Work to begin in coming weeks in move that emphasises ties between Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin
Hungary has announced that the €12.5bn (£10.6bn) construction of two nuclear reactors by Russia’s Rosatom will begin in the coming weeks after regulators approved the project.
The war in Ukraine has not deterred Hungary’s interest in the project to add to the four reactors already operating at the Paks plant outside Budapest.
Continue reading...Adam Bandt reacts to Labor’s decision to open 46,000km of ocean to exploration, saying his party will continue to advocate for a moratorium on new coal and gas projects. Follow live
A massive haul of the drug “ice”, with an estimated street value of $1.6bn, has been seized in NSW in the largest discovery of its kind in Australia, AAP reports.
Last month, Australian Border Force officers homed in on a number of sea cargo containers that arrived at Port Botany in Sydney.
There would need a change to the law.. with the Liberals saying they’ll take an oppositional role, the only way that will happen is with the support of the Greens.
Our position is that workers should be able to bargain collectively at whatever level they choose.
Continue reading...Russian-held site forced to fall back on diesel generators, raising risk of catastrophic failure of cooling systems
Fires caused by shelling cut the last remaining power line to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Thursday, temporarily disconnecting it from Ukraine’s national grid for the first time in nearly 40 years of operation, the country’s nuclear power firm, Energoatom, has said.
There have been growing international concerns about safety at Europe’s largest nuclear plant. It has been occupied by Russian forces since the start of the war, and they are now using it to house military vehicles and equipment.
Continue reading...Move designed to secure energy supplies would mark a dramatic shift in Japan’s policy stance held since 2011 reactor meltdown
Japan is considering building next-generation nuclear reactors and restarting idled plants in a major policy shift, 11 years after the triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant rocked the country’s dependence on atomic energy.
The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said he had directed a government panel to look into how “next-generation nuclear reactors equipped with new safety mechanisms” could be used to help Japan achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. His “green transformation” council is expected to report back by the end of the year, he said on Wednesday.
Continue reading...State and territory building ministers will meet on Friday amid fierce debate about when and how new regime should begin
New Australian homes could have to comply with tougher energy performance standards within a year, with ministers set to agree to boost the required rating from six to seven stars.
That could cut the thermal energy use of homes by about 25%, experts say. But there’s fierce debate about when and how the new regime should begin.
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Continue reading...Energy prices have soared above prediction and subsidies will require significant further spending
Ministers could face an additional £23bn price tag for covering extra household energy costs of £900 this autumn, rising to £90bn next year, a new paper by the Institute for Government has found.
The paper, looking at the options for Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak in No 10, also warned the government should plan for prolonged rises in energy bills by going a lot further in making public appeals to use less gas – for example by informing consumers about the cost savings from turning down thermostats – and in committing to building more energy efficient homes to help protect consumers.
Continue reading...If Morrison saga was playing out in the corporate world, he would have been stood down from job, Christine Holgate says
Former Australia Post boss, Christine Holgate continues to weigh in on revelations former prime minister Scott Morrison secretly appointed himself to the finance portfolio, overseeing her independent review without her knowledge.
I feel extremely disappointed … To to be told and go through that experience inparliament and then to be told that there will be an independent investigation into you, and then a full Senate inquiry. At no point did I ever know ... the arms-length independent review was actually overseen by Mr Morrison as the finance minister. That doesn’t sound very independent to me.
If this had happened in a corporate world, you know, that person would have been stood down for their job. There would be an enormous set of consequences. But unfortunately, this is allowed to take place in parliament, it feels. I think it’s almost incredible. And actually quite disturbing.
Continue reading...Federal court hearing on the islands, north of Darwin, told a spill would mean ‘everything ends up dead’ in delicate marine ecosystem
A large gas project off the Tiwi Islands could threaten a vulnerable turtle species and disrupt a thriving ecosystem of fish, a marine ranger has told the federal court.
Tiwi Islander Dennis Tipakalippa is challenging the decision to allow Santos to drill eight wells in the Barossa gas field, 265km north-west of Darwin.
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Continue reading...The country would run out within two months of a major disruption. Here are five ways to reduce vulnerability
China’s sabre-rattling about Taiwan underlines the need for Australia to be prepared for conflict in the South China Sea.
With its growing navy and air force, and the bases it has built throughout the area, China is increasingly capable of disrupting shipping lanes crucial to Australia’s exports and imports.
Continue reading...The former prime minister has spoken at a National Press Club event at the Canberra Writers Festival
‘Cringeworthy’: energy minister says Morrison’s media conference was embarrassing
Circling back to Chris Bowen’s interview on ABC Radio, where the discussion on climate policy was followed by questions on the biggest story in Canberra – Scott Morrison’s secret appointment to five additional ministries.
I think to be fair that the governor general was in a difficult position, he has to accept the advice of the government or the PM of the day.
It was pretty pathetic, embarrassing and cringeworthy to be honest.
He should call Andrews.
The right thing to do would be to call all ministers concerned.
Continue reading...Ed Husic pushes for ‘brain regain’
Industry minister Ed Husic will this week host a series of five roundtable meetings with science and technology leaders in the lead-up to the federal government’s jobs summit, in a bid to kickstart what he called “brain regain” – attracting Australia’s bright minds working overseas to return home, to combat the so-called “brain drain”.
