Clean energy target: how the states might make it work Victoria and South Australia have suggested a states-led initiative if the federal government continues to stall on a clean energy target. Could it work?, Guardian, Michael Slezak, 14 July 17,
Before Friday’s meeting of energy ministers, for which the federal government refused to put a CET on the agenda, Labor-led Victoria and South Australia called for consideration of a linked-up state-based scheme, and urged Coalition-led NSWto join up. Given recent comments by the NSW energy minister, Don Harwin, who indicated support for the CET, such a move seems plausible………https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/14/clean-energy-target-how-the-states-might-make-it-work
July 15, 2017
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics |
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States harden threat to got it alone on clean energy target, THE AUSTRALIAN, 15 July 17 ROSIE LEWIS, Reporter, Canberra @rosieslewis and SID MAHER, NSW Editor, Sydney@sidmaher
Labor states have ramped up pressure on the Turnbull government to adopt a clean energy target but refused to lift bans on gas exploration, triggering warnings from industry leaders that time was running out for a national approach to lowering electricity costs and securing supply.
A crucial meeting of the nation’s state and federal energy ministers yesterday signed 49 of the 50 recommendations handed down by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, but Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT stuck to their threat to “go it alone” on a target and moved to “immediately develop and design” options for implementing the mechanism………
The Australian Energy Council, representing major gas and electricity businesses, said brokering a national and bipartisan CET was fundamental to overcoming the energy crisis.
“Successful reform and lower energy bills will only come from bipartisan support and national implementation. Investment behind this reform will run for decades, so we need to find broad and enduring agreement to give it the confidence to proceed.’’
Key Finkel recommendations agreed to at the Council of Australian Governments Energy Council meeting in Brisbane include an obligation on intermittent sources of generation such as wind and solar to provide appropriate levels of backup power to guard against blackouts; a requirement for large generators to give at least three years’ notice before closing; and the establishment of an energy security board to scrutinise the National Electricity Market’s health, security and reliability.
The states also backed the federal government’s decision to abolish the Limited Merits Review — a tool the government says has been used by power companies to increase electricity prices — and accelerate the timetable for gas pipelines reform.
The price and availability of long-term electricity retail contracts will be published so big consumers can understand the market they are competing in.
Grattan Institute energy director Tony Wood said the only factors likely to drive any easing of prices were a decision by the Queensland government to order its generators to lower their returns, and the final commissioning of the Gladstone LNG export facilities, which could see more gas made available for domestic use and ease gas prices……
The Australian Pipelines and Gas Association was dismayed that energy ministers had brought forward reforms to pipeline operations by a month. Information disclosure and arbitration rules will now begin on August 1.http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/states-harden-threat-to-got-it-alone-on-clean-energy-target/news-story/2cd2a87bd563c1e940aeeee83a831cc2
July 15, 2017
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ACT, energy, politics, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria |
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Government’s letter to conservation groups has ominous implications, Guardian, Lenore Taylor, @lenoretaylor New reporting rules seem to represent a big win for the campaign by the mining sector and conservative politicians to stifle environmental advocacy. 15 July 2017
The environment department has recently begun sending letters to conservation groups registered as eligible for tax deductible donations, as they do every year. But this year the correspondence is different, in a disturbing way.
In the past the groups, which include all the big names such as the Australian Conservation Society, The Wilderness Society, Lock the Gate, Greenpeace etc, as well as small local conservation organisations, were simply asked to reveal the total expenditure from their public fund. This year they have also been asked to break down their expenditure into the amounts spent on “on ground environmental remediation”, “campaign and advocacy”, “research” and other administration.
It sounds like a boring technicality but it seems to represent a significant victory in the long-running campaign by the mining industry and conservative politicians to hobble advocacy for the environment.
According to the mining industry’s argument, enthusiastically adopted by conservative politicians including the resources minister, Matt Canavan, environmental groups should not be able to claim tax deductions for all the donations they get from members of the public who want to support their campaigns.
