The Firestick

Australia as Asia’s Clean Energy Service Provider

Dhugal Fletcher — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 07:55:33 +0000

Australia really does have the capacity to generate far more solar power than we need, so why not make use of that awesome oversupply to this sunburned country?

Powering the world…

Having established the viability and usefulness of HVDC cable links to transmit power of very long distances, there is another opportunity for Australia. Connecting firstly to Indonesia and then to other South East Asian countries to provide clean energy generated in the north of Western Australia and Queensland.

We could move from supplying finite raw materials to sustainable raw energy.

Pan Asia Renewable power analysis [1]

If that sounds like a wild fantasy, then consider that the idea has already been discussed between Australian and Indonesian universities and politicians[2] and papers have been produced analyzing the viability of such a project.[3] These papers explore the problems of ocean depth between the countries[4], the expected power loss and the use of hydro stored energy to provide consistent power 24 hours a day. One goes into more depth on establishing a pan-Asia power network that would connect Australia to Northern China and Mongolia, with spurs to other countries.[5]

Pan Asia Network Connections [6]

100% Renewable Energy Future for Australia

Dhugal Fletcher — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 07:45:20 +0000

There have been three major studies undertaken into the feasibility of a 100% renewable electricity future for Australia. All three confirm it is possible, but political willpower is still lacking as the fossil fuel industry lobby maintains a grip on government policy. The three studies were undertaken by a combination of universities and private industry that show a clear pathway for Australia to place itself at the forefront of global change.

Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan: University of Melbourne – Melbourne Energy Institute (previously Energy Research Institute) and Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) – Zero Carbon Australia Project. Simulation modeling of 100% renewable energy: University of New South Wales – Centre for Energy and Environment Markets (CEEM) and Institute of Environmental Studies (IES) 100 percent renewables study: Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO)

The AEMO study shows we could make the transition in 17 years, given significant attention and national focus.[1] The other studies propose faster and slower progression rates and demonstrate that the cost to consumers would not change greatly from current costs – thus escaping the external price rises on fossil fuels. Even if not complete after 17 years, getting past the 90% mark should be enough to escape

Renewable Energy in Australia 2013

Dhugal Fletcher — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 03:20:39 +0000

Hydro Power

The best known is the Snowy Mountain Hydroelectric scheme that has been operating for decades. It has since been joined by further large hydro schemes in Tasmania and smaller ones in other states such that there are now over 100 hydroelectric plants in operation.[1]

Wind Power

By far the strongest growing source of power there are about 10 wind farms that generate over 100 megawatts of electricity, with many more of all sizes under construction.[2] Current estimates are that total wind power is now over 7,700 GWh per year.

Solar Power

Sunwiz maintain a list of all solar installations over 40kW which is available here. This shows there are many commercial solar installations both completed and underway and they keep getting larger with multiple 1 Megawatt power plants in existence in 2013, including Uterne deployed by community groups near Alice Springs with the assistance of the Northern Territory Power and Water Authority (PAWA). The largest is the Greenough River power station near Geraldton in Western Australia that was commissioned in 2012 and generates 10 megawatts of electricity.

Tidal Power

PowerWater (The Northern Territory grid operator) has also been heavily involved in trial projects to deploy a tidal

Business Needs Society

Dhugal Fletcher — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 07:48:31 +0000

Business is important, but not more important than the quality of life of the bulk of the population. Corporations must work within the structure government imposes to ensure a regulated market working for the people’s benefit is the result. A free market is a utopian myth that exists only in the imagination of economists. The term ‘free market’ has been twisted in the last few decades to carry only the meaning ‘free from government regulation’. It is then further warped by the hypocrisy caused by greedy rich people who maintain that government interference distorts markets, yet actively pursue corporate welfare programs. They are against government interference with their interests, but support receiving taxpayer money without providing benefit in return. This is the culture of greed that must be struck down.

What is required after this change in definition of a corporation is a balancing force on the market to ensure we gain the benefits of innovation and competition without the stagnation of corporate monopolies. The incredible deregulation of the US market since 1980 has shown clearly that this approach only achieves a concentration of wealth in the hands of the few; it guarantees monopolies are the result. This can be

Society Needs Business

Dhugal Fletcher — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 07:47:06 +0000

Every society needs a well-functioning business community from the smallest sole trader to the largest multinational corporation. All levels of business have something to offer society as a whole, but they can only operate in society’s interests if given the right guidelines to work within. The focus must be on entrepreneurial startups and small or medium businesses that account for the majority of job creation and sustainability.[1] They also account for the majority of strong business innovation.[2] Any government that claims to support business, but fails to direct the majority of resources to this sector, is fundamentally failing to achieve their goals.[3]

This isn’t to say that corporations have been an entirely destructive force on society. They have also served to provide the impetus behind bringing the global population together in trading empires. They have funded the spread of internet access globally that has helped the new era of global revolts endlessly. They have broken down national walls and made it possible for an individual to run a multinational business – look at the sellers on eBay, Etsy, Amazon and a million other business sites if you think that is an exaggeration. They have produced a global monetary system that

Sustainable Government

Dhugal Fletcher — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 07:45:30 +0000

The government exists as the representative of ALL the people they rule.

