US official warns against dropping 2030 climate targets after Dutton refuses to commit to 43% emissions cut

Exclusive: State department official urges politicians to do ‘the right thing’, citing ‘collective responsibility’

A senior US official has urged Australia and other countries not to back away from their 2030 climate commitments, insisting that “we all have a collective responsibility for the planet we live in”.

The message from Australia’s top security ally contrasts with rhetoric from the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, who claimed on Saturday the Labor government was “appeasing the international climate lobby” and “global climate activists”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Peter Dutton vows to override state nuclear bans as he steps up attack on PM

Opposition leader tells Liberal party officials that state premiers ‘won’t stop us’ and labels Anthony Albanese a ‘child in a man’s body’

Peter Dutton has vowed a Coalition government would override the states’ legislated ban on nuclear power, telling party officials on Saturday that state premiers “won’t stop us”.

The opposition leader made the comments in an address to the federal Liberal party council in Sydney, where he escalated his attacks on Anthony Albanese. He called the prime minister a “fraud” and a “child in a man’s body” that is “still captured in his university years”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Nuclear engineer dismisses Peter Dutton’s claim that small modular reactors could be commercially viable soon

Hugh Durrant-Whyte says 2045 is a realistic timeframe, adding it was likely to be ‘more expensive than anything else you could possibly think of’

Australia would need “many decades” to develop the regulations and skills to operate a nuclear power plant, and the experience gained at the existing Lucas Heights facility won’t help much, according to New South Wales’ chief scientist and engineer.

Hugh Durrant-Whyte said he stood by comments made to a 2019 NSW upper house inquiry into uranium mining and nuclear facilities that running a plant and its fuel supply chain would require skills “built up over many decades”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Power bills could rise by $1,000 a year under Coalition plan to boost gas until nuclear is ready, analysts say

Experts predict major electricity price hikes if opposition proposal to slow rollout of large-scale renewable projects goes ahead

Australians’ annual household power bills could increase by hundreds of dollars, and up to $1,000, under a Coalition plan to slow the rollout of large-scale renewable energy and use more gas-fired electricity before nuclear plants are ready, analysts say.

As Peter Dutton faced cross-party resistance to his announcement that he would go to the next election promising to eventually build seven nuclear plants, energy market analysts warned the Coalition’s proposal would probably lead to a significant rise in prices over the next decade, before a nuclear industry came online.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Indigenous leader Rev Dr D Gondarra dies; mass cull ordered to stop NSW bird flu outbreak

Follow the day’s news

Albanese calls Coalition nuclear policy a ‘fantasy’

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has slammed the Coalition’s nuclear power policy, calling it a “fantasy” and saying it was “Peter Dutton and the Seven nuclear reactors.”

What you have here is something that I’ve never seen before. I mean, this is just a fantasy, instead of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs this is Peter Dutton and the seven nuclear reactors.

This is just absurd, to have a big buildup for an announcement and then say we won’t give you the details. I’ll make this prediction. All the details won’t be out there before the election. It will be just “trust me”, just the same as Peter Dutton said that [for the] 2030 target when it comes to emissions reduction, “I will let you know all of that after the election.”

Well, our energy policy will and is absolutely focused on driving down prices as we did in government at … this is the important point. And that is because of a range of technologies, not one, nuclear needs to be part of that mix. You need to have every horse in this race. This is a hard race to win. And we want to have every horse in the race. Nuclear is an important one, gas is an important one.

Everyone wants to sort of say there’s one technology this the answer to everything. No. I’m just wondering. It’s a balance of technologies and right now, what is clear is Chris Bowen’s strategy is not getting us to where we need to go.

Continue reading...

Three-eyed koalas and Dutton as Snow White: how Simpsons memes have been weaponised in nuclear debate

Labor MPs tweet Simpsons jokes about nuclear policy after Dutton earlier conceded research found people ‘didn’t want a Springfield’ in their back yard

Three-eyed koalas, Peter Dutton masquerading as Snow White in a “seven nukes” fairytale, and an arsenal of Simpsons gags to boot.

The Coalition is objecting about what they say are “juvenile” online memes from government MPs attacking its nuclear policy, as Labor MPs mount a social media attack on the opposition’s controversial and uncosted nuclear proposal.

Continue reading...

