Media // Environment
May 2021
Gas Led Retreat: Employment in Gas Shrinking as Economy Growing
New research by the Australia Institute shows that the Prime Minister’s ‘gas led recovery’ led to a loss of 3,800 jobs between May 2020 and February 2021, while employment across the economy grew by 863,000. The report shows that if the $2.9 billion allocated to new gas and oil refinery support measures, announced in and
Australian subsidies give oil refineries the whole carrot farm while electric vehicles get the stick
The only viable long-term solution to our liquid fuel insecurity is to get off fossil fuels. Instead we are giving them taxpayer handouts When I was a kid, every year in early December we would go to the Geelong oil refinery in Corio. The refinery’s fire engine would cruise around, flash its lights and hand
Hunter mines running at 62% of approved capacity
Coal mines in the NSW Upper Hunter Valley extracted 150 million tonnes in 2020, 91 million tonnes less coal than their approved capacity of 241 million tonnes, according to new research released by the Australia Institute. The Australia Institute report also estimates the cost of filling in the Hunter’s mine voids at between $11 billion
What costs Australians almost $20,000 every minute?
Exactly how much do governments hand out to fossil fuel companies every year?
The government’s embrace of ‘clean hydrogen’ helps no one but the fossil fuel industry
Nothing captures prime minister Scott Morrison’s approach to climate change better than his embrace of “clean hydrogen” – a BS marketing term that delivers nothing but obfuscation and helps no one but the fossil fuel industry. Tellingly, this approach isn’t even new: Morrison has simply dusted off an old polluter playbook and changed a few
April 2021
Australian fossil fuel subsidies hit $10.3 billion in 2020-21
Fossil fuel subsidies cost Australians a staggering $10.3 billion in FY 2020-21 with one Commonwealth tax break alone ($7.84 billion) exceeding the $7.82 billion spent on the Australian Army, according to research released today by The Australia Institute. In fact, $10.3 billion in Government subsidies means that in 2020, every minute of every day $19,686
Polling: Majority of Tasmanians Want Pause of Tasmanian Salmon Farm Expansion
New research from the Australia Institute Tasmania finds most Tasmanians (63%) want to suspend the expansion of salmon farms in Tasmania, expressing widespread (63.5%) concern that the health of Tasmania’s coastal waters is declining. More than one in two (56.3%) Tasmanians agree the Tasmanian Government is not doing enough to protect the health of our oceans.
Under pressure
Tasmania’s marine environment and coastal waters are spectacular, but they are under threat from climate change and other pressures like salmon farming. In this episode of Follow the Money we explore what Tasmania can do to better manage its coastal waters.
Dalai Lama and Australia’s Peter Doherty among 101 Nobel Laureates Calling for End to Coal, Gas Expansion
A global coalition of 101 Nobel Laureates, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Australia’s Professor Peter Doherty, are calling out the continued expansion of the fossil fuel industry as “unconscionable” in an open letter to political leaders on the eve of US President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate. The Nobel Laureates – including economics,
How can NSW allow new coalmines while committing to net zero emissions? It’s bizarre
New mines won’t boost world demand for Australian coal — but they will cannibalise jobs from existing coalmines The New South Wales government is simultaneously committed to a net-zero emissions target for 2050 at the same time as new coalmines in the Hunter Valley with the capacity to produce 10 times more coal than Adani’s
Coal’s fragile economics
When Malcolm Turnbull was dumped last week from New South Wales’ Net Zero Emissions and Clean Economy advisory board as quickly as he was appointed, the move shocked many people. Turnbull was dropped by his own protégé, the state’s Environment minister, Matt Kean, and by a government in NSW that had previously seemed receptive to
Australia’s recovery has not been gas-fired
The one thing we can say for sure about Australia’s economic recovery is that it has not been gas-fired. This week the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed that employment in Australia has recovered to better than pre-COVID levels. This noteworthy achievement is made all the more remarkable by the fact that over the course of
Why we should pause approvals of new coal mines
Why are new coal mines like melting ice cream? In today’s episode, Richard Denniss explains the economics of coal, why Malcolm Turnbull has been in trouble with the Liberals and why we need to pause approvals of new coal mines. Host: Ebony Bennett, deputy director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Guest: Richard Denniss, chief economist,
Upper Hunter Polling: Majority of Voters Agree with Turnbull Call for Moratorium on New Coal Mines
The majority of voters (57.4%) in the NSW state seat of Upper Hunter support former PM Malcolm Turnbull’s call for a moratorium on new coal mine approvals and a remediation plan for existing mines for the Hunter Valley. The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 686 residents in the NSW state seat of
NSW’s $10 Billion Annual Climate Bill: Coal Exporters Should Pay, Not Households & Business
The Australia Institute is calling on the NSW Government to support a National Climate Compensation Fund, funded by a levy on fossil fuel exports, to help cover the crippling costs of climate change on the state. Today’s NSW Treasury Intergenerational Report on Climate Risk shows the average annual costs of climate change for NSW to
Is Malcolm Turnbull the only Liberal who understands economics and climate science – or the only one who’ll talk about it?
