News

24th June 2010
IN BRIEF: THE BUSINESS CASE FOR CLIMATE LEGISLATION
The Pew Center on Global Climate Change has released In Brief: The Business Case for Climate Legislation (June 2010), which provides a business case for the implementation of national climate and energy policy within America. The paper also provides an explanation to why leading companies have decided that legislation that limits greenhouse gas emissions is good for their industries. The paper identifies three main reasons businesses support legislation that addresses climate change, namely: the need for regulatory certainty; the economic opportunities arising from climate solution; and the reputational benefits of supporting public policies that combat climate change.
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24th June 2010
STUDY EXAMINES SCIENTISTS' 'CLIMATE CREDIBILITY'
BBC News Most experts agreed human activity was affecting the climate system Some 98% of climate scientists that publish research on the subject support the view that human activities are warming the planet, a study suggests. It added there was little disagreement among the most experienced scientists. But climate sceptics questioned the findings, saying that publication in scientific journals was not a fair test of expertise. The findings have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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24th June 2010
EU WEIGHS PROS AND CONS OF TOUGHER EMISSIONS TARGETS
Study shows cost of responses to global warming is lower today than in 2008, when the EU adopted its climate change goals. Ahead of next week\'s UN climate talks, the EU has issued a study on the feasibility of toughening its emission reduction targets. The EU has already committed to a cutback in greenhouse gases of at least 20% on 1990 levels by 2020. At the UN climate conference in Copenhagen the bloc pledged to raise that target to 30% if other large polluting countries do the same. With no agreement so far, environment ministers have asked the commission to study the feasibility of the EU going it alone.
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24th June 2010
AUSTRALIAN SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ZERO CARBON AUSTRALIA STATIONARY ENERGY PLAN SYNOPSIS
16 page synopsis of full report A ten year roadmap for 100% renewable energy > Baseload energy supplied by renewable energy sources > Investment equivalent to one coffee per Australian per day
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24th June 2010
COMPANIES TOLD TO GET SMART ON POWER
AUSTRALIA could meet most of its promised greenhouse gas cuts and save money along the way by using energy more intelligently, a report shows. The nation lags behind all other developed countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said the Energy Efficiency Council, which commissioned the report.
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24th June 2010
GOING GREEN 'WOULD COST $1200 A YEAR'
Would you be willing to help beat climate change for $1200 a year? A new report says Australia could power itself entirely by renewable energy within a decade, halving the country\'s greenhouse gas emissions. But there\'s a price tag of $1200 for every adult and child for every year until 2020.
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24th June 2010
DO RENEWABLE ENERGY BY THE NUMBERS, AND IT ALL ADDS UP
The Age Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico may give us the will to shape the future. TWENTY-EIGHT billion is a big number. In tonnes it is a mighty load. It is the sediment eroded globally each year from all our mountains and carried by all our rivers to all our seas. It is also the amount of carbon dioxide plumped into the atmosphere each year from burning fossil fuels. In dollar terms, it is the extra money we would need to spend each year for 10 years to build a zero-emission energy system in Australia.
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24th June 2010
CARBON COUNT
Greenhouse gas emissions from energy use in four states week ending June 10: *Total emissions so far this year are2.9% lower than at the same point last year. Combined emissions for four states 41% higher than 1990 and 11% higher than 2000 levels 13.8% higher than last week 0.1% lower than the same week
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24th June 2010
CUBBIE OFFERS WATER AS IT STRUGGLES TO STAY LIQUID
The Australian Financial REview Administrators of Australia\'s largestcotton irrigator, Cubbie Group, have offered to sell water to the federal government as part of the struggling company\'s restructure. At a meeting in St George in southwestern Queensland yesterday, administrator McGrathNicol confirmed it had tendered the water subject to conditions on bids from parties looking to buy Cubbie Group. It is believed up to $100 million worth of water was offered off the station, which has been the subject of allegations from downstream farmers that it was sucking too much water out of the system.
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18th June 2010
TRANSFORMING VICTORIA’S ENERGY FUTURE
Media release from the Minister for Energy & Resources The Brumby Labor Government today released a discussion paper setting the scene for how Victoria will cut greenhouse gas emissions, switch to more renewable energy supplies and create a climate change economy over the next decade and beyond. Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor said Victoria’s Energy Future was the start of a conversation with the community about what action was needed to move the State from its historic reliance on coal-fired power to a cleaner and greener future.
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3rd June 2010
BIGGER ANZ BANKS ON AGRICULTURE
Stock and Land AGRIBUSINESS is suddenly a seriously big business for trans-Tasman giant, ANZ, after it shot up the ladder to become the second largest player in Australia\'s regional market in March. Australian and New Zealand Banking Group\'s (ANZ) purchase of the former financial services division of pastoral house, Landmark, boosted its share of the regional/rural banking market to about 18 percent - up from about 14pc last year.
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3rd June 2010
CALL TO CUT WATER FOR FARMERS
River\'s health at risk, say scientists The Age FARMERS will have to reduce the amount of water they take from the Murray-Darling by 30 per cent if the river is to return to an environmentally healthy state, the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists says. In a report released in Melbourne yesterday, the Wentworth Group found that the Murray- Darling Basin would need an extra 4400 billion litres of water a year to protect wetlands, rivers, animals and plants in the dwindling basin environment.
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3rd June 2010
FARMER OUTRAGE AS IRRIGATION FACES AXE
The Australian IRRIGATION in the Murrumbidgee Valley would be slashed by 65 per cent while the Murray Valley would take a 39 per cent cut under a proposal that has angered farming groups. The recommended cuts, which would result in an estimated loss of $2.9 billion a year in farm income, were flagged in a report released yesterday by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists.
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3rd June 2010
NO CHANGE PROJECTED: WONG
Shepparton News Federal Water Minister Penny Wong remains committed to infrastructure investments in irrigation communities despite the Wentworth Group\'s report. In a statement yesterday, Senator Wong welcomed the report, but rejected dropping infrastructure projects such as the $2 billion Food Bowl Modernisation.
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3rd June 2010
SCIENTISTS SEEK BIG CUTS TO IRRIGATION
The Australian Financail Review The federal government\'s $8.9 billion Murray-Darling basin reforms will secure less than half the water needed to save the nation\'s largest river system, a report from the influential Wentworth group of scientists says. But the alternative approach proposed by the scientists, to stop irrigation upgrades and focus on taking back water, has outraged farmers because it would hit agriculture hard, particularly in the rice-growing centres of the NSW Riverina.
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3rd June 2010
WINDS OF CHANGE

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3rd June 2010
CARBON TOOLKITS IN AGRICULTURE
Newsletter Through this network, DPI will keep you updated on the latest developments in farmrelated greenhouse gas accounting tools, resources, upcoming events and training opportunities. This issue’s features: • Climate Fact part 3 & Landcare network provides critical support Upcoming events and training
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3rd June 2010
DPI WEBSITE LINK FOR CLIMATE
http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/DPI/nrenfa.nsf/childdocs/-7945C583A915FBBDCA25762B001D69A1?open
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3rd June 2010
ENTWINE AUSTRALIA WEBSITE EXTRACT
http://www.wfa.org.au/entwineaustralia/default.aspx The wine industry increasingly is being asked to show its environmental credentials. In Australia, as around the world, retailers, restaurants and consumers are looking to buy or offer wines that meet modern standards for environmental stewardship. EntWine Australia is a voluntary environmental assurance scheme that allows winemakers and wine grape growers to receive formal certification of their practices according to recognised standards. Members can carry the EntWine Australia logo and are listed on the EntWine Australia Register.
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3rd June 2010
FROM THE HORTICULTURE AUSTRALIA LIMITED WEBSITE
http://www.horticulture.com.au/areas_of_Investment/Environment/Climate/climate_tools.asp Climate Tools In this section you will find links to resources and tools available from projects and programs managed by Horticulture Australia Limited. These are provided to the public free of charge. Horticulture Carbon Footprinting Tools Horticulture Carbon Info Banana Carbon Info Vegetable Carbon Footprinting Tool – coming soon! FarmGAS Calculator The Australian Farm Institute has recently (Sept 2009) launched the FarmGAS Calculator. The Calculator is an online application which enables farmers to model both the financial and greenhouse gas outputs of farm activities and the implications of changes in enterprises. The FarmGAS Calculator will be available free online for anyone to access, through the Australian Farm Institute’s website. The FarmGas Calculator is available here from AFI. It has a Horticulture capability, but only for Perennial Horticulture - \"This calculator is suitable for perennial horticultural crops, such as stone and pome fruit trees. Horticultural enterprises are dealt with very simply under the current NGA methodologies. The only determinant of GHG emissions is the quantity of nitrogen (in fertiliser) applied per hectare per annum.\" CCRSPI Fact Sheets CCRSPI has developed a number of fact sheets with primary industries, including: “Horticulture and Climate Change Brochure” “Life Cycle Assessments: A useful tool for Australian agriculture\" “Climate change update: On-farm bioenergy in the pork industry” Across-Horticulture Climate Project (AH06019) – Australian horticulture\'s response to climate change and climate variability Project reports: • “Development of adaptation strategies for the most vulnerable horticultural regions”- March 2008 • “Vulnerability of major horticulture regions to climate change” - December 2008 • “Review of outcomes of Managing Climate Variability Program (MCVP) funded research” - August 2007 • “The potential for a Tool to manage temperature variability - Report for milestone 3” - December 2007 • “Final report - Australian horticulture\'s response to climate change and climate variability” – January 2009 Vegetable Climate Project (VG05051) - Scoping study into climate change and climate variability for the vegetable industry for the vegetable industry • Project Final Report April 2006 – “Scoping Study - Climate Change and Climate Variability - Risks and Opportunities for Horticulture” Banana Climate Project (BA08014) – Understanding and identifying the threats and opportunities posed by climate change for the banana industry Project Final Report March 2009 - “Understanding and identifying the threats and opportunities posed by climate change for the banana industry (BA08014)” Vegetable Industry Carbon Footprint Scoping Study - Discussion Papers and Workshop (VG08107) The vegetable industry carbon foot printing discussion papers, released in October 2008, answered the below questions for industry: 1. What is a carbon footprint? 2. How will carbon footprinting address the issues of reduction, mitigation, emissions trading and marketing? 3. What carbon footprinting tools are currently available? 4. Is there a preliminary estimation of the carbon footprint of the Australian vegetable industry? 5. Who will use the vegetable carbon tool? 6. What are the options for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions for the Australian vegetable industry? Click here for a copy of the October 2008 Vegetable Carbon Workshop Notes. Growcom Climate Fact Sheets Growcom have developed a number of fact sheets on the topics of climate change, including: - Fact sheet #1: Climate change and horticulture - Fact sheet #2: Carbon footprinting - Fact sheet #3: Horticulture and the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme - Fact sheet #4: Horticulture and the carbon market - Fact sheet #5: Adapting horticulture to climate change These fact sheets are available via the Growcom website at http://www.growcom.com.au/home/inner.asp?pageID=67
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3rd June 2010
AUSTRALIAN FARM INSTITUTE WEBSITE
Link to the FarmGas greenhouse gas emissions calculator http://afilive.freshweb.com.au/publicpages/AFIPublic.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDefault.aspx%3ffarmid%3d221&farmid=221
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3rd June 2010
INDIA RELEASES ITS GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS DATA
The Government of India has released the country’s emissions data for 2007, the first such official estimate to be presented since 1994. The figures show that India\'s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions grew by 58 percent between 1994 and 2007, amounting to 1.73 billion tonnes in 2007, or approximately 4-5% of the world total. This ranks India – Asia’s third largest economy, with 17% of the world’s population – fifth in aggregate GHG emissions in the world, behind China, USA, EU and Russia
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3rd June 2010
CLIMATE PARTNERS PROMOTE CLIMATE INVESTMENT
The Climate Institute has launched The Climate Partners, a new corporate partnership focused on promoting Australian business investment in climate action, clean energy and pollution reduction. The Climate Institute\'s chief executive officer John Connor advised that the new partnership would \"provide an important platform to promote business leadership in driving climate change solutions and better inform the policy debate\". The Climate Institute and Leading Climate Partner Westpac have commissioned Renewable energy investment opportunities and abatement in Australia, a report that models Australian and global clean energy investments to 2020 and the impact of renewable energy investment on emissions reductions. The report \"finds that while an amended renewable energy target will begin to restructure our polluting power sector and drive billions of dollars of investment in new technologies and skills, Australia\'s carbon pollution will continue to soar without price signals and other policies to make companies take responsibility for their pollution\".
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2nd June 2010
CHAMPS BOOSTING THE BUSH
Bendigo Advertiser CHAMPIONS of the Bush have met in Bendigo to discuss the emerging global food crisis. The group, made up of 10 managing directors at major Australian food-related industries, is calling on local, state and federal governments to take the crisis more seriously.
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2nd June 2010
TURBINE ILLNESS CLAIMS
The Weekly Times TED Baillieu last week presented what he said was living proof of the inadequacy of Victoria\'s approach to wind farms. On the steps of Parliament House, the Victorian Opposition Leader introduced the people known as Waubra\'s \"wind farm refugees\" to a group of journalists. Farmers whose families have lived in this hilly part of central Victoria for generations had come to Melbourne to tell the media they\'d been forced off their land.
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27th May 2010
SUSTAINABLE DIVERSION LIMITS -WILL IRRIGATROS BE COMPENSATED?
Sunraysia Daily Most irrigators are now beginning to develop an awareness of the new \"Basin Plan\" currently under development by the MDBA. From the limited information available to date it is relatively clear that one of likely results of Basin Plan which incorporates new Sustainable Diversion Limits\' will be that the environment will have a higher priority over the available water resources than irrigation for agricultural pursuits. In other words a new limit will be put on extractions for irrigation to ensure that key environmental assets are not compromised.
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27th May 2010
POWER FIRMS FEAR EFFECT OF NEW REGIME
COMPANIES that supply electricity to Victorians are concerned about the possible impact the federal government\'s proposed resource super-profits tax will have on their business and consumer power bills. TRUenergy, which has 1.3 million customers in the southeastern states, includingVictoria, says it is worried about the implications of the 40 per cent tax
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27th May 2010
FRESH IMPETUS FOR WAVE POWER
Warrnambool Standard THE potential for commercial wave energy projects in the south-west will be explored after the industry\'s first Victorian site licences were awarded this week. Carnegie has been granted an investigation licence, with the option to lease three possible wave energy sites off Warrnambool, Portland and Phillip Island.
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27th May 2010
CARBON PRICE IS MISSING IMPETUS
The Australian BATTERED by the global financial crisis, the shelving of Australia\'s emissions trading scheme, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and, for some, the government\'s new Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT), it is a shaping as a bleak winter for Australia\'s renewable energy companies. What they want most of all is a carbon price, to give a clear market signal of the viability of renewable energy.
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27th May 2010
OPPORTUNITY EVERYWHERE FOR THOSE BILLIONS INVESTED IN SUSTAINABLE AND ETHICAL ENDEAVOURS
The Australian AUSTRALIAN companies invested more than $74 billion into core andbroad esponsible investing in the 2008-09 financial year. The figures published in the Responsible Investment Association Australasia benchmark report is based on research carried out by Corporate Monitor and breaks the funds into two categories. More than $15 billion was invested in core responsible investing, which includes categories such as specifically tailored funds and direct share portfolios managed by financial advisors
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27th May 2010
SURAT HAS THE ENERGY WE NEED
The Australian There\'s one area of Queensland that, as far as energy sources go, looks like it has it all THE gas-rich Surat Basin in Queensland may emerge as one of the main centres for the development of large-scale solar energy plants in Australia. The Surat Basin in the south west of the state is solar rich, but it also boasts vast resources of coal seam gas, making it the ideal location for the sort of hybrid energy plants that many consider to be at least the medium-term future of low-emission energy.
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27th May 2010
GEOTHERMAL INDUSTRY LETS OFF ITS STEAM
The Australian AFTER years of waiting, the geothermal industry got to let off a bit of steam last month when the first vaporised water from a hot sedimentary aquifer was released during a test at Panax Geothermal\'s Penola Project near Mount Gambier in South Australia. The release, to be followed up with further tests this month was significant because for many people,, geothermal energy offers the best long-term prospect of clean and cheap base-load power.
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27th May 2010
HYDRO'S HEYDAY IS WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE
The Australian HYDROELECTRICITY has become less significant in Australia\'s fuel mix in recent years and is predicted to be eclipsed by wind energy in the next 20 years, according to a government report. The ABARE report, Australian Energy Resource Assessment, released in April this year, says that due to water restrictions in recent years as a result of prolonged drought, energy gained from the nation\'s 108 hydroelectric power stations has dropped off and there is limited potential for future large development of more hydro schemes as most of the nation\'s best sites for hydroelectricity have already been developed.
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27th May 2010
FUEL CELLS SIT AND SERVE
The Australian THE traditional model of electricity generation, with huge plants distributing power through transmission lines, is under challenge from a Melbourne company working towards a system of householdbased fuel cells. \"The centralised model means huge power losses through the generation and transmission process, with sometimes only about 25 per cent of the original energy from a coal-based plant reaching the point of use,\" says Brendan Dow, managing director of Melbourne-based Ceramic
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27th May 2010
COMMERCIAL VIABILITY DECIDES NEXT LEAP
The Australian EASTERN Australia\'s mediumterm energy future is set to be driven by technological advances enabling access to massive coal seam methane resources and policy-driven development of some of the world\'s best wind resources. In the next 10 years, according to Origin Energy\'s managing director Grant King, this will see construction of wind farms of about 7,000MW capacity more than four times the size of the existing wind fleet supported by about 6,000MW of open-cycle gas turbines to overcome supply intermittency issues when the renewable resource is unavailable.
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27th May 2010
SOLAR LENS A FINE FOCUS FOR THE NEXT BIG STEP
DESPITE years of effort and millions of dollars, the amount of electricity generated by solar power in Australia remains stubbornly low around half of 1 per cent. But with a new approach that promises to radically change the economics of the sector this might change. The new direction is being driven by Technique Solar, an unlisted public company with around 100 shareholders, mainly retail investors and small companies. The aim is to commercially produce technology originally developed at RMIT University in Melbourne.
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27th May 2010
POWER CUTS FOR HARD-UP FAMILIES
The Australian POWER companies will be permitted to disconnect customers too poor to pay their bills, under the first national consumer energy law to be signed off by the states and territories next month. Welfare and consumer groups want the legislation toughened to ban companies from cutting off electricity purely on the grounds of a customer\'s incapacity to pay.
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27th May 2010
WE NEED MORE RESEARCH. NOT RENEWABLE ENERGY FUND
There is little evidence that carbon pricing will induce technological breakthroughs THE Swan budget will soon have a big hole. Its projected \"early\" return to surplus will not happen because there is no way the resource super-profits tax can survive inthe form proposed. Rue the day then that having spent massively on subsidising renewable energy in earlier budgets, the government had another dip into the taxpayers\' pocket in the present budget.
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27th May 2010
TOWER OFPOWER WILL CHANGE THE EQUATION
The Australian RAW materials don\'t come much more abundant and renewable than what goes into the CSIRO\'s latest foray into the clean energy sphere air and sunlight. The research body\'s Brayton field tower, construction of which has just begun, at the CSIRO\'s National Solar Energy Centre, at Newcastle in NSW, promises to bring electric power to just about anywhere in the country. Unlike other solar generators, it needs no water to drive its turbines, so even in the most arid corners, power can be had.
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27th May 2010
AUSTRALIA'S POWER BASE ALL IN THE ROCKS
The Australian HOT rocks are hot news in South Australia. The state is about to get its first commercial supply of energy from a geothermal source. Listed company Petratherm expects to deliver commercial quantities of power from its Paralana project in South Australia\'s Flinders Ranges early next year. Paralana hot rocks will supply power to the Beverley uranium mine 11km away.
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27th May 2010
PROMISES TO KEEP
Confusing government signals have confounded investors in clean energy programs. There is hope for the future but the sun is yet to rise on the sector YOU wouldn\'t want to drop it on your foot, because it weighs a couple of kilos, but the newly released Australian Energy Resource Assessment, commissioned by the Australian government, provides pretty much everything you need to know about the country\'s energy potential. And it\'s not just about fossil fuels. True, Australia has an abundance of black and brown coal, gas and uranium and thorium, but as this 350-page assessment notes in detail, it also boasts one of the richest and most diverse resources of renewable energy on the planet including wind, solar, geothermal, wave, tidal and bioenergy.
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25th May 2010
CAMPAIGN AIMS TO MOVE CITY PEOPLE
Shepparton News A new $1.4 million campaign to lure people to live in regional and rural Victoria is targeting Melburnians wanting a change of lifestyle. The Make It Happen in Provincial Victoria campaign went to air in metropolitan and regional television markets for the first time last night.
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24th May 2010
WATER THE FOCUS
Sunraysia Daily Asset class in its own right, says Tandou chairman LARGE numbers of shares have been changing hands in Mildura-based agribusiness Tandou Ltd since its successful annual meeting last week.
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24th May 2010
DROUGHT GROUP CHANGE
Swan Hill Guardian SWAN Hill\'s Drought Advisory Group plans to continue operation despite a stop to government funding. The group will now be called the Rural Information Sharing Network (RISN) and will operate with a rotating chair with some administrative support from Swan Hill Rural City Council.
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24th May 2010
THE COST OF SLOWING GAS INVESTMENT
Business Spectator Amid the hoopla over the high hopes and growing hurdles for the export LNG business, Grant King has sounded a sober warning for the domestic gas industry: be prepared for another big disappointment. If he’s right, gas suppliers stand to lose at least hundreds of millions of dollars in domestic sales over the next 10-15 years. And consumers will take a still greater towelling in power bills than is already projected. King, Origin Energy’s managing director, told 2,500 delegates at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference that the present portents for a large gain in the gas sector’s share of power generation this decade are not all that good, thanks to the muddy state of the policy playing field.
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24th May 2010
CAPTURING WAVE POWER
The Australian THERE are so many prototypes being built or planned to capture wave energy that there seem to be as many shapes and sizes as you might find in a children\'s play box. But there\'s one fundamental choice that distinguishes the offering: should it float on the water or be installed on the sea floor?
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24th May 2010
WIND FARM STOUSH OUT IN THE OPEN
Australian Financial Review Government, industry and community groups are taking their positions over the final regulations of this green energy source, writes Mathew Dunckley. A battle is looming between the green energy industry and the federal government over proposed national guidelines for the development of wind farms. Draft guidelines released last year generated fierce industry criticism and, with final rules due to be adopted in July, proponents of wind farms and people who live near them are gearing up for a fight. Noise is a central issue:
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24th May 2010
NEW WATER BILL IS `LOADED'
Country News Insert The VFF water council told irrigators at Tongala last week it intended to fight for irrigators against the environmental stance of the Federal Water Act and the impending Basin Plan.
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24th May 2010
2010 MAY BE HOTTEST YEAR EVER RECORDED
The Australian CLIMATE scientists have warned that 2010 could turn out to be the warmest year in recorded history. They have collated global surface temperature measurements showing the world has experienced near-record highs between January and April. Researchers working independently at Britain\'s Met Office and NASA are soon to publish data that reveal the trend is likely to continue for the rest of the year.
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22nd May 2010
ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY MAKES WAVES
Weekend Australian OUR home may be girt by sea, but Australians are still a long way from being able to use our marine resource as a substantial source of electric power. Nonetheless, ocean power is a potentially substantial source of future green electricity, according to a new national energy resource assessment, released by federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson in lieu of the white paper on energy policy promised by the Rudd government in 2007.
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22nd May 2010
IP'S RUTHLESS INEFFICIENCY MAINTAINS BALANCE OF POWER
Hazlewood has to go, but how soon and what precedent will it set? IN TERMS of emissions per unit of energy produced it is the most polluting power station in the country, pumping out 3 per cent of Australia\'s greenhouse gasses all by itself. Everybody wants the brown coal-fired Hazelwood power station closed down, the questions are: how soon, how much will it cost and what precedent will it set?
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22nd May 2010
RET GENERATES INDUSTRY RESPONSE
Weekend Australian THE enlarged renewable energy target has seen an eight-fold increase in plans to build green generation in Australia, according to AGL Energy, with the dominant technology being wind power. Speaking to a utilities conference, Jeff Dimery, AGL\'s group general manager for merchant energy, said the smallscale RET program implemented by the Howard government was estimated four years ago to lead to just 1200 megawatts of new renewable generation being developed this decade.
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22nd May 2010
CARBON GOALS WORK IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Weekend Australian SOUTH Australia has made a policy commitment to being clean and green and pursues the goal vigorously. The policy is working: SA has the lowest cat-bon emissions of any state in Australia and is the only state to have lowered its emissions.
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22nd May 2010
FORESTS LOSE THEIR VALUE WITHOUT ETS
Australian Financial Review Companies that planted millions of trees hoping to cash in on the now-dumped emissions trading carbon pollution reduction scheme want to be able to sell carbon credits want to be able tto sell carbon credits overseas.
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21st May 2010
`TOUGH' MURRAY WATER PLAN TO HIT IRRIGATORS
THe Australian FEDERAL Water Minister Penny Wong has warned that \"significant cuts\" to irrigator water allocations will be part of the draft Murray Darling Basin plan due for release in July.
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21st May 2010
SEWAGE COULD TURN INTO GAS
Warrnambool Standard A REGIONAL project to convert sewerage waste into electricity has been given a $135,000 grant. Wannon Water is investigating if biosolids, a by-product of sewerage treatment, can be turned into synthetic gas. \"The research project will also look at how low-value waste materials such as existing sewerage biosolids and waste diverted from landfill can be turned into a biochar product, which could potentially be used to improve soil health and moisture holding capacity, and sequester carbon for extremely long periods,\" chairman Grant Green said.
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21st May 2010
FUNDING DEAL FOR GEOTHERMAL WELLS
Warrnambool Standard HOPES of building a nonpollutant geothermal $80 million electricity power plant near Koroit have come a step closer with allocation of a $7 million federal government grant. Hot Rock Limited will use the grant
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21st May 2010
POWER SHIFT- THE CLEAN ENERGY DEBATE
The Australian Discussion panel with OLIVER YATES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UTILITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE, MACQUARIE CAPITAL ADVISERS, BRENDAN BATEMAN PARTNER, CLAYTON UTZ DAVID CASPARI VICE-PRESIDENT,HP ENTERPRISE SERVICES, SOUTH PACIFIC MARTIJN WILDER HEAD OF BAKER & McKENZIE\'S GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETS (CLIMATE CHANGE) PRACTICE JON JUTSEN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, ENERGETICS PAULSIMSHAUSER CHIEF ECONOMIST AND GROUP HEAD OF CORPORATE.
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20th May 2010
BUSINESS EMPIRES TO STRIKE BACK ON CARBON ACTION
The Age Bid to put ETS back on the agenda BUSINESSES are planning an unlikely alliance with the Australian Conservation Foundation to prod the nation\'s leaders into action on climate change. The federal government\'s decision to shelve its carbon emissions trading scheme until at least 2013 has jeopardised investment worth hundreds of millions of dollars, driving some companies to plan a climate circuit- breaker.
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20th May 2010
MISSING FLOOD WASTE
Sunraysia Daily Water squandered through poor management and inaction THE RARE flood in the Paroo River, most westerly of the Darling River\'s tributaries, has gone missing on the floodplains north-west of Wilcannia, virtually ensuring that the Menindee Lakes will not overflow this year.
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20th May 2010
FARM LAND VALUES OUT OF KILTER
The Australian RURAL land values traditionally reflect the return the asset is expected to generate. But during the boom years of 2000 to 2006-07, farmers in many parts of Australia experienced higher returns from capital appreciation than from agricultural production, according to ABARE.
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20th May 2010
AUSTRALIAN WINE GRAPE
ABARE This report provides estimates of wine grape production for the 2008–09 vintage as well as production projections for 2009–10, 2010–11 and 2011–12. Estimates have been made for nine specialist wine grape varieties, a single multi-purpose variety (muscat gordo blanco) and a total for all other varieties in each of Australia’s wine grape producing zones.
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20th May 2010
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS, SAYS CLOUGH
Australian Financial REview Clough chief executive John Smith has warned that Australia risks forgoing major economic benefits from oil and gas development unless attention is given to growing the associated services sector.
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20th May 2010
CLOSURE TOO BIG A SHOCK
LaTrobe Valley Press INTERNATIONAL Power Hazelwood has criticised claims the Latrobe Valley community would benefit from the closure of the coal-fired generator by the end of 2012, saying the rapid transition would be \"too big a shock\" to the sector. A report released this week and commissioned by Environment Victoria sets out a plan for replacing Hazelwood Power Station with gas-fired power and renewable energy, principally wind farm.
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20th May 2010
PENNY WONG SPEECH TO CEDA WATER REVIEW
MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND WATER SPEECH TO THE COMMITTEE FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA CEDA Water Review – A National Perspective
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19th May 2010
CARBON CUTS WILL 'CREATE 4M JOBS'
The Age BIG CUTS to carbon emissions and heavy investment in green technologies will create 3.7 million jobs across Australia by 2030, economic modelling commissioned for unions and green groups shows.
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19th May 2010
TECHNICAL REPORT PREPARED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRY RESEARCH
Complementary policies for greenhouse gas emission abatement and their national and regional employment consequences A report for the Australian Conservation Foundation and Australian Council of Trade Unions
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19th May 2010
PESTICIDE LINK TO ADHD KIDS
Bendigo Advertiser CHILDREN exposed to higher levels of pesticide found on commercially grown fruit and vegetables in the United States were more likely to have attention deficit/hyper-activity disorder, according to a study published yesterday.
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19th May 2010
FARMERS SEE GREEN OVER CUTS
THE Greens and the National Farmers\' Federation have attacked the Government over natural resource management. Caring for our Country and National Heritage Trust spending was slashed by $80 million over the next four years in last week\'s Federal Budget.
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19th May 2010
RAW DEALS `OVER' FOR FARMERS
A SENATE committee has recommended the Trade Practices Act be changed to stop shabby treatment of farmers by corporations. The recommendations were agreed upon by all political parties.
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17th May 2010
INCORPORATING CLIMATE CHANGE IN WATER ALLOCATION PLANNING - NEW REPORT
National Water Commission press release Climate change will affect rainfall, runoff and temperature across Australia, and hence water availability. The Commission\'s 2009 Biennial Assessment recommended that all future water allocation plans consider explicitly the impacts of climate change on water resources and the environment. It also recommended that all water allocation plans should be sufficiently resilient to accommodate a broad range of potential climate change outcomes.
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17th May 2010
NWC INCORPORATING CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT
Executive Summary
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17th May 2010
APIARISTS SAY VICTORIA'S INCREASE OF CONTROLLED BURNS IS HURTING INDUSTRY
Wangaratta Chronicle FUEL reduction burning is destroying bee colony environments, forcing many of the North East\'s 270 apiarists to travel as far as Queensland to allow their bees to pollinate. The North East Apiarists\' Association president, Kevin Mac- Gibbon, at its annual conference in Wangaratta on Friday, warned that fuel reduction burning, together with varroa mites entering the country, could impact agriculture severely.
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14th May 2010
FALSE ADVERTISING
The Age THE claim that glyphosate readily breaks down is not correct. Monsanto has for decades advertised that its weed-killing Roundup (main ingredient glyphosate) breaks down readily with no harmful residue. However, after a court challenge by French farmers, Monsanto has been forced to withdraw the claim.
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13th May 2010
CARBON EXPO
Australia’s premier, industry-hosted Trade Fair & Conference for emissions intensive business and low-carbon economy product & service providers across Australasia, Carbon Expo Australasia 2010 will be held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 11-13 October 2010.
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13th May 2010
FACE THE COAL FACTS: POWER SECTOR
Australian Financial Review The growth in Australia\'s greenhouse gas emissions might slow - but not reverse - as long as the federal government\'s climate change strategy relies on renewable energy alone. The budget redirected $652 million saved through the shelving of the proposed emissions trading scheme into a new renewable energy future fund.
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13th May 2010
EMISSIONS BILL AIRED IN THE US
The Age THE unveiling of a long-awaited US Senate bill to establish an American emissions trading scheme overnight shows Australia is being left behind in climate change action, environmentalists say. The bill, sponsored by Democratic senator John Kerry and independent senator Joe Lieberman, would establish a US emissions trading scheme with the aiin of cutting carbon emissions by 17 per cent on 2005 levels by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050.
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13th May 2010
CARBON TAX NEEDED NOW
The Australian Financial Review T he failure of the Copenhagen climate talks to produce a binding global agreement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions has been cemented, in Australia, by the Rudd government\'s abandonment of the carbon pollution reduction scheme. Given the mess of handouts, exemptions and special concessions the CPRS had become, this was perhaps a mercy.
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13th May 2010
MANAGING CLIMATE CHANGE
Papers from the GREENHOUSE 2009 Conference
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13th May 2010
NEW TITLES FROM CSIRO