Canavan, while a backbencher, conducted his own deep investigation of green groups’ activities for a previous Senate inquiry, concluding that tax deductibility should be pared back……
The mining industry peak bodies believe they should themselves be free to campaign for public subsidies for new coal mines or coal-fired generators, or to spend millions to overturn a mining tax, in the interests of, and funded by, their cashed-up multinational members.
But they say the environmental groups that argue for the interests of the natural environment should be able to receive tax deductible donations only for “on ground environmental remediation” – planting trees and the like – and not for public debate and advocacy.
That’s why the new reporting requirements are seen as ominous……..
But if you believe Australia is a richer place for doing its part to address global warming, for limiting tree clearing, protecting endangered species or the Great Barrier Reef, or for insisting on proper remediation of mine sites, then it’s taxpayer money well spent. And, by definition, that’s a belief the hundreds of thousands of Australians who donate to environmental groups share.
And if you believe better decisions are reached when politicians, and the public, hear all the arguments, not just those from businesses with expert lobbying teams, why should a self-interested campaign by the mining industry get to disadvantage, even silence, all the voices that disagree with their business interests? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/15/governments-letter-to-conservation-groups-has-ominous-implications
July 15, 2017
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Queensland LNP pledges to promote coal and ‘resist environmental groups’
Proposals before LNP state convention include pulling out of Paris climate agreement and banning migrants from nations that recognise sharia, Guardian, Joshua Robertson, 14 July 17, Queensland’s Liberal National Party has resolved to use its next stint in state government to push for the promotion of coal mining and “fully resist environmental groups” that stand in the way.
The pro-coal vow was one of the opening resolutions of an LNP state convention set to rule on up to 77 rank and file proposals for new policy, including calling on the federal government to echo Donald Trump’s US administration by pulling out of the Paris climate agreement.
A mixed agenda from the three-day event also includes calls to ban immigration from nations that recognise sharia, privatise the ABC, and condemn public spending on “altering traffic lights for ideological purposes”.
One proposed resolution calls on the federal government to ensure Adani’s corporate structure makes its tax liability similar to Australian companies before it is given any loan through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.
That proposal is from the LNP’s Moggill branch, in Brisbane’s leafy, well-heeled western suburbs.
Moira Williams, from the activist group Stop Adani Brisbane, said this showed “that the grassroots of the LNP are concerned about Adani’s reliance on tax havens, and they know that lending $1 billion of taxpayers’ money to this company is a risk for the taxpayer”.
“That the Adani Group has a complex network of companies that extends to a global tax haven, the Cayman Islands, is no secret. It is no wonder that the LNP membership are concerned about the potential for Adani to receive significant public funds from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.”
The first vote of the convention on Friday backed a resolution from the rural Burnett branch to call for “Get Up and other blatantly political organisations” to register as third parties with electoral authorities to enable scrutiny of funding sources, advertising and political activities.
The convention, which sets official party policy for consideration but is not binding on the LNP parliamentary arm, is the last before a Queensland election due by May 2018.
A proposal from the Groom branch near Toowoomba called on the federal government to “pull out of the Paris Climate Accord as it weakens Australia’s sovereignty and economy without helping the environment in any measurable way”.
The Queensland environment minister, Steven Miles, said the fact the LNP was debating a withdrawal from the “historic Paris climate treaty … underlined the differences between Labor and the LNP on climate policy”.
“In the very same week as Queensland Labor announces we will decarbonise Queensland’s economy in line with the treaty, the LNP wants to pull out of it,” he told Guardian Australia.
“This explains [opposition leader] Tim Nicholls’ hysterical response to our policy. He’s hopelessly beholden to a backward looking party base. Increasingly the LNP is the party of fossil fuels, while Labor accepts the need to transition our economy and is taking steps to do so.”…… https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/14/queensland-lnp-pledges-to-promote-coal-and-resist-environmental-groups
July 15, 2017
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politics, Queensland |
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Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund set up to funnel billions to Adani, Independent Australia Mark Zanker 15 July 2017, The NAIF was set up to allow the Coalition Government to pump billions of dollars of public money into Adani’s Galilee Basin coal mine and other coal mining projects, writes former public servant Mark Zanker.
