Industry News

The Federal Government has announced a $900,000 grant to the University of Melbourne to conduct a $1.2 million study Achieving Cost-effective Abatement from Australian Electricity Generation.

Federal Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, said the project will produce software modelling of Australia’s electricity market to assist with understanding how the National Energy Market might achieve the cheapest cuts in carbon emissions while using increased levels of renewable energy.

“The project will allow many thousands of simulated combinations of wind, solar and thermal power, with optimisation tools helping to find the lowest cost combination,” Minister Ferguson said.

“Importantly, the project will see the development of open source modelling software to assess the performance of future energy systems, including transmission networks, under different levels of renewable energy penetration.

“The software will be publicly available so that it can be used by researchers in academia or industry, allowing for scrutiny and refinement over time.”

The project will commence on 1 July 2012 and is scheduled to end early 2015. The University of Melbourne will conduct the study with support from the University of New South Wales.

Other participants include the Australian Energy Market Operator, the Bureau of Meteorology, the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance, General Electric and consultants Market Reform.

The Federal Government has passed amendments to the Consumer Credit and Corporations Legislation Amendment Bill 2011  through the Federal lower house that will aim to better protect those who use payday loans.

"This bill will put the first national cap on small amount loans, limiting the extremities of what lenders are able to charge and complementing the Gillard Government's ongoing commitment to social inclusion by addressing the financial harm caused by some lenders who use the vulnerable financial position of their customers to their advantage,” Minister for Financial Services Bill Shorten said.

"This cap on costs appropriately balances consumer protection and a viable return for a responsible industry.  Lenders have confirmed to the Government that will be able to continue to operate under the 20/4 cap.”

The amended bill will:

• Define small amount redit contracts as 1 year or less, keeping the amount as $2000 or less;
• Cap costs for loans under $2000 so that the maximum any lender can charge for a small amount credit contract is 20 per cent of the amount of credit upfront and 4 per cent for each month of the loan;
• Prohibit credit providers entering into a small amount credit contract with a term of 15 days or less; and
• introduce an interest rate of 48%, plus an additional $400 to cover establishment costs for mid-tier loans of amounts between $2000 and $5000 with a maximum term of 2 years;

The bill also introduces the following responsible lending obligations to address high risk conduct in this market:

• a rebuttable presumption that a refinance is unsuitable where the borrower is already in default;
• a rebuttable presumption that a small amount credit contract is unsuitable where it would be the borrower's third such loan in the last 3 months;
• a requirement for credit providers to obtain and consider a copy of the borrower's bank statements for the last 3 months before entering into the contract which will assist the Australian Securities and Investment Commission in enforcing the legislation.

The University of Tasmania has appointed Ms Ros Harvey to lead the SenseT project, one of the biggest coordinated investments in knowledge infrastructure in Tasmania’s history.

SenseT is a $42 million program which will use data from sensors to deliver real-time information to help industry and government make better decisions. It is expected to deliver significant productivity gains for the state’s economy as well as supporting improved management of Tasmania’s resources and the environment.

Initial practical projects will focus in agriculture and food production, emerging carbon markets, smart infrastructure and logistics, as well as catchment and flood management.

SenseT was launched by the Premier and the Minister for Regional Australia, Simon Crean, on 14^th June.

Ms Harvey, the architect of the state’s economic development plan, is currently Deputy Secretary of the Department of Economic Development Tourism and the Arts. She returned to Tasmania in 2010 after 15 years abroad.

Ms Harvey was the founding Director of the Better Work program – a partnership between the World Bank group and the UN’s International Labour Organisation based in Geneva. Better Work is globally recognised as a landmark program in the field of corporate social responsibility, global supply chains and pro-poor development.

Australia’s resources and energy commodity export earnings are forecast to reach a record $209 billion in 2012–13, according to the Resources and Energy Quarterly—June quarter 2012, released by the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE).

