Dr Mike Kelly, Parl. Sec. for Water. Credit: Australia Government

By Rich Bowden:

Parliamentary Secretary for Water, Dr Mike Kelly yesterday announced Federal Government funding for a water recycling project on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

The minister allocated $4.6 million for the Ridges at the Peregian Springs Climate Change Adaptive Urban Development project. The initiative comes as part of the Australian Government’s $254.8 million “National Water Security Plan for Cities and Towns” program, which itself comes under the Government’s “Water for the Future” program, according to a March 9 ministerial news release.

Speaking in Coolum, Queensland, Dr Kelly said the project, which involves the reuse and recycling of wastewater, would ensure water supply in the region.

“This project will reduce demand on current water supplies for the area and will ensure greater water security for this region in the future,” he said. “Recycling wastewater which is already in the system reduces the agricultural, industrial and commercial demand on potable supplies and improves water security for local communities.”

Dr Kelly said the Government’s support of the scheme emphasised its commitment to a sustainable water future.

“The capture, treatment and reuse of urban roof water for potable purposes, together with recycling wastewater is a good example of innovation to help secure our future water supplies,” he said. “This Government is committed to enabling future sustainable developments and will continue to work towards increasing our capacity to recycle and re-use water.”

The Peregian Springs Climate Change Adaptive Urban Development project has been developed by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and expects to see reductions in the consumption of potable water of up to 94 percent.

By Rich Bowden:

Indonesian Pres. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the UN. Credit: Agencia Brasil

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to discuss asylum seekers with his hosts as he arrives in Australia for a three-day visit.

The president, accompanied by his wife Mme Ani Yudhoyono, arrived in Canberra earlier this morning where the two were greeted by the Governor-General Quentin Bryce and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Mr Yudhoyono will address a joint sitting of Federal Parliament tomorrow before holding talks with Prime Minister Rudd and senior administration officials.

He is to be presented with an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia award from the governor-general.

One of the key topics expected to be discussed between the two presidents will be the problem of asylum seekers arriving in Australia via Indonesia. The increasing numbers of people seeking asylum in Australia has put pressure on the Government in an election year and the Australian PM will be keen to discuss an agreement with Mr Yudhoyono to reduce the numbers.

The two are expected to work out a deal for the remaining 240 Sri Lankan refugees who have been held in the Indonesian port of Merak after the Australian prime minister ordered it be diverted from its Australian destination. However the expected decision to impose heavier penalties on people smugglers will not stem the flow of asylum seekers say refugee advocates.

“Until the Australian government is willing to process and resettle refugees out of Indonesia, the boats will keep coming,” the Refugee Action Coalition’s Ian Rintoul told The Age newspaper. ”Heavier penalties and stiffer sentences will not stop people fleeing persecution.”

Meanwhile in a joint opinion piece written for Fairfax newspapers, both presidents have celebrated a “fast evolving” partnership between the two nations.

Our friendship is founded on shared values, common interests and a vision that the destinies of our nations are closely intertwined. We share a commitment to democracy, pluralism and to maximising opportunities for all our people.

Our friendship has been strengthened through mutual support in times of terrible loss and suffering for both our peoples. We have mourned together the murder of our nationals in terrorist attacks. And we have supported each other through the devastation wreaked by natural disasters – whether the earthquakes in Sumatra or bushfires in Victoria.

Referring to a friendship forged between the two nations, the article emphasized the continued support of the Indonesian people for Australia, citing the increase in students to the country.

The support will be welcomed by the Australian Government at a time when its international reputation is at a low ebb through a number of attacks on Indian students.

By Rich Bowden:

Deputy PM Julia Gillard. Credit: Adam Carr

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard has defended her Government’s policy on asylum seekers in the face of mounting election-year attacks from the federal Opposition.

Ms Gillard was speaking following Sunday’s interception of the latest boat containing 30 refugees, which had attempted to reach Australia’s shores.

The boat was intercepted at Adele Island, some 100 kilometres off the West Australian coast, reported the ABC.

“We have a tough border protection policy – a tough policy because that’s the right thing to do in Australia’s national interest,” the deputy prime minister said to reporters rejecting claims from the Opposition that Australia’s border protection policy was too soft.

“We process asylum seeker claims and we deal with the individuals involved properly.”

Gillard was responding to suggestions from the Opposition that its policy was failing.

“At this rate, of two boats arriving every week, we will see over 100 boats arrive in 2010 and more than 500 people,”  said the Opposition’s Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison on Sunday in response to news of the arrival.

Earlier West Australian Premier Colin Barnett had called the latest interception of asylum seekers “very close” to the state’s shores and also called on the Federal Government to toughen its stance on refugees arriving by boat.

“That is getting very close to the Australian mainland, which of course, apart from the people themselves, there is obviously quarantine issues and health issues that can arise if people actually get onto the mainland,” he said.