These discussions will also include ways to increase the representation of women and people of diverse backgrounds in skilled occupations. One of my priorities is on “brain regain” – encouraging Australian researchers and innovators to return home. I am interested to hear ideas on how this can be best achieved.
I can’t emphasise strongly enough that this is the start of engagement with these industry sectors. After the jobs and skills summit I will continue the work with industry leaders to ensure we apply practical solutions to accelerate Australia’s pathway to high-skilled, high-value economy.
He’s applied for a job and that’s coming with a significant degree of scrutiny, as it should do. That’s part of the territory if you’re going to put yourself forward for those roles.
If he felt the need to protect the environment from offshore drilling for gas off Sydney’s northern beaches and he felt he needed to swear himself in as minister, that’s something I support.
Continue reading...Exclusive: New bill also increases the state’s legislated renewable energy target to 100% by decade’s end
Victoria’s three remaining coal-fired power plants would be progressively shut down over the next eight years, under a Greens bill to be introduced to parliament this week.
The Energy Legislation Amendment (Transition from Coal) Bill 2022, is the Greens final piece of legislation to be debated before the state goes to the polls in November, and is set to form a central pillar of the party’s climate policy.
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Continue reading...Nationals leader outlines vision for party at federal council meeting. This blog is now closed
White whale calf seen off NSW coast
There’s one newborn hogging all the attention off the NSW coast – a southern right whale calf born whiter than usual, AAP reports:
Southern right whales are mostly very dark, although some have splashes of white called a blaze.
Its white areas will darken to grey as it ages. It’s one of around one-in-30 southern right whale calves born with brindle colouring.
Continue reading...The Pharmacy Guild has pushed for the drugs to be made available without a prescription at community pharmacies due to national GP shortages. This blog is now closed
Peter Dutton pressed on voice to parliament
Opposition leader Peter Dutton appeared on ABC’s 7.30 last night and it is worth revisiting for the exchange with host Sarah Ferguson about whether he will commit his party to supporting the voice to parliament.
SARAH FERGUSON: Let me move back into the domestic realm. At the start of parliament, you participated in the smoking ceremony, you allowed your face to be painted and then in your speech you quoted Noel Pearson and seemed to endorse Pearson’s call for constitutional recognition. What would prevent you now from taking the next step and backing the referendum on the voice?
PETER DUTTON: Well, I quoted Noel Pearson for whom I have a great deal of respect, and you can go back and look at the quote and there are many elements to that because there were several paragraphs that I quoted him on.
If we could get that to 60 per cent, then already you would go a long way to addressing part of the supply shortage of teachers.
Continue reading...IAEA warns of ‘grave hour’ amid fresh shelling of Zaporizhzhia plant, with region set to become new frontline
Russia has rejected calls from the UN for a demilitarised zone around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Moscow’s forces since early March and lies in a region of Ukraine that is set to become a new frontline of the war.
Russia’s permanent representative to the body, Vasily Nebenzya, told Interfax on Friday that Moscow must “protect” the Zaporizhzhia plant. A withdrawal of its troops would make the facility “vulnerable … to provocations and terrorist attacks”, he said.
Continue reading...Drax has taken £5.6bn in subsidies from energy bill payers but business secretary says practice is ‘not sustainable’
The importing of wood to burn in Drax power station “is not sustainable” and “doesn’t make any sense”, the business and energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, told a private meeting of MPs this week.
The remarks are significant as the burning of biomass to produce energy is an important part of the UK government’s net zero strategy and has received £5.6bn in subsidies from energy bill payers over the last decade. Scientists and campaigners have long argued that burning wood to produce electricity is far from green and can even increase the CO2 emissions driving the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Campaigners told new deadline for decision on first new deep coalmine in more than 30 years is 8 November
A much-anticipated decision on whether the UK’s first new deep coalmine in more than 30 years should go ahead has been delayed again.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) has written to Friends of the Earth to inform the organisation that the new secretary of state, Greg Clark, has set a new deadline of 8 November to rule on whether the coalmine should be granted planning permission.
Continue reading...Adam Bandt says allowing global offsets to be traded along with Australian ones would just delay action to cut emissions
The Greens have called on the Albanese government to reject advice that Australia should allow greater use of international carbon offsets, arguing it would delay cuts in greenhouse gas emissions locally.
A review of international offsets by the Climate Change Authority, a policy advisory body, urged the government to develop a carbon market strategy as a step towards allowing international carbon offsets to be traded along with Australian carbon credits.
Continue reading...Senex Energy says extra fuel will be for domestic use but plans are yet to secure state or federal environmental approvals
Gas producer Senex, which is jointly owned by South Korea’s steel giant Posco and Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, has planned a more than $1bn expansion to its Queensland gasfields with the bulk of the extra fuel apparently to be earmarked for domestic use.
The company, which is seeking federal and state approval for two sites adjacent to its Atlas and Roma North projects in the Surat Basin, made the announcement ahead of a speech by the resources minister, Madeleine King. It still has to clear some state regulatory hurdles, Senex said.
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Continue reading...Be it a loft insulation drive or a lower price cap, there are many ways to help – but action must be swift and extensive
The UK government has been urged to take further action to alleviate the impact of soaring energy prices, and there are a number of measures it could take.
Any rescue package would need to be swift and extensive to prevent households being plunged into poverty this winter as home energy prices surge. Ministers will also need to dig deep to prevent more businesses hit by rising energy costs from defaulting on loans and declaring themselves bankrupt.
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