Articles & Opinions

Secretive and rushed: Unpacking SA’s new electoral laws

by Amy Remeikis and Bill Browne

As dramatic changes to South Australian electoral law pass the house of review (Legislative Council), voters could be forgiven for wondering “what just happened?”

A week ago, no one had seen the government’s revised Electoral (Accountability and Integrity) Amendment Bill 2024. Now, it’s set to become law.

Amy Remeikis and the Director of The Australia Institute’s Democracy and Accountability Program, Bill Browne, unpack how we got here … and what should happen next.

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Between the Lines Newsletter

Donations for me but not for thee | Between the Lines

The Wrap with Amy Remeikis In one of his most recent columns for the Philadelphia Inquirer, columnist and author Will Bunch highlighted a quote a top aide to former US President George W. Bush gave to journalist Ron Suskind in 2004. The context was the Iraqi invasion and the war on terror.  Suskind reported the

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Coal Mine Tracker

Since May 2022, the Federal Environment Minister has approved 7 new coal mines or expansions.

There are 25 additional proposals for new or expanded coal mines currently waiting for Federal Government approval.

If approved, the lifetime emissions from all 32 projects would be equivalent to keeping all of Australia’s coal-fired power stations operating for an additional 95 years.

×95 years

Hunter Valley Mine Watch

No new coal mines are needed in the Hunter Valley. Avoiding dangerous climate change requires keeping coal in the ground, and with the world moving away from coal as an energy source new coal mines will simply compete with existing coal mines for a declining market.

Total coal production gap

Actual
150
Approved
241.5
million tonnes per year
Production gap
91.5
million tonnes per year

Rehabilitation cost shortfall

Bond
$3.3
Est. cost
$11.5
billion
Shortfall
$8.2
billion

HeatWatch

HeatWatch puts current Australian research about temperature increases due to global warming into context, using data from the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO.

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