Corporations exist as a representative of a specific active business interest. Unions exist as the representative of a specific active labour group interest. Communities exist as a group of people who share a culture of common goals. Eg, religious, sporting, business, social, craft, lifestyle, etc

In order to have a balanced society that operates overall for everyone’s benefit, then the government must act to balance the interests of these three kinds of groups. To provide and preserve that framework of mutual benefit and balance, somebody must act as the referee in disputes. It is essential that the referee is both beyond reproach and does not act purely in the interests of any one of those entities. That referee is the legal system, which is already kept separate from the operation of government under the doctrine of the separation of powers. This doctrine could be strengthened to change the way judges are selected from the current system of political appointment.

Here are some principles to guide the interaction of these groups and the roles the play. This should inform all legislative decisions

The People Come First

If there

Healthcare System is a Government Responsibility

Dhugal Fletcher — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 10:30:27 +0000

Whilst this is not an issue directly connected to the primary aims of addressing climate change in a world of neoliberal governments, this does bear a strong mention. The health of a nation contributes directly to its overall prosperity, so providing a freely accessible system to all citizens is in the best interests of any country.[1] The Medicare system in Australia has been under attack from the neoliberal federal and state conservative governments since 1996. This has taken many forms, but the most insidious is the redirection of government money to pay the private health insurance industry to do work better performed by the government.[2]

The primary reason given for the introduction of this system was to reduce the load on public hospitals by redistributing patients to the private system. This has proven to be a completely unsubstantiated misleading of the population as this reduction has never occurred. What it actually provided was taxpayer funding for wealthier members of society to jump the queue to receive surgery earlier than funding of the public system would provide.[3] This now amounts to over $5 billion a year in welfare for the rich who simply don’t need it. Even factoring in the

Financial Transactions Tax

Dhugal Fletcher — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 08:00:46 +0000

All organizations engaging in financial transactions that exceed a set amount per annum should attract a tax on EVERY transaction (including the ones below the threshold). This kind of tax has already been established in multiple European countries and there is a group of European Union countries attempting to have it implemented across Europe. The aim there is to force financial institutions to repay the taxpayer’s bailout money they received as well as provide a solid contribution to government funding generally.[1] This is meeting a lot of resistance from the financial industry of course and the start date of the Europe wide program has been delayed.[2]

This small businesses and individuals are will never need to pay this tax. This tax is aimed at:

Financial organizations that use high frequency trading and other large scale capital movements to generate profits on the international market. This tax is payable by any organization moving large amounts of money around for any purpose. Foreign investors of any kind that seek to take money out of Australia. This tax would be payable by ANY organization moving money into or out of Australia for any reason.

Punishments for attempting to avoid this tax should follow

Governing the Finance Industry

Dhugal Fletcher — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 08:00:50 +0000

The actions of the banking and finance industry in particular have shown a reckless abandon with the world’s finances that is likely to cause an immense global crash in the next few years. The bailout of the US mega banks in 2008 resulted in an even greater conglomeration of financial institutions into fewer, larger bodies capable of inflicting permanent damage on the global economy. This behavior must be stopped and the financial industry requires special attention as a result.[1] They have proven that they simply cannot be trusted with self-regulation, behaving like spoiled schoolkids, and now they must be brought to account.

In order to drive the right behaviours without losing the benefits of a global financial system, governments worldwide must adopt new, stringent regulations on all financial institutions. Australia can be a leader in these provisions to show the world how to strike a far more intelligent balance between the desires of business & finance and those of the people and the environment.

The Creation of Money Without Debt

The government needs to return the power to create money to a government controlled entity that is fully audited, transparent and subject to public scrutiny on all its operations. The

Disconnection and Apathy

Dhugal Fletcher — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 22:04:31 +0000

Australians don’t care much for politicians or governments, which seems strange when you look at the incredibly regulated and government controlled society we inhabit. The level of apathy in the average voter is well documented, has been the status quo for decades and no significant change is apparent today.[1] There have been many recommendations to put more into the education system on the topic, to create more civic minded and active citizens; but actions are hard to find.[2] There is a new generation of young adults who are far more ecologically minded and focused on the unsustainable world they are living in. However, they are being more than balanced by the huge baby boomer population,[3] who have failed to provide for the future generations; instead leaving a massive financial debt for their retirement years and even larger environmental debt with climate change.[4]

This apathy and disconnection with politics has meant the majority of Australians do not understand the political system and their only engagement with it is at election times. This means there is no great pressure on politicians to do anything more than appear in public and on the media stating the party slogans repeatedly. Until the people