Daily Links Oct 6 - greghunt.net

The technology exists. The international rivalry is emerging. Could the climate be the catalyst that propels Australia into a race with China for the prize of clean energy from space.

‘Incredibly worrying’: legal fight looms around Australia over clampdown on protest

Calla Wahlquist

Peter Dutton has described protesters as ‘a scourge’ with the threat of increased penalties and imprisonment in several states

Let’s repeat these words in capitals: NATIONAL DROUGHT EMERGENCY

Tony Walker

As Stanthorpe and Dubbo run out of water, the drought will become even harder for politicians to ignore.

Real drought relief thin on the ground

Age editorial

Dams, by themselves, fix nothing.

Time we stopped giving handouts to these climate layabouts [$]

Peta Credlin

The government is right to threaten law-breaking climate protesters with losing the dole. Maybe then Generation Snowflake will finally learn that bad behaviour can have serious results.

Victoria

Recycling firm goes into liquidation, kerbside recycling to continue

SKM Industries, a major arm of recycling contractor SKM, has been ordered to liquidate by the Supreme Court, but the group’s sale is imminent.

The suburbs set for population explosions over the next 20 years

Victoria’s population is expected to increase by more than 40 per cent over the next 20 years, with 29 of state’s 456 suburbs set to more than double in size.

The futuristic idea which could bring an end to myki [$]

While Victorian public transport users may be forced to wait until iPhones and credit cards can be used to pay for their journeys, a new piece of technology could be introduced and end the dreaded myki card.

Minister tells of farmers’ distress at forest flooding [$]

Victorian Water Minister Lisa Neville has accused the federal government of not properly consulting farmers and communities before big water releases — causing them unnecessary distress.

New South Wales

‘Very embarrassing’ blunder sees NSW mine lease announced before approval

The Independent Planning Commission will be reviewed after a 21-year mining lease near Singleton was approved before public submissions closed — a blunder the Opposition says will call the system’s integrity into question.

‘It’s a road, for god’s sakes’: Should residents fear WestConnex?

Locals who worry they have left it too late to escape a suburb’s transformation by the city’s amorphous road project counselled to tread with caution.

Bilbies released into massive NSW ‘natural time capsule’

They’re technically extinct in NSW, but – 800 kilometres southwest of Sydney – 30 bilbies are now roaming the Mallee Cliffs National Park.

Ocean beaches the place to swim — not so lakes and lagoons [$]

The annual Beachwatch report into the cleanliness of popular swimming and surfing spots around NSW has been released, with nine sites rising in the rankings with another nine being downgraded due to pollution.

South Australia

Kangaroos eating stomach contents and toilet paper in extreme drought, ecologists say

Ecologists say kangaroos are eating the stomach contents of dead roos and toilet paper in national parks to survive the drought.

Scandal-hit companies seek info on running SA transport [$]

Companies with backgrounds in prisons, driverless trains, limousines and allegations of illegal kickbacks and political donations have shown an interest in the Adelaide tram system.

‘Ecological disaster’ looms for KI’s koalas [$]

An ecological disaster is brewing on Kangaroo Island with koalas set to decimate native vegetation before starving once a timber company begins harvesting the island’s plantations, environmentalists say.

An Island Divided: The $35m plan splitting KI [$]

A battle is brewing over the future of Kangaroo Island’s sleepy Smith Bay as a timber company ups the ante in its bid to build a seaport at the shore — but locals aren’t shying away from the fight.

Indigenous tribe share Dreamtime warning over oil drilling [$]

The Mirning people have taken the unusual step of sharing their sacred dreamtime story through a national video campaign in the hope it helps protect the Great Australian Bight from proposed oil drilling.

Pollies cast the net but refuse to listen on snapper ban [$]

Matthew Abraham

There’s one rule that gets broken so often in politics it’s become a joke – don’t consult, if you’re not going to listen. Unsurprisingly, the SA Government broke this rule.

Tasmania

Sustainability Strategy supported by City of Launceston council

Launceston council will move towards a carbon neutral organisation and will seek collaboration with a national clean energy program to provide support for climate solutions.

Subsidies would be needed for Midlands coal mine: Australia Institute

A potential coal mine in Tasmania’s Midlands would require “large government subsidies” for it to be cost-competitive against larger mines in NSW and Queensland, the Australia Institute believes.

Northern Territory

Tourists storm up Uluru before climbing is banned later this month

The first long weekend of the warmer months usually results in traffic chaos as campers and fishermen flock to their favourite hideaways. But rarely do long queues invoke so much cultural offence as a new image from Uluru shows thousands of tourists stomping up the indigenous heritage site before the climb closes on October 26.

Western Australia

After a bushfire burnt 300 power poles, Horizon became the first utility company to kick customers off the grid

After a devastating bushfire, one remote WA farming community takes steps towards a solar solution — and it’s cheaper, safer, and more reliable.

Baby Liam’s million tree inheritance [$]

A WA environmental power couple overseeing a bold vision to plant one million trees realise they might not live to see their plan come to fruition — but hope their infant son will.

Sustainability

Massive ash column erupts from Mexico’s mighty Popocatepetl

Mexico’s majestic Popocatepetl volcano has erupted, with a dramatic ash column rising some 2,000 meters straight up into the sky.

How to make carbon pricing palatable to air travelers

Travellers are willing to pay a little more for flights if they know the extra money will be used to address carbon emissions, a new study has found.

Nature Conservation

Rise of the ‘wonder bean’: from deforestation to your plate

The meat and dairy industry’s demand for soya is driving environmental crisis in one of the world’s most threatened forests. We trace the seven steps from the Chaco to the food we eat

Links with deforestation in the Chaco: companies’ full responses

Comments from ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company, Asda, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Tesco, the British Retail Consortium, Cadbury and the Food and Drink Federation

Sinking groundwater levels threaten the vitality of riverine ecosystems

Groundwater is the world’s largest source of freshwater and it is of vital importance for food production. Increasing extraction of groundwater in recent decades has resulted in sinking water tables worldwide. A study by a hydrologist shows that almost 20 percent of the catchments areas where groundwater is pumped suffer from a flow that is too low to sustain freshwater ecosystems. This number is expected to increase to 50 percent by 2050.

Now for something completely different …

We asked 54,000 Aussies how they were thinking and feeling. See how you compare

What are Australians really thinking and feeling? Thousands of people told us— and now you can see how your views, values and habits compare to other Australians.

Maelor Himbury

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