“The continued increase in Australia’s minerals and energy export earnings will be underpinned by strong growth in export volumes, particularly for iron ore and LNG following the completion of a number of projects.” said Professor Quentin Grafton, BREE’s Executive Director and Chief Economist.

The growth in earnings in 2012–13 is forecast to be underpinned by increases in export values for: iron ore, gold, thermal coal, liquefied natural gas, copper and alumina.

A lower assumed value of the Australian dollar against the US dollar in 2012–13 will also support increases in the value of Australia's resources and energy exports.

With the exception of aluminium, export volumes for all major minerals and energy commodities are forecast to increase. The largest increases, in percentage terms, are forecast to be LNG (21 per cent), alumina (15 per cent), metallurgical and thermal coal (both 13 per cent), iron ore (10 per cent) and copper (10 per cent).

“The increase in export volumes across the majority of commodities reflects recent expansions to mine and infrastructure capacity,” said Professor Grafton.

The forecast increase in LNG exports in 2012–13 reflects the start up of the Pluto LNG project, which will increase Australia's LNG capacity from around 20 million tonnes to over 24 million tonnes.

Australia's LNG capacity could exceed 80 million tonnes by the end of this decade.

Economic growth across a number of major economies, including China, is assumed to slow in 2012, relative to 2011, and then increase in 2013.

“Despite the uncertainty surrounding the outlook for some European economies, Australia’s export volumes for most commodities have remained strong throughout 2011–12, while prices for many commodities have remained at elevated levels relative to historical norms,” said Professor Grafton.

The Resources and Energy Quarterly report is available here.

The Federal Government has launched four new teaching units to help students across the country learn about the importance of water.

The four units aligned to the Australian Curriculum allow students to explore four key regions in Australia: the Murray-Darling Basin, Northern Australia and the Wet Tropics, the Lake Eyre Basin, and the Great Artesian Basin.

Federal Water Minister Tony Burke said the teaching resources explore how natural water systems function, the ways we use water and sustainable water management practices.

“Understanding Australia’s water challenges is the first step to sustainable water management and better balancing the water needs of our communities, farmers and the environment,“ Mr Burke said.

“With lessons ranging from the value of agriculture in the Murray-Darling Basin to the feasibility of moving water long distances across our country, these resources offer a practical approach to science and geography.

“The science and geography resources have been developed as an online resource to complement the digital education revolution.

“The lesson plans make use of new classroom technologies, including interactive whiteboards and high-speed internet connections.”

The resources in the Water Education Toolkit and the new Australian Water Education Teaching Units are free to access and use.

The teaching units can be accessed on the department’s website atwww.environment.gov.au/water/education

The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Jane Treadewell as Chief Executive Officer to lead the newly established Centre for Excellence in Public Sector Design.

The centre is a pilot cross-agency initiative designed to help the Australian Public Service (APS) better respond to the challenges of the 21^st century and inspire creativity and innovation through collaboration across government departments.

"Ms Treadwell is an excellent choice for the role of CEO for this new centre, and I congratulate her on her appointment to this new position," Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation Senator Kate Lundy said.

"She is eminently qualified and has the right skills for establishing this initiative and she has a keen understanding of the value of collaborative innovation in the APS."

Senator Lundy said this new initiative would assist the public sector meet challenges and find new ways of working to deliver better outcomes for all Australians.

The Centre will assist the APS deliver innovative, practical solutions to respond to complex issues and to explore new methods in solution formulation, development and delivery.

Murray-Darling Basin states are squaring off in the lead up to the COAG meeting this Friday which will  discuss the revised Murray Darling Basin Plan that was released at the end of May.

Speaking at the Irrigation Australia 2012 Conference and Trade show in Adelaide on Tuesday, the South Australian Premier,  Jay Weatherill, said upstream irrigators had taken too much water and that 4000 billion litres of water should be returned to the Murray River.

The revised Basin Plan proposes that 2750 billion litres be returned, but both New South Wales and Victoria are fighting for less than that. The Victorian Government has released modeling that it will present at the COAG meeting which supports its argument that 2100 billion litres would be sufficient.

