Industry News

The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency has released the National Greenhouse Accounts for the latest emission trends for the December Quarter 2011.

The accounts factor in the Kyoto Target and are used to meet the country’s reporting commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and track progress against the country’s target under the Protocol.

The accounts found emissions increased in the December Quarter, with trend emissions rising by 0.3 per cent and seasonally adjusted and weather normalized emissions increasing 0.1 per cent.

The reort found that trend increases were  largely driven by increases in emissions from fugitive emissions as a result of increased coal mining.

However, the coal emissions were offset by a decrease in emissions from the electricity and industrial processes sectors.

Annual emissions, excluding LULUCF, for the year to December 2011 are estimated to be 546.3 Mt CO₂–e. This represents an increase of 0.6 per cent compared to the year to December 2010 despite a drop in emissions from electricity generation (the single largest source of emissions in the national inventory).

The full report can be found here 

The Federal Government has announced the Parsons Brinkerhoff and ARUP joint venture as the winning bidder for the work to upgrade the duplication of the Pacific Highway between Woolgoolga and Glenugie.

“The rebuilding of the Pacific Highway is the biggest, most complex road construction project ever undertaken in Australia. This multi-billion nation building endeavour will reduce road deaths, slash travel times between our largest and third largest city as well as lift national productivity,” Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said.

The Woolgoolga to Glenugie Upgrade is scheduled to be completed by late 2016 and will duplicate 31 kilometres of highway, install a new interchange at Range Road, erect bridges across Corindi Creek and the nearby flood plain, and build new overpasses at Sherwood Creek and Kangaroo Trail roads.

NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay also confirmed today that contracts have been awarded for the geotechnical investigations which will assess the physical properties of the soil and rock beneath the route of the new Pacific Highway.

“I’m pleased to announce that Robert Carr and Associates will perform the work on the Woolgoolga to Glenugie section, Coffey and GHD has won the contract for the Glenugie to Devils Pulpit section, and Golder Associates and ARUP will be responsible for the section between Devils Pulpit and Ballina,” said Mr Gay.

“Given the terrain and flood prone nature of this part of the State, the work now being undertaken by these geotechnical engineers and geologists is vital to making sure the new Pacific Highway is built on solid foundations and able to withstand even the most extreme of weather events.

All up, the upgraded Pacific Highway between Woolgoolga and Ballina—a distance of some 155 kilometres—will boast ten major interchanges, new bridges across the Clarence and Richmond rivers and strategically located wildlife crossings.

The independent Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) Expert Panel has released its final report, with the Federal Government supporting all of the recommendations.

The Review Panel, chaired by Killian Broadbent, was appointed to advise on the design of the $10 billion CEFC, which will be responsible for driving investment in renewable energy, low-emissions and energy efficient technology.

The report suggests that the CEFC be given a broad mandate, but the Federal Government should steer clear of making specific investment decisions.

The full report can be found here

Researchers and policy makers from East Asia and Australia have converged on the Indonesian city of Makassar for a three-day, Australian-led summit to discuss urban sustainability and adaptation to climate change in urban areas.

Policy makers from 18 East Asian countries have met with counterparts from the Australian Government and researchers from CSIRO in Makassar for a number of workshops.

“These research projects share common themes of improving understanding of urban water sustainability and livelihoods under a changing climate,” said Dr Brenda Lin, CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship.

“These projects are also building local capacity and facilitating sharing of local knowledge and practice. By sharing information about initiatives underway in different country contexts, it is hoped that policy makers across the East Asian region can learn about best practice on climate adaptation research and responses, and use this to develop adaptation options that can be transferred across national borders.”

The two workshops include regional partners identified at the 1st and 2nd High Level Seminars organised through the East Asia Summit process.

Participants include delegates from the 18 East Asian nations, CSIRO researchers from the Climate Adaptation Flagship, as well as Australian Government representatives.

The Federal Government has announced its initial response to the Final Report of the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians (EPSA).

The Government’s response includes the establishment of a new $10 million Jobs Bonuses scheme that will deliver a $1000 incentive for employers to hire a mature age worker for more than three months.

“The Government commissioned the EPSA report because we understand that the ageing of our population brings great opportunities for our country and our economy if we better harness the skills and experience of older Australians,” Treasurer Wayne Swan said in a statement.