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13th May 2010
FULL STEAM FOR BIG SOLAR PROJECTS
Australian Financial Review AGL Energy, Infigen and Transfield are among eight companies to be shortlisted to build a commercialscale solar power plant under the Rudd government\'s $1.5 billion Solar Flagships program Under the scheme, taxpayers will chip in $1 for every $2 that a private consortium is prepared to invest in the development of large-scale solar power plants.
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13th May 2010
BIG BUSINESS CALLS FOR ACTION ON ETS
Australian Financial Review The emissions trading scheme might be off the federal government\'s agenda but business hasn\'t forgotten about it. Company directors said yesterday they will lobby to get the scheme back on the political radar, saying climate change cannot be ignored. \"While it might have dropped off the agenda this year, I am going to lobby like hell to have it on the agenda next year,\" said Origin Energy chairman and Macquarie Group and Blue- Scope Steel director Kevin McCann.
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13th May 2010
GREEN SHOOTS TO GROW
Herald Sun GREEN energy providers will be given a $652.5 million boost with the Rudd Government unveiling plans to set up a special fund to support earlystage renewable energy projects. The money will be pumped into a Renewable Energy Future Fund forming part of the Government\'s expanded $5.1 billion Clean Energy Initiative.
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13th May 2010
GOODBYE TO POWER BILLS
Border Mail FARMERS could soon wave goodbye to power bills with the launch of a large solar power tracking system made at Corowa. The system, developed in Albury by Eco for Life and manufactured by Upton Engineering at Corowa, could generate $15,000 worth of electricity rebates. \"They actually connect to the grid; you still get a bill for the house and the business but you can use the rebates to offset that and basically you\'ll have a surplus, which is cash,\" Upton Engineering general manager Paul Upton said.
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13th May 2010
SOLAR FLAGSHIP SHORTLIST COMES UP SHORT
Herald Sun FOSSIL fuel pirates and other opportunists have commandeered Energy Minister Martin Ferguson\'s Solar Flagship program. The short-listed bidders for a slice ofthe $1.5 billion booty, courtesy of the Federal Government, was buried in a press release issued on Budget night. It\'s not that the Solar Flagship concept is wrong. It\'s just that the companies that have been selected for the shortlist are second-tier, or worse, in terms of global solar energy.
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13th May 2010
SOLAR SHINES
Sunraysia Daily Mildura shortlisted as host for three more power stations MILDURA has been shortlisted as the host city for three more solar power stations. The Federal Government on Budget night announced eight projects had won through the first round of its massive $1.5 billion solar program.
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12th May 2010
WILDLIFE PAYS PRICE OF THIRSTY RIVER SYSTEM
JUST 25 per cent of flood plains in the Murray-Darling Basin were inundated with water during the devastating drought that gripped the nation during the past decade, detailed environment modelling by the CSIRO has found.
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12th May 2010
RENEWABLES GET $625M LIFT
VOTERS angry with the Rudd government\'s decision to shelve its emissions trading scheme have been given the carrot of a new $652 million renewable energy fund to bankroll low emissions projects between now and 2014. Voters will also be wooed in the lead-up to the election and beyond with a $30 million two-year national campaign to \"educate\" people about global warming and \"climate change science\".
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12th May 2010
ETS FAILURE BURSTS GREEN JOBS BUBBLE
Australian Financial Review Tim Hanlin spent years leading Woodside Petroleum\'s shift towards sustainable energy. Then four years ago, riding a global impetus to fight climate change, he quit Woodside and set about creating Australia\'s first electronic platform for trading emissions. Now the green bubble has burst.
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12th May 2010
BUDGET CRITICISED FOR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE SHORTFALL
ABC News website The general manager of the Murray-Darling Association, Ray Najar, says the federal budget lacks money for water infrastructure upgrades. Mr Najar expects the Murray-Darling Basin Authority will recommend cuts to irrigators\' water allocations later this year.
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12th May 2010
AN ILL WIND FOR TURBINES
Weekly Times A VICTORIAN court has ruled that wind farms can cause \"significant distress even at a low noise level\". The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal last month rejected plans for a 12-turbine wind farm at The Sisters, 13km north of Mortlake. In doing so, it set a new bar for wind farm proposals in Victoria by applying the updated New Zealand standard.
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12th May 2010
SENATE URGES RATES RELIEF
Weekly Times LANDHOLDERS should not pay council rates on native vegetation within their property, a Senate committee has found. And Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce says it is the Federal Government which should pay the rates bill on the unproductive land. The Finance and Public Administrative Committees report into Native Vegetation Laws, Greenhouse Gas Abatement and Climate Change Measures said Government should address \"the liability of landholders complying with native vegetation laws for the payment of rates or taxes for land that is not available for productive use.
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11th May 2010
TOO HOT TO LIVE: GRIM LONG-TERM PREDICTION
The Age HALF the Earth could become too hot for human habitation in less than 300 years, Australian scientists warn. New research by the University of NSW has forecast the effect of climate change over the next three centuries, a longer time scale than that considered in many similar studies. The research suggests that without action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, average temperatures could rise as much as 10 to 12 per cent by 2300.
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11th May 2010
FURTHER $100 MILLION FOR WATER PURCHASING
Minister Penny6 Wong press release An additional $100 million in funding for water purchasing has been brought forward in the 2010-11 Federal Budget to help return the Murray Darling Basin’s rivers and wetlands to health.
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11th May 2010
MINERS STRANGELY SILENT ON THE BILLIONS THEY REAP IN TAX CREDITS
The Age Resource giants shriek about what they pay. Here\'s what they get. HE rmining industry, in its furious offensive against the proposed resource rent tax, is playing the old magician\'s trick of getting you to stare at their right hand, while ignoring what the left is doing. The tax they pay is their right hand, the benefits they receive in return is their left. Don\'t be fooled. Any fair discussion of resources tax must include not only the tax side of the equation, but also the billions of dollars of benefits the industry receives each year, courtesy of the Australian taxpayer. Let\'s begin with fuel.
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10th May 2010
NATURE LOSS 'TO DAMAGE ECONOMIES'
BBC News The abundance of mammals, birds, reptiles and other creatures is falling rapidly The Earth\'s ongoing nature losses may soon begin to hit national economies, a major UN report has warned. The third Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3) says that some ecosystems may soon reach \"tipping points\" where they rapidly become less useful to humanity. Such tipping points could include rapid dieback of forest, algal takeover of watercourses and mass coral reef death. Last month, scientists confirmed that governments would not meet their target of curbing biodiversity loss by 2010.
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10th May 2010
FIRES' SWEET STING
Wangaratta Chronicle FUEL reduction burning is destroying bee colony environments, forcing many of the North East\'s 270 apiarists to travel as far as Queensland to allow their bees to pollinate. The North East Apiarists\' Association president, Kevin Mac- Gibbon, at its annual conference in Wangaratta on Friday, warned that fuel reduction burning, together with varroa mites entering the country, could impact
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10th May 2010
G-MW PRICING SIMULATOR TO ASSIST FARM BUDGET PLANNING
G-MW press release Goulburn-Murray Water has launched an online 2010/11 pricing simulator providing customers in Irrigation Areas with an indication of prices for their water storage and delivery services for the 2010/11 season.
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10th May 2010
...BUT FIGURES POINT TO REGION HAVING `HIGHEST RELIABILITY' IN VICTORIA
Wangaratta Chronicle THE Alpine and King valleys\' water reliability is a key strength in its ambitious plans to make the region Victoria\'s next fresh foodbowl. Alpine Valleys Agrifood project leader, Graham Nickless (right), said the reliability of irrigation water was the best in the state.
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10th May 2010
SUPERCHARGED GRASSES
Bairnsdale Advertiser New technology developed by Australian scientists has supercharged photosynthesis - the natural process of plants converting sunlight and carbon dioxide into biomass and usable energy increasing its potential for bioengery generation. The announcement coincides with B102010 in Chicago, USA where the Governor of Victoria, Professor David de Kretser AC, is leading a Victorian consortium of investors and biotechnology companies.
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7th May 2010
ONE IN THREE VOTERS AGAINST PAYING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE 'MYTH'
Herald Sun One in three Australians are against paying for climate change, a survey has shown / AFP Source: AFP • One-third against climate change bills • Two-thirds don\'t believe it is real • Low-income earners most resistant AUSTRALIANS are rebelling against the idea they should pay to fight global warming, entrenching the Federal Government\'s woes on the issue. A new survey showed more than a third of voters don\'t want to pay for climate-change bills.
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7th May 2010
TRIAL EXCLUDES INTEREST SUBSIDY
Swan Hill Guardian \"The removal ofnterest rate subsidies in the reform package is concerning as it has provided substantial support\" ANDREW BROAD
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6th May 2010
WA FARMERS GET REAL FOR DROUGHT HELP
Australian Financial Review The federal government has taken a cautious approach to reforming its drought policy with a $23 million trial in Western Australia of a scheme that forces farmers to prove they are viable before offering them grants of up to $60,000. Farmers who cannot show they have a realistic business plan will be encouraged to apply for exit grants of up to $170,000 to leave the land.
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6th May 2010
WATER FORUM ENDS IN CHAOS
Sunraysia Daily A FORUM to brief Sunraysia irrigators on next season\'s water outlook, and explain Victoria\'s new carryover rules, ended in chaos yesterday. About 50 irrigators attended the meeting at the Mildura Function Centre at No 1 Oval, and it was soon apparent that they were in no mood to complywith a plea by organisers not to dwell on the past, and give speakers a fair hearing. During a question session at the end of the meeting, Murray Valley Citrus Board chair Jan Denham struggled to maintain order as irrigators vented their anger at losing some $30 million worth of carryover
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6th May 2010
NATIVE VEGETATION LAWS, GREENHOUSE GAS ABATEMENT
Senate report from the Finance and Public Administration References Committee
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6th May 2010
FROM THE AUSTRALIAN FARM INSITUTE
April Farm Policy Progress - headlines FAO author admits livestock emissions importance ‘exaggerated’ Border tax on carbon for the EU? Is Tesco engaging in ‘greenwashing’ McDonald’s UK assessing on-farm methane emissions World’s largest retailer targets greenhouse gas emissions More power for European food producers? Bayer ordered to pay damages in first of a series of cases
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6th May 2010
ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF AUSTRALIAN HOMES
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the new publication, Energy in Focus: Energy Efficiency of Australian Homes, Apr 2010 (30 April 2010), which comprises of the following articles: • Use of Renewable Energy in Australian Homes; • Characteristics of Australian Homes and Implications for Energy Efficiency; and • Use of Appliances and White Goods in Australian Homes. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/ProductsbyReleaseDate/206E5F67BEA87587CA25771400262CA2?OpenDocument
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5th May 2010
DUTY OF CARE FOR LAND-HOLDERS SUGGESTED
Australian Financial Review Land-holders could be bound by a duty of care to maintain the environment or face penalties for breaching standards under a radical proposal in the Henry tax review for a new national land management regime. The review\'s chapter on the environment acknowledges tax is not the solution to all policy challenges and targeted spending or regulation may be a more appropriate way to achieve environmental goals.
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5th May 2010
GROUPS STAMP VIEWS ON LABEL REVIEW
Weekly times GENETIC modification issues dominated last week\'s hearing of the independent food labelling review committee in Melbourne. Members of Gene Ethics and MADGE (Mothers Are Demystifying Genetic Engineering) Australia staged a rally outside the hearing and two chefs submitted a petition with more than 30,000 signatures calling for all foods containing GM ingredients to be properly labelled.
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5th May 2010
GRAPE HARVEST PRUNED BACK
Weekly Times THE wine grape industry\'s peak body has rejected official government estimates on the size of this year\'s crop. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics last week forecast a harvest of 1.62 million tonnes, a 7 per cent fall on last year. However, Winegrape Growers Australia executive director Mark McKenzie said the estimate was too high and the harvest could be as low as 1.4 million tonnes.
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5th May 2010
GEOTHERMAL BOOST EXPLORATION INCENTIVE
Warrnambool Standard SOUTH-WEST Victoria could see more geothermal energy exploration encouraged by new rebates under the Henry tax review recommendations approved by the federal government. From July 1 next year the new resource exploration rebate (RER) will give companies a refundable tax offset for exploration expenditure. According to Warrnamboolbased tax expert Paul Wastell the government would put geothermal energy exploration on an equal footing to minerals and petroleum.
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5th May 2010
THE GOVERNMENT'S ENERGY INACTION HAS GIVEN US THE WORST OF BOTH WORLDS
The Age Sustainability is in our long-term interests, writes Wayne Kayler-Thomson. HE sense of annoyance and frustration of many businesses at the federal government\'s behaviour over the past three years in relation to its proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS) will be great, and it has been made worse by the government\'s response to the Henry review of taxation. Not so long ago, the CPRS seemed almost inevitable, with the government raising the prospect of a double-dissolution election and a joint sitting of Parliament to rain it through. In this context, coal-fired electricity generators were delaying investment, putting upward pressure on power prices, as were large electricity-dependent manufacturers.
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4th May 2010
PLENTY IN TAX REVIEW TO LIKE
Shepparton News Ken Henry\'s long-awaited report on tax reform delivers a mixed bag for farmers, the Victorian Farmers Federation says. VFF president Andrew Broad said the review, and the Federal Government\'s response, boosted support for small business, introduced an infrastructure fund and delivered the final nail into the coffin of the Fire Service levy. These were all measures farmers would welcome, Mr Broad said.
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3rd May 2010
GREENHOUSE GAS INDICATOR
The Age Vlctorla\'s emissions from energy wew by 2%, due to a significant Increase In emissions from gas, . Emissions from coalfired generators fell by 3%, with a generatl on unit going offline. This was the lowest level since September 2009. . Electricity demand fell by 4% Emissions from gas grew by 38%, with more gas required for heating this week.
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1st May 2010
GROWERS RIP UP VINES AS PRICES DIP
Australian Financial Review Plunging grape prices are taking a heavy toll on Australian vineyards, writes Julie-anne Sprague. Wine Grape Growers Association executive director Mark McKenzie describes it as the beginning of the end. No longer able to sustain plunging prices for their fruit - or unable to sell it at all - an increasing number of grape growers will this winter begin ripping up vineyards as the persistent wine glut, high Australian dollar, a deluge of New Zealand wine imports and increasing dominance by the supermarket chains conspire to erode profitability.
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30th April 2010
DOING WHAT COMES NATURALLY
Mildura Weekly Sunraysia\'s horticultural sector has taken a real battering in recent years. Between the drought, and its attendant water issues; unpredictable demand, uncertain returns; and an unprecedented level of doubt about the future, one sector after another has been sent reeling. But amongst all the turmoil, there is a grower who is confident he knows a way forward for at least some of the dried vine fruits industry. The bright spot, according to Merbein West grower, processor and packer Barry Smith, for what was once Sunraysia\'s signature export is organics.
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30th April 2010
$800M GAS PLANT DELAY; CALL FOR DECISION ON CARBON POLICY
Warrnambool Standard A CLOUD of uncertainty hangs over the future of billions of dollars worth of new energy projects planned for the south-west following the federal government\'s indefinite delay on the emissions trading scheme. The viability of two new gas-fired power stations and a geothermal station hinge on the carbon pricing scheme while about 20 planned wind farms, two ocean-wave power stations and the state\'s only wind farm tower manufacturer in Portland await certainty on greenhouse gas renewable energy targets.
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29th April 2010
FUELLING GROWTH: AUSTRALIA’S ENERGY OPTIONS
Presentation to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia’s CEO Vision series Delivered by Grant King, Managing Director, Origin energy 13 April 2010
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29th April 2010
LONG-TERM FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE ON CLIMATE CHANGE
The Age When debate on carbon resumes, let\'s hope for bolder political visions. OMEWHERE amid the tumult over the emissions trading scheme, the breathless reporting from Copenhagen and the intensified questioning of climate science, the climate policy debate in Australia thoroughly lost its way. The shelving of the Government\'s carbon pollution reduction scheme this week provides a critical opportunity to reflect on what we, as a society, really want to achieve from climate policy and to reconsider our strategy for achieving it.
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29th April 2010
RUDD NEUTRALISES ETS CALL
Australian Financial REview Following the United States climate negotiator Todd Stern indicating that there will be no greenhouse gas emission agreement in 2010, Kevin Rudd has sought to neutralise the issue in Australia.
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29th April 2010
ELECTRICITY PRICES WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE, DESPITE SHELVING OF THE ETS
The Australian HOUSEHOLDS across Australia face steadily rising power bills, despite Kevin Rudd\'s backflip on the emissions trading scheme. Energy industry players yesterday named decaying infrastructure, rising demand, a growing population and the cost of renewable energy as key factors pushing up the price of electricity.
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29th April 2010
POWER STATION PLANS PUT ON HOLD
The Australian UP to $2 billion of investment in new power stations will be put on hold as a result of Kevin Rudd\'s decision to delay his emissions trading scheme, as major power generators are unable to close financing of projects because of uncertainty about climate policies.
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29th April 2010
RUDD PROMISES BIGGEST RENEWABLE PROGRAM EVER AFTER SHELVING ETS
Sunraysia Daily SYDNEY: The Federal Government is planning to unveil the biggest renewable energy program the country has ever seen, Prince Minister Kevin Rudd says. The Government shelved plans this week for its controversial carbon reduction pollution scheme until at least 2013, after failing to pass its legislation in the Senate.
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29th April 2010
PUTTING CARBON TO WORK
Herald Sun, Page: 26 CARBON dioxide could be used to make roads and construct buildings Instead of polluting the air under an ambitious project being tested by the state and federal governments. The Calera project aims to capture C02 from the Yallourn power station in the Latrobe Valley and make it into cement. It is a radical shift to \"capture and use\" carbon Instead of other projects to \"capture and store\" it.
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29th April 2010
LAND GOES BEGGING
The Australian As water\'s offloaded Farmers in the Murray-Darling Basin are selling off their water entitlements. PRICES paid for water entitlements in the Murray-Darling Basin are falling, with water the only remaining asset for many hard-hit grape growers. Vineyard owners, who are able to sell their water entitlements, then struggle to find buyers for the land. The commonwealth government\'s water buyback scheme the main water purchaser reports that the average prices for water along the Murray last month ranged from $796 per megalitre (million litres) for general or low-security NSW water to $1954/ML for high-security Victorian water.
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29th April 2010
REGIONS VITAL FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE
Geelong Advertiser WAYNE KAYLER-THOMSON THE upcoming May State Budget should take into account the economic importance of regional Victoria in the context of Victoria\'s overall future. It is also hoped that the regions receive the attention they deserve in the forthcoming State and Federal elections as well. Over the next decade, regional Victoria will play an increasingly important role in helping Victoria meet the challenges of population growth and climate change.
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28th April 2010
BILLIONS SLIPPING THROUGH OUR FINGERS
Business Spectator It may take until the next election to judge if the decision to abandon attempts to forge a sensible climate policy and a carbon price for another three years is sound politics. But two things should already be abundantly clear: it’s not good for the environment and it’s very bad for business. Exactly what’s at stake for the business community was made clear earlier this year by US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, the co-sponsor of a now stalled bipartisan attempt to forge consensus on climate policy in Congress: “Six months ago my biggest worry was that an emissions deal would make American business less competitive compared to China,\" he said in a now often quoted remark. “Now my concern is that every day that we delay trying to find a price for carbon is a day that China uses to dominate the green economy.”
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28th April 2010
GERMANY'S GREEN CREDENTIALS ILLUSORY
The Australian Obama thinks it is a model for the future, but German energy is not what is seems CHARLES C. JOHNSON IN Germany, Weltschmerz is the sadness one feels when comparing the way the world is to the way it ought to be. German environmentalists must be suffering a profound case of it as not-in-mybackyard protests derail industry and government-planned alternative energy projects. Germany\'s Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz, or EEG) was supposed to help the German Ministry for the Environment achieve its goal of renewables producing 30 per cent of the country\'s electricity by 2020. Instead, the EEG has met with widespread opposition.
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28th April 2010
GONE WITH THE WIND
The Age WHAT happened to the moral challenge of a generation? Plenty has changed since the 2007 federal election, but little on the political landscape has plummeted from grace at the velocity of climate change policy.
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28th April 2010
CALERA PROJECT TO GET $40M
The Age Minister Martin Ferguson has committed $40 million to a project in Victoria\'s Latrobe Valley that could be the world\'s first to turn carbon into cement and other building materials. In a speech last night to an international symposium on sustainable use of low-rank coal, Mr Ferguson raised the federal government\'s contribution to the Calera project from the previously announced $3.5 million. The Victorian government has also pledged $3.5 million to the carbon capture and use initiative.
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28th April 2010
CALERA PROJECT TO GET $40M
The Age Minister Martin Ferguson has committed $40 million to a project in Victoria\'s Latrobe Valley that could be the world\'s first to turn carbon into cement and other building materials. In a speech last night to an international symposium on sustainable use of low-rank coal, Mr Ferguson raised the federal government\'s contribution to the Calera project from the previously announced $3.5 million. The Victorian government has also pledged $3.5 million to the carbon capture and use initiative.
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28th April 2010
$40,000 AID TOO LOW, LEADERS SAY
Weekly times DROUGHT preparedness grants of $40,000, to replace drought interest-rate subsidies, have been branded inadequate by farm leaders. Media reports have claimed the Federal Government will announce the interest-rate subsidies have been replaced with the grants as part of the upcoming budget. The grants would assist with improving on-farm infrastructure, fodder storage, livestock management systems and cropping systems.
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28th April 2010
FOOD LESSONS FOR TEACHERS
South Gippsland Sentinel Times SOUTH Gippsland teachers can take part in a workshop themed Food for the Future on April 29 in Leongatha. The free workshop will be delivered by Department of Primary Industries\' (DPI) LandLearn program in partnership with the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority. Program manager Sherin Halliday said participants will be introduced to resources to support teaching of how food availability and decision making could be affected by globalisation, climate change and other issues.
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27th April 2010
VITICULTURE BIOSECURITY PLAN LAUNCH
Ararat Advertiser A new strategic plan to help protect and secure Victoria\'s $1.3 billion wine industry from threats such as phylloxera has been launched. The Victorian Viticulture Biosecurity Committee (VVBC) Strategic Plan for 2009-12 has been developed to lead and complement similar state and national initiatives, and ensures that the plant health needs of Victoria\'s viticulture industries are well understood.
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26th April 2010
ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY ARCS UP AT REPORT
The Age THE aluminium industry has rejected claims it should not get compensation worth $10.5 billion under Australia\'s proposed emissions trading scheme, and that luminium smelting will prove marginal or enviable in this country. A landmark report by independent experts at the Grattan Institute last week argued against the issue of $22 billion in free permits to emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries (EITE) - including aluminium production in the first decade of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
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26th April 2010
SOLAR PROJECTS TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY
The Australian IT could be a big fortnight for the Australian solar industry. The shortlist for the first two projects in the $1.5 billion Solar Flagships program is expected to be announced soon, and so will the much awaited but long-delayed winners of the solar component of the Renewable Energy Demonstration Program.
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24th April 2010
CERTAINTY SOUGHT TO LOCK IN SUCCESS
Weekend Australian THE liquefied natural gas market may be going through an unprecedented boom, but the role of natural gas in the domestic energy sector remains uncertain. In Australia, gas accounts for about 20 per cent of the overall energy mix, including transport, but only about 9-10 per cent of the stationary energy market. How it competes in the future energy mix, particularly for stationary energy, will be largely influenced by government policy. The major domestic gas suppliers argue that gas should be playing a pivotal role in the energy mix, at the very least as a transitional fuel to help efforts to transform Australia to a lowcarbon economy.
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24th April 2010
THE LOW-CARBON CENTURY AWAITS
Weekend Australian The energy market is bracing for change. THE biggest question of energy developers, be they coal, gas, nuclear or renewable developers, is which source will emerge as the dominant technology of a lowcarbon future. Right now the primary energy sources for Australia, including transport, are coal (40 per cent), petroleum (34 per cent), natural gas (20 per cent) and renewables 5 per cent. In stationary energy, coal dominates with about 83 per cent from black and brown coal source, hence the high per capita emissions for Australia while gas fired power generation has a 10 per cent share and renewables, mostly long-established hydro, has the remainder.
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24th April 2010
`FREE' PERMITS A WASTE OF MONEY
The Age Institute finds plans to reduce carbon not much more than smoke. IF KEVIN Rudd believes in evidence-based policy (big if) and if he wants to do something serious about climate change (bigger if), he must read the Grattan Institute\'s analysis of the compensation arrangements under his emissions trading scheme, and abandon them altogether. Released on Wednesday, the Grattan Institute paper, Restructuring the Australian Economy to Emit Less Carbon, is simple and devastating. Its main conclusion is that $22 billion in \"free\" permits, to be issued to heavy polluters under the proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme over the next decade, is a waste of taxpayers\' money.
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24th April 2010
HOLD ON TIGHT, HERE COMES THE GAS ERA
Weekend Australian WIND farms, solar panels and other renewable power sources may hog the headlines, but Australia\'s energy future is built on gas. ABARE, the government\'s peak commodities forecaster, believes gas will command an increasing share of the national energy market in the next two decades, eventually rivalling coal as the key component of electricity generation.
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24th April 2010
PLAN TO SEQUESTER CARBON
Weekend Australian THE development of the massive Gorgon gas field off the northwest coast of Australia will be accompanied by one of the most significant carbon dioxide sequestration projects in the world. The developers have signed orders worth $1.1 billion for the project with GE Oil and Gas, which will sequester up to LO million tonnes of CO the largest undertaking of its type so far. CO, is present in many gas fields, but Gorgon is unique because it has particularly high quantities. The CO2 needs to be removed because it upsets the liquefication process, needed to transport the gas as LNG. While gas turns to liquid at -160C, the CO, freezes. In most other projects where CO2 is present, the CO, is simply vented into the atmosphere.
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23rd April 2010
2009: THE YEAR IN WHICH THE SCEPTICS STOLE THE RUNNING ON CLIMATE CHANGE
The Age Australian business could show our politicians the way on sustainability policy, writes Michael Roux. CONFRONTED with a growing international consensus on climate change and the alarming possibility of a meaningful Copenhagen treaty, the forces for the carbon-fired status quo needed a strategy-and some luck. In 2009, they got both. The strategy devised and put into practice by sceptics and their industry and media sponsors is breathtakingly simple and devastatingly effective: drown climate change in a partisan political swamp. Events, random and otherwise, have conspired to aid these forces no end. Consider just the past 12 months. The leak of thousands of emails between climate scientists - dubbed Climate gate - seemed to reveal cracks in the scientific consensus as well as an unseemly political undertone in the research. The global financial crisis drew focus away from global warning and towards urgent domestic economic and political priorities. The UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen was caught up in a whirl of geopolitical point-scoring, ending in a nil-all draw. And, in Australia, the issue became proxy in a battle for the soul of the Liberal Party, kneecapping any hope for a bipartisan response.
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23rd April 2010
SUNNY SAVINGS
Herald Sun, David and Libby Koch The forecast massive rise in electricity prices over the next couple years is going to put a major dent in household budgets across the nation. There are predictions of price increases in some states of 64 per cent, which could see average annual power bills rising by between $500-$1000 by 2013. Even though this will be cushioned in some instances by promised low-income rebates, the rising cost is going to be a major financial issue. It actually got us thinking about whether installing solar power has now become a viable financial option. We\'ve always been attracted to solar power from an environmental point of view but have been reluctant to do anything because the financial payback has been so long. But we\'ve been re-doing our sums on the back of these predicted electricity increases and we think solar power is going to come roaring into its own. On some of our calculations the payback period, particularly in states where you can sell power back in to the grid, can be as low as 4-5 years. There are lots of variables which can affect the calculations but it\'s worth having a look as the payback period will just get shorter as conventional electricity prices rise. A big problem is understanding the federal and state government incentives on offer but any reputable solar panel company will be able to help you.
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23rd April 2010
AGAINST THE GRAIN
Australian financial review Carlisle Ford Runge and Carlisle Piehl Runge show that, contrary to expectations, global food shortage remains a possibility In the late 18th century, the English political economist Thomas Malthus took a look at two sets of numbers and had an unnerving vision: with food supplies increasing arithmetically while the number of people grew geometrically, the world population would eventually run out of food. \"By that law of our nature which makes food necessary to the life of man,\" he wrote in 1798, \"the effects of these two unequal powers must be kept equal. This implies a strong and constantly operating check on population from the difficulty of subsistence. This difficulty must fall somewhere and must necessarily be severely felt by a large portion of mankind.\"
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23rd April 2010
CHINA LEADS G-20 MEMBERS IN CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE AND INVESTMENT
The PEW Charitable trusts website For the first time, China led the United States and other G-20 members in 2009 clean energy investments and finance, according to data released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Last year, China invested $34.6 billion in the clean energy economy – nearly double the United States’ total of $18.6 billion. Over the last five years, the United States also trailed five G-20 members (Turkey, Brazil, China, the United Kingdom, and Italy) in the rate of clean energy investment growth.
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23rd April 2010
ENERGY IN AUSTRALIA 2010
Federal government report
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23rd April 2010
VICTORIAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
The 3rd Victorian Sustainable Development Conference is to be held on May 25-26, 2010 at Zinc, Federation Square, Melbourne. The Conference will be solution-oriented, bringing together key decision-makers from the private and public sectors, industry leaders, local government, scientists, conservationists and others to discuss ways in which to achieve real and lasting change in areas such as:
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22nd April 2010
LANDLORDS SEE RED OVER GREEN REGIME
Business Review Weekly Tough new disclosure requirements regarding energy efficiency are about to hit the owners of commercial property hard. Report: Dan Hall At 7:30am every working day thousands of commercial buildings in Australia\'s capital cities and regional centres cough and splutter into life. Most of these buildings are more than a decade old, and their building management systems - heating, cooling, water and general power use - will need replacing or upgrading. The buildings are relics of the energyinefficient past, and under the government\'s new mandatory reporting of energy use, their owners will soon be required to disclose their energy efficiency before they can sell or lease the building. But the scheme has been slammed by the property industry, with some labelling the program as heavy handed and inflexible.
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22nd April 2010
A NEW SLANT ON CARBON
Herald Sun Ben Butler AUSTRALIA should abolish free carbon permits for most industries, even though it would force the country\'s aluminium sector to move offshore and cost 5000 jobs, according to a study to be released today. The Grattan Institute\'s chief executive John Daley said yesterday the Rudd Government\'s proposed assistance package for industry to cut carbon emissions was \"a $20 billion waste of taxpayers\' money\". He described it as \"an extraordinarily expensive job protection scheme\". However, Prof Daley said the steel and cement industries should get assistance because their profitability would be marginal after paying for carbon. He said the entire concept of reducing emissions would be seriously undermined if Australia was forced to buy replacement Chinese steel, which might generate higher emissions. But other industries including aluminium, alumina refining, coal mining, liquid natural gas and oil refining should pay full fare for their emissions, the study found.
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22nd April 2010
FACING UP TO ECONOMIC REALITY IN A CLIMATE OF FEAR
Australian Financial Review Free carbon permits and subsidies will slow the shift to a greener economy, writes John Daley F ear of losing what we have is a primal human emotion. When making the tough choices on tariff reform, we feared that the jobs lost would never be replaced. We need not have worried. So it\'s not surprising that responses to climate change have been dominated by concerns that jobs will go, factories will move offshore and businesses will shut. In response to these fears, the draft Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme bill proposes \"free\" permits for the industries that emit relatively more carbon, but this would be a $20 billion waste at the expense of the rest of the Australian community.
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22nd April 2010
$2OBN EMISSIONS COMPO `A WASTE'
The Age By ADAM MORTON MORE than $20 billion would be wasted on unwarranted compensation to polluting sectors under the Rudd government\'s proposed emissions trading scheme, a damning analysis has found. The analysis by think tank the Grattan Institute - the first to examine the financial reports of major businesses in line for compensation - found only the steel and cement sectors could make a case for taxpayer help. Others that compete overseas, including alumina refining, LNG production and coalmining, would be marginally less profitable, but not forced to close. Aluminium smelting is in another category - unprofitable, but the analysis found the government should let it move offshore. Many overseas aluminium plants run on comparatively environmentally friendly fuel and emit less greenhouse gas than an Australian smelter.
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21st April 2010
LIB CLIMATE SCHEMES 'COSTLY, INEFFICIENT'
The Age By ADAM MORTON ENVIRONMENT REPORTER KEY Howard-era climate change schemes worth more than $1.5 billion have failed to deliver promised cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and have proved massively expensive. In one notable case, a scheme similar to the \"direct action\" climate policy of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott achieved only 30 per cent of the expected cut. An Auditor-General\'s examination of five climate schemes based on grants and rebates found some performed poorly and most lacked clear goals. The programs continued under the Rudd government, but funding rounds have finished.
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21st April 2010
DATA CLOUDS CLIMATE DEBATE
Australian Financial Review John Breusch The Australian National Audit Office has warned that last year\'s climatechange debate might have been compromised because poor reporting of the impact of the federal government\'s many carbon reduction programs made it difficult for anyone to judge the merits of different policies. The independent auditor has also raised questions about Opposition Leader Tony Abbott\'s grants-based alternative to an emissions trading scheme by finding major flaws in the way the former Howard government administered a similar program. The findings are made in two audit reports released yesterday, one focusing on the co-ordination and reporting of climate-change policies and the other program administration.
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21st April 2010
WINE INDUSTRY GETS AID
Ballarat CourierTHE State Government has launched a plan to help protect and secure Victoria\'s wine industry from threats such as phylloxera. Agriculture Minister Joe Helper said viticulture, comprising the dried, table and winegrape industries were collectively the largest horticulture industry in the state. The government has allocated $3 million under its Future Farming Strategy over four years to improve biosecurity and market access for a number of Victorian grapegrowing regions and establish the Victorian Viticulture Biosecurity Committee. The VVBC aims to improve Victoria\'s capability for managing emergency plant pests and diseases.
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21st April 2010
PRODUCTIVITY SLUMP MORE THAN JUST DROUGHT
The Weekly times, By PETER HUNT GROWTH in Australian agriculture\'s productivity has slumped in the face of drought, an ageing farmer population and declining investment in research, development and extension. Recent ABARE research shows that while drought has driven farm costs up and consequently slowed productivity growth, other factors are undermining long-term improvements. In a paper released earlier this year. ABARE analysts Katarina Nossal and Yu Sheng found annual broadacre productivity growth was 1.8 per cent in the 20 years to 1997-98. but has since slumped to negative 1.3 per cent.
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21st April 2010
NEW EFFORT NEEDED TO FEED THE WORLD
The Australian Australia needs to develop a\'university of the world\' for it to play a part in averting disaster MY generation grew up in fear: fear that the Soviets or the Americans would push the red button; fear that China and India would overrun the world with hungry people. Then miracles happened. The Soviet Union disintegrated, China implemented its one-child policy and India opened up to international markets. But first we had the Green Revolution. Researchers at international agricultural research centres developed high-yielding crop varieties and new social institutions. Poor farmers gained the means and freedom to increase food production. Academics at top universities linked with researchers at the international centres. Postdoctoral fellows supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, the \"Rocky Does\", helped build the capacity of international agricultural research. Extension agents in developed countries routinely worked in developing countries.
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21st April 2010
CRACKDOWN ON HORTI RORT
Weekly Times, By David McKenzie RAIDS will take place on about 1000 horticultural properties around Australia in the coming months to ensure workers are not being exploited. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s office will conduct random audits of growers next month and in June to see if they are abiding by the new horticulture award and new national employment standards. The FWO officials will also keep an eye out for illegal migrant workers and alert the federal immigration department for follow-up action if required. A spokesman for the FWO said the audits followed an extensive education campaign involving a guide for employers, self-audit tools and information seminars. \"We’ll be checking the level of compliance in the wake of this educational push,’’ the spokesman said.
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21st April 2010
CLIMATE CHANGE PROGRAMS LACK CREDIBILITY: AUDIT
LENORE TAYLOR, The Sydney Morning Herald THE federal government could provide \'\'no documentation\'\' on how it assessed the $4.45 billion \'\'clean energy initiative\'\' announced in last year\'s budget, according to an audit report detailing a litany of failures in both Howard and Rudd government greenhouse programs. \'\'There was no documentation held by the department relating to … advice on the costs and benefits of the proposal and the management of risks associated with implementing the program,\'\' the audit found.
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20th April 2010
MAJOR ECONOMIES DISCUSS CLIMATE TALKS
The Climate Group\'s Damian Ryan analyses the MEF meeting that took place in Washington on April 19th. Countries belonging to the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) appear to have had a constructive meeting in Washington on April 19th. The MEF, which was set up by President Obama in 2009, provides a forum for major greenhouse gas emitting countries to discuss climate and energy issues in an informal setting. Tuesday’s meeting was the first time the MEF had met following the Copenhagen climate conference. A summary released by the US State Department showed that MEF countries tackled many of the controversial issues that undermined progress in Copenhagen.
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19th April 2010
NEW PROJECTS SLOW TO GET STARTED
The Australian AUSTRALIA\'S environmental markets may well have surged in recent months, but this is yet to translate into m any of the new projects they are designed to finance. The price of renewable energy certificates has jumped to a recent high of $48, and closed last week around $46, nearly 60 per cent above the lows reached last year as RECs from solar hot water heaters flooded the market. The price has recovered after the federal government flagged changes to the renewable energy target (R ET), fixing the price of RE Cs for small-scale installations, but keeping them separate from the main market for utility-scale projects. But developers are still unwilling to commit themselves to projects until the final legislation is seen and passed,
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19th April 2010
NAB ROPES IN CARBON EXPERT
The Australian NATIONAL Australia Bank has boosted its environment markets team, introducing a carbon specialist into its trading capabilities within the wholesale bank, with further appointments likely to follow. Despite the absence of a domestic emissions trading scheme and a binding international treaty, Australian companies are now recognising that managing carbon risk is a significant strategic issue, particularly for those involved in international markets.
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19th April 2010
STATES MAY RESIST LOSS OF CHEMICAL REGULATION POWER
Australian Financail Review, Sophie Morris The federal government will this week push for a national system for regulating farm chemicals but faces a battle to convince the states to hand over their powers to police the use of pesticides and other substances. In an echo of the debate about health reform, the staunchest resistance is expected to come from Victoria, which has a more liberal regime for controlling the use of farm chemicals than other states. Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke has promised reform of the existing regime, under which the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is responsible for registering products but state governments control their use.
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19th April 2010
FURTHER FUNDING FOR COUNCILS TO PLAN FOR A FUTURE WITH LESS WATER
Penny Wong media release Local governments in the Murray Darling Basin will benefit from planning grants that help them prepare their local communities for a future with less water. In Swan Hill today, the Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water, Senator Wong, announced $6 million in funding for a second round in the planning component of the $200 million Strengthening Basin Communities Program. “In an era of extended drought and climate change, many communities across the Basin are confronting the social and economic challenges brought about by reduced water availability,” Senator Wong said.
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19th April 2010
AUSTRALIA'S ENERGY RESOURCES STRENGTH REVEALED
Martin Ferguson , press release The Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson AM MP, has released the latest analysis of Australia’s energy production, which highlights Australia\'s abundant energy resources. The Australian Government’s Energy in Australia 2010 is a comprehensive analysis of Australia’s energy production and consumption performance as well as the sector’s national economic significance. The report says the value of Australia’s energy exports has increased throughout the past two decades at an average annual rate of 10 per cent and in just the five years to 2008-09, the value of Australia’s energy exports increased 232 per cent.
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17th April 2010
IT HELPS TO SHRINK CARBON FOOTPRINT
Weekend Australian WITH the population of Australia\'s cities forecast to grow rapidly during the coming decades, finding ways to curtail increasing carbon footprints has become an urgent task. Across the world, while national governments focus on trading schemes and other Iongterm strategies, cities are finding more targeted programs can show encouraging results. In 2006, a group of the world\'s 40 largest cities formed an organisation, dubbed C40, to share practical ideas about reducing carbon footprints. The group\'s co-founder Mark Watts says acting at a city level can produce encouraging results.
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17th April 2010
SAVINGS FROM THE GROUND UP
The Age Geothermal pumps keep heating and cooling costs low and are efficient all year round, writes Anne Thompson. MILLIONS of Europeans and Americans have installed geothermal heat pumps, reducing their power bills and minimising their carbon footprints. But Australians have been slow to link up with this underground energy source. Geothermal heat pumps (or ground-source heat pumps) circulate liquid, usually water or antifreeze, through the earth. Heat can be transferred from the earth to the liquid (heating mode) or dispersed to the earth (cooling mode). The underground heat exchange reduces the amount of electricity that would otherwise be used to heat or cool a building. Efficiency is increased because, unlike air temperature, there is little seasonal variation in ground temperature.
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17th April 2010
THE LUNATIC'S MANIFESTO
Weekend Australian THERE ARE DOWNSIDES TO BEING both a farmer and a film star. Joel Salatin is telling me that recently he rang up to order a tractor-load of sawdust and copped a stream of rather surprising vitriol. \"The guy got on the phone and said, \'I wouldn\'t bring you a delivery for a million bucks,\"\' he recalls. \"He said, `You abuse your cows and chickens by not giving them medicines, you leave your cows out on the grass\'... it was an extraordinary outburst, the phone was melting in my hand.\" Such is the price of thinking outside the paddock. Salatin, who\'s coming to Australia next month, is not only a farmer who\'s more controversial than most; he has the distinction of being the most famous farmer in the world right now, thanks to his role in the hardhitting Oscar-nominated documentary Food, Inc, an expose of industrial food production that releases in selected Australian cinemas on May 20. In it, Salatin plays the good guy, giving viewers welcome relief from director Robert Kenner\'s unrelenting, at times confronting investigation into corporate power and the dangers inherent in a food system driven by low prices above all else.
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15th April 2010
ACF DOUBLES THE AMOUNT OF WATER IT WILL BUY FOR WETLANDS
Date: 31-Mar-2010 The Australian Conservation Foundation’s Just Add Water initiative has already raised enough money to purchase the targeted 200 million litres of water for Hattah Lakes wetlands in Victoria. Launched on 15 March, the campaign has exceeded its target after just two weeks of accepting donations at www.justaddwater.org.au.
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15th April 2010
ALL MAJOR EMITTERS MEET ACCORD DEADLINE
From the Cliamte GRoup\'s website February 2, 2010 Fifty-five countries have met the UN’s 31st January deadline for submitting their intended climate mitigation commitments under the Copenhagen Accord. Crucially, submissions have been received by all major emitters, including the US, China, the EU, and India. Sunday’s deadline was agreed at last month’s UN climate conference and required developed countries to submit emission reduction targets for 2020, while developing countries had to provide information on the mitigation actions they intended to take over the same period. Further submissions are expected over coming weeks following an earlier statement from the UN\'s Chief Climate Official that Jan 31 was essentially a \'soft deadline\'.
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15th April 2010
GREEN FOR GO WITH BROWN-COAL PLANT
Chinese corporation set to sign for Morwell project The Age By ADAM MORTON ENVIRONMENT REPORTER VICTORIA is a step closer to a new brown-coal power plant after a Chinese company announced it had won a contract to build a long-delayed $750 million station in the Latrobe Valley. The state-owned China National Electric Equipment Corporation said it expected to sign a contract with Melbournebased HRL on April22 to build a demonstration plant that woulduse new technology to run on low-grade coal.
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15th April 2010
SILEX SHINES IN SYDNEY
Sunraysia Daily Mildura solar owner opens panel plant By Chris McLennan SILEX Systems, the new owner of Mildura\'s solar power station project, celebrated the opening of its $30 million solar panel factory in Sydney yesterday. NSW Minister for State and Regional Development, Ian Macdonald, officially opened the manufacturing plant - the biggest of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Silex, a nuclear energy research company, has been extremely successful at securing government support having NSW Government sponsorship for its solar factory.
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15th April 2010
POWERING A GENERATION OF MANAGEMENT
The Age AGL boss Michael Fraser is kicking goals in an energy industry that is at the crossroads of change, writes Rod Myer. GL Energy managing director Michael Fraser was handed a delicate brief when he took control in October 2007: stay at the forefront of Australia\'s rapidly expanding and changing energy sector but avoid frightening investors or overselling the company\'s performance. Fraser\'s appointment followed the tumultuous 17-month reign of Welshman Paul Anthony whose extrovert style and ambitious corporate strategy delivered major developments such as the merger with Alinta and the purchase of Queensland energy retailer Powerdirect. But Anthony eventually fell victim to his own expectations. When AGL could not meet his profit forecasts, management and the board turned against him.
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15th April 2010
A LONG OVERDUE BEACHHEAD IN THE ANNALS OF LAKES OIL
Herald Sun AFTER a decade of drilling for \"tight gas\" in Gippsland, Lakes Oil chairman Robert Annells was a happy man yesterday. A deal with gas and oil major Beach Energy will see the larger partner earn up to 50 per cent of any oil and gas in PRL 2 lease area in return for spending up to $50 million on further fracturing and drilling.
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15th April 2010
LAKES OIL WORKS ON BEACH DEAL FOR ONSHORE GAS
The Age By BARRY FitzGERALD LAKES Oil chairman Rob Annells has been working for more than 20 years at getting the broader industry to recognise that the onshore portion of Gippsland Basin has untapped potential, especially for \"tight\" gas. Maybe not as big or prolific as the offshore portion where the Esso/BHP Billiton partnership has been producing oil and gas since the 1960s, but worth investigation in a higher gas-price environment. Now he has secured a \"big brother\" in the form of Reg Nelson at Adelaide-based Beach Petroleum to help prove his point.
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15th April 2010
DON'T GIVE WATER TO GENERATORS: PANEL
The Age By PETER KER VICTORIA\'S coal-fired power generators have been dealt a blow in their bid to take a bigger share of the state\'s water, after an advisory panel told the state government not to give away a \"rare bounty\". The advice puts the government in an awkward position after Energy Minister Peter Batchelor threw his support behind the power companies\' controversial proposals in November. Latrobe Valley generators use about 125 billion litres of water a year - one-third of Melbourne\'s annual consumption - and have asked the government for access to a larger volume and more guaranteed supplies.
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15th April 2010
FOOD MYSTERY
Herald Sun EVER wondered where your food comes from? A national survey has found that an overwhelming majority of city folk want to know exactly that. The survey in March by Millward Brown of 314 city residents found that 96 per cent of them wanted to know more about where their food comes from and 73 per cent would like to visit a farm to find out more. Hundreds of city families are taking the opportunity to visit farms around Australia on May 29-30, which has been designated FarmDay.
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15th April 2010
TURNING CO2 INTO PLASTIC, FULE AND FEED
LaTRobe Valley Express THE Latrobe Valley is set to begin one of three trial projects in Australia using algae to convert power station carbon emissions into a multi-million dollar industry creating oils and meal. The recent Gippsland Community Network Breakfast at Morwell was an opportunity to introduce the MBD Energy project, which will be trialed at Loy Yang Power station this year. MBD Energy managing director Andrew Lawson was the guest speaker. He explained how the new algal synthesiser technology captures greenhouse gases from emission chimneys to convert into oils used to make plastics, transport fuels such as diesel, and as feed stock. The company has operated for five years and recently launched a test facility at James Cook University capable of producing 14,000 litres of oil and 25,000 kilograms of algal meal from every 100 tonnes of CO,, consumed.
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15th April 2010
CLIMATE SCIENTISTS CLEARED BY INQUIRY
Times Online CLIMATE scientists at the centre of the row over stolen e-mails acted with integrity and made no attempt to manipulate their research on global temperatures, an external inquiry has found. However, their research was misrepresented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which failed to reflect uncertainties the scientists reported about raw temperature data.
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15th April 2010
CSIRO OCEAN BUOYS TRACK RAINFALL CHANGES
Australian scientists say data collected from underwater buoys will provide a benchmark for measuring global climate change. Scientists have used a network of thousands of robotic buoys to measure water temperatures and levels of salt and fresh water in the world\'s oceans. They say it is the first accurate measure of changes in the world\'s oceans. The findings show rainfall patterns are intensifying. CSIRO scientist Dr Susan Wijffels says arid continents such as Australia are getting drier while the tropics become wetter. \"The water cycle of the planet, the cycling of water through the atmosphere, is getting stronger over the last 50 years,\" she said.
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14th April 2010
LESSONS LEARNED', SO SA GEOTHERMAL PROJECT RESUMES
The Age By MATHEW MURPHY GEODINAMICS and Origin Energy say their South Australian geothermal project is back on track following the blowout of pressurised water and steam from one well last year. Geodynamics managing director Gerry Grove-White said \"lessons had been learnt\" from the blast at the Habanero 3 well, which ripped through a seven-metre-deep concrete structure and dealt the project a major setback. Mr Grove-White said Geodynamics and Origin had renewed their commitment to developing the Innamincka geothermal project in north-east South Australia.
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14th April 2010
ILUKA FREEZES EXEC WAGES
Sunraysia Daily First half net loss expected due to soft demand for mineral sands MINER Iluka Resources Ltd has frozen executive salaries this year in light of an expected first half net loss due to soft demand for mineral sands. \"Iluka\'s senior management group will forgo any increase in salary in 2010 while the board will also retain its fee structure at 2009 levels,\" chairman Bob Every said in the company\'s annual report issued yesterday.
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14th April 2010
CHANNEL CHANGE NEEDED
IT\'S A COMMUNITY SAFETY CONCERN Shepparton News By John Lewis An Undera woman believes safety standards around Goulburn- Murray Waters\' plasticlined channels are not being met, resulting in the drowning of pets, native animals and even birds. Deborah Lynch sent photographs to The News of a dead cat in a plastic-lined channel at Mooroopna, saying it was one of many deaths which had been regularly occurring in the area since irrigation modernisation began in 2008.
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14th April 2010
BANK DOESN'T HOLD WATER
Weekly Times By PETER HUNT A BID to build Australia\'s largest community water bank has flopped, with irrigator and public donations delivering little more than 100 megalitres in deposits since it was established in 2003. The former Coalition Federal Government poured $705,000 into developing the Healthy Rivers Australia water bank\'s environmental management plan in 2006. But Healthy Rivers chairman Mark Siebentritt said irrigators and the public had only donated enough water and moneyand money to buy and bank about 100 megalitres of allocation (temporary) water.
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14th April 2010
DEANS IN PLEA FOR SUPPORT
The Weekly Times THE foundations of Australian agricultural research are being eroded by the high cost of postgraduate courses and research careers. The Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture has warned the Federal Government that students are abandoning post-graduate research, which threatens agriculture\'s future competitive advantage. In their submission to the Federal Government\'s Inquir y Into Research Training and Research Workforce Issues, the deans outlined the long and costly road to gaining a PhD.
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14th April 2010
RURAL JOBS UP FOR GRABS
Weekly times A shortage of agriculture science graduates is stifling productivity. Looking at starting salaries is a step in the right direction, PETER HUNT reports AUSTRALIA\'S agriculture universities and colleges are turning out just 800 students a year for a job market demanding 6000. That\'s the finding of an Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture assessment of 50.600 on-farm and agribusiness job advertisements, from January 2007 to December 2009.
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14th April 2010
AUSTRALIA LEFT BEHIND
The Weekly times By LESLIE WHITE AUSTRALIAN farmers receive just a fraction of the government aid farmers overseas do. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development figures obtained by The Weekly Times reveal assistance and subsidies make up just 4 per cent of gross Australian farm income. This compares to Japanese farmers, who receive 49 per cent of their gross farm income from their government, EU farmers, 27 per cent, Turkish growers, 22 per cent, and US farmers, 9 per cent. The OECD average is 22 per cent. Australian growers also pay for their exports to be checked for pests and diseases - a service that is free in many other countries.
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13th April 2010
POLLUTION PRICE NEEDED NOW FOR MOVE TO CLEAN ECONOMY
ACF media release Date: 13-Apr-2010 The Australian Conservation Foundation today called on Government to end the political stalemate over climate change by immediately putting a price on carbon pollution. “A price on pollution is essential to move to a clean energy economy and start creating hundreds of thousands of jobs,” said ACF Campaigns Director Denise Boyd. “An immediate two-year levy on pollution would end the uncertainty around climate legislation that is holding back clean energy investment and job creation. “A two-year levy, similar to what has been proposed by Professor Ross Garnaut and the Greens, would mean a start to the business of cutting Australia’s emissions while the design of the emissions trading scheme is strengthened.”
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13th April 2010
SMART METERS ANOTHER DUMB ECONOMIC IDEA
The Age John Legge It\'s the latest step in Victoria\'s dismantling of a good electricity policy. THE state government has postponed the full exploitation of the smart electricity meters now being installed until after the election. Energy Minister Peter Batchelor explained that he was concerned that pensioners and the poor would face higher electricity prices. It isn\'t the meters that are at fault; it is the way successive Victorian governments have built bad policy on the basis of bad economic advice. From 1926 to 1994, Victorians bought their electricity from the State Electricity Commission, a public utility founded by Sir John Monash. Under a bureaucratic overlay, the SEC reflected the public service ethos of its founder; and every year from its first consumer connection, the real price of electricity supplied by the SEC fell.
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12th April 2010
AUSTRALIAN PRIMARY INDUSTRIES TRANSFORMING
CSIRO Information Sheet The Transforming Primary Industries Project This information sheet provides a short summary of the main findings from initial stakeholder interviews conducted in the Wimmera and Sunraysia communities of Victoria, as part of the Australian Primary Industries Transforming project. Primary industries in Australia are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. However, by adapting to these projected changes, industries and communities can help reduce the negative impacts. Adaptation will also allow resource managers to take advantage of any opportunities provided by the new conditions.
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12th April 2010
SOME NEW TITLES FROM CSIRO

