for reef restoration and adaptation would be handled……. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/sep/26/great-barrier-reef-scientists-told-to-focus-on-projects-to-make-government-look-good?CMP=share_btn_tw.
Lobbyists for nuclear-related firms hold key positions in National Party
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Nuclear industry-related firms – Heathgate Resources, General Dynamics, Delta Electricity, St Baker Energy Innovation Fund – some of the firms represented by the two lobbying firms mentioned in the article below. Top Nationals pair hold senior roles at big-business lobby firms Katrina Hodgkinson and Larry Anthony – as well key Labor and Liberal figures – are part of an industry with little oversight
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‘Welcome’ to Steve Ciobo, the new Australian Minister for the Arms Trade
Labor holds meeting with industry, on emissions reduction, as COAL-ition holds private dinner with coal-nuclear lobbyist Trevor St Baker
Australia’s Minister For The Coal Lobby, Angus Taylor’s false statement about carbon emissions
Claim we’re on track to meet emissions targets is false, New Daily, James Fernyhough,
Here is what he wrote in the Australian Financial Review on Tuesday:
“[E]missions reductions are the least of our problems, with every prospect we will reach the 26 per cent reduction below 2005 levels ahead of schedule and without interventions.”
This, he implied, justified the Morrison government’s decision to do nothing to reduce carbon emissions, and focus instead exclusively on price and reliability.
But The New Daily looked into Mr Taylor’s claim, and the evidence suggests it is in one sense downright false, and in another seriously misleading.
Let’s address the seriously misleading aspect first.
Under the Paris Agreement, Australia has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030.
According to Mr Taylor’s department, Australia is on track to woefully miss the 2030 target.
On page 11 of this document from December last year, the Department of Environment and Energy projects that if no new emissions-reduction policies are implemented (as none have been), our greenhouse emissions will be just 5 per cent below 2005 levels – not 26 per cent, as Mr Taylor seems to claim.
Mr Taylor’s figures appear at a glance to be off by a massive 21 percentage points……….
The Morrison government has scrapped the NEG – the policy that triggered Malcolm Turnbull’s downfall – and has made it clear it will not replace it with anything.
So we are once more back to where we were – on track to miss all our emissions reductions targets.
Minister Taylor’s office did not respond when presented with the evidence that his statement was false. https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/finance-news/2018/09/18/energy-ministers-claim-carbon-emissions-false/
Oh dear! Coal-loving Angus Taylor’s electorate wants action on climate change
Energy minister’s electorate backs higher emissions reduction target, poll shows
ReachTel poll of Angus Taylor’s voters finds 42.3% want Australia to cut emissions more deeply, Guardian, Katharine Murphy Political editor@murpharoo19 Sep 2018 More voters in the electorate of the new energy minister, Angus Taylor, support an emissions reduction target for electricity and a higher national target than the Paris commitment than oppose those positions.
Australian government ‘won’t be replacing’ renewable energy target – Angus Taylor, (Minister For Fossil Fuel Energy)
Angus Taylor confirms government ‘won’t be replacing’ renewable energy target Canberra Times, 18 Sept 18, Energy Minister Angus Taylor has confirmed the Morrison government will not replace the renewable energy target after it peaks in 2020, officially creating a policy vacuum that opponents say will stifle clean energy investment and lead to higher prices.
In question time on Tuesday, Greens MP Adam Bandt challenged Mr Taylor to extend the target until 2022 to avoid a disastrous plunge in renewables investment when the current target ends.
“The renewable energy target is going to wind down from 2020, it reaches its peak in 2020, and we won’t be replacing that with anything,” Mr Taylor said……..
“We will drive prices down, that’s our policy, those opposite will drive them up,” he said.
An annual index released on Tuesday put Australia in the bottom three ranking for environmental policy among wealthy nations.
The Center for Global Development’s commitment to development index said the environment was “one of Australia’s weaker policy fields … largely due to its poor performance curbing climate change”….