THE Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility(NAIF) was set up ostensibly is to fund the states and territories to carry out infrastructure works to assist economic growth and increased population in northern Australia. However, a close look at the bill, and the people and circumstances surrounding it, suggests that it is, in fact, a tiny fig leaf behind which the Federal Government seeks to hide its desire to shovel billions of dollars of taxpayers money into Adani’s Galilee Basin coal mine project.
The legislation precludes the appointment to the board of representatives of traditional owners, pastoralists, scientists, environmentalists, the tourism industry, and historians. These groups also have significant expertise in northern Australia — pastoral, cultural, spiritual, historical and scientific. Pastoralism, aquaculture, tourism, including conventional, cultural and ecological tourism, are very important industries in northern Australia, but none of them have a seat at the table here.
With the possible exception of Innisfail Mayor Bill Shannon, the board members of the NAIFall have strong links to the mining industry. Chair Sharon Warburton was a board member of Gina Rinehart’s Fortescue Metals Group, and previously worked at Rio Tinto and other resources companies. Continue reading →
July 15, 2017
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics |
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Zibelman is not on board the coal-power train with former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and Jones.
Views such as Jones’s are alien to virtually anyone who works in – or closely observes – the energy industry.
Energy executives are impressed. “I was quite buoyed by Audrey’s approach on demand response,” said Steven Neave, head of electricity networks for Powercor and Citipower, the largest Victorian distributor, who attended the CEDA lunch.
Zibelman said while the CET and consistent national policy would be useful for energy companies – because it would make their investment decisions easier – it wouldn’t make much difference to AEMO’s actions because the shift to renewables is happening and they have to deal with it.
How has she done this? In one word, “energy”.
Energy policy has become one of the most polarising issues in the country. Electricity and gas prices are soaring, blackouts and shortages plagued South Australia, NSW and Victoria last spring and summer, and debates about whether wind and solar power are to blame – even whether they can “kill people” – have hit fever pitch.
Zibelman landed in this cauldron in March, fresh from New York, to run the Australian Energy Market Operator – one of three agencies responsible for delivering stable, secure and affordable energy markets.
She is a cleanskin in the local energy debate but is hugely experienced, most recently as chair of the New York state utilities regulator–- responsible for implementing New York’s pro-wind and solar “Reforming the Energy Vision” plan – under Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo. Before that she was chief operating officer of PJM, a huge utility company covering 13 north-eastern states and Washington DC. Continue reading →
July 15, 2017
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Josh Frydenberg warns states against going it 
alone on clean energy target, The Age, Adam Gartrell, 14 July 17 The Turnbull government has warned the states their threat to “go it alone” on a clean energy target will only create chaos and inefficiency in the nation’s electricity system.
Energy ministers will clash on Friday as the states seek to pressure the Turnbull government to decide whether it will adopt a clean energy target – the key recommendation of Chief Scientist Alan Finkel’s review of Australia’s energy security – despite ongoing internal divisions over the policy proposal.
Led by South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis, the Labor states on Thursday threatened to bypass the federal government altogether. Without swift progress on Friday they would ask the Australian Energy Market Commission to model how a state-based target would work, Mr Koutsantonis said.
“The time to act is now – Australian households and businesses cannot be held hostage by the impotence of the federal Liberal government,” he said.
But federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg cautioned against the move, urging patience from the states…..
The renewed debate over Finkel came as a Liberal backbencher came under heavy fire for suggesting “people will die” as a result of renewable energy subsidies……http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/josh-frydenberg-warns-states-against-going-it-alone-on-clean-energy-target-20170713-gxafok.html
July 14, 2017
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, energy, politics |
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What Elon Musk’s investment tells us about our energy crisis, The Age, Perry Williams and Jason Scott JULY 14 2017 – Elon Musk’s intervention in Australia’s energy crisis is widening a divide over the future of coal.