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12th April 2010
GREEN TARIFFS MAKE NO SENSE
CAROLINE BOIN AND ALEC VAN GELDER Taxing carbon-heavy imports is uneconomic and won\'t help the climate The Australian INTERNATIONAL climate talks in Bonn last weekend were trying to salvage December\'s failed Copenhagen summit. But some rich countries are imposing their own carbon limits anyway, and threatening to curb imports from poor countries that are not. We believe this will cripple the rich economies and harm the poor countries without doing much about emissions.
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12th April 2010
MISSING THE BUS ON CLEAN-TECH REVOLUTION
The Australian ONE swallow does not make a summer unless, perhaps, you are in the Australian clean-tech sector. For the first time in longer than most will care to remember, the Australian CleanTech Index managed to outperform its mainstream rivals in March, posting a 7.3 per cent gain, compared with a 7 per cent rise for the S&P/ASX200. But this heroic effort could not disguise the sector\'s chronic underperformance against the broad index over the course of this fiscal year (down 9.5 per cent compared with a 25.6 per cent gain) and the year before. Part of the problem, says John O\'Brien, managing director of Australian CleanTech, is that the index is dominated by just a few companies. The lack of depth is a weakness, not just for the index, but for the local industry.
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12th April 2010
NEXT STEPS FOR INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS AGREED
The Climate Group\'s Damian Ryan reports on the UN climate talks that took place in Bonn at the weekend The first official UN climate change talks since the difficult and contentious Copenhagen summit were held in Bonn, Germany from 9-11 April. The purpose of the three day meeting was to agree a work programme to guide the ongoing negotiations through to the next UN climate summit in Cancun, Mexico in late November. Countries had agreed to extend the negotiations at the Copenhagen conference. This followed from the failure at that meeting to seal a new global climate deal. The Copenhagen Accord, the 11th hour political deal negotiated by heads of government, was intended to provide clear political guidance for concluding this work.
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12th April 2010
'SLIM' PROSPECTS FOR CLIMATE DEAL THIS YEAR
From BBC News website Prospects of finalising a new binding agreement on climate change by the end of the year are \"slim\", according to UN climate convention chief Yvo de Boer. He was speaking at the first UN climate talks since the Copenhagen summit. A negotiating process was agreed, but big divisions remain between nations. The EU vowed to step up efforts to achieve a legally binding treaty. Analyses show pledges in Copenhagen are not likely to keep the global average temperature rise below 2C (3.6F).
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12th April 2010
PUSH FOR GAS-FIRED PLANT
LaTrobe Valley Press By EBONNIE LORD AND STEPHANIE CHARALAMBOUS ENVIRONMENT victoria is warning the Latrobe Valley region will miss out on securing employment if it does not have a concrete plan for when Hazelwood Power Station shuts. The organisation is set to release a study promoting job opportunities in the Valley though a mix of renewable energy, energy efficiency and gas-fired power early next month. Environment Victoria campaigns director Mark Wakeham said their group had met with community groups and unions to discuss their idea.
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12th April 2010
SYSTEM FORCED TO CLOSE
Country News Insert, Sophie Bruns A decision to close down Campaspe Irrigation District has left many farmers assessing options for their farming future. NVIRP modernisation executive director David Kent recently told a meeting of Campaspe landowners that 108 irrigators had chosen to exit irrigated farming, making it impossible to continue the existing system.
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10th April 2010
ALARMIST BROWN WOULD CONDEMN US TO COAL POWER
Weekend Australian The Greens leader\'s argument against an Australian nuclear industry is inconsistent He may have a problem with yellowcake, but with his oratory at the National Press Club this week Greens leader Bob Brown showed he\'s more than happy to resort to nuclear-powered manipulation to make his case. The senator\'s performance in the debate with Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation chairman Ziggy Switkowski was one of the more disingenuous recent contributions to Australian public life.
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10th April 2010
UNDERGROUND COAL GASIFICATION THE NEXT BIG THING IN ENERGY MIX
Weekend Australian A whole new industry may be emerging to tap clean and energy efficient gas ANDREW FRASER GAS ON a hilltop about 10km south of the southeast Queensland town of Kingaroy, just over the road from the ancestral home of the Bjelke- Petersen clan, a small blue flame flickering on and off above a small metallic plant has been visible at night for the past few weeks. What is now a flickering flame is a light on the hill for a potential new industry because the flame is the burn-off of synthetic gas that has come to the surface through a process called underground coal gasification, a possible whole new coal industry to rival the fast approaching coal seam gas industry and liquid natural gas industry.
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10th April 2010
NOT YET THE BEST THING UNDER THE SUN
The Age PADDY MANNING Debate is raging over the fairness of solar power feed - i n tariffs. WATCH out, there\'s another green rush: New South Wales residents are flat out installing rooftop solar panels due to the state\'s new, generous feed-in tariff (FIT). More than 60 countries - and now most Australian states and territories - have feed-in tariffs that offer a subsidy to electricity users who install renewable capacity in their home or business. It\'s known as embedded or distributed generation.
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9th April 2010
MERIT IN DIVERSIFYING YOUR WATER ASSETS
Sunraysia Daily Over the last few years rightly or wrongly the water markets have continued to develop as Government\'s have pursued a policy of removing barriers to trade to create a free an open market. Since unbundling and water market rules legislation the restrictions associated with ownership and transfer of permanent water entitlements have relaxed which has created opportunities for irrigators to own other types of entitlements from other states.
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9th April 2010
WALPEUP SUPPORT
Sunraysia Daily, By John Anderson THROUGHOUT 2009 the Walpeup community campaigned against the closure of the Mallee Research Station. Now that the Sunraysia Institute of TAFE has a 12-month lease on the facility, plans are well under way to secure the future of the site. The Research Station had been the major employer in the township and the focus of social gatherings for many years.
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9th April 2010
UN CLIMATE TALKS TO RESUME AMID FEAR OF MORE DIVISIONS
BBC news website The first round of UN climate talks since December\'s bitter Copenhagen summit opens in Bonn on Friday with the future of the process uncertain. Developing countries are adamant that the UN climate convention is the right forum for negotiating a global deal and want it done by the year\'s end. But others, notably the US, appear to think this is not politically feasible. Some delegates are concerned that the whole process could collapse, given the divisions and lack of trust. \"There is the political will among developing countries. They are working for an agreement that includes further emissions reductions under the Kyoto Protocol,\" Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries, told the BBC.
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8th April 2010
THE POWER OF INFLUENCE
Business Review Weekly Participating in \"green\" activities such as recycling and conforming to the expectations of others are the two factors that have the most significant effect on consumer attitudes towards renewable electricity, new research shows. The study comparing consumer attitudes towards green electricity in regional areas and cities reveals that electricity providers and governments need to do more to change the way people think if the take up of green electricity is to increase.
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8th April 2010
FRONT OF PIPE STRATEGY NEEDED
Stock and Land AUSTRALIA\'S management of water needed a stronger focus on `front of pipe\' strategies, especially the capture of rainfall by soils, leading scientists and Federal Government bureacrats were told in Canberra last week. Former Governor-General, Major-General Michael Jeffery, who convened the Canberra forum through Outcomes Australia, said the back-of-pipe thinking that currently prevailed was largely about reallocating a dwindling resource.
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8th April 2010
VERY LOCAL WEATHER FORECASTS
Stock and land LOCAL weather forecasts are one thing but residents of rural Victoria can now take that to the micro level using mapbased weather forecasts for the next seven days, down to a six kilometre square! David Morrison from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said the map based Forecast Explorer weather forecasting and warning system for Victoria, launched on December 11, is available via a link under the Warnings Current panel of the bureau\'s website www.bom.gov.au
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8th April 2010
LIVESTOCK EMISSIONS THREAT OVERSTATED
Australian, By Asa Wahlqulst THE author of a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation report that has been used to argue that eating less meat would save the planet has admitted the study overstated the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. The 2006 FAQ report, Livestock’s Long Shadow, stated that livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The paper was at odds with the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which stated just 4 per cent of glob al greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock. Last month, Frank Mitloehner, from the University of California, slammed the FAQ report, saying that not only was it scientifically inaccurate, but it distracted people from embracing effective solutions to global warming.
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7th April 2010
ABBOTT SIDESTEPS ETS
Australian Financial Review Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will not win the next election. Only one Australian prime minister since World War II has failed to win a second term. The political battle now being played out is really about who will win the election after next: whether Abbott can cut the Rudd government\'s majority by enough in this year\'s election to make it easily beatable in 2013. That simple political fact is critical to understanding the political debate over climate change policy.
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7th April 2010
BISHOP PUTS URANIUM IN POLL FRAME
Australian Financial Review by John Kevin An Abbott coalition government would overturn Labor\'s ban on uranium sales to India in the interests of Australian jobs and combating global climate change, Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop said yesterday. Although the coalition has repeatedly said since 2008 that it continued to support the sale of uranium to India to help New Delhi to combat climate change and create resource sector jobs in Australia, Ms Bishop confirmed for the first time that it would be part of the coalition\'s election platform.
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7th April 2010
FULL STEAM AHEAD
Herald Sun A GEOTHERMAL energy company has struck the environmentally friendly equivalent of oil in South Australia\'s southeast, putting the Federal Government on track to meet its promised green energy targets. Panax Geothermal\'s drilling rig at its Salamander-1 geothermal well in the Otway Basin near Penola has hit steam. The company plans to have a demonstration power plant in operation by next year, subject to the results of Salamander-1. Panax has a measured geothermal resource of 11,000 petajoules at the Penola Project, which has the capacity to deliver hundreds of megawatts of zero - emission power.
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7th April 2010
MURRAY-DARLING PLAN WILL GIVE 18 SITES ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITY
PETER KER The Age EIGHTEEN sites within the Murray-Darling river system will be given priority in a new national plan for managing the river. The 18 locations, comprising wetlands, red-gum forests and lakes, are expected to be dubbed \'\'indicator sites\'\' when the Murray-Darling Basin Authority releases the full details today, in a reference to the central role that the health of those sites plays in the overall condition of the river.
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7th April 2010
NEW WATER RULES
By PAUL SELLARS THE Victorian Government has removed the limit on how much unused water irrigators can carry over from this season to the next. Murray. Goulburn and Campaspe system irrigators will now be able to keep their carryover in a new \"spillable\" account
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7th April 2010
VINEYARD WARNING
Wimmera Mail times THE Department of Primary Industries is encouraging improved vineyard hygiene to combat the potential entry and spread of grapevine pests and diseases. Department senior plant standards officer Greg King said a number of exotic pests have the capacity to infest Victorian vineyards and lessons can be learnt from recent outbreaks of grape phylloxera.
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7th April 2010
CARBON PLANS `SINKING'
Weekly times By LESLIE WHITE THE twin evils of managed investment schemes and carbon sink forests have combined. MIS companies are now offering carbon sink plantation projects - and both MIS and CSP offer 100 per cent upfront tax deductions. Analysts have said the carbon sink projects alone could be another MIS-style disaster for rural Australia.
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7th April 2010
FOREIGN HUNGER FOR RURAL ASSETS
Stock & Land, Page: 11 By Ian Verrender BOOM, financial meltdown, crisis, recession. For the past two years, the world has been in the thrall of the greatest challenge ever to confront modern capitalism. In the developed world, we have been consumed by concerns over employment and the potential for social unrest, which again have been inflamed by worries over the prospect of default on debts by governments. But the unfolding drama in the ego-inflated world of high finance distracted attention from an equally worrying dilemma with an identical acronym that may be even more challenging for global security.
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7th April 2010
KEY MURRAY-DARLING WATER SITES CHOSEN
ABC news website By environment reporter Sarah Clarke The chair of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority says it is on track to deliver a new basin-wide plan by next year. It has identified the key wetlands and ecosystems which will be made a priority for water. More than 200 water stakeholders met in Canberra to hear the latest progress on a new basin-wide plan. The chair of the authority, Michael Taylor, says 18 of the system\'s key environmental assets have been identified.
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6th April 2010
WIND FARM GETTING READY FOR TAKE OFF
Moorabool News Member for Ballarat East, Geoff Howard MP has announced that 2300 homes in the Daylesford area will be running on renewable energy in the near future a saving of 244 million Black Balloons each year. With the purchase of 2 two megawatt wind turbines from German supplier Re-Power, the Hepburn wind farm is on track to deliver renewable energy to the community of Daylesford.
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6th April 2010
TECHNOLOGY TO HELP FUEL THE FUTURE
The Age Rising energy demand has put underground coal gasification in play, writes Mathew Murphy. STEPHEN Bartrop says underground coal gasification (UCG) can be considered as the often overlooked younger brother to coal seam gas. The LimeStreet Capital resources fund manager says while coal seam gas has become one of the biggest stories in the resources sector in the past three years, versatile and highly efficient underground coal gasification is starting to emerge from its shadow
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6th April 2010
TANDOU BACK IN BLACK
Sunraysia Daily By Chris McLennan MILDURA-BASED agribusiness Tandou Ltd recorded a profit of $1.35 million after tax in the past year. It was again as a water trader and not a farmer that kept Tandou in the black. Chairman Dick Warburton said given the inability to again plant cotton or cereal on the Tandou Farm last year it was a solid performance. Tandou made $5 million from water trading.
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6th April 2010
CARRYOVER IRRIGATION CREDITS `NECESSARY'
Northern Times THE announcement of 100 per cent water allocation for Murray River irrigators makes the call for immediate changes to water carryover rules even more necessary according to Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh. The irrigation season is due to finish next week. \"Earlier this week I called on the Minister for Water, Tim Holding, to implement the next season carryover rules immediatelyto eliminate the disadvantage being suffered by those irrigators who purchased temporary water based on expected low seasonal allocations,\" Mr Walsh said.
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5th April 2010
GAS GLUT SPARKS CONCERNS AMONG 'CLEAN COAL' BACKERS
The Age By CLANCY YEATES A LOOMING natural gas glut is raising fears that investment in \"clean coal\", seen by some as the saviour of our coal and power industries, will be put on the back burner. Amid ballooning gas supply and with possible falls in gas prices, a big supplier to utilities says investors could shy away from backing carbon capture and storage (CCS), which involves burying power station emissions underground. Philippe Paelinck, director of carbon dioxide product at Alstom, a global supplier to utilities, called the gas bubble the biggest threat to the development of carbon capture in the next five years.
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5th April 2010
WATER SAVINGS SHOWN TO BE ABSURD MIRAGE
The Age KENNETH DAVIDSON The Brum by government\'s irrigation upgrades won\'t come close to delivering. I it Productivity Commission report on the mechanisins for recovering water in the Murray-Darling Basin was released last week. The report confirms what every honest irrigator and independent irrigation expert knew from the beginning - that the Brumby government\'s $2 billion dollar Food Bowl Modernisation Project, used to justify taking 75 gigalitres for Melbourne from the already stressed Murray Goulburn Basin, was based on a premise so absurd it amounted to a lie.
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5th April 2010
`OUR GUYS LOST TWICE AS MUCH'
Sunraysia Daily By Graeme O\'Neill NORTHERN Victorian irrigators have forfeited 44,437 megalitres of carryover water so far this irrigation season, at a cost of some $15 million to the region\'s economy. At today\'s temporary water price of about $70/ML - a fifth of what most irrigators paid for carryover water last season - it would cost the Victorian Government as little as $3 million to restore the water to irrigators\' accounts.
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4th April 2010
THE HARD CELL; DOES SOLAR ENERGY ADD VALUE?
Sunday Age Solar searching: power play that pays Solar power has come under intense scrutiny in recent months, and with housands of Victorians making the switch, James Smith looks at whether it adds value to a property and if it\'s right for you. AN OVER-SUBSCRIBED and suddenly cancelled government rebate scheme. Complaints to the Ombudsman over rising energy bills. Dodgy installations and a report from the US claiming Australia, despite its sunny climate, ranks only 15th in the world for solar power usage. For a green energy source that can reduce household bills and help Australia achieve climate change targets, solar power has resembled something of apoisoned chalice over the past year.
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2nd April 2010
SYSTEM UPGRADE
shepparton News By Darren Linton Murray irrigators have a 100 per cent allocation to end the season for the first time since the 2005-06 season. The final high reliability water allocation for Goulburn system irrigators also increased marginally to finish at 71 per cent.
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2nd April 2010
WONG BACKS BOWL
MINISTER INSISTS IRRIGATION INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING IMPORTANT By Darren Linton Federal Water Minister Penny Wong does not agree with the Productivity Commission call to downgrade water infrastructure spending. The report into the recovery of environmental water from the Murray-Darling Basin questioned the value of $5.8 billion in spending on irrigation projects, including $1 billion set aside for the second stage of the Food Bowwl modernisation.
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1st April 2010
FORUMS ON FOOD LABELLING NOT PUBLIC’
Bendigo Advertiser, Page: 12 CANBERRA The Federal Government has scoffed at claims it is restricting access to a round of public consultations examining Australia’s food labelling laws. Anti-GM gronp Gene Ethics said the review was cherry-picking who could go to consultations. Times and locations are only forwarded once interested parties send through their intention to attend, with at least one GM-free campaigner failing to get a recommendation and catering purposes. Space was also unlimited, with the most recent consultation expanded to accommodate the more than 100 people.
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1st April 2010
INQUIRY INTO THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ASSISTING AUSTRALIAN FARMERS TO ADAPT TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/pir/australianfarmers/report.htm
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1st April 2010
IRRIGATORS FEEL THE FLOW
Stock & Land, Page: 3 By GREGOR HEARD NORTHERN Victorian irri-gators are enjoying their highest allocations and lowest water prices in four years. Irrigators on the Murray system currently have a 78 per cent water allocation, and the heavy rain over northern Australia is also likely to have an indirect benefit for Victorian irrigators. While none of the rain that has flooded outback Queensland will end up in the Victorian irrigation catchment, it will still be a boost to Victorian water stocks due to a water sharing agreement that means it will be free to send less of the water harvested from the Victorian Murray catchment further on to South Australia, as SA will receive water from the Darling. Current estimates are that it will give a boost of 500 gigalitres to the Victorian system.
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1st April 2010
PROGRAM UNDER FIRE
Shepparton News, Page: 4 The Productivity Commission has questioned the cost effectiveness of modernising irrigation infrastructure to recover water for the environment. In its report Market Mechanisms for Recovering Water in the Murray-Darling Basin released yesterday, the commission said subsidising infrastructure was rarely cost effective in obtaining water for the environment, nor was it likely to be the best way of sustaining irrigation communities. It said investing in irrigation infrastructure to recover water for the environment should be reconsidered, such as projects under the Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure program from which the funds for the $1 billion Stage 2 Food Bowl modernisation have been promised.
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1st April 2010
RECOVERING WATER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN
Media release This media release accompanies the Market Mechanisms for Recovering Water in the Murray-Darling Basin research report which was released on 31 March 2010. The Productivity Commission has made recommendations on how the Australian Government\'s buyback of water entitlements in the Murray Darling Basin could be improved, in a report released today. The buyback and a larger irrigation infrastructure program are being used to recover water for the environment, and ease the transition to the much lower water diversion levels expected under a Basin Plan. The report raises some concerns about aspects of the design and sequencing of the strategy, noting problems in having commenced the buyback before the Basin Plan is ratified. However, Commissioner Neil Byron said \'There is still much that can be done to improve the recovery and management of water for the environment in the Basin\'.
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1st April 2010
IMAGES REVEAL POTENTIAL
LaTrobe Valley Press HIGH-tech three dimensional mapping of Gippsland released this week will be a major tool in exploring the future energy capabilities of the region. The images - developed by the State Government - are the first in a series that will eventually map all of Victoria to identify potential CO., storage sites and assist exploration of gas, oil, geothermal water systems and coal.
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31st March 2010
IRRIGATION UPGRADE DEFENDED
Kyabram Free Press, Page: 2 Goulburn Valley irrigator and Foodbowl Unlimited chairman John Corboy has rejected suggestions by leading economists and water experts that the Northern Victorian Irrigation Upgrade is not value for money. The foodbowl project will modernise the Goulburn-Murray’s irrigation infrastructure by replacing old meters and lining channels. The $1 billion first stage, expected to be finished by 2014, will deliver 225 billion litres in water savings which will be divided equally between irrigators, Melbourne and the environment.
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31st March 2010
NEW RULES GIVE IRRIGATORS MORE CARRYOVER CERTAINTY
From the Minister for Water Northern Victorian irrigators on the Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe systems will be able to carry over water for the coming 2010/11 irrigation season with very low risk, under reforms to carryover rules confirmed today by the Water Minister Tim Holding. There will no longer be a limit on how much unused water an irrigator can carry over from this season to the new season starting on 1 July 2010. Instead of irrigators losing water once their carryover and allocations reach 100 per cent of their entitlement volume, they can keep their carryover in a new spillable water account. This water will only be lost if the storages actually spill. “These changes overcome problems caused by the existing rule,” Mr Holding said. “This season some irrigators carried over the full 50 per cent allowed and then had to forfeit water to the communal pool because of recent rains and rising allocations.
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31st March 2010
REVIVAL’ PLAN BEHIND WATER SALE
Weekly Times, Page: 7 By PETER HUNT IRRIGATION in the Campaspe district is about to undergo a revival. Last week, 108 of the district’s water users voted to accept a $65 million Commonwealth and Victorian Government buy-out of their Campaspe entitlement and delivery shares. Nearly all commercial irrigators said they intended to use the government payments to expand their water use. About 50 of the district’s 60 commercial irrigators will continue to use groundwater or tap into the Goulburn system’s Western Waranga channel to water pastures or horticultural crops. As part of the buy-out, irrigators gain $2400 a megalitre from the Commonwealth for their high-reliability water shares and $190 a megalitre for their low-reliability water shares.
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30th March 2010
WATER ANGER SPILLS OVER PRESSURE BUILDS ON GOVERNMENT TO STRIKE FAIR DEAL
Sunraysia Daily, Page: 5 By Graeme O’Neill VICTORIAN Water Minister Tim Holding is ignoring simmering anger among Sunraysia irrigators. Many have lost millions of dollars in the carryover water fiasco, but the minister remains unresponsive to calls to restore the lost water to their accounts. Most growers have accepted that they cannot be reimbursed financially for individual losses that, in several cases, exceed $100,000. But the leadership of the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is supporting local irrigators’ claims that the new carryover rules imposed this season in the face of strong local opposition, were unfair and discriminatory.
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30th March 2010
WELLSPRING OF OPPORTUNITY
Australian Financial Review, Page: 61 By Tracy Sutherland. The US is looking to Australia for water management solutions, both technological and bureaucratic, writes Tracy Sutherland. California and Australia share a natural bounty of sun, sand, beaches and rich farm country but the American state has something else in common with Australia that is less publicised drought. California is entering its fourth year of drought and in February 2009 governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency. In agricultural tragedies now familiar to Australians, water scarcity has forced some Californian farmers to uproot orchards and vines or switch to lower-value cereal crops that require less water. Some have given up entirely in 2009 between 160,000 and 200,000 hectares of agricultural land in the southern San Joaquin Valley went unfarmed. While this winter has been relatively wet, depleted water reserves mean California will again struggle to meet its water demands in 2010.
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29th March 2010
FARMERS URGED TO TAKE INITIATIVE ON CLIMATE ISSUE
Country News insert, Page: 7 The Australian Farm Institute has said the farming sector must be proactive in developing a future role for climate policy, or it risked being steamrolled by the issue. Australian Farm Institute executive director Mick Keogh said the industry should not be complacent based on the belief the issue would just go away. \"It needs to be remembered that the coal and electricity sectors have made it very clear they want agricultural emissions to be included in any future policy, because the wider the national emissions net is cast, the lower the cost of emission reduction,\" Mr Keogh said.
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29th March 2010
OFFSHORE STORAGE AN 'ESSENTIAL STEP'
Latrobe Valley Express, Page: 2 By Stephanie Charalambous LOY Yang Power says State Government legislation to enable the permanent storage of CO2 offshore is an \"essential step\" towards commercial scale clean coal projects. State Parliament recently passed the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Bill which provides the legal framework for storing greenhouse gas underground in Victoria’s coastal waters. Geological carbon storage involves capturing CO2 from power stations and injecting it in a liquid form into porous rock more than one kilometre under water.
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28th March 2010
BRUMBY'S WATER PLAN SAVAGED
Sunday Age, Page: 1 MELISSA FYFE STATE POLITICS JOHN Brumby’s multibilliondollar plan to save water in northern Victoria and boost Melbourne’s supply has been rubbished by Australia’s top economists arid water experts. They say that the project is based on \"spurious\" claims and will result in the waste of hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money. The government’s controversial Foodbowl Modernisation Project is already pushing water bills higher and will drain a further $1.6 billion from state arid federal coffers. But experts say taxpayers are forking out four times the money necessary to provide more water for the city arid the environment.
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27th March 2010
CULTIVATING THE YOUNG GENERATION
Herald Sun, Page: 92 By Daniel Hoy IT’ S an age-old problem for those who live and work on the land. When the kids leave home and dad wants to retire, who will take over the family farm? Comparisons of urban and rural populations show the average age of rural farmers and rural Australians overall is higher than that of their city counterparts. This trend continues to increase and statistics show changes in average ages are related to population shifts away from rural communities towards our main cities and the coast. Shifts among 15-24-year-olds have been particularly pronounced.
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27th March 2010
GROWERS MUST KEEP EYE ON GRAPE PESTS
Border Mail, Page: 55 PHYLLOXERA should continue to be at the forefront of grape growers’ minds. The reminder comes after the recent detection of a new grape phylloxera infestation near Mansfield. The Victorian Department of Primary Industries is asking grape growers to thoroughly check any poor vine growth in their vineyards to ensure it has not been caused by grape phylloxera. DPI senior plant standards officer Greg King said any vines having symptoms of phylloxera must be reported to DPI and it is an offence not to do so.
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27th March 2010
NUCLEAR NOT THE CHEAPEST PATH FOR AUSTRALIA: OECD
Age, Page: 3 By TIM COLEBATCH ECONOMICS EDITOR CANBERRA NUCLEAR power will be the Western world’s cheapest option for electricity in an age of significant carbon charges, but Australia will be one of the few exceptions, a global study has found. In a stunning conclusion, the study by the OECD and the International Energy Agency found that even with a carbon charge of $US30 ($A33) a tonne, it ill be cheaper for Australian generators to burn black coal and send the emissions into the atmosphere than to turn to gas or other low-emission alternatives. And even on the optimistic assumption that carbon can be captured and stored for $US17.50 to $US25 a tonne, it will be cheaper, it found, for generators in most of Australia to keep sending carbon up the chimney than to adopt carbon capture and storage.
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26th March 2010
MAJORITY OF CAMPASPE IRRIGATORS TO EXIT PERMANENTLY
NVIRP Press release An overwhelming majority of Campaspe irrigators intend to permanently exit irrigation which will most likely see the closure of the Campaspe Irrigation District. But a handful of irrigators who wish to continue will be connected to the backbone channel system and landowners will receive domestic and stock water supply. The intended future plans of Campaspe’s 150 irrigators were unveiled at an NVIRP meeting held in Rochester last night attended by over 140 residents. Landowners had been asked to respond to a letter from NVIRP outlining their intentions. Over 100 landowners said they were choosing to exit, 26 wished to continue to irrigate and around 20 landowners were still remain undecided.
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26th March 2010
WELCOME TO GREEN- WORLD
Age, Page: 18 By Adam Morton THE first things you see as you climb Batman’s Hill at the western end of Collins Street are wind turbines, but not the sort that have spread along the nations coastlines. These are micro turbines six swizzle-shaped generators strategically placed to catch the gales that on a bad day turn Docklands into a bracing endurance test. They spin on the roof of the city’s newest and largest green building, the ANZ headquarters at 833 Collins Street. Together with a large bank of solar panels, they provide 7 per cent of the energy consumed by the 6500 people working beneath them. As well as being the most visible element of a building designed to set new benchmarks for environmental performance, they are also a glimpse of a rapidly approaching future. The bulk of the ANZ hub’s energy comes not down the wire from the Latrobe Valley’s brown coal-fired electricity stations but from an on-site generation natural gas power plant that uses its own waste energy to run the air-conditioning and heat its water system.
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25th March 2010
2010 AGRICULTURE AND GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS CONFERENCE
- 18 and 19 May 2010 - Adelaide Registrations for the Australian Farm Institute’s 2010 Agriculture Greenhouse Emissions Conference are closing soon. Book now to avoid disappointment! The Australian Farm Institute is delivering the latest information on international and domestic developments in climate change science and policies, affecting Australian agriculture. The only Conference offered in Australia to focus solely on the impact of climate change science and policies internationally on Australian agriculture, this event is essential for anyone involved in farming or agribusiness.
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25th March 2010
CLIMATE GROUP PRESS RELEASE
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS DOWN BY 1.6 PER CENT THIS SUMMER • ELECTRICITY DEMAND FALLS BY 0.8 PER CENT • NSW SEES BIGGEST CUT IN EMISSIONS DOWN 5.7 PER CENT • COAL USE CONTINUES TO RISE IN ALL STATES BESIDES NSW Greenhouse gas emissions from energy use across Australia’s four eastern states fell by 1.6 per cent or just over 1.2 million tonnes compared with last summer. The fall came despite the summer being one of the hottest on record in Australia with average maximum temperatures 0.55 degrees above average and minimum temperatures of 0.76 degrees above average (high temperatures tend to have a strong correlation to high electricity use, due to the increased need for cooling, causing a spike in emissions). The figures were released today as part of The Climate Group’s Greenhouse Indicator Summer Report, which tracks the main sources of greenhouse emissions (those produced by coal, natural gas and petroleum) in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia and compares them with the previous year.
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25th March 2010
PENNY WONG PRESS RELEASE
$100 MILLION INVESTMENT IN ON-FARM IRRIGATION ROLLS OUT New and more efficient on-farm irrigation infrastructure will be rolled out to over 550 farms across the Southern-connected Murray Darling Basin and the Lachlan River Catchment, Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water, Senator Penny Wong, announced today. This is the first round of the Rudd Government’s $300 million On-Farm Irrigation Efficiency program. It will be delivered in partnership with organisations including irrigation providers, peak industry groups and catchment management authorities.
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25th March 2010
RIVER ALGAE TURNS TROPICAL
The Age PETER KER NEW evidence of climate change appears to be emerging in the Murray River, with a type of poisonous tropical algae being found in increasing amounts along the Victorian stretch of the river. Hundreds of kilometres of the Murray have been affected by algal blooms over the past month, and scientists have confirmed the intrusion of a strain of algae not usually found in the cooler waters of southern Australia. Known as Cylindrospermopsis, the algae traditionally has grown in Queensland\'s tropical waterways. It was first discovered in 1985 after a spate of human poisonings at Palm Island.
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24th March 2010
DAIRY'S IN, WINE'S OUT
By PETER HUNT Weekly Times VICTORIA will take control of dairy research but wine and pork R&D will be wound back as the nation\'s primary industries ministers aim to cut costs and boost efficiency. Last November. the Primary Industries Ministerial Council finalised its National Primary Industries Research. Development and Extension Framework, which will nominate a lead state for each of the
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24th March 2010
NEW ERA OF RECYCLING AND NEW JOBS FOR VICTORIA
From the Minister for Environment & Climate Change Wednesday, 24 March 2010 The Victorian Government will spend almost $54 million over the next five years to assist councils, the community and industry adapt to increased recycling opportunities. Environment and Climate Change Minister Gavin Jennings said the funding would be made available through increases to landfill levies and would help create up to 700 jobs while further protecting our environment. “The Victorian Government is taking action to protect our environment by reducing waste to landfill, increasing recycling and at the same time creating jobs for Victorian families,” Mr Jennings said.
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22nd March 2010
FLOODS TO BENEFIT VICTORIA
THE AGE By PETER KER and TOM ARUP VICTORIA is eyeing a massive water windfall from the Murray- Darling River system, with the state set to benefit from recent floods in northern Australia. On the day water restrictions were eased for metropolitan Melbourne, Victorian officials were increasingly confident its share of floodwaters from the Murray-Darling could be at least 300 billion litres
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22nd March 2010
EMISSIONS HAVE FALLEN
Australian Financial Review John Breusch There are tentative signs Australia\'s greenhouse gas emissions may be nearing a peak, after the country recorded a fall in carbon pollution during the summer despite higher temperatures, a stronger economy and solid population growth. A report to be released today by the Climate Group estimates emissions from Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia fell by 1.2 million tonnes - or 1.6 per cent - over the past summer, largely thanks to a 0.8 per cent drop in electricity consumption.
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22nd March 2010
$100BN NEEDED TO KEEP POWER ON
The Australian THE Rudd government has warned of brown-outs and national power shortages akin to the water crisis if $100 billion is not spent on generators in the next 10 years, guaranteeing steep rises in electricity bills. Power price rises have also been linked to the cost of connecting renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines. to the national electricity grid and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said at the weekend that the investment required to avoid power rationing and increase renewable energy \"can only be paid for with higher electricity prices\". It is high time we started telling the truth about electricity prices,\" he told a meeting of business people in Queensland on Saturday.
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22nd March 2010
SIEMENS PRESS RELEASE
