Fed Senate Committee to report on Energy Efficiency Trading Scheme

The Senate Standing Committee on Economics was inquiring into the National Market Driven Energy Efficiency Target Bill 2007, reported The Australian (19/9/2007, p.2).

Western Australia 5 Star Plus scheme motion demands government provides audited cost benefit analysis, identifies costs to taxpayers and other regimes examined

An amendment to delete part of a motion moved by Ray Halligan critical of Western Australia’s 5 Star Plus scheme was passed in the Legislative Council on 19 September 2007.

Victoria Bill to amend the Electricity Industry Act 2000, the Gas Industry Act 2001, the Gas Pipelines Access (Victoria) Act 1998, the Gas and Fuel Corporation (Heatane Gas) Act 1993

The Bill would amend the Electricity Industry Act 2000, the Gas Industry Act 2001, the Gas Pipelines Access (Victoria) Act 1998, the Gas and Fuel Corporation (Heatane Gas) Act 1993 and would meet some other purposes. “The main thrust of it, however, is to make amendments as a consequence of the review of the Victorian Energy Networks Corporation, more commonly known as VENCorp,” Batchelor said. “A review was undertaken of that and this is implementing some of the responses. Secondly, the bill will extend the sunset of the energy customer safety net provisions by another 12 months, and a number of other matters.” Reference: Parliament of Victoria, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), Legislative Assembly, Fifty-Sixth parliament, First session, Tuesday, 18 September 2007 – Energy Legislation Further Amendment Bill Introduction and first reading

Erisk Net, 15/10/2007

Burma, August 15: military increased price of fuel 500pc; CNG up 500pc, diesel doubled, petrol up 67pc

Soaring fuel prices trigger for Burmese protests: unfair quota system in place A surgeon in a public hospital in Burma earned $US15($17) a month and ran private clinics after hours to make ends meet, wrote Connie Levett in The Sydney Morning Herald (9/10/2007, p. 9).  Burma Heads of government departments earned $US14 a month until late 2005, when the Government increased salaries tenfold to stem dissent about the move to a new capital, Naypyidaw, in central Burma.

Burma military energy economics: bought fuel in US dollars; sold in the local currency, the kyat.

While the military reaped rich profits from selling quotas on the black market, the Ministry of Energy subsidised the price of petrol. It lost money on each transaction because the ministry bought fuel internationally in US dollars but sold in the local currency, the kyat.

Energy price riot backlash: Military rent-a-crowd pays 90c per rioter; 1000 people remain in custody at unknown locations in Burma

About 1000 people remained in custody at unknown locations in Burma since last month’s rallies, and concern for their safety had grown, reported The Australian (15/10/2007, p. 10).

Qld’s rebel time zone: Gold Coast considers defying State Government and going it alone on daylight saving

According to Greg Stolz, the Gold Coast was considering defying the State Government and going it alone on daylight saving, reported The Courier Mail (3/10/2007, p.3).

Natural gas and renewable generation options, combined with demand side measures, to meet demand for electrical energy services at tenth to half greenhouse-intensity of a coal-fired power station using super-critical technology

In a submission to the Owen Inquiry into Electricity Supply in NSW, energy and environment consultant George Wilkenfeld said the rapid enhancement of demand side programs, the introduction of carbon pricing and strengthening the support for renewables and small-scale generation, along with increasing net imports from Victorian and Queensland, should delay the need for new baseload generation.

Former Energex chair Ross Dunning cleared of sex charges; new role as chair of Townsville Port Authority

Former Energex chair Ross Dunning has won a boardroom reprieve after being cleared of child sex charges, wrote Steven Wardill in The Courier Mail (28/9/2007, p.10).

Three back up generators deployed to Denmark and Walpole to cope with new load from Western Australia nickel plant at Ravensthorpe, from June 2007: $14 million spent over 5 years

Fran Logan, Western Australia Minister for Energy, and ALP Member for Cockburn told Parliament on 14 August 2007 that three generators were deployed to Ravensthorpe to provide support to the local electricity network from June 2007.