Senate opposition firms against Coalition’s nuclear power plan as David Pocock blasts ‘reckless’ proposal

ACT senator says he is not ideologically opposed but Coalition’s nuclear proposal is ‘unrealistic’ while Lidia Thorpe says it doesn’t make economic sense

Senate opposition to the Coalition’s nuclear plan is firming, presenting a major hurdle to Peter Dutton’s proposal for seven nuclear power plants on top of state objections.

In addition to Labor and the Greens, independent senators Lidia Thorpe and David Pocock have voiced major criticisms of the policy, while Jacqui Lambie, who has previously expressed support for nuclear to be part of the mix, is investigating the Coalition’s proposal and is concerned nuclear plants are “incredibly expensive”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Climate needs come a distant second to politics in Dutton’s nuclear plans

The Coalition still has questions to answer about its energy proposals – not least cost – but some wonder if the aim is just to disrupt renewables

Last year, when Peter Dutton campaigned against the proposed voice to parliament, he said repeatedly that it shouldn’t be supported because it lacked detail. Now, as he seeks to upend the transition to renewable energy in Australia and spend billions of dollars to build nuclear reactors instead, there is almost none.

Dutton and Nationals leader David Littleproud have selected seven locations around Australia for future nuclear reactors. On Wednesday, they finally named them.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Dutton announces Coalition’s nuclear policy and proposed sites, but no costs

Sites named at Collie, Mt Piper, Callide, Tarong, Liddell, Northern energy in South Australia and Loy Yang. Follow the day’s news live

Sussan Ley says Coalition nuclear policy will be a ‘sensible proposition’

I just wanted to return to Sussan Ley’s appearance on Sky News this morning, where she was asked how a potential future Coalition nuclear policy would circumvent nuclear bans:

We’ll work through all that. We have a sensible proposition to put to the Australian people and I know that when we talk about nuclear people are starting to tune in, understanding that if 19 of the 20 biggest economies in the world are using nuclear, if it makes sense for cleaner baseload power, because it’s zero emissions, if it helps us get to 2050 net zero, if it does all of the things that we want it to do in terms of emissions, and in terms of securing affordable cheaper power for Australians … why would people not consider it? And I believe they will.

Now, the government says it’s renewables only. We can see that that’s actually not going to happen. The government talks about hydrogen, it’s not at scale. It’s not even something they can demonstrate works in that short timeframe and they talk about batteries that aren’t going to provide the storage for their renewables.

So, they are in a complete mess over this, and they need to be put on the sticky paper and asked what they are going to do for families, households and manufacturing businesses.

Continue reading...

Peter Dutton names seven potential nuclear power station sites but avoids questions on cost

Coalition will push ahead with potential sites across Australia, but serious questions remain about viability and cost

Peter Dutton has announced seven potential sites for nuclear power plants including two in Queensland and two proposed small modular reactors but dodged questions about the cost of the Coalition’s nuclear power plan.

A snap Coalition party room meeting on Wednesday heard the opposition will propose that Tarong and Callide in Queensland; Mount Piper and Liddell in New South Wales; Collie in Western Australia; Loy Yang in Victoria; and the Northern power station in South Australia could host nuclear power plants.

Continue reading...

Indian engineers warn of prolonged blackouts amid searing heatwave

Increasing use of fans, air coolers and air conditioners is placing ‘serious’ strain on grid in north of country

Engineers in India have warned of the possibility of prolonged power outages in the north, where a heatwave has brought misery for millions of people.

Demand for electricity has soared due to fans, air coolers and air conditioners being run constantly, placing a strain on the grid in Delhi and elsewhere in the north. Manufacturers of air conditioners and air coolers report sales rising by 40-50% compared with last summer.

Continue reading...

Matt Kean, a sometimes lone Coalition voice on climate threat, announces shock retirement

NSW Liberal MP rules out running for federal parliament as he exits state politics after 13 years

New South Wales Liberal MP Matt Kean has announced his resignation from politics after 13 years in state parliament.

Kean made the surprise announcement in a snap press conference at NSW parliament on Tuesday, hours after the Minns Labor government handed down its second budget.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Coalition’s climate and energy policy in disarray as opposition splits over nuclear and renewables

Simon Birmingham contradicts Nationals’ leader, saying renewables are ‘an important part of the mix’ while Queensland LNP leader rules out nuclear

The federal Coalition’s climate and energy policy is in disarray, with a senior Liberal contradicting the Nationals’ anti-renewables push and the Queensland LNP leader ruling out allowing nuclear energy in that state.