Other initiatives announced include:

• $15.6m to extend the very successful Corporate Champions program to provide support to employers who wish to promote mature aged employment at their workplace.
• $3.9m to extend the Career Advice service by two years to ensure mature age people have access to free, professional career advice.
• $4.8m to promote lifelong learning by expanding education opportunities by adult and community education providers and community organisations to older Australians.
• Expanding the More Help for Mature Age Workers initiative, to now be called the "Investing in Experience - Skills Recognition and Training program, to allow industries to benefit from improving the skills of their over 50's workforces.

The Government has also outlined further strategies to counter age discrimination in the workforce, including:

• Providing $2.1 million over four years to the Age Discrimination Commissioner to address age discrimination, age stereotyping and ageism more generally, to feed into a media roundtable and communication strategy;
• Reviewing Commonwealth legislation to identify age barriers that prevent continued participation in the workforce for people aged 45 years and over; and
• Working to consolidate the five anti-discrimination Acts, including the Age Discrimination Act 2004, into a single law as part of Australia's Human Rights Framework.

The full response can be found here

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) has released its Monthly Leading Indicator of Employment, finding that results have fallen for the fourth consecutive month in April 2012.

The report finds weaknesses in all of the Indicator’s four components, but the Department has stopped short of warning that such a consistent decline could confirm a slowing overall employment growth.

The report can be found here 

The University of South Australia has published a report that suggests sexual harassment remains a persistent problem in Australian workplaces.

Published as part of an Australian Research Council Discovery Project, the report analysed 284 sexual harassment complaints reported to all Australian, state and territory equal opportunity commissions. The report details the type, prevalence, people and organisations involved in sexual harassment complaints.

Sara Charlesworth, an Associate Professor at UniSA, says that the report sheds greater light on the nature of workplace sexual harassment.

“Previously, data about sexual harassment complaints in Australia have been limited to what has been reported in individual Commissions’ annual reports, which don’t have the depth or detail provided in this report,” Associate Professor Charlesworth said.

“This report provides a better picture of the types of sexual harassment that are the subject of formal complaints. 

“In Australian workplaces, formal sexual harassment complaints are more likely to involve people who are in less precarious employment situations and who report the ‘classic’ profile of sexual harassment with a male harasser in a senior position harassing a more junior woman, and involving physical sexual harassment.” 

The report finds that sexual harassment often leads to negative consequences beyond the workplace for those who experience it, including anxiety, poorer health and well being and, frequently, job loss.

The report can be found here

GM Holden has announced it has secured an agreement that will see it design and engineer two new vehicles for the Chinese market

Holden has signed an agreement with Shanghai General Motors (SGM) and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) to develop the new vehicles for SGM and its affiliates.

PATAC is a 50-50 joint venture between GM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC). It provides automotive engineering services including design, development, testing and validation of components and vehicles to SGM and its affiliates in China.

The Holden designers and engineers working on the program will be based in Holden’s Technical Centre in Port Melbourne. The team will develop the new vehicles, which will be underpinned by GM global platforms, and tailor them for the Chinese market.

Holden Chairman and Managing Director, Mike Devereux, announced the partnership to employees in Melbourne today with the leaders of SGM and PATAC.

“Holden is a valuable source of expertise within GM International Operations and we’re one of only seven fully-integrated design, engineering and manufacturing operations in the GM world,” he said.

“We have worked with SGM and PATAC in recent years on smaller projects, but this is the first significant, long-term project to partner our organisations.

The Federal Government has announced a $10 million funding grant for Australia’s four Learned Academies so they can undertake new research projects under the direction of the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation (PMSEIC) and Chief Scientist.

The Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACoLA) will engage Australia's top scientists to work with the Chief Scientist and the Australian Research Council (ARC) to address the complex and diverse challenges in shaping the Australian economy and society for the future.

Minister for Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans said ACoLA will conduct research to identify Australia's natural, geographical and cultural competitive advantages to help the country thrive in a competitive world.

"World class science and research will lead to the innovation Australia needs to ensure the strength of our future economy," Senator Evans said.

"To remain competitive, Australia must ensure that science and research is underpinning industry and innovation and driving them to adapt to the modern economy."

The ARC will call for projects from ACoLA and the Learned Academies to primarily address priority areas that arise out of PMSIEC and advise the Gillard Government about enhancing Australia's competitive future.

The first issues to be addressed as part of PMSEIC's future work program are expected to include the role of science and technology in the Asian Century, lifting national productivity; building broader scientific competence in the workforce and addressing skills shortages in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics research areas.

ACoLA will also build on recent research commissioned by Australia's Chief Scientist to address critical skills shortages in Australia's Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics research sector.

The $10 million funding over three years will be provided under the ARC Linkage Learned Academies Special Projects funding scheme.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) has released findings that show households will be better off under the the Federal Government’s carbon pricing scheme, with the planned compensation associated with the legislation more than covering any potential price increases.

Recent analysis by AECOM and CSIRO, supported by The Climate Institute and consumer and welfare groups CHOICE and ACOSS, put the price of electricity bills at about 10 per cent higher this year with the enactment of the carbon price legislation.  IPART today found an average 9 per cent increase from the carbon price, equivalent to a less than $4 per week increase in household electric bills. 

“IPART has confirmed the CSIRO/AECOM price impact analysis and reinforced other factors like the investment in poles and wires are driving similar or greater increases without the compensation provided under the carbon price legislation,” said The Climate Institute CEO John Connor.

“Most importantly, the CSIRO research found the rate increases related to the price of carbon will be offset by government assistance in 9 out of 10 households, and most Australians will gain rather than lose, especially if they invest in energy efficiency measures for their homes.”

The CSIRO/AECOM research also found that: 

• Australia’s carbon pollution price will add a mere 0.6 per cent to inflation in 2012-13. That is the equivalent to 6 cents on every $10.00 spent. In even simpler terms, that represents an extra 2  cents spent on bread and a litre of milk, 11 cents on a leg of lamb or 14 cents on a week’s worth of fruit and vegetables.
• This price impact is less than a quarter of the impact of the GST, half the impact of previous mining boom and roughly equivalent to the price impacts of cyclones Larry and Yasi.
• Climate impacts from extreme weather events like cyclones and bushfires could be 20 times the impact of the carbon price.

“IPART data is entirely consistent with independent and Treasury estimates which have been addressed in the carbon pricing package of pension increases and tax cuts enabled by making our biggest industries start to pay for their carbon pollution,” said Connor.

The CSIRO has released a report into a four-year, $21 million research study into the viability of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology offsetting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the country’s coal-fired power stations.

The report confirms that post-combustion carbon dioxide capture (PCC) technology operates effectively and efficiently under Australian conditions and is now available to the industry as the first stage in the CCS chain.

The program, funded through the Asia-Pacific Partnership (APP) on Clean Development and Climate and supported by a grant from the Department of Resource, Energy and Tourism (DRET), enabled two PCC plants to be successfully established and operated at existing Australian power stations - at Delta Electricity’s Munmorah power station in NSW and at Stanwell Corp’s Tarong power station in Queensland.

The results showed that the PCC technology was able to capture more than 85 per cent of carbon dioxide from the power station flue gases along with other gases such as sulphur dioxide, can be fitted to both new and existing power stations, has flexible application according to changing consumer demand in the electricity market and can use renewable energy such as solar thermal as a power source.

The Victorian Government has announced a $35 million funding boost for the state’s hospitals to allow the purchase of replacement medical equipment.

State Health Minister David Davis announced the funding under the 2011/12 Medical Equipment Program.

"This funding will allow health services to buy the newest diagnostic and interventional medical equipment for surgical and medical procedures,” Mr Davis said.

"It funds a range of medical equipment from larger cardiac catheter laboratories, to new ergonomic hospital beds, sterilising equipment, x-ray units and patient monitors."

Funding announced so far is:

• $3.97 million for Southern Health including a new cardiac catheter laboratory for MonashHeart and 170 hospital beds at Dandenong Hospital;
• $3.56 million for Melbourne Health to replace a cardiac catheter laboratory, a fluoroscopy system in radiology and SPECT/CT gamma camera; and,
• $3.1 million for Austin Health including a Positron Emission Tomography (PET)/CT scanner.

"This funding will help provide our metropolitan and rural hospitals access to the most up-to-date medical technology and cutting edge equipment," Mr Davis said.

"In 2011/12 metropolitan health services will share in $24.8 million and rural health services will share in $9 million from the Medical Equipment Program.

"We are also supporting the replacement of statewide public health laboratory equipment required for areas such as clinical genetics with $1.2 million."

Between 500 and 800 billion litres of water could be saved by more efficient management of the Murray Darling Basin’s rivers and environmental water, according to the Victorian Farmers Federation, but the savings have not been facted into the MDBA's plan.

“It’s a fundamental flaw in the plan,” VFF President Andrew Broad said.

He said the VFF did not support the draft basin plan in its current form as most of the burden of diverting 2750 billion litres of irrigators’ water to the environment would fall on Victorian and Riverina communities.

“We’re calling on the Authority to enshrine more efficient use of environmental water and river operations in the final basin plan.”