Energy Minister offers Queensland blackout free summers: Energex big brother plan to control robot aircon; and gen contracts ready for demand-spikes

Energy Minister Geoff Wilson claims Queensland will survive the summer without a drought-inspired blackout or load shedding. Wilson said a taskforce and a separate independent review had found electricity supply would be secure this summer. “The advice from the taskforce is there will be secure supplies for this summer,’ reported The Courier Mail, 21/9/2007, p. 11.

Greens leader wants plebiscites to allow local input on all major infrastructure decisions: pulp mills, desal, nuclear power plants and Queensland council mergers

Amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Democratic Plebiscites) Bill 2007 deserved support, said Greens leader Senator Bob Brown in the Federal Senate on 17 September 2007.

Climage change to induce insurgencies, genocide, guerrilla attacks, gang warfare and global terrorism,

In the future, that battlefield was likely to be complex and hazardous, according to Thomas Homer-Dixon in The Courier Mail (24/8/2007, p.31). Climate change would help produce the kind of military challenges that were difficult for today’s conventional forces to handle: insurgencies, genocide, guerrilla attacks, gang warfare and global terrorism.

South Australia’s lack of mandatory renewable energy targets; state “free-riding” on mandates in neighbouring jurisidictions

The 280-member Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) had poured scorn on Premier Mike Rann, accusing him of claiming credit for renewable energy investment in SA, despite other states and the Federal Government being responsible.

People’s response to environmental issues and business depends on their age and family circumstances

BP analysis revealed that people aged 18-29 want to be seen to be doing the right thing but are less likely to do much more than recycling, reported The Age (30/8/2007, p.B4).

Australian CO2 pollution by May 2007, 4.5 million tonnes below Australia’s Kyoto target for 2010

Andrew Bartlett, Australian Democrats Senate member from Queensland, in the Commonwealth Senate Hansard on 12 September, quoted figures released by the Climate Institute.

Bring on the summer storms: Minister flexes muscle of over 2,000 Energex emergency workers; 1,600 trucks; new Ergon control centres

Queensland Minister for Mines and Energy G. J. Wilson speaking on 5 September 20007 gave the Queensland Legislative Assembly details of contingency plans to deal with any power outages during the coming storm season.

Electricity as a weapon in an unwinnable war: Sri Lanka orders blackouts, to deny Tigers visibility: home generators essential Colombo white-ware

With Lankans in front of TVs, gripped by their cricketing heroes jousting with Gilchrist in the cricket world cup final they would lose in Barbados, the Tigers’ jerry-built “air force” staged a raid on the capital. The Government ordered the power supply cut, to deny the Tigers visibility. But Lankans have long known that the Ceylon Electricity Board cannot service the national grid, so home generators are de rigueur.

My word: Federal policy-makers gave Qld coal lobby view more weight than the views of six State governments, so coal escapes use of term “pollutant”, for CO2

The Queensland Resource Council (QRC) had successfully lobbied the Federal government to undo the States’ plan to include greenhouse gases in the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) Thus, the lobby-group view had prevailed over six State governments – which had agreed – at COAG,  that they wanted the NPI used. The QRC policy was instead, implemented in the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Bill 2007 so the QRC could avoid the use of one word “pollution”, to describe CO2-e emissions from coal production and use. The QRC had argued it was perverse to call CO2 a “pollutant”, and therefore the public -access NPI should not include CO2-e. It wanted – and got – the continued use of the “Greenhouse Challenge”, a more secretive system.

Disturbing, vague police-powers in Aus now endangering democracy, warns Australia Institute chief

More so than ever before in Australia, the police were empowered, if not in law then by implicit political fiat, to interrogate, intimidate and even assault people innocent of any crime but suspected of associating with the wrong people, wrote Clive Hamilton, executive director of the Australia Institute, in The Sydney Morning Herald (7/9/2007, p.26).

APEC was where a “a lame duck president met a dead duck prime minister”: news stories and images, largely negative

According to Mark Day, APEC news stories and images were largely negative . He said last week’s reports from the Northern Territory featured some very angry voters, shouting at the PM as he toured a shopping mall demanding that he get his hands off territory affairs. Placards unsubtly suggested he was not welcome. As a backdrop to the news report, these images convey their own message, in the PM’s case an unwelcome one, he wrote in The Australian, (6/9/2007), p. 40.