The billionaire Tesla founder, who’s promised to help solve South Australia’s clean energy obstacles, sees no place for the fossil fuel. That conflicts with the federal government’s push for it remaining a mainstay source of electricity generation, as well as the “clean, beautiful coal” technologies that US President Donald Trump sees helping to save American mining jobs.
“Coal doesn’t have a long-term future,” Musk told reporters in Adelaide last week during a short trip to Australia. “The writing’s on the wall.” His declaration in energy-strapped South Australia, where the 46-year-old entrepreneur announced plans to build the world’s biggest battery to support the state’s blackout-plagued power grid, has rankled politicians.
Energy minister Josh Frydenberg, 45, accused the state of tapping a celebrity to paper over its patchy clean energy record. Tesla’s battery plan “is a lot of sizzle for very little sausage”, Frydenberg, a member of the conservative Liberal-led federal government, said on Monday. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, 50, said Musk’s plan “doesn’t make a hell of a lot of difference” to the nation’s struggles over energy security.
Most of Australia’s states and territories – free to determine their own energy and climate policies independent of the national government – beg to differ. Just hours after Musk’s announcement, the neighbouring state of Victoria closed the door on new coal-fired power stations, saying energy companies would rather invest in renewables.
Adani project
Queensland, where India’s Adani Group is planning to develop the $16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine, expects a move to clean energy will completely wipe out its carbon emissions by 2050.
Energy policy is a fraught subject with a push by the majority of Australians for more renewable power sources from the Australian majority is clashing with the government’s political imperative to keep a lid on soaring power prices. Currently, some 76 per cent of Australia’s electricity is drawn from coal-fired power stations which, while a cheap supply source, are at odds with a commitment to lower climate emissions……
The economics of building new coal plants don’t stack up and increasingly renewables will dominate base-load power, AGL chairman Jeremy Maycock said last week. Australians overwhelmingly want the government to focus on clean energy, according to a June poll by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute.
‘Highly improbable’
“It’s highly improbable that AGL will be constructing new coal-fired power stations because we don’t think the economics are likely to favour that,” Maycock said in a phone interview. “As the largest generator, we want to play our fair share in the country’s emissions reduction targets.”
For Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, banging the drum on coal is proving a treacherous task…….
the existing and perceived political and environmental costs attached to coal are deterring lenders.
“The high risk and cost associated with new coal plants make investors and financiers run a million miles from it in Australia,” said Ali Asghar, an analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Sydney. “The only way new coal could get built is if the government funds it and indemnifies any private entity against all future carbon risks.”
And doing so makes little sense, given that the cost of building cleaner, so-called high-efficiency, low-emission coal plants in Australia exceeds that of new projects relying on solar, wind, or gas, Asghar said.
“As solar and wind become cheaper and continue to undermine the economics of operating coal, investment in new coal plants become an even riskier proposition.” http://www.theage.com.au/business/energy/what-elon-musks-investment-tells-us-about-our-energy-crisis-20170714-gxb3i7.html
July 14, 2017
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy, politics, South Australia, Victoria |
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Stop trying to save the planet, Matthew Canavan tells Queensland government
Federal minister attracts ridicule after he says state should ‘concentrate on saving jobs today’ instead of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, Guardian, Michael Slezak, 13 July 17,[article includes many tweets as examples] The federal resources minister, Matthew Canavan, has attracted a slew of criticism after attacking the Queensland government for trying to “save the planet in 2050”.
On Tuesday, Queensland announced it would aim to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The announcement was far from radical, with identical pledges already made by the Coalition-led New South Wales government, as well as Labor-led Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.
But the move attracted the ire of Queensland-based Canavan, who tweeted: “Instead of trying to save the planet in 2050 the QLD labor should just concentrate on saving jobs today!”…….
it was unclear to many on Twitter why taking action on climate change and growing employment today would be seen as mutually exclusive aims.
Although Queensland’s announcement was unlikely to have much impact on Adani’s plans to build Australia’s biggest coalmine in the state, many people pointed out that coalmining produced relatively few jobs compared with those threatened by climate change.