New South Wales irrigators are claiming that returning 2750 billion litres to the river would destroy their communities.

Australia’s four Learned Academies will form the Linkage Learned Academies Special Projects scheme to provide specialst research based evidence to the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) to form policy development areas of ‘strategic importance’.

Under the $10 million scheme, the learned acadamies will operate under the auspices of the Australian Research Council (ARC), the PMSEIC and the Chief Scientist to conduct research in areas deemed vital to the country’s future.

"The Australian Council of Learned Academies (AcoLA) will use this $10 million investment for a series of strategic research programs selected by PMSEIC and the Chief Scientist," Senator Evans said.

"Australia's best minds will deliver their research findings to the ARC and to the Chief Scientist, who will take the work to PMSEIC.

"The research findings will give the Chief Scientist and PMSEIC a strong evidence-base with which they will recommend new policies that will help secure a strong, fair and productive future for Australia.

"World class science and research is crucial to Australia's future competitiveness.

"We must ensure science and research policy underpins industry and innovation and drives them to adapt to the modern economy."

Current areas of research include: Australia's comparative advantage; Country comparisons in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; Asian literacy; The role of science, research and technology in lifting Australian productivity; New technologies and their role in our security, cultural, democratic, social and economic systems; and Engineering energy, in particular unconventional gas exploration.

It is also anticipated that additional projects will be identified as the research conducted by ACoLA progresses.

For more information on the Linkage Learned Academies Special Projects scheme, visitwww.arc.gov.au.

The Federal Government has announced $13 million in funding to allow Victorian public schools to provide specialised teaching a field of their choice under the first phase of the Empowering Local Schools initiative.

Federal Minister for School Education and Victorian Education Minister Martin Dixon released the plan that will operate in 166 government schools over the coming two years.

Mr Dixon said the funding provided for the first phase of Empowering Local Schools will increase autonomy for government schools, helping principals and the school community make decisions in the best interest of all students.

“The Empowering Local Schools initiative will build on Victoria’s already strong history of school autonomy, allowing school leaders and teachers to better exercise the decision making powers they already have, and helping to reduce the bureaucratic burden on schools,” Mr Dixon said. 

The scheme will see four key elements form the basis of the policy

• A Local Administration Bureau in Horsham, in regional Victoria, will be expanded to remove the administrative burden for the principals of small and regional schools by outsourcing functions, including financial management, human resources and other administrative processes. 
• School Partnerships – Empowering Local Decision Making will create new school partnerships and cluster arrangements, using teams within schools to build school capacity, increase parental involvement, and share accountability for student learning outcomes.
• Specialisation Grants will help more schools introduce personalised learning for students in areas such as languages, maths and science, giving schools greater flexibility to respond to student and local community needs.
• Supporting Professional Practice will support principals to evaluate teacher performance and provide more effective feedback and support to teachers.

Each school will receive a start-up grant of between $40,000 and up to $50,000 to help implement increased and improved local decision making. The reforms will be progressively implemented from now until the end of 2013, with a second phase of the initiative expected to commence from 2015.

For more information and a list of schools taking part visitwww.deewr.gov.au.

The New South Wales Government has confirmed Sydney's $2 billion desalination plant will be shutting down at the end of June  following  a two-year proving period.

Finance Minister Greg Pearce has told the ABC it could be around three years before the facility operates again.

He said that the plant will not be recommissioned until the dams drop below 70% capacity, and will then operate until they reach the 80% level.

Mr Pearce said that turning off the desalination plant would save Sydney Water customers $50 million a year, although $16 million was being paid per month to pay for the cost of building the plant and associated pipeline.

Mr Pearce said that while he had been a vocal critic of the plant in opposition but now believed it to be a good safety mechanism in case of drought and useful in planning for Sydney's future growth.

Sydney Water has completed a $6.9 million   2.1 kilometre section of the Canterbury Bankstown Submain upgrade, which has significantly boosted the long term reliability of the system.

