Tag Archives: Fed Govt

PLEA Network

7 April 2017, The Conversation, The stampede of wind farm complaints that never happened. National Wind Farm Commissioner, Andrew Dyer, has just released his much anticipated first annual report. In its first year of operation until the end of 2016, the National Wind Farm Commissioner says his office received: 46 complaints relating to nine operating wind farms (there were 76 operational wind farms in Australian in 2015)

  • 42 complaints relating to 19 proposed wind farms
  • two complaints that did not specify a wind farm.

The commissioner’s office closed 67 or these 90 complaints, with the remaining 23 complaints still in process. Of the 67 now-closed complaints, the office closed 31 because the complainant did not progress their complaint. This suggests these complaints were minor. The office closed the file on another 32 after it sent complainants more information about their complaints. This leaves only four, which the report describes two as being settled after negotiations between the parties, and two given the ambiguous category of “other”. These figures are frankly astonishing. The complaint investigating mechanism was set up after a Senate enquiry report that cost undisclosed millions to deal with a “massive” problem with wind turbines. But the hordes of people who apparently needed a way to help them resolve matters have now gone shy. Chair of the Senate Committee on Wind Turbines was ex-Senator John Madigan, a public critic of wind farms. Read More here

PLEA Network

24 March 2017, Renew Economy, Coalition sets climate parameters, as two more quit key advisory body. Stage one of the federal government’s 2017 review of climate change policies is finally underway, with the release on Friday of a 40-page discussion paper for public consultation. The Coalition’s climate review, announced by the Turnbull government in December 2016 and due for completion by the end of the year, was seen by some – at the time – as a positive development; an opportunity for it to get serious about its climate change policy, both current and future. But the publication of the discussion paper – almost two months behind schedule and amid claims from the federal government’s own Climate Change Authority that it “doesn’t take the issue seriously” – does not immediately inspire confidence. This week has seen not one, but two resignations from the CCA – the first being former Coalition energy advisor Danny Price, followed on Thursday by University of Queensland professor John Quiggin. The departures follow that, a month ago, of Australian ethics professor Clive Hamilton, who cited his reasons for quitting the body as the Coalition’s “perverse” and “deeply dishonest” approach to climate and energy policy. In a letter posted on his blog on Thursday, Quiggin was less diplomatic, broadly attributing his own reasons for leaving to the fact that “the (Turnbull) government is beholden to right wing anti-science activists in its own ranks and in the media.” Read More here

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16 March 2017, The Conversation, Year-on-year bleaching threatens Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage status. The Great Barrier Reef has already been badly damaged by global warming during three extreme heatwaves, in 1998, 2002 and 2016. A new bleaching event is under way now. As shown in a study published in Nature today, climate change is not some distant future threat. It has already degraded large tracts of the Great Barrier Reef over the past two decades. The extreme marine heatwave in 2016 killed two-thirds of the corals along a 700km stretch of the northern Great Barrier Reef, from Port Douglas to Papua New Guinea. It was a game-changer for the reef and for how we manage it. 

 

Bleaching caused by extreme heat in summer 2016, based on extensive aerial surveys. Category 4 in red: 60-100% of colonies were bleached; Category 3 in orange: 30-60% bleached. Author provided Our study shows that we cannot climate-proof coral reefs by improving water quality or reducing fishing pressure. Reefs in clear water were damaged as much as muddy ones, and the hot water didn’t stop at the boundaries of no-fishing zones. There is nowhere to hide from global warming. The process of replacement of dead corals in the northern third of the reef will take at least 10-15 years for the fastest-growing species. The Great Barrier Reef is internationally recognised as a World Heritage Area. In 2015 UNESCO, the world body with oversight of World Heritage Areas, considered listing the reef as a site “in danger” in light of declines in its health. Australia’s response falling short. Read More here

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15 March 2017, The Climate Institute, The Climate Institute welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the Independent Review into the Future Security of the National Electricity Market. This submission comprises two parts: first, a detailed discussion of the five priorities we believe the review needs to address, which are summarised below, and second, responses to a selection of questions from the Independent Review’s Preliminary Report. For further information regarding any of the issues covered in this submission, please contact Olivia Kember, Head of Policy at The Climate Institute, at 02 8239 6299 or okember@climateinstitute.org.au. Five priorities for the future security of the national electricity system: Access full submission here