After the Nationals further undermined the push for net zero by 2050 by claiming the Coalition would “cap” investment in large-scale renewable energy, the Liberal leader in the Senate, Simon Birmingham, declared on Tuesday it is an “important part of the mix”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Coalition to impose ‘cap’ on renewable energy investment, Nationals leader says

David Littleproud claims Australia doesn’t need ‘large-scale industrial windfarms’ like the planned offshore zone south of Sydney

David Littleproud has claimed Australia doesn’t need “large-scale industrial windfarms” like the planned offshore zone south of Sydney, adding the Coalition will “cap” federal government investment into renewable energy if elected.

The Nationals leader visited Wollongong on Monday, where he promised the opposition would instead offer a “calm” and “methodical” energy pathway to net zero by 2050.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Minns ‘really sorry’ final Vivid drone show cancelled with 20 minutes notice; Malinauskas welcomes ‘exciting’ panda news

The current pair, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, will return to China this year. Follow the day’s news headlines

Labor ‘continuing to consult’ on Makarrata commission, Albanese says

Anthony Albanese says he will attend Arnhem Land’s Garma festival in August to “talk about a way forward” on Indigenous policy after the defeat of the voice referendum, keeping open the prospect of setting up a Makarrata commission to advance truth and treaty processes.

Treaty process is undergoing at the various states and that’s appropriate. With regard to Makarrata, we’re continuing to consult on those issues. said.

Indigenous leaders, of course, were very disappointed by the referendum result. I’ll attend Garma once again this year and sit down with people and talk about a way forward.

Continue reading...

Peter Dutton’s plan to ditch 2030 emissions target would drive up power bills, Penny Wong says

Comments come after opposition leader claims higher grocery prices are result of Labor ‘not taking into account gas and nuclear’

Penny Wong has warned that ditching 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets would lead to higher electricity prices as Peter Dutton foreshadowed an election campaign fought on energy policy.

The opposition leader told Sky News on Sunday that energy would be a “big difference between the two parties as we head into the next election”, a week after backing away from Australia’s legislated 2030 emissions target of a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Offshore windfarm zone off Illawarra coast given green light in bid to ‘power Australia’s clean energy future’

Zone will be 20km off the coast and exclude areas significant for little penguin and for southern right whale migration

The federal government has given the green light to an offshore windfarm zone south of Sydney, making it Australia’s fourth such zone to be declared.

Announcing the project in the Illawarra on Saturday, the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the move would bring thousands of new jobs and help “power Australia’s clean energy future”.

Continue reading...

Environmental groups apply to take Tanya Plibersek to high court over coalmine approvals

Minister should have assessed climate damage that would be caused by two large developments, advocates say

Conservationists will ask the high court to examine whether the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, should have assessed the climate damage that would be caused by two large coalmine developments.

The Environment Council of Central Queensland has sought special leave in Australia’s highest court to appeal against the federal court’s dismissal of what is known as the Living Wonders case.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australia news live: person ‘likely’ with dementia made call to police before 92-year-old allegedly assaulted by police, Karen Webb says

Follow the day’s news live

Chalmers asked about findings that jobseekers unable to afford ‘basics of life’

The treasurer Jim Chalmers was up on ABC News Breakfast just earlier, asked about new Anglicare data showing Australians on income support are “structurally unable to afford the basics of life”.

This is the primary motivation for the substantial cost of living relief that we’re providing in the budget. Whether it is the tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer, energy bill relief for every household, help with student debt and cheaper medicines, plus the increases to jobseeker – which were in the budget before last – all of these are important ways that we can not just understand and acknowledge the pressures that people are under, but actually respond to them.

Continue reading...

Ugandan oil pipeline protester allegedly beaten as part of ‘alarming crackdown’

Stephen Kwikiriza is one of 11 campaigners against EACOP targeted by authorities in past two weeks, rights group says

A man campaigning against the controversial $5bn (£4bn) east African crude oil pipeline (EACOP) is recovering in hospital after an alleged beating by the Ugandan armed forces in the latest incident in what has been called an “alarming crackdown” on the country’s environmentalists.

Stephen Kwikiriza, who works for Uganda’s Environment Governance Institute (EGI), a non-profit organisation, was abducted in Kampala on 4 June, according to his employer. He was beaten, questioned and then abandoned hundreds of miles from the capital on Sunday evening.

Continue reading...