Pages tagged "Federal politics"
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reassures mining and energy bosses while Labor does climate deal in Senate
David Crowe and Mike Foley, SMH, September 5, 2022
Albanese told industry chiefs and the Minerals Council of Australia over dinner in Parliament House he wanted to increase public investment in mining to “unlock more value from our minerals” by creating products as well as exporting ore.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has assured mining company executives that he backs the continued export of energy and minerals as well as a shift to renewable power, as he clinches a deal in the Senate to cut carbon emissions by 43 per cent.
The Minerals Council fiercely opposed the mining tax Labor implemented in 2010 and the Coalition repealed in 2014, but Albanese last week ruled out a restoration of the tax after Melbourne University professor Ross Garnaut called for a new resources tax at the jobs summit.
“I want to emphasise that our government will continue to work with your businesses to reduce emissions in a predictable and orderly way, underpinning the transition with certainty,” Albanese said on Monday night.
Coalmine expansions for Hunter region would cause almost 1bn tonnes of emissions
The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission has approved a coalmine expansion in the state’s Upper Hunter region that would cause almost 1bn tonnes of carbon emissions.
The decision will allow MACH Energy to double the output of its Mount Pleasant mine in Muswellbrook to 21m tonnes a year and extend its life to 2048.
The Lock the Gate Alliance has slammed the decision as “reckless and irresponsible” and called for a national approach to major projects that factored the climate crisis into assessments.
The project would be responsible for 876 megatonnes of emissions over its life, 860 megatonnes of which would be the result of emissions produced after the coal is sold and used, mostly overseas.
“It is madness that as humanity teeters on the brink of climate catastrophe, an assessment authority such as the IPC can wave through a coalmine that will be solely responsible for 876m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Lock the Gate’s NSW coordinator Nic Clyde.
“This project is the largest coalmine expansion approved in the state since the Paris agreement called on nations of the world to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees yet is totally inconsistent with that pledge.”
The federal environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, must still make a decision on whether the project should proceed and the alliance called on the minister to reject it.
Lisa Cox, The Guardian, 2022
Labor faces decisions on approval of up to 27 coal projects
Adam Morton, SMH, Mon 11 Jul 2022
The Albanese government could face decisions on whether to approve up to 27 coal mining developments, based on applications lodged under national environment laws.
An analysis by the Sunrise Project, a climate activist group, found 13 greenfield coalmines and 14 extensions of existing mines had been referred to the federal government for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
Not all proposals are likely to come across the desk of the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek – some are paused, others still require approval from state authorities – but the analysis of fossil fuel proposals suggests it could be a significant issue in this term of parliament.
The Greens have called for a moratorium on new coal and gas mines, reflecting assessments by climate scientists and statements by the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, and the International Energy Agency that they are inconsistent with the goals of the Paris climate agreement. Several independent MPs have adopted a similar position.
Former Pacific leaders last week called on Anthony Albanese to block new coal or gas projects as part of an amplified climate commitment at this week’s Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji.