Post of the Day
Australian climate activists battling increased repression and surveillance, new report says
Climate protesters are being targeted by harsh penalties, inappropriate police powers and surveillance, according to a new report.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Young activists sue Boris Johnson for failure to tackle climate crisis
Three people claim government is breaching right to life and family life under Human Rights Act
Stand against climate crisis is stand against gender violence
Heleni Smuha
The climate crisis and environmental degradation are fuelling gender-based violence.
Want to fight for climate action but feel daunted or powerless? Try this
Tayo Bero
The scale of the crisis is intimidating. But most people are already members of organizations – like our employers, universities, unions or religious groups – that are great avenues to fight for concrete climate results
National
Australian climate activists battling increased repression and surveillance, new report says
Climate protesters are being targeted by harsh penalties, inappropriate police powers and surveillance, according to a new report.
Red Shield goes green – AGL powers Salvos national transition to rooftop solar
AGL powers Salvos national transition to rooftop solar
Unions welcome long overdue offshore renewable energy laws but say there is ‘unfinished business’
The Electrical Trades Union and Maritime Union of Australia welcome long overdue laws to facilitate offshore renewable energy projects.
Feedback sought on radioactive waste advisory
ARPANSA has released a draft advisory note on the public health considerations for disposal of radioactive waste.
Offshore wind laws to power transition
Offshore wind can join Australia’s arsenal of renewable energy projects under new laws that passed the federal parliament on Thursday.
Senate scuttles Coalition crackdown on charity advocacy work
In a major defeat for the Morrison government, crossbenchers joined Labor and the Greens to disallow rules charities say were designed to silence them
Huge 4000km rain bomb set to thrash eastern Australia
A 4000km rain is set to thrash eastern Australia over the next 48 hours.
Support for stronger 2030 emissions target slips
Australians have softened their support for more ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade after a UN summit where world leaders disagreed on a global climate deal.
Former ABC reporter Zoe Daniel to fight Liberals on climate and integrity
High-profile former foreign correspondent, who will stand as an independent for Melbourne bayside seat of Goldstein at next year’s federal election, is no stranger to the ravages of climate change.
Nationals MP Damian Drum hails ‘war on emissions’ [$]
Nationals MP Damian Drum says Australia will need to impose road-user charges on electric vehicle drivers, aggressively pursue offshore wind power and convert service stations to charging hubs.
Investors shift focus to batteries and solar, but go cool on hydrogen
A new investor survey shows interest in low cost battery and solar technologies surged in 2021, but enthusiasm for hydrogen has tempered.
Canberra draws up plan to open at least one new gas basin [$]
The Morrison government will work to open up at least one new gas basin by the end of the decade and potentially pump millions of dollars into gas infrastructure projects as part of its efforts to shore up the nation’s energy supply.
The case for pumped hydro – Energy Insiders podcast
Ben Bolot from ATCO on the role pumped hydro storage could play in a renewables dominated grid in Australia.
The jailing of a young climate protester is a prime example of Australia’s authoritarian drift
Isabelle Reinecke
Federal and state governments should spend more time trying to improve people’s lives and less time trying to keep them quiet
Government cans Antarctic runway
Sussan Ley
The Morrison Government will protect Antarctica’s pristine wilderness by not proceeding with a decision to build a 2700m concrete runway at Australia’s Davis research station, following a detailed environmental and economic assessment.
Victoria
Senior Victorian Labor MP Richard Wynne won’t recontest seat at next year’s state election
Richard Wynne’s decision not to recontest his inner-city seat of Richmond after more than two decades comes a day after former Victorian attorney-general Jill Hennessy flagged her exit from politics.
Council eyes net zero emissions by 2035
Zero net emissions in Greater Geelong by 2035 is a key feature of Council’s Climate Change Response Plan.
New South Wales
‘Slap on the wrist’: Farmers fume as Whitehaven Coal fined $200,000 for taking water
Farmers say they are outraged by the size of the fine handed to Whitehaven for unlawfully taking 1,000 megalitres of water between 2016 and 2019, during what one farmer calls “the worst drought in living memory”.
Death warrant signed for thousands of brumbies as Kosciuszko plan finalised
Conservationists are welcoming a move to try and reduce the park’s feral horse population by about 75 per cent over the next six years, but say the numbers should never have been allowed to rise so high.
Bringing back birds and rebuilding community in Bumbalong
Last Saturday, Snowy Monaro Council’s Bushfire Recovery Team returned to face-to-face community engagement with a Bringing Back Birds and Welcoming Wildlife session in Bumbalong, northwest of Bredbo on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.
