The Australia Institute has made a submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport inquiry into cotton exports. A ban on cotton exports is an ‘unpalatable measure’, but policy change is needed to make the industry transparent, accountable and reduce its impacts on communities and ecosystems elsewhere in the Murray

The Barwon-Darling/Barka River is dry. But almost 2,000 gigalitres have been consumed by the irrigation industry this year while nothing has flowed to Menindee Lakes, the site of the summer fish kills. Despite this, the river actually ‘owes’ water to industry, ‘debts’ it is unlikely to repay due to climate change and policy settings. Please

A coal project proposed near Kingaroy, Queensland, is unlikely to provide benefit in a local economy based on services and agriculture. It imposes uncertainty and costs on other industries and the community. Policy makers should rule the project out on economic grounds.

The NSW Draft Floodplain harvesting monitoring and auditing strategy (draft strategy) is entirely inadequate for managing floodplain harvesting in New South Wales.  It is inconsistent with numerous legislative and other government commitments and is likely unlawful. It should be withdrawn and heavily revised. [Read the full submission]

In February 2019 The Australia Institute made a submission to the NSW Independent Planning Commission on the United Wambo coal mine proposal. The economic assessment of the United Wambo coal mine project (the Project) has not been adequate. Issues that have been raised repeatedly through the assessment process have not been addressed. In particular, the

The Australia Institute made a submission on Queensland’s Mineral Resources (Galilee Basin) Amendment Bill 2018. The Bill is a step towards reconciling the contradiction between Australian policy on climate change and on coal production. It should be supported in the absence of a more comprehensive policy, such as a nation-wide moratorium on new coal mines.

Hundreds of thousands of native fish have died in recent weeks in the Menindee Lakes. Drought is the catalyst, but policy failure and mismanagement are the cause. Both State and federal governments and water agencies are responsible for this disaster.

There is a contradiction between Australian policy on climate change and on coal production. Australia is committed to the Paris Agreement, which requires reductions in global demand for coal. Yet Australian governments all promote growth in coal production. This bill is a step towards reconciling these policies.The Bill’s goal of limiting coal supply could be

The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) does not have the powers to deliver on its responsibilities. Instead it relies on verbal and other non-legally binding agreements in managing its near $3 billion worth of environmental water. An audit by EY found this presented “unique fraud risks”. South Australia’s substitution of Coorong environmental water for other

The Queensland Labor Government has offered Adani a “beneficial” royalty deal that would loan hundreds of millions, on subsidised terms it is keeping secret, under a “transparent policy framework” that was a few dot points at the end of a press release. It has also offered Adani free road upgrades worth $100 million, despite Adani’s

Stakeholders in the Lower Darling are strongly opposed to proposed changes to the Menindee Lakes. Local member Kevin Humphries has proposed a new ‘Option 7’ for the Lakes, aiming to deliver more water and local jobs. Unfortunately, Option 7 would require changes to legislation, agreements and infrastructure. There is a real risk that the NSW

Western Australia’s economy is heavily impacted by the resource sector. 22% of gross state production comes from resources, making it heavily exposed to the booms and busts of global resource markets. The established gas industry in Western Australia comprises large-scale offshore gas fields focussed on export markets and a number of smaller onshore gas producers

WA’s moratorium on fracking has been overturned without consideration of economic impacts. Economic logic, and the lived experience of Queensland and the USA, shows the industry has an incentive to expand as much and as fast as possible. This has a negative impact on communities, provides few jobs, little revenue and could increase domestic gas

Industry, government and international organisations have given CCS credibility by making predictions about its success and setting targets that give it a clear place in emissions reductions plans. The only institutional target that CCS has met concerns the number of CCS projects launched. All targets for number of projects actually built and operating or for

In November 2018 The Australia Institute made a submission to the NSW Independent Planning Commission on the Bylong Coal Project. Based on its own figures, the Bylong Coal Project is a high-cost, low-quality proposal. It is unlikely to be competitive in a time when exports through Newcastle have stalled, with the port’s fourth coal terminal

The Australia Institute made a submission to the NT Government’s Climate Change Discussion Paper. Emissions from increased NT gas production would dwarf all other sources of NT emissions and threaten Australia’s national targets. Allowing fracking and offsetting its emissions, as promised, is an expensive way to keep emissions stable and could make it harder to

Scott Morrison rushed through a $260 million payment to the Northern Territory in a matter of days at the same time the NT Government overturned the moratorium on gas fracking. Morrison committed to the funding just three days after the fracking decision, in a letter of offer to the NT that also refers to that

Chevron’s Gorgon LNG project released millions of tonnes CO2 last year that were meant to be sequestered by its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. This failure represents half of the national increase in emissions over the last year. If required to offset these emissions, Gorgon would need to pay more than $55 million a

Extracting gas from the Northern Territory through hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is one of the largest potential sources of carbon pollution in the world. The Fracking Inquiry that reported earlier this year recommended that unconventional gas extraction should only be permitted if the all 135 recommendations are accepted and implemented. All recommendations were accepted by the

Tasmania’s shellfish aquaculture and commercial wild-catch fisheries are responsible for 8,400 tonnes of production each year, with a gross value of $209 million. Between them, these sectors employ between 1,091 and 1,310 people across all four of Tasmania’s regions. The distribution of fishing and aquaculture jobs varies across Tasmania’s four regions. Offshore caged aquaculture (the

This report is a step-by-step guide to valuing compensation in the Lower-Darling. Major changes to the management of the Lower Darling will affect the whole community. To date only one stakeholder, major agribusiness WebsterLtd, has been compensated by the Commonwealth. The region’s other businesses and property owners should assess how Webster’s compensation was calculated in

Gas exploration is being undertaken in the Wide Bay Burnett region. Development of gasfields would present a risk to the region’s diverse services, tourism, agricultural, and manufacturing economy. Summary points include: Blue Energy is exploring for gas in the Wide Bay Burnett region, a region that features high-value horticulture and sugar cane crops and the

This report is the first in a series that highlights how the Murray–Darling Basin Plan has increased the flow of money and water to big agribusinesses and has increased the vulnerability of everyone else in the Basin– Aboriginal people, floodplain graziers, downstream communities and small irrigators. [READ FULL REPORT]

GISERA and conflict of interest A fundamental conflict of interest underlies the Gas Industry Social and Environmental Alliance (GISERA), making it an inappropriate organisation to undertake research to evaluate the social and environmental impacts of unconventional gas development. What is GISERA? The Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA) is an alliance agreement between