Work began in March 2011 and required crews to descend to depths of 25 metres below ground to carry out the repairs, which were mostly done at night due to high wastewater flows in the pipe during the day. Night work also ensured a safer working environment for the crews,” Sydney Water’s Managing Director Kevin Young said.

Crews worked across 14 sites in Earlwood and Canterbury to:

• clean and repair 2108 metres of the 1.8meter diameter wastewater pipe with a PVC liner
• clean and repair 18 maintenance holes with an epoxy protective coating
• clean and line one large maintenance hole with a calcium aluminate cement protective coating
• remove 70 tonnes of silt and debris to increase the capacity and efficiency of the pipe.

The Canterbury Bankstown Submain was built between 1919 and 1927, and carries wastewater from Belfield through to Arncliffe and the Malabar Wastewater Treatment Plant.

This work was part of Sydney Water’s SewerFix program, which improves the wastewater system and protects public health and the environment.

The Western Australian Department of Water is calling for comment on a new state-wide guideline aimed at clarifying water management regulations for the resources industry.

The draft copy covers all areas of the state and provides clear guidelines to miners about the regulatory processes around water management in the industry.

Department of Water Executive Director Regional Delivery and Regulation Paul Brown said the draft provides transparency and clarity to miners across Western Australia.

“This is a state-wide guideline which is applicable to miners and explorers not only in the Pilbara but those in the Mid West, the Goldfields and right across the state,” Mr Brown said.

“It builds on the principles and practices used to establish the Pilbara Guideline which has been instrumental to developing this state-wide advice.

“It also includes detail about water management issues in relation to mine closure and decommissioning.”

Mr Brown encouraged stakeholders and industry groups to comment on the draft.

The guideline can be accessed here.

 The NSW Government will appoint a new Land and Water Commissioner, end the royalty holiday for coal seam gas producers, and encourage producers to contribute funds to local projects under a new community benefits initiative.

Deputy Premier and Nationals Leader Andrew Stoner said the new Land and Water Commissioner will oversee the regulation of invasive exploration activity on Strategic Regional Land.

“Standardised land access agreements for coal seam gas exploration on private land will be introduced to deliver greater consistency and fairness for landholders.

“A standardised agreement will be developed by a working group made up of NSW Farmers, irrigators, cotton growers, and the coal seam gas industry, and the application of these agreements will be overseen by the new Land and Water Commissioner.”

The Land and Water Commissioner will report to the Director General of the Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services. The role will complement the Federal Government’s newly established interim Independent Expert Scientific Committee.

“The NSW Government will establish new Regional Community Funds, which will see local communities receive a share of their region’s assets,” Mr Stoner said.

“Given the resource is owned by the public, it’s important that local communities and the people of NSW benefit from the production of coal seam gas through royalties and investment in communities in which the industry operates.

“It is imperative that coal seam gas producers invest in the communities in which they operate.

“Under the proposed framework, coal seam gas producers may elect to contribute funding into a Regional Community Fund. The NSW Government will refund $1 for every $2 committed by industry, up to 10 per cent of the royalty take.

“Regional Community Funds will provide much-needed funding for projects such as critical infrastructure or human services, with funding to be determined according to community needs in consultation with the industry and the community.

“This is an initiative that seeks to directly benefit communities in resource areas in recognition of the financial benefits that must be shared between the coal seam gas industry and the community.

Mr Stoner said the NSW Government contribution will be funded by ending the royalty holiday for Coal Seam Gas producers.

He said the NSW Government will seek industry and community feedback within 21 days regarding the establishment of the Regional Community Funds.

“The NSW Government is seeking enhanced industry co-operation to ensure resource communities adequately share.

“We acknowledge the many responses to the draft Strategic Regional Land Use policy and will continue to refine the policy over the next few months to ensure NSW has the strongest regulation of mining and gas extraction in Australia, if not the world."

The Western Australian Government has announced a $12.7 million investment package in new low emission energy projects in Perth, the Mid-West and the Wheatbelt.