Craig Kelly, the Liberal MP who chairs the Coalition’s backbench energy committee, was also criticised after he claimed renewable energy would lead to people dying of cold because it was pushing up energy prices.https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/13/stop-trying-to-save-the-planet-matthew-canavan-tells-queensland-government
July 14, 2017
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US anti-missile system THAAD ‘not really suitable’ for Australia http://www.afr.com/news/world/us-antimissile-system-thaad-not-really-suitable-for-australia-20170707-gx781e, 8 Jul 17 Australia is developing defences against missile attack but the US THAAD anti- missile system is “not really suitable” for Australia, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.
When asked about a possible Australian missile defence system against such threats as a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile, Mr Turnbull said the Australian focus was on protecting deployed forces in the field.
Speaking to reporters in Hamburg, where he’s attending the G20 summit, the prime minister said the answer to the Korean threat was the denuclearisation of North Korea.
“We are developing missile defences … but the focus is on protecting our deployed forces in the field.”
The question to Mr Turnbull was prompted by comments from former prime minister Kevin Rudd that Australia should consider deploying a missile defence system to defend against attack from a nuclear-armed North Korea. The latest North Korean missile tests have raised fears the regime’s weapons could reach parts of the US and northern Australia. Mr Rudd said that given north Korean developments, “Australia would be well advised to begin analysing ballistic missile defence needs, available technologies and possible deployment feasibility to northern Australia”.
Mr Turnbull said that in terms of a missile defence shield for Australia there had been talk of the THAAD system. “That’s not really suitable for our situation but I can assure you we are constantly examining how we can ensure that Australians are safe.”
The THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) system is a US Army anti- ballistic missile defence system. “I do want to stress this, the answer in respect of North Korea is the denuclearisation of North Korea and for it to stop its reckless and provocative conduct,” Mr Turnbull said. He said the nation overwhelmingly with the greater leverage over North Korea was
China.
July 8, 2017
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, weapons and war |
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Greenhouse gas pollution up, data released after FOI struggle reveal, SMH, Lucy Cormack, 8 Jul 17, The federal government has answered calls to release greenhouse gas pollution data it had been sitting on since last year.
Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg released the quarterly updates on Friday, less than 24 hours after a Fairfax Media exclusive revealed documents confirming the department had failed to release data for the two quarters leading up to the end of 2016.
The federal government has answered calls to release greenhouse gas pollution data it had been sitting on since last year.
Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg released the quarterly updates on Friday, less than 24 hours after a Fairfax Media exclusive revealed documents confirming the department had failed to release data for the two quarters leading up to the end of 2016……The whereabouts of last year’s pollution data was confirmed by documents obtained under freedom of information laws by the Australian Conservation Foundation, extracts of which were published by Fairfax Media on Thursday. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/greenhouse-gas-pollution-up-data-released-after-foi-struggle-reveal-20170707-gx6qy8.html
July 8, 2017
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FOI documents confirm government holding almost one year’s worth of pollution data, Brisbane Times, Lucy Cormack 7 July 17 The federal government has been keeping almost a year’s worth of pollution data secret, despite it being scheduled for release in May, documents obtained under freedom of information laws reveal.
Independent estimates suggest Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions have risen sharply since the government last released its quarterly data in December – a trend that would make the nation’s commitment to cutting emissions more disruptive and expensive.
Quarterly updates by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, described as “up-to-date information on emissions trends for business, policymakers and the public”, have been released 28 times since 2009, but not since last year.
Documents obtained under FOI by the Australian Conservation Foundation reveal that while the government possesses data on greenhouse pollution for the two quarters leading up to the end of last year, it has failed to release them……..http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/foi-documents-confirm-government-holding-almost-one-years-worth-of-pollution-data-20170706-gx5um3.html
July 8, 2017
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AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, secrets and lies |
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How the far Right have hijacked Australia’s energy policy, REneweconomy,
By Giles Parkinson on 5 July 2017 If you ever wondered just how comprehensively the Far Right has hijacked the Coalition’s energy policy, it’s worth reading the speech by
NSW energy minister Don Harwin we reported on last week. It’s a speech that might once have been made by prime minister Malcolm Turnbull – and in fact large parts of it, particularly the focus on energy efficiency and demand management, are exactly the sort of things Turnbull did talk about.