Gillard told reporters yesterday the increase in the number of conflicts in Asia was responsible for the added asylum seekers and said the capacity of Christmas Island was being expanded to “…meet anticipated needs.”

By Rich Bowden:

Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson has said the opening of a geothermal energy project in South Australia offered a “great opportunity” to develop renewable energy in Australia.

Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant, Iceland. Credit Gretar Ívarsson

Speaking on Friday at the opening of the Panax geothermal project near Penola on South Australia’s Limestone Coast, Ferguson said the site offered would “test the potential of the region in the development of the renewable  energy.

“The Panax project is a pioneer in the exploitation of hot sedimentary aquifers in Australia,” he said. “It will also test the potential of the Limestone Coast for geothermal development.”

” There is potentially a resource of up to 1500MW available in this region, which importantly, is located close to existing electricity grid connections,” he added.

The minister said preliminary testing by Geoscience Australia had confirmed the existence of vast geothermal resources in Australia, which could provide clean base-load electricity for the country’s energy needs.

“Preliminary analysis by Geoscience Australia suggests that extraction of one per cent of the energy from Australian geothermal sources could yield 190 million petajoules of energy.  This is 26,000 times our primary power usage of 2005.”

“Geothermal energy is particularly important because of its potential to supply base-load electricity to the Australian grid from a zero-carbon renewable source.  In doing so, it meets our objectives to increase energy security by diversifying energy sources, reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and to supply 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity by 2020 from renewable sources.”

Panax successfully applied for $7 million under Round 1 of the Australian Government’s $50 million Geothermal Drilling Program, said the ministerial press release.

27/01/2010 Contributing regional editor Alex Schlotzer interviews attendees of the Australia Day “Share the Spirit” festival held in Melbourne on Australia Day.

Radio New Zealand International Don Wiseman recently interviewed Damian Baker, co-founder of theangle.org, to discuss his recent photojournalist mission to the island of Bougainville, PNG, where he documented tensions over the re-opening of the contentious Panguna mine between the semi-autonomous Government, mine owners and the remnants of the Bougainville resistance.

Colonel Alex Dakamari, Mekamui defence force. Credit: Damian Baker.

By Rich Bowden:

Australia and New Zealand are two of the 18 countries targeted by international law enforcement agency INTERPOL in a global operation against the illegal trade in traditional medicines containing protected wildlife products.

Bengal Tiger. Credit: Ramakrishnan

The sting was carried out over the month of February and resulted in a series of arrests  and the seizure of more than EUR 10 million ($AUD 15 million) worth of illegal traditional medicines. According to an March 5 INTERPOL release, the operation — known as Operation Tram — was carried out with the assistance of national wildlife enforcement authorities, police, customs and specialized units from 18 countries across all five continents.

The team uncovered a large amount of traditional medicines containing, or purporting to contain, protected species such as the tiger, bear and rhinoceros.

David Higgins, Manager of the INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme said in a statement the close co-operation between the various agencies had resulted in the success of the operation.

“A primary goal of Operation Tram was to combat the illegal trade in endangered wildlife, which is a threat to our planet’s biodiversity and demonstrates the commitment of INTERPOL and its member countries in fighting this type of crime,” he said.

“This operation has again proved that while environmental criminals may cross borders and display high levels of organization, so too will the international law enforcement community in its efforts to apprehend those criminals.

“The success of this operation would not have been possible without the close co-operation and dedication of the police, customs, wildlife law enforcement agencies and specialized units in the 18 participating countries,” added Mr Higgins.

The WWF-UK’s wildlife trade advisor, Heather Sohl congratulated the efforts of the INTERPOL-led operation in a statement released by the NGO calling it a “blueprint for further actions.”

“It’s great to see 18 countries all working simultaneously to investigate and curtail the trade in traditional medicines containing threatened species,” she said. ” This can be a blueprint for future action on other areas of illicit wildlife trade too.”

Countries involved in Operation Tram were Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Georgia, India, Italy, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.

By Rich Bowden:

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare today tabled in Parliament the results of a three-year corruption investigation into PNG’s Finance Department , promising people would “shudder in awe” at the level of corruption exposed.

PNG PM Sir Michael Somare. Credit: U.S. PO Mark Logico.

The probe has uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent claims due to the laxness of Finance officials, according a report today by the Australian News Network.

The inquiry found hundreds of millions of dollars was paid out in fraudulent claims against the state because public officials didn’t do their jobs.

The report details a litany of procedural breaches and collusion by bureaucrats with lawyers and other parties to process fraudulent claims.

Sir Michael told Parliament his administration would refer the matter to the police fraud squad and would set up a special task force to look at ways to implement the inquiry’s 75 recommendations.

The tabling of the report follows on from last month’s finding from an inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that called into question the accountability and transparency of use of public money for all but five of 1000 Papua New Guinea government agencies.

PAC Chairman Timothy Bonga told the PNG Post-Courier newspaper his investigation found accountability from the Government agencies had “collapsed miserably.”