Defence officials become military lobbyists
| Defence officials turn lobbyists, sometimes weeks after leaving government
Eight former defence figures, most high-ranking, are now lobbyists for military contractors, Guardian, Christopher Knaus, @knausc, 18 Sep 2018 Senior defence officials and military figures are taking paid jobs with firms lobbying for arms manufacturers, sometimes within weeks of leaving their government posts. Guardian Australia has identified eight former military officers or defence bureaucrats, most of whom were high-ranking, who have publicly registered themselves as lobbyists for firms that represent military contractors. But many other defence lobbyists operate largely in secret, either because they work directly for military contractors, or because they simply refuse to put themselves on the lobbyist register, avoiding scrutiny for themselves and their clients without any real repercussion. One recent example of a lobbyist who placed himself on the lobbyist register is Tyson Sara, a former assistant secretary in defence’s naval shipbuilding taskforce, whose role was described as “leading the implementation of the Australian naval shipbuilding plan”. Sara left defence in March and soon after joined lobbying powerhouse Cmax Advisory as its chief operating officer and vice-president for strategy and government. Cmax represents the shipbuilder Navantia Australia, defence contractor Northrop Grumman, and the Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems………. Military officers who held a rank above colonel or its equivalent are banned from lobbying for 12 months on “any matter they had official dealings with” during the last year of their employment. Senior executive service officers in the public service face the same cooling-off period. But the lobbying code of conduct, already weak by international standards, is rarely enforced and staff movements are poorly monitored. The code also fails to consider former defence employees who are employed directly by weapons companies, either as in-house lobbyists or senior executives. That means it does not apply to individuals such as Sean Costello, who worked as chief of staff to the then defence minister David Johnston between June 2014 and January 2015, as the government planned its $50bn future submarines program, according to evidence in Senate estimates. Costello left Johnston’s department and two months later became the chief executive of the Australian arm of French submarine manufacturer DCNS, a Senate committee heard. That company, now known as Naval Group, eventually won the submarines contract in 2016. In Senate estimates in 2015 Defence conceded that it was “a fair assumption” that Costello, in his role as chief of staff, would have had access to confidential documents and briefings on the submarine project. Defence said in evidence to the Senate that it provided Johnston’s office with 34 pieces of written advice relating to the submarine project in the time Costello worked in the office, on top of material provided to the minister in a daily briefing pack. ……. Tim Costello, chief advocate for World Vision and the executive director of Micah Australia, said the sheer value of defence contracts meant it was necessary to apply added scrutiny to the sector. “They are so lucrative,” Costello said. “It means that the transparency and accountability must be higher and commensurate with the goldfields they represent of taxpayer dollars.” The Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick said it was clear the lobbying code needed to be enhanced for former defence personnel. Patrick said senior defence personnel were often exposed to privileged and sensitive information on policy, strategy, and commercial and tender requirements. “While I wouldn’t suggest that this information is shared amongst a lobbyist’s clients, when former officials service their clients, it’s simply not possible to unknow this information when formulating advice,” he said.
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Scott Morrison’s lump of coal not enough: he needs a fairy tale on climate change
Scott Morrison needs a plan to cut emissions but all he has is a fairytale
Tony Abbott – the mad monk and Ziggy Switkowski are spruiking nuclear power – again!
Abbott’s election advice to Morrison: it’s time to hit the nuclear switch https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/abbotts-election-advice-to-morrison-its-time-to-hit-the-nuclear-switch/news-story/11b479d55f4d52ce7e84a2a3f19390b2 JOE KELLYPOLITICAL REPORTER @joekellyoz 15 Sep 18
Tony Abbott has called on the Morrison government to sharpen the political contest with Labor ahead of the election by moving to lift the prohibition on nuclear power, as Bill Shorten leaves the door open to reviving the now “dead” national energy guarantee.
The former chair of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and current chair of NBN Co, Ziggy Switkowski, told The Weekend Australian yesterday it was sensible to clear the regulatory pathway for the next generation of small nuclear reactors.
A revived debate over nuclear power was also backed by North Queensland MP Warren Entsch, a supporter of the NEG, who said all elements of energy policy should be on the table.
Speaking on 2GB radio in Sydney yesterday, Mr Abbott said there was “absolutely no reason why, when it’s economic, we shouldn’t have nuclear power generation in Australia”.
“One of the things that we could easily do is go into the parliament (and) seek to change the law here. When you’re seeking a third term, when you’re defending a one-seat majority, when you’ve got a few self-inflicted wounds, when you’ve got the unions and GetUp and the Greens as well as Labor against you, you’ve got to be prepared to create a contest.”
The push to revive the nuclear debate follows Scott Morrison declaring the NEG dead, while opposition energy spokesman Mark Butler this week held out the prospect of Labor moving to revive the policy in government following engagement with industry.
Dr Switkowski said the future for nuclear power was “likely to be defined by the arrival of small modular reactors (SMRs) of a 100MW scale” that could provide power for up to 100,000 people.
“They will be affordable, low-risk and an investment that business will find attractive,” he said. “That is likely to happen later in the 2020s, but will have special relevance to Australia where we have towns and industries and mines and desalination plants, all of (which) could be served by one of these SMRs.
“The opportunities for … large reactors have now largely disappeared … It is, however, very sensible to clear away the regulatory obstacles to developing business plans and evaluating technologies in order to have an option in the 2020s to adopt these SMRs.”
Mr Entsch told The Weekend Australian a fresh discussion on lifting the 1998 prohibition on nuclear power “made sense”, saying technological improvements made it possible to build smaller and safer reactors. “The reality is that nuclear power … is clean and green,” he said. “There is zero emissions. If they made a decision to do it, there wouldn’t be an objection from me.”
LNP MP Luke Howarth, in the Queensland seat of Petrie, said the nation “should be having the discussion about how to build a nuclear industry” because it would help drive the “jobs of the future”.
Others rejected the push to revive the debate. South Australian Liberal MP Tony Pasin said: “Whilst I respect the view of Mr Abbott, in my view our government’s policy agenda needs to be focused on proposals which will put serious downward pressure on energy prices over the course of the immediate term.”
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 