That was, however, before he was prime minister and became master of all he surveyed, apart from his own climate and energy policies. The thrust of Harwin’s speech was this: the era of baseload coal is coming to an end, fossil fuel plants are not a guarantee of reliability, wind and solar offer the cheapest forms of new generation, we need to look at storage, and we must not lose sight of the long-term climate targets.
Turnbull is not allowed to say any of these things, for fear of upsetting the Far Right. The sight of the craven apology offered by front bencher and government whip Christopher Pyne last weekend for daring to suggest that the moderates had some influence over policy matters was testimony to that.
The thrust of Harwin’s speech was this: the era of baseload coal is coming to an end, fossil fuel plants are not a guarantee of reliability, wind and solar offer the cheapest forms of new generation, we need to look at storage, and we must not lose sight of the long-term climate targets. Turnbull is not allowed to say any of these things, for fear of upsetting the Far Right. The sight of the craven apology offered by front bencher and government whip Christopher Pyne last weekend for daring to suggest that the moderates had some influence over policy matters was testimony to that.
And so too have been the efforts of federal energy minister Josh Frydenberg to placate the Far Right by suggesting that each individual new wind and solar farm should carry an equal amount of storage for its rated capacity – megawatt-hour per megawatt – effectively trying to turn the new technology into the same monoliths that exist now in the current energy market model which is clearly past its use by date.
Frydenberg said this to the party room and then repeated it when addressing an energy conference in Melbourne a week later. He made clear it was not about energy security, but “levelling the playing field” between lower cost renewable and expensive and polluting coal.
It’s a classic case of overkill – of politics over policy, and of ideology over technology.
It is true that the Far Right in Australia have not had the same powers as their colleagues now have in the US, where climate science, environmental protections, renewable policies, and emission controls are being systematically trashed and dismantled by the Trump administration.
But they have given it a good shot. While in power, the Abbott government abolished the carbon price, slashed the renewable energy target and other institutions. Since losing power, they have still succeeded in freezing their policy, or politics, in time.
And so too have been the efforts of federal energy minister Josh Frydenberg to placate the Far Right by suggesting that each individual new wind and solar farm should carry an equal amount of storage for its rated capacity – megawatt-hour per megawatt – effectively trying to turn the new technology into the same monoliths that exist now in the current energy market model which is clearly past its use by date. Frydenberg said this to the party room and then repeated it when addressing an energy conference in Melbourne a week later. He made clear it was not about energy security, but “levelling the playing field” between lower cost renewable and expensive and polluting coal. It’s a classic case of overkill – of politics over policy, and of ideology over technology. It is true that the Far Right in Australia have not had the same powers as their colleagues now have in the US, where climate science, environmental protections, renewable policies, and emission controls are being systematically trashed and dismantled by the Trump administration. But they have given it a good shot. While in power, the Abbott government abolished the carbon price, slashed the renewable energy target and other institutions. Since losing power, they have still succeeded in freezing their policy, or politics, in time.
The whole debate around the potentially ground-breaking Finkel Review boiled down to whether it was good for coal generators or not.
The climate science was discarded, and then the fossil fuel industry and the conservatives began to question the very idea that wind and solar were cheaper than new coal. Fake news made front page headlines in the Murdoch media as the incumbents fought back.
Harwin’s speech puts a nonsense to this, and highlights the fact that to be a member of a conservative government does not necessarily equate to the need to deny basic facts.
It is worth repeating Harwin’s major themes, because like the $565 million investment in Nectar Farms, the creation of 1,300 jobs and the shift of one of Australia’s biggest vegetable growing operations to 100 per cent renewables, it did not get a single mention in the mainstream media.
It seems there are some things MsM doesn’t want you to know. (Although we should belatedly note that the Guardian did finally write a story on the Harwin speech on Tuesday, nearly a week after it was delivered).
