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Transport

Garnaut can’t see the forest for the trees

GreensBlog - July 4, 2008 - 4:37pm

This was published in Crikey this afternoon. My release from today is here.

Professor Garnaut’s much-awaited Draft Report is, in general, strong on the architecture but terribly weak on the big, over-riding issue – preventing runaway climate change. His policy prescriptions are completely out of step with his science.

When we were looking for a transformative vision to take Australia into the post-carbon world, we got an incrementalist approach with a slow start and even a step backwards on the 2050 target. Read more »

Relieving the petrol price pressure

GreensBlog - June 17, 2008 - 6:27pm

You know the message is starting to get through when Kerry O’Brien on ABC’s 7.30 Report opens an interview with the Prime Minister by saying “isn’t it time to look Australians in the eye and tell them the news is only going to get worse on oil?”

What a pity that the PM continued to ignore peak oil and blithely claimed that no-one can know what will happen to oil prices. Just because ABARE is so bad at it doesn’t mean everyone is! Read more »

Senate Estimates on solar rebate, Garnaut, oil price, green loans and more

GreensBlog - June 3, 2008 - 5:40pm

As the team at Hansard are struggling valiantly to catch up on the huge quantity of transcribing work coming out of Senate Estimates, it’s going to be a little while before we’re up to date here on what’s been happening, but I thought I’d post a few key climate and oil-related transcripts now.
The one that [...]

ABARE: Fuel crisis? What fuel crisis?

GreensBlog - May 28, 2008 - 5:57pm

While the battle of petrol price populism between the old parties drags on, Christine plugged away once again last night at her favourite Senate Estimates sparring partner, ABARE.
While ABARE is finally waking up to the understanding that there might be such a phenomenon as climate change, peak oil, sadly, still eludes them. Last night, Philip [...]

Petrol price populism, Labor-style

Larvatus Prodeo - May 26, 2008 - 10:29am

Well, at least they didn’t outright promise to do it…

THE Federal Government has confirmed it will consider cutting the GST on fuel excise as part of a larger review of petrol taxation, as motoring bodies demanded an overhaul of the entire petrol-pricing system.
Read more »

Help me make a renewables feed-in law a reality

GreensBlog - June 20, 2008 - 4:48pm

The Senate Environment Committee is calling for submissions to an inquiry into my renewable energy feed-in Private Member’s Bill, which we negotiated and were successful in having referred earlier this week. Read more »

It’s a different world out there

Larvatus Prodeo - June 16, 2008 - 1:30pm

While we’ve all had a great time mocking Brendan Nelson’s ridiculous promise of a petrol excise cut, it’s always good to be reminded about what the punters out there think. And, while any tiny movements in the voting intentions are essentially noise, they apparently seem to think that cutting petrol tax is a good idea: Read more »

Watch Christine Milne’s Budget Reply for the Greens

GreensBlog - May 29, 2008 - 8:51pm

This has taken a while, but we finally have Christine’s Budget Reply Speech up on YouTube and postable to the blog. Those of you who have enjoyed reading or listening to it may be interested in watching it.
In five parts.

Infrastructure Australia who’s who

GreensBlog - May 26, 2008 - 3:42pm

New Matilda published this piece from Christine today under the title: ‘Be wary, we’re in safe hands’.
The Rudd Government has made much, since well before coming to office, of its determination to unblock Australia’s infrastructure bottlenecks and to tackle climate change.
I have noted before that unless carefully managed, these two goals will come into direct [...]

Oil price rising, how surprising

GreensBlog - May 23, 2008 - 3:11pm

This piece was published today on Crikey’s daily email. Also see my media release from this morning on the issue.
I have to confess myself quite flabbergasted by the extent to which our governments, oppositions, economists, planners and media claim to have been caught unawares by the rocketing global oil price and imply that no one [...]