Blogotariat

Oz Blog News Commentary
Renew Economy Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 21:19 Source

A parliamentary inquiry will examine the scale of the waste challenge looming on the flip-side of Australia's rooftop solar boom – and how to seize the opportunity it presents.

The post Federal parliament launches inquiry into solar panel reuse and recycling appeared first on Renew Economy.

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Your Democracy Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 19:56 Source

Germany is moving to deepen ties with Italy as tensions rise with France over EU trade policy, Emmanuel Macron’s looming exit, and relations with US President Donald Trump, The Telegraph reported on Monday, citing diplomats from the bloc.

France and Germany have long been the “engine” of EU policymaking, but the outlet described Macron as a “lame duck” whose mandate ends in 2027.

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John Quiggin Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 17:56 Source

One of the strangest features of the Australian political system over the last 80 years or so has been the permanent coalition between the Liberal and National (formerly Country) parties. It sometimes puzzles foreigners – I remember an American observer saying that the prevalence of coalition governments here was an indicator or political instability. And it takes different forms in different places. At the national level, until two weeks ago, there was a standing coalition agreement even when in opposition (this dates back to the 1970s, I think).

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John Quiggin Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 17:54 Source

Back in March 2023, the Nine Papers ran a series of articles, entitled Red Alert, based on the claim of an “expert panel” that we should be ready to fight a war with China, within three years. With only a few weeks to go before the third anniversary of the series, the prediction is not looking good. Not only has there been no war, but relations between Australia and China are friendlier than they have been for years, going back at least as far as Turnbull’s prime ministership.

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MacroBusiness Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 17:00 Source

Asian share markets are in mixed mood after the poor showing on Wall Street overnight although some risk taking is occuring across other markets with Yen weakening while the Kiwi lifted despite a poor unemployment print. The Australian dollar is still lifting above the 70 cent level on the long expected RBA rate yesterday. Brent

The post Macro Afternoon appeared first on MacroBusiness.

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Your Democracy Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 16:55 Source

It’s hard to know where Armageddon is going to come from… CERTAINLY NOT FROM GOD… God, in whatever format we pray to, would have long abandoned this planet of imbeciles, if he ever existed…

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The Tally Room Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 16:19 Source

A by-election will be held soon in the Victorian state seat of Nepean, covering the Mornington Peninsula to the south-east of Melbourne.

Nepean has been held since 2022 by Sam Groth. Groth had announced plans to retire at the general election late last year, and stepped down from the deputy leadership last week.

Groth held Nepean by a 6.4% margin in 2022. It seems unlikely that Labor will contest this seat, although it will be interesting to see how One Nation performs, if they choose to stand.

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Renew Economy Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 15:05 Source

Small, plug-in PV systems are populating balconies across Europe and the US, but many Australian apartment dwellers are locked out of the new solar boom.

The post Balcony solar is powering apartments from Berlin to Barcelona. So why not in Australia? appeared first on Renew Economy.

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Renew Economy Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 14:01 Source

manufacturing-australia from 2014The new Net Zero Fund will launch in mid-2026 with a $5bn kitty of cheap money for industries wanting to go clean and green.

The post “Appetite for risk:” Net Zero Fund to offer super-cheap loans for industrial decarbonisation appeared first on Renew Economy.

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MacroBusiness Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 13:30 Source

29 of the 31 provinces on the Chinese mainland have released growth targets for 2026. Nineteen of the 29 provinces reduced their 2026 growth goals. This sets the stage for Beijing to follow suit and reduce the national real GDP growth objective from “around 5%” last year to “4.5-5.0%” for 2026. The structure of growth

The post Chinese regions lower their growth targets appeared first on MacroBusiness.

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Renew Economy Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 13:28 Source

Plans for an up to 26 GW wind, solar and green hydrogen hub have new life breathed into them, just six months after they were abandoned by global oil and gas major bp.

The post Giant Pilbara wind, solar and hydrogen hub dumped by bp wins $21 million government grant appeared first on Renew Economy.

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Renew Economy Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 13:17 Source

Curtailment remains one of the clearest signs of the challenges facing existing and new solar and wind projects in the NEM. Here's what the 2025 data tells us.

The post Wind and solar curtailment: Beneath the headline numbers from 2025 appeared first on Renew Economy.

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MacroBusiness Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 13:00 Source

Once mighty software is being devoured by AI. The problem is that when AI can be added to anything and everything, tailored to specific industries and even specific business needs, the broad-based software package with a big moat is history. Tech volatility is leading broader market volatility higher. There’s no panic but there’s no retreat,

The post AI eats tech stocks appeared first on MacroBusiness.

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MacroBusiness Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 12:30 Source

Brisbane’s housing market has experienced one of its largest-ever price booms over the past five years. According to PropTrack, Brisbane dwelling values soared by 95.7% in the five years to January 2026: As a result, Brisbane has become the second most expensive housing market in the nation based on median values, behind Sydney: KPMG’s latest

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MacroBusiness Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 12:00 Source

Over the last cycle of immigration-led growth, inflation was endemically weak. This was thanks to two main factors. The 2013-2020 surge was driven by Chinese immigrants who brought substantial investment capital to new apartment blocks. The result was a massive build-out in rental stock, which drove down rents despite inflows of people. While many of

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