The whole debate around the potentially ground-breaking Finkel Review boiled down to whether it was good for coal generators or not. The climate science was discarded, and then the fossil fuel industry and the conservatives began to question the very idea that wind and solar were cheaper than new coal. Fake news made front page headlines in the Murdoch media as the incumbents fought back. Harwin’s speech puts a nonsense to this, and highlights the fact that to be a member of a conservative government does not necessarily equate to the need to deny basic facts. It is worth repeating Harwin’s major themes, because like the $565 million investment in Nectar Farms, the creation of 1,300 jobs and the shift of one of Australia’s biggest vegetable growing operations to 100 per cent renewables, it did not get a single mention in the mainstream media. It seems there are some things MsM doesn’t want you to know. (Although we should belatedly note that the Guardian did finally write a story on the Harwin speech on Tuesday, nearly a week after it was delivered).
The major themes of the speech were in direct opposition to the positions and beliefs held by the Far Right. Continue reading →
July 7, 2017
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Idea of an Australian nuclear submarine fleet just won’t float, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/idea-of-an-australian-nuclear-submarine-fleet-just-wont-float/news-story/dd5123c0be52dffb4ec161dd2789be3c, 29 June 17 “…..Abbott’s proposal is also completely unrealistic and, if it gains any traction, can serve only to inject yet new delay into the already insanely slow process of our acquiring new subs.
……..Nuclear-powered subs are vastly more formidable than conventionally powered subs. As Julia Gillard was occasionally wont to point out, submarines are so important in modern warfare partly because they are an asymmetrical weapon.
They can do enormous damage and they require enormous effort from an adversary to detect and destroy. The key to their lethality and their asymmetry is their stealth. You never quite know where the buggers are. Because nuclear subs have an almost infinitely greater submerged range than conventional subs, not to mention being able to carry a much greater payload, they pose a much bigger threat.
………With characteristic and refreshing directness, Abbott tells us what a sub’s main role is: “To inflict massive damage on an enemy’s ability to wage war.”
……. Abbott established definitively that, starting from a position of great strength, he could not sustain a project to buy subs that were built overseas. Now that Adelaide has been solemnly promised, by both sides of politics, that our new subs will be built there, what possible basis is there for imagining that any government could break this promise and survive? Nuclear subs could not be built in Adelaide.
……Even if magically we did make a national commitment to nuclear subs tomorrow, it would take 10 to 20 years for us to acquire the expertise and build the infrastructure, if the Americans would agree to supplying it at all, another initial hurdle that would take years to jump. If we did ever go down the nuclear sub road, it would involve very heavy reliance on the US for an extended period.
……Those in the Coalition who think a leadership change would save them are mistaken, just as the past leadership change did not save them. The Liberals need to rediscover their direction and their leader needs to reunite them. …. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/idea-of-an-australian-nuclear-submarine-fleet-just-wont-float/news-story/dd5123c0be52dffb4ec161dd2789be3c
July 1, 2017
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Tony Abbott rebuked by Marise Payne over criticism on nuclear submarine rejection, ABC News, 30 June 17 By political correspondent Louise Yaxley One of Tony Abbott’s Coalition colleagues has warned the former prime minister he is damaging his credibility with recent speeches and interviews.
Mr Abbott wants the Government to consider nuclear-powered submarines, and criticised the capability of the subs that have been chosen.
Defence Minister Marise Payne has rebuked him, pointing out the list of problems preventing Australia choosing nuclear-propelled boats.
“We don’t have a civil nuclear industry, we don’t have the personnel or the experience or infrastructure, we don’t have the training facilities or regulatory systems that you would need to design to operate to construct a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines,” Senator Payne said.
And she reinforced Mr Abbott was prime minister when the process to choose new submarines started.
“What we are in fact doing is delivering the plan to acquire the plan that was set out and agreed by Tony Abbott and his team in 2015,” Senator Payne said……http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-30/tony-abbott-urged-to-wind-back-nuclear-submarine-comments/8665972
July 1, 2017
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Antinuclear 