Siemens Announces Technology Blueprint to Solve Australia’s Water and Energy issues by 2030 Melbourne, 22 March 2010 Siemens recommends Australia invests AUD$60billion over the next 10 years in renewable and low CO2 generation technologies, and AUD$23billion over the next 10 years in water infrastructure technologies to make water available for the increasing population Melbourne, 22 March 2010, World Water Day: Siemens Ltd, a leading provider of global technology-based solutions, today released the findings of a comprehensive research project and presented a technology blueprint for energy and water sustainability in Australia by 2030.
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22nd March 2010
FIRM TESTS WATERS OVER CUBBIE FLOW DEAL
TOM ARUP ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT THE company favoured to buy Cubbie Station has offered to sell the government 92 billion litres of water for the Murray-Darling basin, in part from the controversial Queensland cotton farm. Eastern Australian Agriculture has held discussions with the federal Department of Environment about the proposal, which the government has rejected. The deal would also see Cubbie Station, which is in voluntary administration, continue to operate.
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20th March 2010
WONG RAINS MONEY ON FARMERS FOR IRRIGATION
Australian Financial Review Report Sophie Morris When Water Minister Penny Wong first met irrigators near the NSW town of Deniliquin two years ago it was a tense occasion. Farmers were anxious about the federal government\'s $3.1 billion 10-year water buybacks. But she got a warmer welcome on Friday as she returned to the region in the state\'s south to announce the first $100 million instalment in a $300 million program for farmers to upgrade their irrigation systems. The area has changed a lot in recent years. The drought forced the closure of the town\'s rice mill, and the drought and water buybacks have transformed the farming landscape, as some irrigators have sold their water and quit the land. Attitudes to the buybacks have also changed. Rather than viewing the program as the death knell
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20th March 2010
EARTH-SHATTERING WAYS HERALD A GROWING HUNGER
Australian Financial Review Story Robert Guy The continued loss and degradation of topsoil bodes ill for the food supply on which future generations will depend. Wealthy western nations may be set for a taste of what many in the poorest parts of the world experience every day - a struggle for food. That modern agriculture\'s ability to deliver a constant flow of food from the farm to the plate would ever be threatened is unimaginable for many in the west. Food is taken for granted.
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20th March 2010
HUGE CARRYON
Sunraysia Daily Blockies left high and dry over costs By Graeme O\'Neill DO Sunraysia irrigators have a strong case to be repaid the money they invested - and lost - buying carryover water under the new rules introduced last February? A re-reading of the Water Minister Tim Holding\'s February 20 press release suggests irrigators did not understand that their carryover purchases would count towards the new season\'s allocation.
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20th March 2010
WE LOSE WHEN THE GRID KEEPS US USING MORE
THE AGE PADDY MANNING Expanding coal-fired power only entrenches our climate woes. HUGE increases in electricity prices might be more palatable if we were getting, for our money, a cleaner and more efficient grid that helped us respond effectively to climate change. We\'re not. In fact, we\'re busily expanding a grid that entrenches electricity generation from fossil fuels and will only accelerate climate change. Over the next five years the country will spend about $47 billion- our biggest singleticket infrastructure item, larger than the national broadband network - on electricity transmission (high-voltage powerlines from power generators to electricity retailers) and distribution (supplying power from electricity retailers to homes and businesses).
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20th March 2010
CALLS TO PRIVATISE ENERGY
Australian Financial Review Report Jonathan Barrett There are growing calls to deregulate the energy sector state by state as consumers face substantial electricity bill increases. Power prices in NSW are set to rise by up to 64 per cent over the next three years in a countrywide trend caused by a need for pricing agencies to respond to increased energy demands. Ben Freund, the chief executive of power price comparison website GoSwitch.com.au, said growing consumption meant significant rises were inevitable. \"It\'s also politically unsavoury to suggest building a big coal-fired station to increase supply,\" he said. A deregulated system was more honest because it meant all costs were contained in energy bills and not hidden in taxes as well. The NSW government has started the process of privatising electricity supplies.
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19th March 2010
FARMERS PUSHED TO BRINK
Herald Sun Kerrie Sinclair CLIMATE change is pushing more farmers to breaking point, with almost a fifth surveyed unable to cope with any further changes in farming conditions, experts say. Another third are close to that point, a climate conference has heard. Anthony Hogan, of the Australian National University\'s National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, yesterday told the conference Australia faced \"significant impacts of climate in our farming community\". \"Sixteen per cent of our farmers are
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19th March 2010
RESIDENTS FACE POWER PRICE SLUG
Posted Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:35pm AEDT ABC News Electricity prices are set to increase 13 per cent for southern New South Wales residents. The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal released its final electricity retail price determination yesterday. The 13 per cent increase for Country Energy customers will be effective from July 1. The tribunal says if the Federal Government\'s emissions trading scheme is not introduced, average prices will go up 42 per cent over three years. If the scheme is introduced, prices are set to increase 64 per cent over three years.
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18th March 2010
PROTECTING BIODOIVERSITY IN AN UNCERTAIN CLIMATE
ECOS Magazine ECOS 153 In 2009, a group of eight leading scientists – led by Professor Will Steffen of the ANU Climate Change Institute – warned in a report to the Australian Government that climate change presents a threat to our biodiversity ‘equivalent to those of the abrupt geological events that triggered the great waves of extinction in the past’. This special Focus highlights extracts from the report, now published as a book.
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18th March 2010
MAKING THE SHIFT:FROM CONSUMERISM TO SUSTAINABILITY
ECOS Magazine The inconclusive outcome of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen last December highlighted one of the dilemmas of sustainable development – humans will often fail to change their behaviour in the face of scientific evidence about its damaging impacts. Alexandra de Blas explores why we do this, and how we might shift from a culture of consumerism to one of sustainability.
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18th March 2010
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
ECOS Magazine A new report from CSIRO shows that by adopting low-emission distributed energy, Australia could reduce its greenhouse emissions, save water, and save $130 billion as it moves to a low-carbon economy by 2050. And the good news is that all this can be done using technology that is available now.
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17th March 2010
$3.5M ADVANCE FOR SOLAR PLANT
Australian Financial Review Page: 13 By: Mathew Dunckley The new owners of failed energy company Solar Systems will receive a $3.5 million advance on promised Victorian government grants, in a bid to revive plans for one of the world\'s largest solar power plants. Solar Systems was placed in administration last year despite commitments worth $125 million, from state and federal governments towards the establishment of a 154 megawatt plant at Mildura. A conditional deal was flagged
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17th March 2010
RURAL DEPRESSION BAD POLICY KILLS
Weekly times By PAUL SELLARS FORMER Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett has blamed policy failure by both sides of politics for contributing to rural depression and suicide. The chair of the national depression initiative. beyondblue, this week said a lack of effective policies to stimulate agricultural development was contributing to mental illness in rural Australia. \"The great missing ingredient in Australia in terms of agriculture - an ingredient not recognised by either side of politics - is an effective national water plan and a national plan for agriculture.\" Mr Kennett said. He said a national water
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17th March 2010
NEW SOLAR BID FOR MILDURA
Sunraysia Daily Spanish company joins race to build large-scale power plant By Allan Murphy A SPANISH company has entered the bidding war to construct a solar power plant in Mildura. Cobra Energy has applied for funding under the Federal Government\'s $1.5 billion solar flagships program and has already earmarked Mildura as one of three potential solar sites in Australia. Two other areas in Queensland are also on the company radar with the preferred location expected to be determined based on site suitability and respective State Government support.
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17th March 2010
IRRIGATION UPGRADE STOUSH
Weekly times By PETER HUNT THE Federal Government has warned it will not deliver its $1 billion for stage two of Victoria\'s northern irrigation modernisation project until it gains guaranteed access to water savings from its investment. Last week, the Coalition introduced a disallowance motion in the Victorian Parliament, blocking crucial amendments to the Eildon-Goulburn bulk entitlement that allowed NVIRP water savings to be stored and diverted to the Commonwealth
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16th March 2010
HAZELWOOD POWERS A 40% PROFIT SURGE
THE AGE By CLANCYYEATES HAZELWOOD power station, the most carbon-intensive plant in the developed world, has helped deliver a bumper profit to its owner, British-listed International Power. Profit from the company\'s Australian business surged 40 per cent to £233 million ($A387 million) in the year to December, up from £167 million in 2008, ccording to the company\'s latest accounts. A key reason for the increase was stronger output from Hazelwood, the brown-coal power station in the Latrobe Valley that supplies a quarter of Victoria\'s power. The profit comes shortly before the Senate is due to debate again the federal government\'s carbon pollution reduction scheme, having twice rejected the bill.
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16th March 2010
SUPER FUNDS NOT PREPARING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE SHOCKS
Sid Maher, The Australian PLANNING for climate change appears to have slipped over the past 12 months in Australia\'s superannuation industry, sparking warnings that the nation\'s $1.2 trillion retirement nest egg could be susceptible to long-term shocks created by global warming. A survey by The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees and the Climate Institute, to be released today, found \"on the whole, this year\'s pool of surveyed funds tended to show a lesser climate change capability compared to last year\'s pool\". The survey named Australian Super, Christian Super, HOSTPLUS, NGS Super, Cbus, HESTA, Local Government Super and Vision Super as the top performing funds in planning for climate change. But the survey said the leaders were pulling away from other funds.
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15th March 2010
‘I JUST CAN’T SEE MYSELF DOING IT’ OCCUPATIONAL ASPIRATIONS AND
October 2009 Paula Geldens Despite spirited public discourse around rural decline and the future of family farming relatively little theoretical or empirical work has focused upon the lives of young rural residents: almost none in relation to those living on family farms. The research has focused upon whether these young people intended to stay on their family’s farm or leave, and why? This seminar offers insight into the lives these young people at a time when defining post secondary-school goals were of foremost concern. Findings revealed that these young peoples’ post-school plans were richly embedded within their understandings of themselves and of their social worlds. Bio: Paula Geldens • Paula Geldens’ PhD, of the
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15th March 2010
WATER 2010: ASSESSING DEPENDENCE ON WATER FOR AGRICULTURE AND SOCIAL RESILIENCE
Bureaqu of Rural Sciences report Water 2010: Assessing dependence on water for agriculture and social resilience National Assessment of Community Dependence on Water and Social Resilience Elisabeth Herreria, Ian Byron, Robert Kancans and Nyree Stenekes August 2008
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15th March 2010
HORTICULTURE MANAGEMENT IN TIMES OF WATER SCARCITY
Abstract Since 2005 irrigators in the Riverland of South Australia have faced extreme challenges in managing and maintaining their properties as a result of the most extreme drought in recorded history. Jason and Tony employ a number of management tools to protect the viability of their stone fruit business in these times by making the most of available resources. These techniques include;  Detailed on-farm record keeping.  Detailed water management utilising the Irrigation Reporting and Evaluation Software (IRES) developed by Primary Industries and Resources South Australia. (This program is further detailed in the paper Irrigation Accounting at Property and District Scales, Two Case Studies. Written by Tony Adams, Denis Sparrow and Simon Knowles of Irrigated Crop Management Service – Rural Solutions SA).
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15th March 2010
FUTURE'S NOT LOOKING SUNNY
PADDY MANNING Solar energy is a minor player in meeting our growing power needs. THE results are in and, going by the official projections, it\'s not looking encouraging for the penetration of renewable energy into the Australian market over the next 20 years - particularly solar. Federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson released the first Australian Energy Resource Assessment this week, a comprehensive compilation of our renewable and non-renewable energy resources. Published by Geoscience Australia and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE
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15th March 2010
ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN AUSTRALIA
An Australian Government Position Paper
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15th March 2010
ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN AUSTRALIA
An Australian Government Position Paper
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15th March 2010
NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION RESEARCH PLAN: PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
National Climate Change Adaptation Research Plan: Primary Industries CSIRO Public Consultation Draft
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15th March 2010
BUREAU, CSIRO WEIGH INTO DEBATE
Herald Sun 15-Mar-2010 Nick Leys SOME of Australia\'s leading scientists have hit back at climate-change sceptics. Today the CSIRO and weather bureau will release a State of the Climate document, a snapshot of Australia\'s climate data, observations and predictions.
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15th March 2010
WATER DEAL WILL IRK FARMERS
Sophie Morris Australian Financial Review 15-Mar-2010 Page: 10 General NewsThe Australian Conservation Foundation will buy into the water market in a bid to prove it is serious about saving rivers, a move that will further inflame tensions with farmers, who already fear
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15th March 2010
HOLDING'S NEW TACTIC
Shepparton News 15-Mar-2010 WATER MINISTER PREPARING QUALIFICATION OF RIGHTS AFTER BULK ENTITLEMENT BLOCKEE By Darren Linton Victorian Water Minister Tim Holding is preparing a qualification of rights on all water saved by Northern Victoria\'s irrigation upgrades to allow water to flow along the north-south pipeline. But the second rejection of the bulk entitlement order has increased nervousness about the funding of the second stage of the project
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13th March 2010
FUEL CELLS STILL A TOUGH SELL IN A COAL-FIRED ECONOMY
Age 13-Mar-2010 By ADAM MORTON I F YOU are flicking on a light switch in Melbourne today, there is a 96 per cent chance you are buying electricity generated more than 100 kilometres away, beneath a Latrobe Valley smokestack. It is a cheap way to set up an electricity system, but hugely inefficient. An estimated 75 per cent of the energy generated at Hazelwood and Yallourn is lost as heat or used onsite. Another 5 per cent is lost during transmission and distribution. It means only about 20 per cent of the energy ends up making the distance. The electrons firing your bulb are also
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11th March 2010
COALITION SPLIT ON MURRAY REFERENDUM
LENORE TAYLOR & PHILLIP COOREY A COALITION split has emerged over Tony Abbott\'s threat to hold a referendum for a federal takeover of the Murray-Darling Basin, with the Nationals leader, Warren Truss, telling irrigators the move is not National Party policy and Nationals backbenchers publicly rejecting it. NSW irrigators reacted furiously to Mr Abbott\'s referendum announcement in January. In late February they received a letter from Mr Truss pointing to two relevant National Party policies. \'\'You will note that neither policy advocates a referendum or any new transfer of powers from the states to the Commonwealth,\'\' Mr Truss wrote in the February 24 reply to the NSW Irrigators\' Council. The council chief executive, Andrew Gregson, said: \'\'They are telling us it is not their policy and they don\'t go along with it.
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2nd March 2010
ADAPTING PERMANENT HORTICULTURE TO COPE WITH WATER SCARCITY
Mark Skewes, Research Scientist – Drought Response, Loxton Research Centre, South Australian Research and Development Institute Background As a result of ongoing drought conditions in the Murray Darling Basin, irrigation allocations in this “nation’s foodbowl” have been dramatically reduced in the past few years. In the Riverland region of South Australia, and the neighbouring Sunraysia region on the border of New South Wales and Victoria, high security allocations have historically supported the development of extensive plantings of permanent horticultural crops, such as citrus, grapes, stonefruit and almonds. These crops cannot survive without irrigation, and take a number of years to reach maturity and full production. Therefore any reduction in irrigation allocations is a major problem for the survival of these crops, not to mention their ongoing productivity.
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1st March 2010
NEW BASIN PLAN COULD BE A DISASTER FOR AGRICULTURE
1 March 2010 \"For agriculture, the new Murray-Darling Basin Plan is a train smash waiting to happen,\" is the assessment of the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) four months out from a draft Plan being presented, President David Crombie declared today. \"The NFF’s assessment follows months of discussion with the Federal Government and the new Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) over the water reform agenda. \"The Basin Plan is supposed to set new caps on water extraction in the Murray-Darling Basin to optimise economic, social and environmental outcomes, as stipulated in the Water Act 2007. \"All indications are that this balance will be non-existent. From what we have gathered the agenda within the MDBA is to apportion the environment all priorities, with agricultural production getting what’s
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26th February 2010
ADDITIONAL 30 BILLION LITRES OF ENVIRONMENTAL WATER TO PROTECT RIVERS AND WETLANDS
ADDITIONAL 30 BILLION LITRES OF ENVIRONMENTAL WATER TO PROTECT RIVERS AND WETLANDS From the Minister for Environment & Climate Change Friday, 26 February 2010 An additional 30 billion litres of environmental water will be delivered to drought-effected regions this autumn following the success of the Victorian Government’s 2008/09 environmental watering program. Environment and Climate Change Minister Gavin Jennings said the water would prevent the extinction of threatened and endangered species and avoid irreversible loss to the iconic River Red Gum trees along the Murray River. While inspecting the results of environmental watering at Wallpolla Island, a key Living Murray Icon Site, Mr Jennings also launched the 2008/2009 Environmental Watering Booklet which details the outcomes of environmental watering carried out around Victoria last year.
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24th February 2010
WATER BUY-UP SINKS 5599 JOBS
Peter Hunt, Weekly Times February 24, 2010 THE Federal Government\'s rush to buy water for the environment has cost regional Australia 5599 jobs in irrigated agriculture, according to the Victorian Farmers Federation. Last week, Federal Water Minister Penny Wong said her department had spent $1.27 billion buying 796,729 megalitres of Murray Darling Basin irrigators\' entitlements. VFF research shows one job is lost in irrigated agricultural communities for every 95 megalitres drained out of the basin. The VFF says that means 5599 jobs were lost on the back of 796,729 megalitres, converted into the standard MDB cap equivalent measure of 531,905 megalitres of entitlement.
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22nd February 2010
END NEAR FOR MANY CAMPASPE FARMERS
PETER KER February 22, 2010 The rising sun will bring a new dawn across the Campaspe River this morning, and for many locals it heralds the beginning of the end. Close to 150 farmers in this part of northern Victoria will, from today, be invited to leave the land as reform of Victoria\'s irrigation system gathers pace. After five years of virtually no water and protracted negotiations with authorities, offers for Campaspe irrigators to accept \'\'exit packages\'\' will start arriving in letterboxes this week. Like many in the district, dairy farmer Julie Campbell believes the area is now beyond marginal for irrigation.
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20th February 2010
WATER SALES `A DISASTER'
Sunraysia Daily 20-Feb-2010 VAST stretches of northern Victoria are being turned into virtual deserts by the Victorian Labor Government\'s incompetent water polices, according to Nationals MP for Northern Victoria, Damian Drum. News that about 10,000 megalitres of water had been permanently traded out of the Sunraysia irrigation district in the past year hinted at the level of disaster Labor was creating, he said. This week\'s reports indicate
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11th February 2010
RED MEAT NOT TO BLAME FOR CO2
Stock & Land, Page: 14 By Matthew Cawood Thursday, 11 February 2010 By MATThEW CAWOOD ACCUSATIONS that \"less meat means less heat\", implying that cutting back on livestock production is a panacea for global warming, are wide of the mark, according to the Australian Farm Institute (AFI). The Insitute’s executive director, Mick Keogh. points to some flaws in the way livestock emissions are accounted for in several lifecycle analyses (LCAs) that have been used to make cases against red meat production. A WoridWatch report released last year attributed 51 per cent of all manmade greenhouse emissions to livestock production but did so partly by including the carbon dioxide exhaled by livestock in its lifecycle analysis (LCA).
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10th February 2010
CLIMATE IN THE HOT SEAT
Weekly Times 10-Feb-2010 Page: 80 General News By PETER HEMPHILL THE grain industry is gearing up for climate change, with a novel research experiment at Horsham hoping to find out how crops cope under higher atmospheric carbon-dioxide levels. According to Roger Armstrong, of the Department of Primary Industries\' Future Farming Systems Research Division, climate change is expected to result in reduced rainfall and warmer weather. but one positive aspect is that higher atmospheric carbon-dioxide levels may increase crop growth.
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10th February 2010
SOLAR SAVIOUR
Sunraysia Daily 10-Feb-2010 Page: 1 General News By: Chris McLennan Region: Mildura VIC Circulation: 7207 Construction of power station at Carwarp to continue By Chris McLennan MILDURA\'S solar dream came alive again yesterday with the sale of Solar Systems to alittle-known Sydney company. Silex Systems bought the embattled company for just $20 million and has promised to continue with the construction of Australia\'s biggest solar power station at Carwarp. The $420 million pro ect still has the backing of the Victorian and Federal governments which promises to deliver a 150 megawatt photovoltaic power station able to power 45,000 homes with construction to start on the pilot plant next year. Solar Systems went into receivership
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10th February 2010
SOIL CARBON NO CASH COW, FARMERS WARNED
Weekly Times 10-Feb-2010 By PETER HUNT AGRICULTURAL scientists have warned farmers they face big risks trying to cash in on soil carbon. While the Federal Coalition last week talked up the potential of soil carbon sinks, the scientific community warned most farmers had little control over the biggest factor affecting soil carbon levels - water. In most of Australia. water availability sets an upper limit on plant production
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10th February 2010
BIG SOLAR PROJECT REVIVED
Age, Page: 13 By Adam Morton Wednesday, 10 February 2010 PLANS to build the world’s largest solar power station in north-west Victoria have been resurrected after a last-minute sale to a Sydney company. Rooftop solar panel manufacturer Silex Systems will pay $20 million for the remains of Solar Systems, the failed Abbotsford business behind a groundbreaking proposal to build a $420 million plant near Mildura.
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8th February 2010
LINK TO GET 2009 MILDURA REGION ECONOMIC PROFILE
http://www.smedb.com.au/regionaldata/economic_profile.asp
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8th February 2010
BUOYANT RESULT FLOWS FROM WATER WORKS
Australian Financial Review, Page: 46 By Matthew Cranston Monday, 8 February 2010 Government-backed environment organisation Water for Rivers has sold its historic Madowla Park property in northern Victoria, in the process returning almost 7000 megalitres of much-needed waterfiows to the Murray river system. Water for Rivers, supported by federal and state governments, originally bought the one-time rice farm far more than $25 million, but last week, after returning 2800 olympicsize pools to the environment, sold the property for closer to $10 million to a local farmer.
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8th February 2010
COAL-TO-GAS SWITCH 'WOULD LIFT POWER PRICES 20%
Age, Page: 3 Monday, 8 February 2010 ELECTRICITY prices would rise 20 per cent if power suppliers switched from brown coal to cleaner gas-fired generators, says TRUenergy. TRUenergy owns and operates the Yallourn coal-fired power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley and gas -fired power stations elsewhere. Managing director Richard Mclndoe told ABC TV yesterday that gas-fired power generation was more expensive than brown coal.
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8th February 2010
D-DAY NEARS FOR SOLAR POWER PLAYERS
Australian, Page: 26 By Giles Parkinson Monday, 8 February 2010 SOLAR energy developers of all shape, sizes and systems are converging on Canberra this week to lodge their applications they must be handdelivered for the first round of selection trials for the federal government’s $1.4 billion Solar Flagships program. The Solar Flagships is being built up to be one of the centrepieces of the government’s commitment to renewable energy, and looks to have attracted most, if not all, of the major global players in the large-scale solar market. The flagship program has been redesigned and sume uf the mure fanciful ambitiuns have been modified, but it still proposes to have 400MW of large-scale solar up and running by 2015, some 250 MW in solar thermal (which heats either oil or water to create energy) and a further 150 MW in solar photovoltaic (which provides direct energy).
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8th February 2010
ABS; AUSTRALIA'S ENVIRONMENT: ISSUES AND TRENDS 2010
Australia\'s Environment: Issues and Trends 2010 is the 5th edition in a series that presents a broad selection of environmental statistics and information on topical environmental issues. By drawing on a wide range of ABS statistics and statistics from other official sources, Australia\'s Environment: Issues and Trends describes major aspects of Australia’s environment and how these are changing over time. It is designed to assist and encourage informed decision-making, and to meet the information needs of a general readership.
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8th February 2010
AGRICULTURE NEEDS TO FIND $5M IN SAVINGS
Agriculture needs to find $5m in savings February 8, 2010 AAP The federal department responsible for agriculture, fisheries and forestry will have to find about $5 million in savings next financial year to meet the government\'s efficiency dividend. But it\'s too early to say what programs will be dumped to achieve the 3.25 per cent target, a Senate inquiry has heard.
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8th February 2010
CSIRO AIMS TO BOOST FARMING, CUT CARBON
CSIRO aims to boost farming, cut carbon February 8, 2010 AAP The CSIRO has set its sights on increasing the nation\'s agricultural productivity by 50 per cent, while cutting carbon emissions by the same amount. Australia\'s leading scientific organisation on Monday launched its newest research flagship program into sustainable agriculture. Its goal is to work out how to secure the nation\'s agriculture and forest industries by increasing productivity by 50 per cent, while also reducing carbon emissions intensity by at least that much between now and 2030. CSIRO chief executive Megan Clark said farme
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4th February 2010
LINKS TO HANDY WEBSITES
Latest climate science collated prior to Copenhagen summit. http://www.ccrc.unsw.edu.au/Copenhagen/Copenhagen_Diagnosis_HIGH.pdf Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/programs/sws/northern/final www.milduraregion.com.au To find the weekly greenhouse emissions for Victoria http://www.theclimategroup.org/programs/greenhouse-indicator/ ABARE publication Australian Commodities Dec 09 http://www.abareconomics.com/publications_html/ac/ac_08/ac_08.html
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3rd February 2010
BUSINESS BACKS OPPOSITION ON EMISSIONS
Australian 03-Feb-2010 Page: 6 General News By: Matthew Franklin BUSINESS groups have flocked to support Tony Abbott\'s new climate change policies, rejecting the wisdom of signing up to carbon emissions trading in the absence of similar action from the rest of the world. But think tank The Climate Institute has attacked the plan to tackle climate change through direct means such as planting more trees as \"carbon viagra\' designed to sustain inefficiency. Minerals Council of Australia
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3rd February 2010
SEEING SLIME AS A CASH CROP
Australian 03-Feb-2010 Page: 6 General News By: Natasha Bita GREEN slime that doubles its mass each day may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but it could end up as the nations ultimate cash crop. An Australian company, MBD Energy Ltd, is farming algae that feeds upon greenhouse gas emissions to produce commercial quantities of oil and cattle feed. Three of the nation\'s biggest power plants Loy Yang Power in Victoria, Tarong Energy in Queensland and Eraring Energy in NSW have signed contracts to trial one hectare \"algal synthesisers\" designed to produce 28,000 litres of oil for jet fuel or plastics, and 50 tonnes of livestock feed every year
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3rd February 2010
BALLOT DROP IN THE OCEAN
Sunraysia Daily, Page: 4 By Chris McLennan Wednesday, 3 February 2010 ONLY about a dozen blockies are expected to benefit from a slight relaxation in rules to again allow trading in water. The battle to be among the few to escape the water cap has already been over-subscribed, Lower Murray Water revealed yesterday. Cash-strapped farmers from all districts of Robinvale, Red Cliffs and Merbein are among those who will now go into a ballot for the 939 megalitres on offer. Blockies from the First Mildura Irrigation District have also been rushing to sell water before their under-subscribed district is rolled in with the others who were unable to sell because of the embargo on sales above four per cent.
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3rd February 2010
AUSTRALIA BLOWN AWAY ON RENEWABLE ENERGY
Age, Page: 11 By Matthew Wright Wednesday, 3 February 2010 ENEWABLE energy is the world’s fastest-growing power source. It is already generating baseload electricity at utility scales. Large solar thermal plants with heat storage can dispatch power whether or not the sun is shining, and make handsome profits during demand peaks. Wind power is being installed at scales that dwarf Australian grid requirements. These and other clean-energy technologies are replacing coal on modern energy grids. While Australia continues to throw money at 19th century technologies, Spain, China, the US and others are charging ahead with zeroemissions power generation, and creating export markets as they go.
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2nd February 2010
XSTRATA EXPLORES COAL EXPANSION
Herald Sun, Page: 30 By Xavier La Canna Tuesday, 2 February 2010 ANGLO-SWISS mining giant Xstrata is investigating the possibility of developing a huge thermal coal operation in Queensland. Xstrata has confirmed a news report it is hatching plans to build a 100-million-tonnes-a-year operation near Wandoan, 400km northwest of Brisbane. But Xstrata communications manager James Rickards said yesterday the plans were far from finalised and faced several hurdles. The main Wandoan project was well advanced and expected to produce 30 million tonnes per year after starting productio
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2nd February 2010
BASIN COMMUNITY COMMITTEE MEETING SUMMARY
Basin Plan update Members were advised that the development of the Basin Plan was progressing well with majority of the work well underway in the following areas: • identification of key environmental assets; • asset functions and their water requirements; • surface water modelling; and the • scoping of the economic and social impact assessment project. The BCC was asked to provide ideas on the potential format and structure of the proposed Basin Plan including the suite of products prior to 2 March 2010
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1st February 2010
VICTORIA AIMS FOR SMART GRID
Australian Financial Review Mathew Dunckley A supermarket car park, complete with electric car recharging points, and solar panel banks in suburban streets to handle peak energy demand are two of the landmark ideas in Victoria\'s bid for a $100 million slice of a federal government energy efficiency fund. Under the federal government\'s National Energy Efficiency Initiative, $100 million will be granted to one demonstration project to develop a commercial-scale smart grid. Victoria\'s Smart
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31st January 2010
AGRICULTURE, GREENHOUSE & EMISSIONS TRADING CONFERENCE, 2009 PROCEEDINGS.
The 2009 AGET conference saw almost 150 agriculture sector leaders, policy-makers and scientists gather in Queensland on the 6th and the 7th of May 2009 to discuss the role of agriculture in Australian climate change policies. The set of proceedings of that conference has now been published. This set of proceedings, accessible here (AFI members can download a copy for free from the library),
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31st January 2010
WILL EATING LESS MEAT (AND ICE-CREAM) COOL THE WORLD?
Mick Keogh, Executive Director, Australian Farm Institute Dr Rajendra Pachauri, vegetarian head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is doing it. Sir Paul McCartney is doing it. Lord Stern of Brentford (author of the Stern Report on climate change) says we should all do it. Al Gore agrees but hasn’t quite got around to it yet, and Professor Peter Singer, Australian philosopher, vegetarian and animal rights advocate thinks we should all do it. The ‘it’ they are all advocating is to reduce or stop eating meat, and the reason (amongst others) is because they claim meat production is a major source of greenhouse gases
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27th January 2010
PORTLAND INCLUDED IN PROJECT TO MAP VICTORIA’S GEOTHERMAL HOTSPOTS
Portland Observer, Page: 5 Wednesday, 27 January 2010 TEMPERATURES below Victoria’s surface, including Portland, will be measured as part of a new State Government project to attract and drive investment in geothermal energy. Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor announced this week the Government had allocated $500,000 to develop a geothermal atlas that would involve measuring the heat flowing through the ground at about 100 locations in Victoria’s north-west and southwest regions. \"A clean environment is crucial to our future and we know generating power from geothermal resources has the potential to play an important role in changing the energy mix in Victoria and cutting our greenhouse gas emissions,\" Mr Batchelor said. \"The first measurements will be taken near Colac in the state’s south-west this week. Other measurements will be done near Mildura, Echuca, the Wimmera and Portland.
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11th January 2010
BABY STEPS TAKEN ON CLEAN ENERGY
Australian Financial Review Federal money is helping to bridge the funding gap in commercialising clean technology initiatives, write Angus Grigg and Emma Connors. AJOI& lean technology may be creating as much buzz as the internet boom of the 1990s, but it is yet to attract big institutional dollars in Australia. Despite multibillion-dollar support from federal and state governments for the development of renewable energy technologies, there is only a handful of dedicated funds and a small listed sector. But expectations are high that this is about
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11th January 2010
CAP CRISIS
Sunraysia Daily Council certain to join calls to abandon 4% limit IBy Graeme O\'Neill MILDURA Rural City Council is almost certain to reverse its support for the Victorian Government\'s four per cent cap on out-ofarea water sales next month. Five councillors contacted yesterday, including Mildura Mayor Glenn Milne, expressed concerns that the cap is now a threat to the livelihoods of many Sunraysia growers - particularly wine grape growers. Councillors could meet as early as today
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9th January 2010
AUSTRALIANS DELIVER GREEN STUFF STATESIDE
The Age Solar start-ups are heading to the US to find investors, reports Anne Davies. THREE years ago Danny Kennedy was a campaigner for Greenpeace in Sydney. Now he\'s one of the founders of a California start-up, Sungevity, putting solar panels on the roofs of houses in northern California. Co-founded with former BP Solar executive Andrew Birch with \"angel funding\" from fancily and friends, including
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6th January 2010
CLIMATE STATEMENT STOKES ETS DEBATE
Australian Financial Review article Australia experienced the second hottest year on record in 2009, according to new data the Bureau of Meteorology says is consistent with global warming. The bureau\'s 2009 annual climate statement, released yesterday, showed the annual mean temperature across Australia was 0.9 degrees Celsius higher than the 1961-90 average. NSW, Victoria and South Australia
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6th January 2010
THE FUTURE OF DROUGHT ASSISTANCE
Weekly times article Battling on all fronts Politics, prices and pollution reduction schemes: PETER HUNT looks at the big issues facing farmers in 2010. The future of drought assistance FEDERAL Agriculture Minister Tony Burke seems hell-bent on dumping interest rate subsidies and income support for drought-stricken farmers. The lawyer holding the inner Sydney seat of Watson has repeatedly stated he wants to wean farmers off direct support and encourage them to adapt to climate change and drought-proof their farms. The current proposal
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6th January 2010
MOKOAN'S END DRAWS NEAR
Weekly Times article By PETER HUNT THE last act in the Victorian Government\'s nine-year battle to pull the plug on Lake Mokoan is about to end. Goulburn Murray Water will soon award the contract to bulldoze the lake\'s embankment. But work still hasn\'t started on the $20 million reversion of the lake to an 8000ha wetland, which the Government hopes to turn into a world-
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5th January 2010
AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE STATEMENT 2009 RELEASED
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has released the Annual Australian Climate Statement 2009 (5 January 2010), which illustrates that \"Australia\'s annual mean temperature for 2009 was 0.90°C above the 1961-90 average, making it the nation\'s second warmest year since high-quality records began in 1910\". According to Environment Minister Peter Garrett, the statement confirms that: • \"[i]n the last six months of 2009 South Australia, Victoria and NSW all experienced their hottest July to December period on record; • 2009 was the second hottest year in Australia on record and finished off the hottest decade in Australian history; • 2009 is expected to be the fifth hottest year globally and finished off the hottest decade globally in recorded history; [and] • [a] cooler-than-average global mean temperature has now not been recorded since 1985\". Mr Garrett also noted that the statement indicated that the patterns of the last year and the decade are
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4th January 2010
DSE LAND AND BIODIVERSITY WHITE PAPER

