Statement in response to Federal Government announcement it seeks to delay coal fired power plant closures by introducing new rules that five years’ notice must be provided before closing power stations. “What we are seeing is another knee-jerk reaction from Minister Taylor because Australia’s Energy Minister was left out of key negotiations on Australia’s largest

An overwhelming majority of Tasmanians (76%) are concerned about the dire state of Tasmania’s coastal waters and oceans amid a landmark law review aimed at protecting the marine environment and economy, according to new research from the Australia Institute Tasmania. The new polling supports the Australia Institute Tasmania’s call for a marine law overhaul, contained

Post-Budget surveys in the South Australian federal electorates of Boothby and Sturt have shown both seats could be in play at the upcoming election, with a mixed reaction to the Budget and a strong desire for protecting the Great Australian Bight recorded by voters. Key results, Boothby: 2PP: Labor Party 57%, Liberal Party 43%. Four

“Today’s decision by the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) decision to approve this coal mine is no joke for our climate,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute. “The IPC has got it wrong on climate, tax and economics. The decision to approve Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri mine extension to 2044 is reckless and

New research reveals the economic benefits of the proposed Narrabri Whitehaven Coal Mine would be reduced to zero in the event a basic carbon price was included in its assessment. In a submission to the NSW Independent Planning Commission, the Australia Institute details how Whitehaven corporation have overstated the economic benefits of the proposed mine,

The Australia Institute welcomes today’s disallowance of floodplain harvesting regulations in the NSW Parliament. “This regulation would have given the green light to huge diversion of floodwater with terrible ecological, social and economic consequences,” said Rod Campbell, research director at the Australia Institute. “Diverting water beyond the limits in the Basin Plan has contributed to

Headlines about public funding in an election year are generally accompanied by hi-vis vests, the promise of more jobs and occasionally a bit of Top Gun theme music thrown in for good measure. So it was unusual to see a beachside photo-op with Scott Morrison to announce a “record” $1 billion investment (over nine years)

New research from The Australia Institute shows that virtually no tax or royalty is paid on two thirds of the gas exported from Western Australia. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) worth $27 billion was exported from WA last year, while only $430m went to the State Government, just 1% of state budget revenue. Twice as much

The return of Summernats to Canberra reminds us the Prime Minister promised Australia would be going into 2022 ‘looking through the front windscreen, not the rear vision mirror’. In reality, National Cabinet seems to be doing the policy equivalent of a burnout (or a doughnut as I called them growing up), spinning its wheels furiously

An unprecedented alliance of irrigation representatives and environment peak bodies have called on the NSW Premier, Treasurer and Environment Minister to oversee changes to Murray Darling water rules. The groups include representatives of a majority of NSW irrigators and the environmental peak bodies of all Basin states. The practice of diverting floodwater, known as floodplain

New research from the Australia Institute and Quit Nukes reveals most major Australian superannuation funds have holdings in nuclear weapons companies, such as Airbus, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. While many exclude so-called ‘controversial weapons’, they do not include nuclear weapons in the definition and continue to invest in nuclear weapons companies. Nearly one year into

The Australia Institute welcomes the decision by Victorian State Minister for Planning Richard Wynne to reject the Fingerboards Mineral Sands project proposed by Kalbar Resources. Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute, was an expert witness in the planning hearings that led to the rejection. He was called by community group Mine-Free Glenaladale. “We

The Fossil Fuelled 5 examines five wealthy nations – the US, Canada, Norway, Australia and the UK – that have a widening gap between their rhetoric on climate action and their plans to expand the production of fossil fuels. The paper gives a snapshot of how each is undermining global efforts to address the climate

“The Federal Government’s new Future Fuels Strategy will struggle to drive up electric vehicles sales and drive down transport emissions. Norway, the global leader on EVs, has driven the transition to cheaper, faster, and cleaner vehicles through credible policies and regulations,” said Richie Merzian, climate & energy program director at the Australia Institute. “The Prime

The COP26 Presidency has stated Monday 8 November in Glasgow will focus on the theme of adaptation, to ensure all countries enhance their resilience in the face of unavoidable climate impacts. Despite updating its National Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy ahead of Glasgow, Australia remains especially at risk and lagging significantly behind other countries in

New research from the Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program reveals that planned new gas and coal projects in Australia would result in almost 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2e emissions annually – equivalent to building over 200 new coal power stations. This would be four times the amount of new coal power stations planned by

The Morrison Government’s Net Zero by 2050 deal is a fraud while the Government plots to double coal exports, open vast new gas fields and prop-up coal generated power. Furthermore, the budgetary cost of persuading the National Party to support Scott Morrison’s net zero target are trivial compared to the costs to the economy of

With the impacts of climate change already being felt in the Northern Territory, new research shows the Northern Territory Government’s draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Offsets Policy should be abandoned or at least heavily revised. A submission from The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program shows that the proposed offset system would undermine existing NT Government

Climate of the Nation 2021 Benchmark Report – Tasmanian supplement Amid the Tasmanian Government’s announcement to legislate net zero by 2030, new research shows Tasmanians have expressed their support for stronger action to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of global warming (61%, compared to 55% nationally), and six in ten (62%) oppose any

In the lead-up to Glasgow COP26, concern about climate change is at an all-time high (75%) and 8 in 10 Australians (82%) support the phase-out of coal fired power stations, according to a new benchmark report released today by the Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program. Launched by Chris Bowen MP, the Shadow Minister for

Sometime this month Scott Morrison will announce a net zero by 2050 emissions-reduction target for Australia. This announcement will be made with the expectation of praise. However, much like the world was indifferent when Australia signalled it would no longer be using Kyoto credits to meet its Paris targets, so too will this announcement be