Yesterday, former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was unceremoniously dumped as chair of the New South Wales government’s climate advisory board, just a week after being offered the role. His crime? He questioned the wisdom of building new coal mines when the existing ones are already floundering. No-one would suggest building new hotels in Cairns to help
Right now we’re choosing not to solve our biggest problems
It’s incredible what can happen in a year. This time last year Australia was heading into lockdowns and recession. The Treasurer was still sipping on his “Back in Black” mug and clinging to the idea that any stimulus spending would be small, targeted and temporary, and hundreds of thousands of Australians were still recovering from
March 2021
Ten New Adani Mines Worth of Coal Proposed for Upper Hunter
In the Upper Hunter Valley proposals for new coal projects have a combined output of 98 million tonnes per year, equivalent to ten new Adani-sized mines, according to new research from the Australia Institute. Key Findings: In the Upper Hunter Valley, proposals for new coal projects have a combined output of 98 million tonnes per
Roderick Campbell writes: Recommending approval of a mine based on economic assessment that not only lost in court, but lost in court against you, is a new level of crazy
What would happen in your industry if a judge described someone’s methodology as “inflated”, “lacking evidentiary foundation” and “plainly wrong”? If your industry would stop using that methodology, then you probably are not an economist and you don’t work for coal companies. Exactly this happened in 2019 and, with no change and no reflection, the
Oil & Gas Exploration Shows No Benefit to Australian Community
Australians significantly overestimate the oil and gas industry’s contribution to Commonwealth revenue, and the Australian community would most benefit by moving away from the oil and gas industry, according to an Australia Institute submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee. The Australia Institute has made a submission to the Senate Economics Committee as part of
February 2021
Australia cannot afford to allow coal generators to hijack clean energy transition
The federal government has made much of its “face off” with Big Tech in the showdown over digital media, but do Australian governments have the courage to take on the coal lobby, in the big energy showdown of our era? In 2019, Australian governments charged the Energy Security Board (ESB) with the daunting task of
Rebounding Transport & Agriculture Sectors will Cause Emissions to Soar
As Covid travel restrictions ease and Australia’s agriculture sector rebounds from years of crippling drought, new research from the Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program shows that the recoveries of the Transport and Agriculture sectors will cause Australia’s emissions rise significantly—reversing emissions reductions made in 2020 and setting Australia’s emissions back to pre-2018 heights. The
Gas Industry Cuts 10% of its Workforce
New Australia Institute analysis estimates that the oil and gas industry cut around 10 percent of its workforce in the 12 months to December last year. Despite this, the Government is continuing to hand out large taxpayer subsidies to the industry as part of its “Gas-Fired Recovery JobMaker Plan.” If all Australian industries had behaved
December 2020
Stop believing in fairytales: Australia’s coal industry doesn’t employ many people or pay its fair share of tax
Just as people in the Middle Ages mistakenly believed the sun revolved around the Earth, many modern-day Australians mistakenly believe our economy revolves around the coal industry. Of course, such misunderstandings aren’t an indictment of those who have been misled, but those who did the misleading. Galileo was imprisoned for life for the “heresy” of
$50 Million Hand-Out to Northern Territory Frackers
The Federal Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia Keith Pitt, has today announced a $50 million taxpayer-funded subsidy to fracking companies in the Northern Territory. “Subsidising oil and gas fracking is the last thing governments should be doing from both an economic and climate perspective,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.
Gas-fired recovery a massive employment dud
by Richie Merzian & Mark Ogge[Originally published in the Newcastle Herald, 18 November 2020] A gas-fired recovery from the economic damage caused by Covid-19 will not help the Hunter region. In fact, a gas-fired recovery will struggle to employ anyone, except the gas executives that proposed the idea. The bottom line is, creating jobs in
An unprecedented year: reflecting on 2020 with Richard Denniss
Let’s face it, 2020 has been a bit of a nightmare. This week, in our final episode of the year, Ebony Bennett and Richard Denniss revisit some of the Australia Institute’s predictions back in March 2020 and reflect on the way Australia’s economy and politics have changed this year in response to the pandemic. Mild
The myth of Australia’s gas supply shortage
The ‘gas-fired recovery’ is supposed to help Australia’s manufacturing industry by freeing up new supply. But the Australia Institute’s research shows the days of cheap gas are over. www.tai.org.au Host: Ebony Bennett, deputy director of the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennettGuests: Mark Ogge, Principal Advisor // @MarkOgge Producer: Jennifer Macey Theme music is by Jonathan McFeat
November 2020
Statement in response to Narrabri Gas Project Federal Approval
“The Federal Government’s decision to approve the Narrabri gas project not only endangers water and the environment, but will permanently lock NSW manufacturers into high gas prices,” said Richie Merzian, Climate & Energy Director at the Australia Institute. “Australia Institute research shows high cost gas from Narrabri ($7.40 GJ at the wellhead) will displace lower
Australia’s leaders are lagging behind on climate
by Ebony Bennett[Originally Published in the Canberra Times, 14 November 2020] Australia is experiencing climate change now and warming is set to continue, according to the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO’s 2020 State of the Climate report released yesterday. This news won’t come as a galloping shock to most Australians – we can see the evidence of global warming
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