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4th January 2010
DRAFT ADVICE ON AMENDMENTS TO THE WATER MARKET RULES 2009 AND THE WATER CHARGE (TERMINATION FEES) RULE 2009
The ACCC has released its draft advice and proposed draft amendments on the Water Market Rules 2009 and Water Charge (Termination Fees) Rules 2009 for public consultation. This follows a request for advice from the Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong.
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31st December 2009
COMMENTS SOUGHT ON MARKET MECHANISMS FOR RECOVERING WATER IN THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN
The Productivity Commission has released the Productivity Commission Draft Research Report: Market Mechanisms for Recovering Water in the Murray-Darling Basin (December 2009) for public comment. The Productivity Commission has endorsed the use of market mechanisms to recover water for the environment, finding that the federal government\'s buyback of permanent water entitlements through a tender process has largely been cost effective, but \"could be complemented by direct purchasing from the market, and adoption of a portfolio approach that includes other water products, such as seasonal allocations\".
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22nd December 2009
AUSTRALIAN CARBON OFFSET MARKET MATURING
22 December 2009 The latest update of the Carbon Offset Guide shows Australia’s voluntary carbon offset market is becoming more transparent as the market matures and responds to consumer demand. This advice was provided by the two organisations behind the development of the Guide, Global Sustainability at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and EPA Victoria. EPA acting director business development Krista Milne said the Guide had played a leading role in requiring transparency, particularly on issues of quality.
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22nd December 2009
DESPITE DROUGHT, SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT TO MURRAY-DARLING BASIN IRRIGATORS’ INCOMES
22 December 2009 ABARE Although most irrigators remained affected by the drought and lower than normal water allocations, there was overall improvement in average financial performance in 2007-08, according to ABARE’s latest report on irrigators’ incomes in the Murray-Darling Basin. The report – An economic survey of irrigation farms in the Murray-Darling Basin: industry overview and region profiles 2007-08 – was released today by Dr Terry Sheales, Deputy Executive Director, ABARE. “Irrigated horticulture farms in the Murray-Darling Basin realised an average rate of return to capital and management of 2 per cent in 2007-08, compared with 1.5 per cent in 2006-07. Returns for broadacre and dairy farms that irrigate improved slightly to average 1.2 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively, in 2007-08,” noted Dr Sheales. The report provides economic and physical profiles of irrigators by region and industry for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 financial years, based on a survey of 900 irrigation farms across 10 regions in the Murray-Darling Basin. Overall, the report shows there was wide variability in financial performance across irrigation farms in all regions and industries in 2006-07 and 2007-08. “There is considerable diversity between irrigation farms across the Murray-Darling Basin in terms of area operated, the degree to which farms rely on irrigation and the extent of on farm investment in irrigation infrastructure,” said Dr Sheales. Seasonal conditions varied across the Murray-Darling Basin in 2007-08, with dry conditions persisting in the southern part of the Basin. The current and likely future water situation in the Basin has focused attention on a range of challenging water issues. “This report is the latest in a series addressing the issues facing irrigators. Results for 2006-07 and 2007-08 provide a base period for examining future trends in industry performance. Irrigators who participated in this survey have made an important contribution to the development of policies and programs that will affect the future of irrigation industries. Fieldwork to collect data for the 2008-09 financial year will commence in February 2010,” Dr Sheales concluded.
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19th December 2009
THE CPRS AND AGRICULTURE:
The CPRS and agriculture: What we know, what we don‟t know, and what it might mean for farmers. Mick Keogh, Australian Farm Institute
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18th December 2009
WATER PLANNING GUIDELINES 18 DEC 09 CONSULTATION DRAFT