“We’re sick of the argument being framed as a battle between irrigators and the environment,” Mr Broad said.

“Farmers are practical environmentalists and they care about the river. A good plan can be achieved if we put in the infrastructure to support it.

“The draft plan fails to include infrastructure and that’s why we’re so disappointed. In its current form, it will simply strip water to appease city votes.

“Just like farmers have improved their infrastructure by putting things like tape and drip irrigation on their farms, so too can the environment. The current plan has failed to recognise that.

“Let’s create the framework so we can spend the money on infrastructure, restore the environment and keep our regional communities viable,” Mr Broad said.

MDBA Chairman Craig Knowles has said these environmental works would be considered as part of a review of the basin plan in 2015.

“But that’s not good enough. We want these works enshrined in the plan, to be released later this year,” Mr Broad said.

“We’re not going to accept a ‘pat on the head’ and be expected to trust Craig Knowles, this government or whoever is running the country in 2015.

“The fact is, once the plan is enshrined in law it will be very difficult to change.”

The VFF has finalised its submission on the draft basin plan, which has been lodged with the MDBA.

Initial analysis shows between 500 – 800 billion litres of efficiencies can be delivered by:

• Improved river management that times transfers of water to benefit irrigators and the environment. For example - timing transfers of water from Lake Hume to Lake Victoria to coincide with environmental needs.
• Cutting the volume needed to water wetlands, via pumps, embankments and small weirs. For example, a series of 9 regulators across the Lindsay Island wetland could cut the volume needed from 1200 billion litres to flood 8000ha down to just 90 billion litres to flood 5000ha (This is not a 1100 billion litre saving, as it must be translated to an annual average saving). Other projects include boosting environmental watering efficiencies at Hattah Lakes, the Gunbower Forest, Wallpolla Island and river redgum sites along the Murray.
• Modifying management of the barrages at the Murray Mouth-Lower Lakes.

The VFF’s submission calls for amendments to the plan that would:

• Exclude the Federal Government from buying any more water to meet the downstream needs (971 billion litres) of the southern basin. All water needed for downstream needs (to water the Murray River’s wetlands, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth) must come from water saving investments in irrigation networks and on farm as well as environmental works and more efficient river operations. Victoria is on track to meet its in-valley requirements under the draft basin plan of 627 billion litres.
• Amend the plan to expand the definition of environmental water from water entitlement, which must be listed on a water register, to include efficiency and river operations savings as environmental offsets.
• Ensure the Federal Government is liable for any shortfall in bridging the gap between the current and the new sustainable diversion limits in 2019

The Victorian Government has announced it has rejected the proposed Murray Darling Basin Plan, saying the social and economic costs incurred from the plan would be too costly.

Releasing the Victorian Government's submission to the draft plan, State Water Minister Peter Walsh warned the Federal Government against taking more water from Victoria.

"Further cuts to consumptive water will reduce employment, put pressure on families to seek off-farm income, place downward pressure on house and land values and increase welfare dependency,” Water Minister Peter Walsh said.

Mr Walsh said under the proposed Basin Plan, water available for consumptive use would be reduced by 2750Gl.

"Our modelling shows northern Victoria's dairy industry would decline by 12 per cent or $54 million. Grape production would fall by 11 per cent or 38 million and mixed grazing would take a hit of 31 per cent or $38 million," Mr Walsh said.

"Victorian communities have already done their share of the heavy lifting. Between the contributions they have made since 2000 and the water being returned under current agreements, northern Victorian irrigators have already given up 1,040Gl.

To view Victoria's submission to the Murray Darling Basin Authority visit www.water.vic.gov.au/basin-plan-response

The South Australian Government has issued 71 recommendations to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Draft Plan, saying more must be done to ensure the health of the river system is maintained.

“There is a positive and prosperous future for river communities and indeed, the nation, if we get this plan right,” Premier Jay Weatherill said.

Central to the state’s demands is an increase in environmental flow, with Mr Weatherill saying the proposed 2750 giaglitres is insufficient to ensure the health of the river. Mr Weatherill said modeling of extrat returns should include 3200, 3500 and 4000 gigalitres.

Mr Weatherill also stressed the need for greater water security for South Australians, specifically irrigators.

Water and the River Murray Minister Paul Caica said South Australia’s submission requires that more water be returned to the system so that the environment and communities have a healthy future

The full South Australian submission on the Murray-Darling Basin draft plan is available at www.waterforgood.sa.gov.au

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has announced it will establish a regional cyber security centre in Victoria, generating 50 new highly skilled jobs over the next three years.

