The Australia Institute made a submission on the Draft Report of the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory (the Inquiry). The submission focuses on Chapter 13 Economic Impacts of the Draft Report and the report by ACIL Allen The economic impacts of a potential shale gas development in the Northern Territory (the

The Australia Institute made a written submission on the latest proposal to re-start the Invincible Coal Mine. As with the earlier proposals, we oppose this project as, in our view, the economic benefits to the NSW community are unlikely to outweigh the environmental risks that it presents. Our key point is that the motivation behind

The Styx Coal Project, also known as the Central Queensland Coal Project, is not financially or economically viable and should not be granted any form of project approval. Geoscience Australia has described the project area as “not of economic importance”. Figures presented in the environmental impact statement Appendix 10a – Economic Technical Report suggest the

The Wallarah 2 Coal Project proposes to produce 4 to 5 million tonnes per annum of thermal coal. The project is located on the Central Coast of NSW near Wyong. The proponent is Kores, a South Korean government owned corporation. The Australia Institute made a submission to the November 2017 Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) consideration of the Project. Our

Stopping the NAIF loan to Adani and redirecting it to other industries makes good sense economically, environmentally and politically. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) is a federal agency that provides concessional finance. Adani has applied for close to $1 billion in concessional finance from NAIF for its coal mine and rail project in Queensland.

Few electorates will be clear winners if the Adani coal mine goes ahead, new research from The Australia Institute reveals. A limited export market means that Galilee Basin coal projects like the Adani coal mine could come at the expense of Bowen and Surat Basin coal projects. A report released today by The Australia Institute

The Australian government appears to be actively soliciting financing from foreign governments and investors towards Adani’s coal mine and rail line, projects it plans to subsidise.

The Minerals Council of Australia featured in 1,594 Australian news stories in the last year mentioning coal. This was three times more than iron ore, far more than any other mineral. Yet only 16 of the MCA’s 45 members mine coal at all. Just 3 are entirely focused on thermal coal. The biggest members, BHP

National poll asked 1,421 Australians about the proposed Adani Carmichael coal mine.  The poll, conducted online for The Australia Institute through Research Now, in late September, before revelations about Adani’s corporate record were aired on 4 Corners on the 2nd of October. More Australians oppose Adani’s mine than support it, and a huge majority oppose

What we do and don’t know about mines, closures and rehabilitation in Victoria. Little data is available to the public on the clean-up from the mining boom. State government agencies often lack basic information on how many mines are in operation, with still less published on closures and abandonments.

Queensland government will be “substantially involved” in any loan to Adani under the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), as outlined by the Department that helped design the NAIF, in its submission to the Senate NAIF inquiry. This account has been confirmed by the Queensland government’s own submission, which notes that Queensland’s “roles and responsibilities… through

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Senate Economic Committee’s Inquiry into the governance and operation of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF). Over the past year The Australia Institute has investigated the governance and operations of the NAIF. NAIF is entrusted with $5 billion of public funds and has an important role in

The Australia Institute made a submission to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee regarding the inquiry into the Environment and Infrastructure Legislation Amendment (Stop Adani) Bill 2017 (the Bill). Our submission notes the merits of the Bill’s proposed amendments, in relation to the Adani coal mine but also more broadly, as the new tests would apply

The Palaszczuk government’s special royalty deal with Adani remains secret after Treasury blocked a Right to Information request. 2000 pages relating to the ‘clear’ and ‘transparent’ royalty framework were almost entirely redacted. Public servants expressed concerns about analysing the deal after it has been offered. The Queensland Treasury has refused to release the royalty subsidy

The Hume Coal project should be rejected on economic grounds. It is a relatively small, high-cost, greenfields mine far from major markets. It is unlikely that it can be financially or economically viable as currently proposed. It is already imposing economic costs on the Southern Highlands community. Proceeding with the project, particularly with possible modifications

State governments are universally supportive of resource development. They provide considerable financial support to the sector, yet receive relatively little in return. We are unaware of any example of states using the HFE system to argue against resource development.

As the Adani mine proposal becomes a central issue in Australian politics, Prof John Quiggin looks in detail at the economic (non)viability of the mine, which has driven the company’s appeals for subsidies and government support. Prof Quiggin also suggests three reasons the unviable project is still being pursued by its supporters: The project is

Development of unconventional gas in the NT risks connecting the NT to the chaos in wider Australian gas markets. As the nation becomes a major gas exporter with record production there have been no winners.

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) is a $5 billion government fund for concessional financing to build infrastructure in northern Qld, NT and WA. The default financing mechanism is a loan. Adani has applied for a concessional loan of nearly $1 billion from the NAIF for a rail line so that it can export coal

The Australian Government has put $1.3 billion of taxpayers’ money towards Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) initiatives since 2003, with zero large scale operational projects to show for it. A new report from The Australia Institute’s, Money for nothing, has found that despite years of generous taxpayer funding, there are no large-scale CCS projects operating

A new ReachTEL poll of 1,618 Queenslanders shows strong opposition to state and federal subsidies for the Adani coal proposal, including among LNP and One Nation voters. -Polling results in attachment below- 59% of Queenslanders oppose Federal and State taxpayers’ money being used to fund Adani’s project. 37% said they were strongly opposed and just

The Southern Highlands has a diverse economy, with its band of towns and its proximity to major cities giving it an economic structure similar to NSW as a whole, but with a special focus on tourism, agriculture and manufacturing. Local businesses and community members are concerned about the potential effects of the proposed Hume Coal

Australia’s export credit agency, Efic, is a government-owned, taxpayer-backed organisation that aims to assist Australian exporters with financial services. Efic is currently considering a loan to a South African coal project. The Boikarabelo coal project has approval to produce 32 million tonnes of raw coal each year. The development of this project would likely contribute

New polling from The Australia Institute shows almost two thirds (64%) of Australians oppose a taxpayer-funded subsidised loan to the Adani coal mine project, as reports emerge the Queensland Government is considering an additional $320 million subsidy to Adani in the form of a ‘royalty holiday’. —For polling brief see attachement below— “Providing a billion

The economic assessment of the Narrabri Gas Project is misleading and does not comply with NSW assessment guidelines. The benefit cost analysis by consultants GHD is contradicted by the proponents’ financial statements and analysis commissioned by the Australian Energy Market Operator.

Media reports suggest that the Palaszczuk Government intends to give Adani a discount on the royalties the company would pay to extract the state’s coal.  If the Queensland government settles on a royalty holiday for Adani’s proposed coal mine, similar to that used earlier by the NSW government, the cost to Queenslanders will be almost