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16th December 2009
ENGINE DEVELOPED TO SLASH EMISSIONS
The Australian AUSTRALIAN researchers say they have found a way to slash carbon emissions from coal-tired power stations by doubling their efficiency, opening the way for the long-term survival of the coal industry. They have developed a new type of engine that generates energy using heat already produced in power stations but lost into the atmosphere, allowing a coal-fired power station to halve its emissions. Former mining
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16th December 2009
FARMERS FIND A LIGHT UNDER THE BUSHEL
Herald Sun Nigel Austin THE prosperity of Victorian and South Australian farms is finally looking up after several years of drought due to a sharp improvement in grain crops. However, total earnings from Australia\'s commodity exports are forecast to drop by 18 per cent to $163 billion in 2009-10, following a rise of 33 per cent to $197 billion in 2008-09. Releasing its December issue of Australian Commodities
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16th December 2009
GREEN POWER FEASIBLE
The Australian THE federal government has the opportunityto switch the nation\'s power to renewable energy but favours attempts to make \"dirty coal clean\", according to the Australian Academy of Science. Next month the academy
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15th December 2009
NEW ABS STATISTICS
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released Environment and Energy News, Dec 2009 (15 December 2009), which \"highlights developments in environment and energy statistics particularly at the ABS\". (Source: ABS)
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15th December 2009
HIGHER AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR HURTS COMMODITY EXPORT EARNINGS
15 December 2009 Australia’s farm export earnings are forecast to fall in 2009-10, after increasing strongly in 2008-09, according to ABARE’s December issue of Australian commodities, released today by Dr Terry Sheales, Deputy Executive Director, ABARE. “The forecast decline in farm export earnings in 2009-10 mainly reflects the adverse effects of a significantly higher Australian exchange rate, especially against the US dollar, and a downward revision to winter crop production in the current season,” Dr Sheales said. The value of farm exports is forecast to fall by 6 per cent to $30 billion in 2009-10, following a significant rise of 16 per cent to $32 billion in 2008-09. The latest forecast of farm export earnings in 2009-10 represents a downward revision from the $31.1 billion forecast released by ABARE in September. However, at a forecast $30 billion, farm export earnings in 2009-10 will still be around 9 per cent higher than the $27.5 billion recorded in 2007-08. Agricultural commodities for which export earnings are forecast to rise in 2009-10 include raw cotton, sugar, chickpeas, peas and rice. However, the effects of these increases are forecast to be more than offset by lower export earnings for wheat, barley, canola, livestock and livestock products. Earnings from energy and minerals exports are forecast to fall by 20 per cent to close to $129 billion in 2009-10. “The combined effect of lower bulk commodity contract prices, including for coal and iron ore, and an assumed stronger Australian dollar is expected to more than offset the positive effect on earnings of forecast higher export volumes in 2009-10,” Dr Sheales said. This latest figure for mineral resources exports represents an upward revision from the $123 billion forecast released by ABARE in September. The value of energy exports is forecast to fall by 31 per cent to around $54 billion in 2009-10. For metals and other minerals, export earnings are forecast to decline by 10 per cent to around $75 billion in 2009-10. Australian mine production is forecast to rise by 7 per cent in 2009-10, with increases in both energy commodities and metals and other minerals outputs. Total earnings from Australia’s commodity exports are forecast to fall by 18 per cent to $163 billion in 2009-10, following a rise of 33 per cent to $197 billion in 2008-09.
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15th December 2009
ABARE REPORT: GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY AND
Executive summary Food security relates to the physical availability and access to food, as well as to its affordability. With the escalation of global food prices through 2007 and 2008, the issue of food security, both globally and domestically, attracted considerable public and policy attention. The most serious effects of the rise in global food prices were on the urban poor in low income countries. This resulted in civil unrest in some countries and an increase in protectionist trade policies in others. In developing countries, where populations faced declining physical availability of food as well as sharply deteriorated affordability, many people were forced to reduce nutritional intakes and defer expenditures on essential items, such as health and education, to survive
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15th December 2009
ABARE REPORT: GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY AND AUSTRALIA
Executive summary Food security relates to the physical availability and access to food, as well as to its affordability. With the escalation of global food prices through 2007 and 2008, the issue of food security, both globally and domestically, attracted considerable public and policy attention. The most serious effects of the rise in global food prices were on the urban poor in low income countries. This resulted in civil unrest in some countries and an increase in protectionist trade policies in others. In developing countries, where populations faced declining physical availability of food as well as sharply deteriorated affordability, many people were forced to reduce nutritional intakes and defer expenditures on essential items, such as health and education, to survive
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13th December 2009
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES $35 MILLION BOOST FOR GEOTHERMAL PROJECTS
Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson has announced that five geothermal energy projects around Australia are to receive a total of $35 million in funding from round two of the federal government\'s $50 million Geothermal Drilling Program.
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9th December 2009
BURY THE PROBLEM TO SOLVE IT, IN PART
The Australian WHILE the federal government fights for its emission trading scheme, the Victorian government has committed $2 million to a contentious plan aimed at lowering the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The funds will go to a project that is capturing carbon from power plants and storing it underground. It is run by the Cooperative Research Centre for
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9th December 2009
GEELONG REGION HEATS UP AS A HUB FOR GEOTHERMAL
GEELONG REGION HEATS UP AS A HUB FOR GEOTHERMAL From the Minister for Energy & Resources Wednesday, 09 December 2009 The Brumby Labor Government will provide up to $25 million for a major clean energy project that could create Victoria’s largest demonstration geothermal power plant. If successful, the Geelong Geothermal Power Project could eventually power more than 120,000 homes with clean, renewable energy
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7th December 2009
COAL SEAM GAS MUST PROVE ITS REAL WORTH
The Age FOR the past three years the coal seam gas industry has been the new god of energy, promising big profits, green energy solutions and providing the gateway to align Australia\'s gas prices to the more lucrative global prices. Investors have crammed into
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6th December 2009
CCS FLAGSHIP PROJECTS SHORT-LISTED
Martin Ferguson press release Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson AM MP, has announced four projects which will move to the next stage of assessment in the $2 billion Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Flagships Program. The Australian Government will now spend up to $120 million on pre-feasibility work to further assess the following projects: • Wandoan power plant project northwest of Brisbane, generating 334 mega
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2nd December 2009
OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK
Weekly Times By ROSLYN LANIGAN FARMERS are confident the agricultural economy is on the way up, according to new survey results. A comprehensive survey of Victorian farmers, commissioned by Rural Finance, showed 46 per cent of farmers believed the agricultural economy would improve in the next 12 months. Rural Finance chief
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2nd December 2009
STATE FACES COURT ON WATER TRADE
The Age By PETER KER WATER AND ENVIRONMENT REPORTER A HIGH Court challenge to the Victorian Government\'s water trading rules is under way, after the South Australian Government began proceedings yesterday. The move came as South Australia also lodged plans with the Federal Government to extend a series of life-support measures for the ailing lower lakes of the Murray River. The parlous state of the Murray
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30th November 2009
NATIONAL WATER COMMISSION SITE LINK