State Environment Minister Bill Marmion and Energy Minister Peter Collier announced in-principle funding for the Low Emissions Energy Development (LEED) Fund for Curtin University; Morton Seed and Grain; Biogass Renewables; Green Rock Energy Ltd; Solastor, in consortium with Carbon Reduction Ventures; and The University of Western Australia (UWA).

“The funding is subject to these companies matching every $1 of Government funds with at least $3 from elsewhere, which will lead to a direct total investment of more than $50 million in low emissions technology in WA,” Mr Marmion said. 

Curtin University is developing technology to simultaneously char and grind biomass so it can be efficiently burned with coal in existing coal generation infrastructure. Grinding the biomass as it is charred uses less energy and the resultant ground biomass is more compatible with coal burning power plants.

Morton Seed and Grain’s proposal is a biomass project in the Wheatbelt using oat husks as fuel for cogeneration of electricity and heat.

Biogass Renewables is developing a commercial-scale anaerobic digester plant to convert solid waste to biogas for electricity generation and compost in thermally insulated tanks. 

Green Rock Energy Ltd is developing a geothermal electricity generation plant in the Mid-West near Dongara, and Solastor, in consortium with Carbon Reduction Ventures, plans to spend $3.775million to build a 1.5 megawatt grid-connected concentrated thermal power station incorporating heat storage technology near Morawa.

UWA has received $356,000 to undertake research into recapturing methane from liquefied natural gas vents.  Nitrogen is vented as part of LNG production, however this contains a proportion of methane which is an extremely potent greenhouse gas.  Capturing this methane economically could provide a significant source of abatement.  UWA will also receive $493,000 to evaluate the pumping of carbon dioxide (CO2) underground to enhance natural gas recovery.  Enhanced gas recovery would use injected (and therefore sequestered) CO2 to increase natural gas production and deliver CO2 sequestration.

“The Government’s investment gives the companies and universities a platform to explore the benefits of technology to use biomass in coal power generation, energy cogeneration from agricultural waste products, generation of electricity and compost from commercial waste and geothermal power to improve energy security,” Mr Collier said.

“If these projects lead to commercial-scale developments in the future, they have the potential to save millions of tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions a year.”

The Victorian Government has announced a $12 million blitz to upgrade rail infrastructure on Melbourne’s Glen Waverly line.

Premier Ted Baillieu said the upgrade to the line was the next stage of a series of major works to be undertaken to improve Melbourne’s rail network and public transport reliability.

"The Coalition Government is investing $247 million in 2012/13 to address the public transport maintenance backlog left behind by the Brumby Labor Government," Mr Baillieu said.

"The project will include the replacement of 45,000 sleepers and 250 metres of fencing, platform works and renewal of overhead wiring and signals,” State Transport Minister Terry Mulder said.

The National Curriculum Services has handed an independent review of the performance of Victoria’s four indigenous Koorie Pathways Schools, suggesting that the performance and effectiveness of them be examined.

State Education Minister Martin Dixon , who will now consider the review, said the priority was to provide the best possible education for Victoria's Koorie students.

"We are reviewing all of our major programs to ensure they are effective in closing the gap between the education outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students," Mr Dixon said.

The Pathways Schools in Glenroy, Swan Hill, Mildura and Morwell began operating in April 2009.

The schools' role has been to reconnect with mainstream schooling students who have disengaged or are at risk of dropping out of school.

Among the concerns identified in the review was the fact that enrolments at the Pathways Schools accounted for just 0.7 per cent of Koorie students in Victoria, yet the KPS are absorbing 16 per cent of funding for Koorie students.

Of the 10,600 Koorie students attending Victorian schools around 60 are enrolled in Koorie Pathways Schools.

With the exception of Ballerrt Mooroop in Glenroy, which was de-staffed at the end of last year with only one student attending the school, the remaining schools will continue to operate while the findings of the report are considered and until any further decisions are made.