“The whole functional system of the (Forest) Authority has collapsed and the original finding of the Auditor General that 100 million kina ($A40 million) simply disappeared and the (Forest) Authority had no ability to audit or trace these funds,” he said.

“In total, we have made inquiry into 1000 agencies, each examined from 2003 to 2008. The findings have shown that the management and accountability by our public servants and the government has collapsed miserably”.

PNG MP Sam Basil was quoted by AAP as saying the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) finding showed PNG had become a “failed state”.

By Bill Hudson

Australian Energy Review

The Australian reports that AGL claims to have withheld $80 million in investment and halved its budget for expanding into wind generation due to falling Renewable Energy Certificate prices, with AAP and Bloomberg businessweek reporting that AGL have welcomed recent changes to the scheme announced by the Australian Government (27 February 2010)

Kakadu National Park Uranium Mine. Credit: Alberto OG/flickr

Reuters reports that AGL will proceed with its proposed Macarthur wind farm project in Victoria (1 March 2010)

The Age reports that there has been an eightfold increase in complaints to the Energy and Water Ombudsman over solar energy system installations in Victorial (27 February 2010)

The Sydney Morning Herald reports on research that suggests Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are plateauing (27 February 2010)

ABC reports that the Tasmanian Liberals have promised to help secure finance for the troubled Musselroe Wind farm project if they win government at this month’s election  (28 February 2010)

The Grafton Examiner reports that Sugar Cane farmers in Northern NSW are unhappy with cogeneration biofuel plants/ (1 March 2010)

Mineweb reports that the South Australian government has pledged over $6 million towards expanding the Olympic Dam uranium Mine (1 March 2010)

Ecogeneration reports that AGL has won the renewable energy supply contract for Melbourne Water (1 March 2010)

ABC reports that environmentalists are campaigning against a proposed wood-fired power station in Tasmania’s Huon Valley (1 March 2010)

Bloomberg business week and Mining Weekly reports that the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics have predicted growth in Australia’s LNG and oil sectors (1 March 2010)

Fairfax reports that the Australian Energy Resource assessment predicts a fall in oil reserves (1 March 2010)

AAP reports that Alcoa have signed a 20 year supply contract with Loy Yang Power (1 March 2010), ABC reports that environment groups have criticised the deal (2 March 2010)

Elemental Power and the Sydney Morning Herald reports that Macquarie Generation in NSW has been named Australia’s heaviest carbon emitter  (2 March 2010) Reuters fact box

International Business Times reportsAGL announcing new wind farm projects (2 March 2010)
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Bill Hudson
Australian Energy Review
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By Rich Bowden:

Green parties across Australia have offered support for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s planned multi-billion Commonwealth takeover of the country’s public hospitals, though have called for a universal dental scheme to be included.

Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, NSW. Credit: Bidgee

Greens Health Spokesperson Rachel Siewert promised that her party would be carefully “…scrutinising the detail of the Prime Minister’s health reform plan to ensure that the proposed changes result in greater funding for health services,” however called for the Prime Minister to commit to the Greens plan for a universal dental health care scheme as part of the PM’s  package.

“We are heartened by the Prime Minister’s statement today that ‘universal health care is in his DNA’”, said Ms Siewert in a news release.

“With that sentiment in mind, the first thing the PM should commit to is the Greens plan for a universal dental care scheme through Medicare.”

She added the Greens will be releasing their own health reform plan to take to the people in the next federal election.

Meanwhile the Tasmanian Greens — who face a state election on the 20th of March — have offered “in principle” support to the federal Government’s wide-ranging health reforms.

Tasmanian Greens Shadow Health spokesperson Cassy O’Connor MP said the Tasmanian hospital system had many shortfalls which needed to be addressed.

“As Tasmanians who present at our public hospitals know full well, the system now is under huge strain and far too many people are left languishing on waiting lists to the further detriment of their health,” Ms O’Connor said in a statement.

“The funding and management of our public hospital system is clearly beyond the capacity of the Tasmanian Government.   A model that is funded nationally through the proposed National Health Authority, and run locally, has the potential to ensure more Tasmanians receive the treatment they need, when and where they need it.”

She added the Greens would further study the proposals put forward by the prime minister and promised to work with the federal Government for the benefit of Tasmanians.

“The Greens believe that, with more funds available and more decentralised local control over funding that is attached to the patient via the case-mix model, there is significant capacity to deliver better health outcomes, and a more sustainable and efficient hospital system.”

“We will study the detail of the Prime Minister’s announcement very carefully, and we reserve the right to scrutinise its implementation to ensure that it does meet its stated aims.  We understand it is an enormously complex reform agenda and we won’t be reacting with knee-jerk condemnation in the same way Tony Abbot’s Liberals have.”

“The Tasmanian Greens are committed to working cooperatively towards achieving better health outcomes to Tasmanians,” Ms O’Connor said.