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14th November 2009
ILUKA RESOURCES; ENVIRONMENT RESOURCE AND EFFICIENCY PLAN
Iluka Resources Ltd is the world’s largest producer of zircon and second largest of titanium dioxide. In Hamilton, Victoria the company is involved in the production and processing of mineral sands. Iluka opened a new resource-efficient processing plant in Hamilton in 2007. Since becoming involved in the Environment and Resource Efficiency Plan (EREP) program, the company has identified opportunities to save more than $200,000 in annual energy costs. No capital cost is required to reap these savings. ‘The major annual saving of $149,000 has come from power factor correction, where the company’s electricians fine-tuned the plant’s energy consumption and expects to cut usage by 7884
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30th June 2009
CSIRO CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMARY FOR AUSTRALIA

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15th June 2009
EFFECTS OF THE CPRS ON ECONOMIC VALUE OF FARM PRODUCTION
Introduction As part of ABARE’s ongoing analysis of issues around the inclusion of agriculture in the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), this paper assesses the effects of the recently announced changes to the CPRS on the economic value of farm production. The economic value of farm production is a measure of net farm cash income (defined as total cash receipts minus total cash costs) after accounting for the value of any change in stocks over the period. Given the limitations of the estimation methodology used, the estimates presented in the paper should be treated as indicative of the likely initial policy effects. The aim of this analysis is to contribute to the existing body of knowledge about the potential impacts of the CPRS made by the industry and other agencies, as well as to highlight that the overall effects of the CPRS on agriculture must include the subsequent round of adjustment effects that can be expected to occur following the introduction of the scheme. The CPRS is an emissions trading scheme which will commence in
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29th January 2009
ACCC POSITION PAPER ON WATER CHARGE RULES
This position paper follows from an issues paper released by the ACCC in October 2008. It presents the ACCC’s preliminary position on how the water charge rules can best contribute to achieving the Basin water charging objectives and principles and asks for submissions on the proposals it contains
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27th January 2009
LINK TO THE WHITE PAPER FOR THE CARBON POLLUTION REDUCTION SCHEME
The Australian Government released the White Paper on Monday 15 December 2008. The paper outlines the final design of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and the medium-term, target range for reducing carbon pollution http://www.climatechange.gov.au/whitepaper/index.html
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27th January 2009
ARTICLE: TACKLING THE GLOBAL FARM CRISIS BY PROFESSOR JULIAN CRIBB
A very informative and thought provoking article about food security and the challenges and opportunities facing primary producers
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27th January 2009
CSIRO CLIMATE CHANGE UPDATE FOR VICTORIA 2008
A presentation by Kevin Hennessy from the Climate Risk, Adaptation and Policy Group, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research on the latest outlooks for Victoria.
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27th January 2009
REPORT: CLIMATE RISK AND INDUSTRY ADAPTATION
This study from the Bureau of Rural Sciences presents findings from work undertaken in four drought affected communities in the Murray Darling Basin: two irrigated (including Sunraysia) and two dryland. It explores the links between people\'s perceptions of climate variability, and their preparedness and management of risks.
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17th November 2008
WATER WASTE OF OUR DAM MONEY
Kenneth Davidson, The Age ONCE Melbourne\'s water supply levels fall below 29.3% of catchment capacity by year end, unless there is above normal rainfall, level 4 water restrictions are supposed to apply to Melbourne consumers automatically. Even so, the problem for Melbourne is more a lack of confidence than a lack of water. Even at 29% capacity, this amounts to 516 gigalitres compared with Melbourne\'s annual consumption, under current 3a restrictions, of 380GL.
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15th November 2008
MURRAY'S MOUTH TURNS TOXIC
New Scientist article
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15th November 2008
$34M BUYBACK TO RETURN WATER TO MURRAY
The Age ONE of the biggest buybacks of water entitlement in Australian history was on the verge of completion last night, with a major irrigation firm agreeing to return 250 billion litres worth of entitlement to the ailing Murray River. The proposed $34 million deal between Tandou Farms and the NSW Government would be more expensive than September\'s historic purchase of water from Toorale Station.
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14th November 2008
CARBON PERMITS FACE PRICE PRESSURE
Article from The Australian THE global financial crisis could force up the price of the developing country carbon permits that the Rudd Government is hoping will provide a cheap source of greenhouse gas reductions for Australian companies under its new emissions trading scheme. Recently released Treasury
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14th November 2008
THE ENERGY REVOLUTION HAS ALREADY BEGUN
THe Age WHEN the world\'s environment ministers gather in the Polish city of Poznan next month to discuss the new global climate deal, the Federal Government will announce its long-awaited short-term targets for reducing greenhouse emissions. This will give the world an opportunity to assess the scope of Australias climate change credentials and ambition.
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13th November 2008
AGRICULTURE AND EMISSIONS TRADING
Report from The Australia Institute The Government wants to include agriculture in the CPRS because it sees the market as being the lowest-cost method of reducing emissions. Further, it considers that the exclusion of agriculture will place a larger burden on those sectors that are included. This paper argues that the Government’s rationale is incorrect; including agricultural emissions in the CPRS is problematic for several reasons.
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13th November 2008
LINK TO GOVERNMENT'S WEBSITE ON SMALL BLOCK EXIT PACKAGE
http://www.environment.gov.au/water/programs/entitlement-purchasing/small-block-irrigators.html
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13th November 2008
INQUIRY INTOGOVERNMENT DROUGHT SUPPORT -PRODUCTIVITY COMMISION DRAFT REPORT