Policy wreck: we’re being told two contradictory stories about NSW trains
John Austen
Stories about Gladys Berejiklian’s private life or bureaucratic fights might sell papers, but they distract from grave problems in transport policy.
ACT
ACT magistrate imposes harsher penalty on protester to ensure courts avoid making ‘idle threats’ [$]
A climate change protester’s bid for leniency for defacing a senator’s office has been dismissed by a magistrate, who said consequences needed to have “real meaning” and not simply be an “idle threat”.
Queensland
‘What a long time you have waited for this’: Massive tract of Cape York land handed back to traditional owners
The first claims in one of Australia’s largest native title applications has been granted on Cape York, the culmination of the “hard work and determination of a lot of people”.
Platypus still at home in our healthy waterways
The City of Logan’s elusive platypus remains hidden, but at home, in our waterways. Five platypus samples were detected in the Albert River this year, during ongoing eDNA testing across 16 sites.
Audit Office raises questions over state’s renewable targets
The Queensland Government appears to have overstated its renewable energy levels, according to a report from the Queensland Audit Office.
Brisbane’s underground rail tunnel emerges at Exhibition train station
The 3.8-kilometre tunnel will be used to carry rail passengers under the Brisbane River and support new developments in the CBD and beyond.
Billions in the pipeline as Qld to play key role in gas-fuelled future [$]
Two Queensland gas fields are shaping as key to ensuring Australia does not face a European-style energy shortage.
Palaszczuk’s climate credentials in tatters
Courier Mail editorial
The Government will have plenty of explaining to do after a damning report into its green energy credentials
South Australia
Class action lodged against Beach Energy [$]
Slater and Gordon says it has a ‘strong basis’ for a class action against Beach Energy over what was said and when about its Western Flank oil assets.
Tasmania
Mindful water use encouraged as summer outlook is released
TasWater and the Bureau of Meteorology are encouraging Tasmanians to be mindful of their water this summer.
BBF 10th Annual Environment Awards
Bob Brown Foundation presents 10th annual awards to outstanding environmentalists – they represent ‘real achievement for a world in environmental crisis’
Roger Jaensch
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is continuing to lead the nation in our response to climate change with ambitious commitments outlined in the Climate Change (State Action) Amendment Bill 2021 being introduced into the House of Assembly today.
Northern Territory
Environmental advocates call for education, cost savings to help curb illegal dumping in the NT [$]
A multi-faceted approach is needed to improve a worsening illegal dumping problem in parts of the Territory, environmental advocates have said.
Western Australia
Fire threat rises for parts of WA as hot summer ahead
Parts of Western Australia, including Perth, are being tipped for heightened fire potential this year, as a hot summer is forecast for the state.
Activists charged after 12-hour protest against Woodside gas project
Police say the demonstration against the $16 billion Scarborough project endangered the public and drained their resources.
WA tips $118m into new green hydrogen hubs, wants Morrison to match funds
McGowan government to provide $117.5m to support new green hydrogen hubs to tap into burgeoning global market.
How high will emissions be from Woodside’s giant new gas project in Western Australia?
Graham Readfearn
The company argues gas will do more than other sources of energy to help the world reach net zero – but it’s only comparing it with coal
Sustainability
Sales of eco-friendly pet food soar as owners become aware of impact
Number of products in UK containing MSC-certified sustainable seafood has grown by 57% in last five years
EU waste shipment proposal takes steps to address plastic crisis
Last week, the European Commission proposed new rules governing waste shipments from EU countries. The regulation could be good news for communities around the world impacted by European plastic waste exports.
Filthy business: who will stop Britain’s illegal waste-dumping mafia?
George Monbiot
From mattresses to oily waste and syringes, mountains of illegal waste is piling up as the government stands by
Reports of wildlife crime surged in England and Wales in 2020 – survey
Badgers, buzzards, dolphins and bluebells were all targets in the pandemic-hit year, but convictions fell
If marine noise pollution is bad, deep-sea mining could add to the cacophony
A new report suggests that the noise pollution produced by deep-sea mining activities could have far-reaching effects on the marine environment, from surface to seafloor.
Report finds contaminants in loon eggs
A new report indicates that toxic contaminants could be working their way up the food chain in several New Hampshire lakes.
Fish stock in Black Sea decreasing, warns expert
The amount of fish caught in 2021 has decreased across Turkey, while water pollution and overfishing have reduced the fish stock in the Black Sea, according to an expert.
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