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Thursday, 9 October 2014
Wednesday, 8 October 2014
Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption: Abbott Government extends it hunt for political scalps
When the Abbott Government set up the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption it obviously expected that the hearings would have a higher media profile than they did and elicit more response from Australian voters they have done thus far.
Indeed, it appears that having the former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on the witness list did not play well for either Prime Minister Abbott or his Attorney-General George Brandis.
While evidence such as this has caused either sheer disbelief or guffaws of laughter:
Victoria Assistant Commissioner Fontana giving evidence before the Royal Commission 18 September 2014
Apparently dissatisfied with the very expensive and politically disappointing results which it suspected would be coming down the line before the end of this year, on 7 October 2014 Senator Brandis announced he was extending this Royal Commission another twelve months until 31 December 2015 and also widening its terms of reference in an as yet unspecified manner.
This was despite the fact that under the existing terms of reference the Royal Commissioner stated a willingness to submit a final report this December and did not believe that extending the time available to this Commission would further fulfill the commission’s task.
Excerpts from the somewhat politically oriented letter to Attorney-General Senator the Hon George Brandis from Commissioner the Hon John Dyson Heydon AC QC, dated 2 October 2014:
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Abbott Government killing Australia's sustainable energy future
The Guardian, Australia's investment in renewable energy slumps 70% in one year, 3 October 2014:
Australia’s investment in renewable energy projects has slumped below that of Algeria, Thailand and Myanmar, new figures have shown, with the sector “paralysed” by the government’s review of the Renewable Energy Target.
Just $193m was invested in new large-scale clean energy projects in the third quarter of 2014, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Investment in the year to date is $238m.
This represents a massive 70% slump on 2013 investment and has resulted in Australia slipping from the world’s 11th largest investor in clean energy to 31st in 2014.
This ranking is below Algeria, Myanmar, Thailand and Uruguay. By comparison, Canada has invested $US3.1bn in large clean energy projects so far in 2014.
The slowdown in renewable energy investment is pinned squarely by Bloomberg on the government’s review of the RET, which mandates that 41,000 gigawatt hours of Australia’s energy comes from renewable sources by 2020.
A recent review of the RET by businessman Dick Warburton found that although it has created jobs and driven investment, it should either be suspended or shut down completely.
The government has yet to formally respond to the report, instead holding talks with Labor on a “compromise” position that may see the RET altered in some way without being scrapped entirely. Labor, the Greens and the Palmer United Party all oppose any change to the RET.
Kobad Bhavnagri, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, told Guardian Australia that the renewables sector is “in the doldrums.”
Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance
“The government’s position has caused this, it has had some pretty strong anti-renewables rhetoric, particularly anti-wind, and wants to close certain clean energy programs,” he said. “The review has been particularly protracted. The industry was fearful the recommendations would be extreme and they were. It has been shattering.
“I think the government has backed itself into a corner because the Warburton review lacks credibility. I don’t think it’s in Labor’s interest to agree to any changes to the target.”……..
"My comments get on the tellie - yours don't. You can't be heard!
YouTube may not be the tellie, however it records the Australian Education Minister Christopher Pyne for posterity just the same....
http://youtu.be/xt7CxXh5nQw
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