Headquartered in the US, the company currently employs 41,000 people globally and is broadly considered a world-leading scientific, engineering and technology applications company.

"The centre will provide a collaborative space for SAIC researchers to develop hardware and software to protect information and critical infrastructure from cyber attacks," State Minister for Manufacturing, Exports and Trade Richard Dalla-Riva said.

"The centre will provide a collaborative space for SAIC researchers to develop hardware and software to protect information and critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.”

"Attracting a global company like SAIC to Victoria, and commitment to 50 new jobs, is a vote of confidence in our state's ability to compete on a global scale."

SAIC's Melbourne R&D centre will enable the company to better support its efforts for Australian Government and industry clients, while focusing on new initiatives and opportunities around the National Broadband Network (NBN).

SAIC's researchers in the Melbourne R&D centre will conduct advanced research in data mining and analysis systems, as well as development of software applications associated with CloudShield Technologies, Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAIC, and TeraText® product lines.

Construction of the second phase of the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant (SSDP) is running to schedule with water expected to be produced for the integrated scheme by December 2012.

Inspecting the site at Binningup , Water Minister Bill Marmion said he was pleased to see the progress that had been made.

"The current plant is operating at full capacity, already producing more than 20 billion litres of water since it was officially opened in September last year," Mr Marmion said.

"When the second stage reaches full production most of our population will be receiving about half of their drinking water supply from the Indian Ocean- independent of rainfall.

"This is essential for the long term because of the diminishing supplies from our dams and the need to further protect the shallow groundwater aquifers beneath Perth."

The Minister said more than 300 workers were now on-site each day working on stage two and it was expected that within the next six weeks these numbers would increase to approximately 500, as the fast-tracked, $450million second stage construction reached its peak.

When stage two is complete, the SSDP will produce 100 billion litres of water for the Integrated Water Supply Scheme (IWSS) per year. The IWSS supplies drinking water to Perth, Mandurah, the Goldfields and towns along the way to Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Mining company MMG Century has been fined $40,000 for causing environmental harm following a zinc slurry spill from the Lawn Hill to Karumba pipeline in October 2009.

The Mount Isa Magistrates court also ordered the company to pay investigation costs of $5,000.00 and donate $40,000 to an environmentally relevant project.

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP)Acting Assistant Director-General Anne Lenz said the company pleaded guilty to one charge of unlawfully causing material environmental harm under the Environmental Protection Act 1994.

“The offence relates to an uncontrolled release of 750 cubic metres of slurry over 1.5 hectares of flat grassland in north west Queensland,” Ms Lenz said.

“The zinc slurry was released following a pipeline rupture, resulting in the contamination of approximately 25,000 cubic metres of soil.

“The company immediately erected fencing following the discharge to protect grazing cattle and has spent almost $10 million on incident response and remediation, including replacing contaminated soil with clean fill.

The Western Australian Government has announced the opening of the 31 kilometre Gascoyne Irrigation Pipeline Project, paving the way for the expansion of one of the state’s major horticultural production areas.

“This project represents water security for fruit and vegetable producers in the Carnarvon area - without it, any expansion of the Gascoyne food bowl would not be possible,” State Minister for Agriculture and Food Terry Redman said.

Water Minister Bill Marmion praised the involvement of the local community in supporting the project, in particular the Gascoyne Water Cooperative (GWC).

“The new high density polyethylene pipeline will be a more efficient irrigation system, using water where it’s needed and without waste,” Mr Marmion said.

Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls said that with the pipeline’s completion, the next step was further flood mitigation work and expansion of the Gascoyne food bowl, an initiative funded by the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program.

 The Western Australian Government has announced the commencement of the installation of the first panels at Australia’s largest solar photovoltaic power project.

The Greenough River Solar Farm is a 10-megawatt facility 50km south of Geraldton, with construction of the above ground electrical works starting four months ago to support the 150,000 solar panels across an area of 80 hectares.

 The plant, which has been received $20 million in state funding, is expected to open in late July.

“No other jurisdiction in Australia has done what we are doing here in the Mid-West region of Western Australia, and this development clearly illustrates that, once again, we are setting the standard for the rest of the nation,” State Energy Minister Peter Collier said.

“The Greenough River Solar project will generate enough electricity for 3,000 average homes while displacing 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas each year, which is the equivalent of taking 4,000 vehicles off the road. 

“There is an appetite for solar energy and an expectation that governments and electricity generators like Verve Energy will build solar farms and other renewable energy projects. I look forward to returning here in a few months to open this magnificent development.”