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6th November 2008
ACCC DRAFT WATER RULES
ACCC’s draft water market rules and advice to the Minister ACCC’s role The Minister for Climate Change and Water (the Minister) has written to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) requesting advice on the water market rules by December 2008, as required under s. 98(1) of the Water Act 2007 (the Act). The ACCC previously released an issues paper and position paper for consultation to which many submissions were received. The ACCC had regard to those submissions in the preparation of the draft water market rules, which were released on 10 October 2008, for further consultation towards the drafting of the ACCC’s final advice to the Minister. This forum forms part of that consultation. What are the water market rules? The water market rules deal with actions or inactions of operators that prevent or unreasonably delay transformation arrangements.
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1st November 2008
PENNY WONG TO GO EASY ON CARBON EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME
Article from: The Australian THE Rudd Government has no ambitions to set an example by moving dramatically ahead of other countries with its emissions trading regime, Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has indicated. Senator Wong told The Weekend Australian the Government had \"very deliberately\" timed the final decisions on the limits or \"caps\" it would put on Australian greenhouse emissions so they would be taken after a crucial UN meeting in Copenhagen next year.
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30th October 2008
WETLANDS FOR OUR FUTURE
Report for Australian Conservation Foundation and Inland Rivers Network http://www.acfonline.org.au/uploads/res/Ramsar_paper_final_201008.pdf Australia signed the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance more than 30 years ago. However, over the years the Commonwealth Government, as signatory to the Convention, and state governments, which manage many Ramsar wetlands, have failed to fulfil many of their significant obligations under the Ramsar Convention. In the years since the Ramsar Convention came into effect, the condition of Australia’s wetlands has declined precipitously. Ninety percent of the wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin have vanished (Beeton et al. 2006). The condition of the remnants is poorin most cases, critical in some. Despite good intentions, Australia’s Ramsar program has failed to stem the decline of Murray-Darling Basin wetlands, including many wetlands designated as Ramsar sites.
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29th October 2008
FARMERS URGE NEW DEAL IN FIGHT AGAINST CC
Article from The Australian FARMERS want the Exceptional Circumstances drought relief system scrapped and replaced with new grants and HECS-style loans to farmers to help them adjust to climate change. In a clear signal of a shift in the rural sector towards an acceptance that the Rudd Government is about to remake drought policy, the National Farmers Federation has declared as inappropriate the existing EC drought relief system.
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27th October 2008
SUPPLIES MIGHT ONLY LAST 20 YEARS
The Age VICTORIA\'S $4.9 billion water plan may only secure Melbourne\'s supplies for about 20 years - not the 50 years repeatedly claimed by the Government. The Department of Sustainability and Environment has warned that Melbourne\'s supplies could dip back below the trigger point for restrictions about 15 to 20 years after the contentious water plan - including the desalination plant near Wonthaggi and the northsouth pipeline from the Goulburn Valley to the city comes on line.
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26th October 2008
WATER WORRIES TEMPORARY
Article from the Sunday Age MELBOURNE will have so much water in the next few decades it will no longer make economic sense to install rainwater tanks or greywater systems in new homes, a State Governnnent-comnnissioned report has found. The Government\'s big water projects, including the controversial desalination plant and north-south pipeline, will eliminate the need for ambitious water saving targets for new homes, apartments and renovated houses, according to the report by the institute of Sustainable Futures, based at the University of Technology, Sydney.
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23rd October 2008
LINK TO THE NEWLY RELEASED NORTHERN REGION SUSTAINABLE WATER STRATEGY DRAFT STRATEGY
http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/programs/sws/northern/draft
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22nd October 2008
THE ULTIMATE REALITY
Article from The Age IN A pub in Melbourne a few weeks ago I asked a couple of friends what worried them most. They shook their heads and said: the environment. We\'ll all be gone in a 100 years or so, they told me, brows bobbing sagely. Last weekend, in the same pub, I asked the exact same question, and my friends shook their heads in exactly the same way and said something completely different. The global financial market, they said. The stockmarket crash.
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18th October 2008
EU STICKS TO ENERGY TARGET
Article from The Age EUROPEAN Union leaders have pledged to stick to a costly plan for deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, saying the crisis in global financial markets must not deter efforts to combat climate change. After presiding over a two-day summit, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that, despite misgivings about costs, \"climate change is so important that we cannot use the financial and economic crisis as a pretext for dropping it\".
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18th October 2008
INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF WATER PURCHASE SCHEME
Penny Wong media release REVIEW OF GOVERNMENT’S WATER PURCHASE PROGRAM RELEASED An independent review of the first round of the Rudd Government’s Murray-Darling Basin water purchase program has found it was efficiently run and achieved good value for money. Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, said Hyder Consulting had reviewed the Government’s initial Basin-wide water purchase tender, conducted February to May this year.“The Murray-Darling Basin is facing a critical situation after years of drought and over-allocation, and due to the current and future effects of climate change,” Senator Wong said.
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16th October 2008
FARMERS CALL FOR COORDINATED BUYBACK
Farmers say the Federal Government\'s buyback of irrigation water for the environment has been disorganised and badly targeted. They are demanding a major rethink and are putting forward suggestions for a more strategic approach. Victorian Farmers Federation president Simon Ramsay says the Federal Government\'s piecemeal buyback of farmers\' water cannot continue.
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16th October 2008
TARGETED LAND WATER REFORM PAPER
Paper from the Australian Conservation Foundation Land and water reform in the Murray-Darling Basin How governments can secure benefits for industry, communities and the environment by integrating investment in water acquisition, infrastructure improvement and structural adjustment in geographically targeted zones.
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14th October 2008
MARKET CHAOS WON'T SLOW CARBON SCHEME-AUSTRALIA PM
http://africa.reuters.com/energyandoil/news/usnSYD389045.html
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13th October 2008
MOST SUNRAYSIA HORT FARMERS USE COUNSELLING SERVICE
Sunraysia Daily article MORE than two thirds of farmers in the greater Sunraysia region are seeking help from counsellors, state parliament has been told. Member for Mildura Peter Crisp told parliament this week horticulturists in the region were \"clearly\" struggling and the state government should do more to help with drought relief. He said the recent annual general meeting of Sunraysia Rural Counselling Service heard from Department of Primary Industries representative Chris Norman who reported that of 1400 farm entities in the greater Sunraysia region, 943 were clients of the counselling service.
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13th October 2008
MOST CALLING FOR HELP
Article from the Sunraysia Daily MORE than two thirds of farmers in the greater Sunraysia region are seeking help from counsellors, state parliament has been told. Member for Mildura Peter Crisp told parliament this week horticulturists in the region were \"clearly\" struggling and the state government should do more to help with drought relief.
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11th October 2008
NEWLY RELEASED NORTHERN REGION SUSTAINABLE WATER STRATEGY DRAFT STRATEGY
Link to the newly released Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy Draft Strategy http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/programs/sws/northern/draft
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9th October 2008
WONG MEDIA RELEASE RE SELLING WATER ENTITLEMENTS

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9th October 2008
MEDIA RELEASE RE SELLING WATER ENTITLEMENTS
Penny Wong media release Irrigator groups invited to submit proposals for selling water entitlements
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7th October 2008
AI GROUP SEEKS DELAY TO ETS
Article from Australian Financial Review John Kedn The Australian Industry Group has urged the federal government to delay the introduction of its emissions trading scheme by at least a year and boost assistance for trade-exposed industries to avoid an \"economic shock\" forcing business investment and jobs offshore.
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7th October 2008
HOW TO STAY AFLOAT IN WATER MARKETS
Article from Sunraysia Daiily A FREE information session has been organised for local irrigators to learn more about water trading and how to operate within the water market. This is a good opportunity for all irrigators to gain a good understanding of the water market and the factors that influence
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7th October 2008
WE LOVE MILDURA BUT....
Article from Sunraysia Daily from survey of residents
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7th October 2008
BOM WEBSITE LINK
BOM Water and the Land http://www.bom.gov.au/watl/index.shtml
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7th October 2008
CSIRO AND BOM SITE ON CLIMATE CHANGE
CSIRO and BOM site on climate change http://www.climatechangeinaustralia.com.au/
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7th October 2008
ASIA-PACIFIC EMISSIONS TRADING FORUM - WEBSITE
Asia-Pacific Emissions Trading Forum - The AETF is the region\'s prime information service and business network dealing with domestic and international developments in greenhouse gas emissions markets http://www.aetf.net.au/
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7th October 2008
CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK AUSTRALIA (CANA) WEBSITE
CANA: Local Action, Global Traction Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) is an alliance of over 50 regional, state and national environmental, health, community development, and research groups from throughout Australia (See our member area for a full list.) CANA was formed in 1998 to be the Australian branch of the global CAN network, with representative groups in over 70 nations. http://www.cana.net.au/index.php?site_var=10
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7th October 2008
THE CLIMATE INSTITUTE WEBSITE
The Climate Institute http://www.climateinstitute.org.au/
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4th October 2008
GERMAN CLEAN COAL
By TIM COLEBATCH Article from The Age ECONOMICS EDITOR BERLIN ON A wide, flat plain in Germany\'s depressed north-east, one of the keys to our future has begun turning. Beside a giant power station known as Schwarze Pumpe (Black Pump), a small plant has begun to capture the carbon released when brown coal is turned into electricity, ultimately to store it underground.
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2nd October 2008
GARNAUT REVIEW WEBSITE
Garnaut review website http://www.garnautreview.org.au/CA25734E0016A131/pages/home
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2nd October 2008
NEW ABS STATS ON THE MURRAY DARLING BASIN
ABS stats on the Murray Darling Basin http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4610.0.55.007
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2nd October 2008
MILDURA SOCIAL INDICATORS REPORT
From the Executive Summary While many of the indicators presented did not report substantial change since the first Mildura Social Indicators, the 2008 version has witnessed a few key changes that may warrant closer attention. As the Mildura Social Indicators is a document that relies solely on quantitative data, we summarize the main changes in terms of the more substantial increases and decreases of rate, proportion and or amount, as a quick guide to the key areas of interest.
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2nd October 2008
LINK FOR VICTORIA'S GREENHOUSE INDICATOR
http://www.theclimategroup.org/special_projects/the_greenhouse_indicator/victoria/
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2nd October 2008
SCRUB BETTER THAN STOCK.PDF
Stock and land FARMERS might be better off producing scrub over sheep in a future carbon economy. In the final report in his climate change review to the Federal Government, Ross Garnaut suggests some farmers might be better off producing scrub over sheep in a future carbon economy.
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30th September 2008
THE VICTORIAN FOOD SYSTEM

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30th September 2008
CLEANER COAL
Article from Australian Financial Review
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30th September 2008
ACCC MEDIA RELEASE ON CHANGES TO WATER RULES

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30th September 2008
SUSTAINING VICTORIAN FOOD AND FARMING. THE FUTURE FOOD
Report by Andrew Campbell for the Australian Conservation foundation Sustaining Victorian Food and Farming. The Future Food and Farm Project Background Paper. This study explores the future of the Victorian food and farming system in a rapidly changing and more demanding world, focusing on the period between now and 2020. It explores ideas and tries to anticipate and imagine the sorts of activities and investments that will be needed if Victoria is to equip its food and farming system to produce more healthy foods, more sustainably, in a much more difficult climate, while consuming less water, nutrients and energy.
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30th September 2008
POSITION PAPER ON WATER CHARGE RULES
Media release from A.C.C.C. ISSUES POSITION PAPER ON WATER CHARGE RULES The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today issued its position paper seeking submissions on the development of water charge rules for irrigation infrastructure operators and bulk water operators.
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29th September 2008
GOVERNMENT-SHOULD-HEED-SCIENTISTS-ADVICE-ON-CLIMATE-CHANGE

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27th September 2008
THE BEAUTY OF A SIMPLE IDEA TO DELIVER CLEANER COAL
Article from Australian Financial Review The beauty of a simple idea to deliver cleaner coal One man has an idea to cut emissions from coal fired power plants that is practical and does not involve untested technologies.
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26th September 2008
CARBONRISK-ESSENTIALCONCEPTS
This is the first in a series of papers which have been prepared by SAI Global in order to highlight the growing need for ‘Carbon Risk’ to be incorporated into the Risk Management Framework of any organisation, large or small. This introductory paper has been designed to provide risk management professionals with an understanding of: (a) The science of climate change; and (b) The economics and politics of mitigation.
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26th September 2008
CARBON RISK WEIGHTING
This is the second in a series of papers prepared by SAI Global in relation to Carbon Risk, and sets out a paradigm for the assessment of Carbon Risk which is designed to inform the domestic debate on emissions trading. Readers who require foundational knowledge are referred to the previous paper, Essential Concepts.
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30th August 2008
GREENLIGHTREPORT_2008 VICTORIANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Report from DSE\'s Sustainability Victoria The Green Light Report: Victorians and the Environment in 2008 provides valuable insights into the attitudes and behaviours of the Victorian community. It reveals what the Victorian community is thinking, and how they are acting, in relation to the environmental challenges we all face.
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30th August 2008
IMPACT OF ETS ON STATE BUDGETS
Report by the Australia Institute for a just, sustainable, peaceful future The Impact of an Emissions Trading Scheme on State Government Budgets The Rudd Government has announced its intention to introduce an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), now being referred to as a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), by 2010. Central to the scheme will be the sale by the Federal Government of permits to industrial interests which emit carbon pollution as part of their commercial activities. Businesses that have to purchase permits will pass the additional costs on to their customers. In its recently released Green Paper (Commonwealth of Australia 2008c), the Commonwealth outlined its intention to provide significant compensation to households and selected industries to help them offset the adjustment costs that are likely to be associated with the introduction of a price for carbon. This paper highlights the need for an additional class of compensation payments that do not appear to have been considered in the debate so far, namely, payments to compensate the state and territory governments1 for the likely increase in the costs they will face in delivering services to their residents.
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25th August 2008
INVESTORS FILL VIC'S POWER VACUUM.PDF
Article from Australian Financial Review The federal government\'s proposed emissions trading scheme has triggered a mini-investment boom for Victoria\'s beseiged energy industry, despite causing alarm for many major energy users. More than $3 billion
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23rd August 2008
PAUL KELLY ON ETS

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23rd August 2008
STORM WARNING
Articel by paul Kelly BUSINESS has put the Rudd Goverment on notice: it needs to revise its emissions trading strategy to avert a crisis for corporate balance sheets and the nation\'s economic health. Climate change, the dream political issue for Kevin Rudd at the 2007 election, has been transformed into a political and policy nightmare.
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16th August 2008
CLIMATE CHANGE ARTICLE FROM NEW SCIENTIST
The Decade after Tomorrow WHAT’s going to happen to the climate over the next 10 years or so? Is it time to buy that air conditioner you considered during the last heatwave? Should you rip up your garden and replant it with drought-resistant plants, or can you expect more rain – perhaps even floods – in your part of world? The other possibility, of course, is that your local climate will change little in the near future.
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13th August 2008
$1BN SOLAR POWER STATION PLANS
Article from Australian Financial Review WorleyParsons heralds solar power dawn John Breusch The long-heralded potential of solar power might be about to become a reality after engineering firm Worley- Parsons said conditions were now right in Australia to build a $1 billion, 250 megawatt solar thermal power station within three years.
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10th August 2008
COMING CLEAN ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Article from The Age HALF of Australia\'s biggest companies are risking cost blow-outs, an increased regulatory burden and reputational damage from climate change, according to an international report.
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8th August 2008
HAL SUBMISSION AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT REVIEW ON THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF DROUGHT
Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) is making this submission to provide the Australian Government with an overview of the effect of drought on the industry and the rural communities it is a part of. Consultation on this submission has been made with the across-horticulture Industry Management Committee and the Implementation Steering Committee for the “Drought Information Delivery for Horticulture in the Murray Darling Basin” project.
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6th August 2008
ASX TO OFFER ENERGY FUTURES BEFORE CARBON TRADING
Article from Australian Financial Review The Australian Securities Exchange plans to introduce futures contracts for renewable energy credits, natural gas and coal before the start of carbon futures trading in the third quarter of 2009. The contracts would
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5th August 2008
WATER BUYBACK BRINGS A TRICKLE
Article from The Australian THE federal Government\'s $50 million water buyback will return less than 10megalitres to the Murray River this year - the equivalent of just 10 Olympic swimming pools - prompting claims the scheme is ineffective and cannot avert an ecological disaster.
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31st July 2008
BANGLADESH AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Compelling article from The Independent about the impacts climate change is having on Bangladesh and its 150 million population right now. Bangladesh, the most crowded nation on earth, is set to disappear under the waves by the end of this century – and we will be to blame. Johann Hari took a journey to see for himself how western profligacy and indifference have sealed the fate of 150 million peoplewent to see for himself the spreading misery and destruction as the ocean reclaims the land on which so many millions depend
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31st July 2008
CLIMATE CODE RED
Article from Eco magazine about a new book published called Climate Code Red; the Case for Emergency Action Imagine swiping your smart card to register your carbon ration every time you fuel up at the bowser. Your personal carbon allowance – which gets debited when you pay for carbon-based services or goods – would be granted annually and its value would decline every year. That strict, citizen-account approach to emissions cutting is being advocated by Climate Code Red: The Case for Emergency Action, just published in July.
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31st July 2008
IMPACT OF ETS ON ENERGY SUPPLY INDUSTRY
Report commissioned by the Energy Supply Association of Australia that models the measured real price changes in electricity and gas, along with the level of new investment that would be required, in response to greenhouse gas reduction targets of 10% and 20% below 2000 emission levels by 2020. The modelling also included the Federal Government’s Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) of 20% of electricity supply from renewables by 2020.
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30th July 2008
CPRS GREEN PAPER
Report by the Federal Government\'s Office of climate change. Fundamental to the Government’s climate change strategy is a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. It is the best way to reduce carbon pollution while minimising the impact on business and households. The Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme will, for the first time, place a limit, or cap, on the amount of carbon pollution industry can emit.
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28th July 2008
ESTIMATING THE VALUE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY AUSTRALIAN FARMERS
Changes in management practices over recent decades in Australia have made the farm sector more sustainable, and also delivered billions of dollars worth of environmental services for the community, but the value of these environmental services to the community is not recognised. This is the key finding of research which was released on Monday 28 July, which was carried out by Gillespie Economics and Professor Jeff Bennett of the Australian National University for the Australian Farm Institute, with joint funding from Dairy Australia and Australian Wool Innovation.
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24th July 2008
WATER CONTINGENCY PLANNING
JOINT STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER AND THE PREMIERS OF NEW SOUTH WALES, VICTORIA AND SOUTH AUSTRALIA AND THE CHIEF MINISTER OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
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24th July 2008
FRUITS LOSE OUT TO NUTS - ARTICLE FROM SUNRAYSIA DAILY
Full SunRise21 report available on SunRise21 website www.sunrise21.org.au
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3rd July 2008
NEW ZEALAND PREPARES FOR CARBON EMISSIONS TRADING
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/breakfast/stories/2008/2292946.htm
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19th June 2008
WORKSHOP 3.2
Future scenarios Building on the information, discussion and feedback from previous sessions, scenarios for the future of the region will be developed. Date: 19th June 2008 Time: 9.00am to 3.00pm Venue: Hotel Mildura
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31st May 2008
AUSTRALIA'S WORKING RIVERS
From Executive Summary - This paper provides a high level assessment of progress and trends in relation to major government commitments to reduce long-term stresses on river systems in Australia. It then considers the possible implications of these trends and their drivers for the mix of interventions being used in pursuit of these objectives.
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29th May 2008
WORKSHOP 3.1
Future scenarios Building on the information, discussion and feedback from previous sessions, scenarios for the future of the region will be developed. Date: 29th May 2008 Time: 9.00am to 3.00pm Venue: Acacia room, Department of Primary Industries. Cnr Koorlong Ave and 11th st
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12th May 2008
WORKSHOP 2
The second workshop is on Monday 12th May Hindsight, Insight, Aspirations A Discussion of Past Achievements, Current Status and Future Goals of the Region Date: 12th May 2008 Time: 9.00am to 1.15pm Venue: Acacia Room, Department of Primary Industry (VIC). Cnr 11th St and Koorlong Ave, Mildura
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28th April 2008
WORKSHOP 1
Setting the scene Making Sense of the Issues that will Shape the Region\'s Future Date: 28th April 2008 Time: 9.00am to 1.15pm Venue: Acacia Room, Department of Primary Industry (VIC). Cnr 11th St and Koorlong Ave, Mildura
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15th March 2008
CLIMATE RISK AND INDUSTRY ADAPTATION
Bureau of Rural Sciences report
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2nd December 2007
ADAPTING AGRICULTURE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Scientific report by Mark Howden et al from the CSIRO, published by the National Academy of Sciences of the USA The strong trends in climate change already evident, the likelihood of further changes occurring, and the increasing scale of potential climate impacts give urgency to addressing agricultural adaptation more coherently. There are many potential adaptation options available for marginal change of existing agricultural systems, often variations of existing climate risk management. We show that implementation of these options is likely to have substantial benefits under moderate climate change for some cropping systems. However, there are limits to their effectiveness under more severe climate changes. Hence, more systemic changes in resource allocation need to be considered, such as targeted diversification of production systems and livelihoods. We argue that achieving increased adaptation action will necessitate integration of climate change-related issues with other risk factors, such as climate variability and market risk, and with other policy domains, such as sustainable development. Dealing with the many barriers to effective adaptation will require a comprehensive and dynamic policy approach covering a range of scales and issues, for example, from the understanding by farmers of change in risk profiles to the establishment of efficient markets that facilitate response strategies. Science, too, has to adapt. Multidisciplinary problems require multidisciplinary solutions, i.e., a focus on integrated rather than disciplinary science and a strengthening of the interface with decision makers. A crucial component of this approach is the implementation of adaptation assessment frameworks that are relevant, robust, and easily operated by all stakeholders, practitioners, policymakers, and scientists. adaptation  greenhouse  cropping  grazing  forestry Agriculture is the major land use across the globe. C
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31st March 2007
ABARE REPORT - ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR
ABARE Report - Adapting to climate change: Issues and challenges in the agriculture sector Extract: While there is consensus in the global scientific community that some degree of climate change is inevitable, there remain large uncertainties surrounding the likely effects of climate change on the agriculture sector, especially at the regional level. Some models predict an increase in agricultural productivity in Australia, whereas other modelling suggests a substantial fall in productivity in many regions. Analysis in this paper indicates that some regions in Australia that are highly dependent on agriculture could experience considerable economic losses as a result of climate change. However, adaptation to the impacts of climate change, including improved farming technologies and practices, can reduce the size of these losses. Farmers will require information to make cost effective adaptation decisions. Government is likely to have a role in providing ongoing research and development to support adaptation, improving information dissemination to farmers, and ensuring appropriate policy settings that encourage adaptation.
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15th March 2007
AUSTRALIAN HORTICULTURE FACT SHEET 2007
AUSTRALIAN HORTICULTURE FACT SHEET 1. Overview Australian horticulture is a labour intensive, seasonal industry characterised by small-scale family farms, that are increasingly becoming medium to large operations. Australia’s horticulture industry has long enjoyed a domestic and international reputation for quality, primarily because of high standards in all stages of the supply chain, from farm to consumer. The horticulture industry in 2006-07 was the second largest agricultural industry in Australia and contributes significantly to non-metropolitan areas, employing some 81,500 people growing fruit, vegetables and nuts for the domestic and export markets. A further 9,300 are employed in fruit and vegetable processing (excluding wine manufacturing). A survey of recruitment agencies estimated there are also 175,000 seasonal positions available each year. Annual and perennial horticultural crops hold approximately equal shares by value-of-production, and the total area under production in Australia is around 250,000 ha.
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1st January 1970


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1st January 1970


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1st January 1970


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