Federal governments of all persuasions have historically protected and funded Australia’s forest destruction.
Federal governments of all persuasions have historically protected and funded Australia’s forest destruction.
Leaked business and corporate plans from Victoria’s state-owned forestry business, VicForests, reveal multi-million dollar taxpayer losses and logging operations in parts of the state that ‘are not commercial’. This is especially the case in East Gippsland, where weak demand for poor quality logs has made operations unprofitable over ‘many years’. The leaked ‘commercial in confidence’ …
Leaked 3 year business plans from VicForests reveal multi-million dollar taxpayer losses. East Gippsland is especially ‘not commercial’. It’s been going on for years. ABC Radio National revealed the leaked ‘commercial in confidence’ documents also shows VicForests is keen to use native forests to generate electricity under the Renewable Energy Target, or RET. Environment Minister …
Environmentalist and campaigner Frances Pike explains why Australian native forests are currently facing their greatest threat and how you can make a difference. The so-called native forest “waste” that is the sticking point in current Renewable Energy Target negotiations is not sawdust, tree stumps or branches. If the industry gets its way it will be …
The Abbott governments plan to define the burning of native forest logs in electricity generators as a ‘renewable energy’ under the planned RET scheme is under sustained attack from environment groups. “The ALP leader, Bill Shorten is also refusing to make a clear commitment that would ensure native forests will not be power station fodder …
It’s crazy! When the RET is supposed to be bringing emissions down, the Abbott government is prepared to increase them by burning the land’s greatest carbon stores – our forests – in electricity furnaces. This would have higher emissions than coal (per unit of energy produced – see illustration). It would take 200 years to …
The Federal Government and Opposition have reached agreement on a revised Renewable Energy Target (RET), but remain at odds over the energy sources to be included. The major parties have agreed to cut the target to 33,000 gigawatt hours (GWh), but Labor is objecting to the Government’s push to include native wood burning. The Government …
THE clean energy sector is warning against investment-risking “messy” negotiations, after the government and Labor agreed in part to a pared-back renewable energy target. AFTER months of political stalemate, the two parties struck a deal on Friday to slash the target from 41,000GWh to 33,000 but bipartisanship on the entire package remains in doubt. The …
The federal Labor opposition will go to the next election proposing a more ambitious renewable energy target that would enable the large-scale solar industry to gain a share of the subsidised industry. Opposition environment spokesman Mark Butler confirmed the intention on Friday after Labor and the government agreed to end more than a year of uncertainty and support a revised renewable energy target …
A deal to save Australia’s wind and solar industry could be scuppered by last minute demands by the Abbott government, despite it making headway with the opposition on an agreement to reduce the renewable energy target. The government and Labor emerged from talks in Melbourne on Friday to say they had the basis for an …
Along with other proposed changes to the RET, the issue of RECs for native forest waste incinerators is expected to return to parliament, with crucial cross bench senators Ricky Muir and Jackie Lambie vocal in support. Changed conditions in forest markets could mean this has a bigger impact on Australian renewables that it has in …