The Review of Koorie Pathways Schools report is available on www.education.vic.gov.au/wannik 

The Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committees is to conduct an inquiry into the adequacy of Newstart Allowance payments for jobseekers.

Under its terms of reference, the committee will inquire into:

(a) the adequacy of the allowance payment system for jobseekers and others, with particular reference to the adequacy of the Newstart Allowance payment as an income support payment for jobseekers and the adequacy of all other allowance payments that support a range of recipients who study or provide care;
(b) the appropriateness of the allowance payment system as a support into work, with particular reference to:

• the effectiveness of the payment as an incentive into work,
• the effectiveness of the allowance payment system in facilitating transitions between working and other activities, such as studying, caring and retirement, or in the event of illness or disability, and in helping or hindering recipients to overcome barriers to employment, and
• the impact of the differences between pensions and allowances on the transition between working and other activities; and

(c) the impact of the changing nature of the labour market, particularly the rise of insecure work and decline of unskilled jobs, on the:

• nature and frequency of individual interaction with the allowance payment system, and
• over and underpayment of allowances to recipients.

Submissions have been called for, and the reporting date is 1 November 2012.

More information is here.

The Federal Government has successfully passed its Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) bills through Parliament; with Minister for Financial Services Bill Shorten saying the reforms will pave the way for better quality services in the industry and ensure future growth in the area.

“The FOFA reforms introduce a new duty for financial planners and advisers to put their customers interests first, ban the payment of sales commissions and make it easier for a wider range of advice to be provided to consumers,” Mr Shorten said.

“As a result of the measures passed by the Senate today, every Australian consumer can be more confident that their financial planner or adviser is putting customers’ interests first and that the advice they receive is not influenced by sales commissions.”

While the reforms will still commence from 1 July 2012 as originally announced, the application of the provisions will be voluntary until 1 July 2013. These changes balance consumer needs and industry requirements by giving the financial advising community more time to prepare for the reforms, while still giving early movers the opportunity to provide commission-free advice from 1 July 2012.

Australian businesses received online orders worth $189 billion in the twelve months to 2010-11, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

This includes orders received from Australian households, businesses and government, as well as orders received from overseas customers. 

This is up from $143 billion in 2009-10 and represents a 32% increase. 

Over half of Australian businesses (51%) reported placing orders via the internet, a nine percent increase from 2009-10. 

The proportion of businesses that reported receiving orders via the internet increased by 13% to 28%. Half or more of the businesses in the wholesale trade and manufacturing industries reported receiving orders online (52% and 50% respectively). The retail industry came in sixth place (35%). 

Businesses reporting a web presence increased from 40% to 43%. Nearly all large businesses had a web presence (97%), compared to one-third of micro businesses. 

Innovation in Australian business
Just under 40% of Australian businesses reported some form of innovative activity in 2010-11. 

Large businesses were more than twice as likely to undertake innovative activity than micro businesses (66% compared to 30%).

Over half of all businesses in Wholesale trade industry reported being innovation-active, the highest of any industry. 

Further information is available in Summary of IT Use and Innovation in Australian Business(cat. no. 8166.0).

The Federal Government has passed the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Bill 2012, paving the way for the establishment of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

The CEFC will be run as an independent body that will drive commercial investment in low-carbon technologies as part of the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Future Package.

To be chaired by the Reserve Bank Board member Jillian Broadbent, the fund will be responsible for breaking down market barriers faced by clean technologies.

The full CEFC Board will be appointed by the Federal Government and will be given an investment mandate that will enable the Board to further develop the corporation’s investment strategy. The CEFC will be legally required to invest responsibly and manage risk to achieve a target rate of return and ultimately be financially self-sufficient.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation will work alongside the carbon price, the Renewable Energy Target and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to drive significant renewable energy and clean energy investment and innovation. These mutually supporting elements of the Government's Clean Energy Future Plan are fundamental to the transformation of our energy sector.

The CEFC will commence investment operations from1 July 2013.