Black Jack McEwen, Doug Anthony, Ian Sinclair and Tim Fischer were fearless advocates for their farmer members and for agrarian socialism. And they were pragmatists who understood what was needed to be electable. What was the Country Party is now the National Party, the party of multinational miners. The Proud Little Member, the Beetrooter and Mic Mac, in their gross misreading of the times, are determined to keep the Nats on the Opposition benches for years.
|
|
From: Maelor Himbury <M.Himbury@acfonline.org.au>
Date: 25 August 2025 at 8:44:05 am GMT+10
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Aug 25
Date: 25 August 2025 at 8:44:05 am GMT+10
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Aug 25
Post of the Day
Australians produced 3.2m tonnes of plastic waste in 2023-24, up from 3m tonnes the previous year
On This Day
Climate Change
As Spain swelters under record-breaking temperatures, centuries-old coping methods — from siestas to thick-walled homes — offer practical lessons for a warming Europe.
The planet’s breakneck release of carbon dioxide may be steering Earth toward a tipping point that echoes the planet’s most catastrophic die-offs.
National
Nationals are promising to introduce a nuclear power policy at the next election, despite it previously causing a rift in the Coalition.
Amid a housing crisis and a quest to decarbonise, some Australians are asking how much space they really need to live well.
With little more than Aldi greenhouses and Besser blocks, Australian scientists are saving critically endangered frogs from a deadly fungus one at a time.
Bridgestone World Solar Challenge starts in Darwin on Sunday, with 34 cars from 17 countries racing across desert to Adelaide
Advocates say the glow sticks — used in longline fishing — can cause plastic and chemical pollution to oceans.
Labor will seek to maximise internal Coalition divisions over whether to scrap its net zero emissions commitment, allowing debate in the chamber today on Barnaby Joyce’s bill to repeal climate laws.
A more ambitious 2035 emissions-reduction target gets support from a range of Australians, even from Coalition voters.
With last month’s addition of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape, what better time for an essential guide to each of our country’s World Heritage sites?
Plug-in hybrids now account for a quarter of electric vehicle sales, as Australians reluctant to entirely drop the fuel tank opt for a compromise.
Giles Parkinson
The Australian Bush Summit is back – the Murdoch media’s annual regional roadshow sponsored by Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, who is using the opportunity to present a highly dystopian vision of Australia as it heads towards net zero.
John Connolly
From plummeting resale values to $22,000 battery replacements, the hidden costs of electric vehicle ownership are creating a financial nightmare for early adopters.
Graham Readfearn
The revenue from fuel excise is falling but it’s not only because of EVs, which make up less than 2% of cars on the roads
Jennie George
Our power prices are among the highest in the world and without assured baseload supply 24/7, deindustrialisation will gather pace.
Richard Denniss
In the fight against slavery, abolitionists eventually prevailed over slave owners. The long fight was not won in the sensible centre, but by “radical, democratic” absolutists who risked their lives in the fight to save the lives of others. It scares me to think how the ABC, or indeed most of the world’s media, would report on such a debate today.
Piers Akerman
Labor’s productivity roundtable has exposed critical flaws in the government’s energy strategy as global tech leaders warn of massive power demands ahead.
Zijian Qi
On 9 April, Swatten, a subsidiary of Sieyuan Electric which is headquartered in Shanghai, China, made an appearance at Booth 58 of the Smart Energy 2025 expo in Sydney.
Neville Lockhart et al
The energy transition must also focus on small, behind-the-meter community and household systems. The model needs expanding, including peer-to-peer trading.
Victoria
The outer Melbourne community where only 1.2 per cent of people use public transport
A decade-long plan giving developers incentives to build affordable homes in central Melbourne has failed to produce a single one.
The move in Melbourne’s west is likely to push thousands of tonnes of goods onto trucks, worsening road congestion and pollution.
Hopes the 16-hectare garden and gallery site near Halls Gap will be ‘a green shoot of recovery’ in the bushfire-affected region
The state government is falling short of its targets to divert waste through its recycling initiative, sparking concerns landfills will fill up faster than expected.
New South Wales
Six joeys have been born in a wild koala breeding program that boasts a 100 per cent success rate. The babies are cute, but a hands-off approach is vital if they are to survive in the wild.
After much speculation, the premier announced Labor would open a new heavy rail train station at Woollahra and high-rise development in Edgecliff for 10,000 new apartments.
A new cemetery has not been made available for metropolitan Sydney in over 80 years — and government-owned burial spaces are fast dwindling.
ACT
Canberra Times editorial
a little more than 600 metres would take you from the front door of the Ainslie Football Club to the light rail stop at Macarthur Avenue. Head the other direction, and a similar distance takes you to the bustling Ainslie shops.
Queensland
Three endangered northern bettongs that were raised in captivity have made a successful entry into the wild at a north Queensland sanctuary.
Subdivided scrubland in Bundaberg that lay dormant for more than a century will be used for affordable housing, despite decades of pleas for it to be included in an adjoining environmental park.
South Australia
With Labor under siege in South Australia over its record on the environment, concerned parties have been told a Regional Vulnerability Assessment will not be backed by the Malinauskas government.
State considers its options to control Karenia mikimotoi, which has left beaches littered with dead seaweed and sealife
Tasmania
A West Coast timber recovery operation is set to increase its workforce after securing investment to tap into Tasmania’s underwater timber reserves worth billions.
The Tasmanian Nationals have released a media statement condemning Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s recent decision to pause the expansion of the salmon industry.
Western Australia
Facing three separate court challenges in a week, Woodside has had a win with the Federal Court dismissing a challenge by Doctors for the Environment to a gas project on the Burrup Peninsula.
Aboriginal leaders in the Kimberley recently issued the Ngumpan Statement – a declaration marking 40 years of law, language and culture, calling on governments to protect Country, culture and water.
Although cutely called the citrine trapdoor for its small size, glossy sheen and bright orange or yellow gem-like appearance, Teyl luculentus hadn’t been sighted in three decades.
Sustainability
Consumers are increasingly turning to op shops amid the cost-of-living crisis, but a researcher warns the sustainable practice is having little impact due to fast fashion giants.
R. Ostner
Artificial intelligence is no longer just a buzzword – it’s part of our daily lives.
Peiman Salehi
Global powers that once justified their interventions in the Middle East with rhetoric about human rights remain silent when basic rights are violated through the denial of water.
Peter Sainsbury
We’re destroying the ability of forests to mitigate global warming. Extreme weather events cause food price hikes and social unrest. Airlines are ignoring sustainable aviation fuel, but does it matter?
Nature Conservation
They’re one of Africa’s most recognisable animals — but it turns out we’ve been getting giraffes all wrong.
Analysis of legal hunting in Montana and Idaho shows that eliminating one wolf protected just 7% of a single cow
Mojtaba Sadegh et al
Worldwide, an estimated 440 million people were exposed to a wildfire encroaching on their home at some point between 2002 and 2021, new research shows. That’s roughly equivalent to the entire population of the European Union, and the number has been steadily rising – up 40% over those two decades.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
1800 223 669
This email and any files transmitted with it may be confidential and legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you must not disclose or use the information contained in it.
If you have received this email in error, please notify us by return email and permanently delete the document.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this country and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay respect to their elders past and present and to the pivotal role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play in caring for country across Australia.