Thursday, December 6, 2012

Bid to cut green tape bogs down in detail


Bid to cut green tape bogs down in detail:

Illustration: Rocco Fazzari
THE business lobby's big victory in eradicating ''green tape'' has collapsed as the Gillard government shelves controversial plans to hand over environmental decision-making to the states.

As green groups geared up for a big summer protest campaign against the move, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, will tell business leaders on Thursday that negotiations to strike handover deals with each of the states had hit legal complications and state processes that failed federal environmental standards.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/govt-retreats-from-environment-plan/story-e6frf7kf-1226531076237
Is reporting

Govt retreats from environment plan

 But Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Anderson said it was important for governments to follow through on commitments to streamline green and red tape.

Business wanted a single-track environmental approval process and was unconcerned about which level of government provided it, as long as it ended duplication, he said.

Environment Minister Tony Burke last week said he shared concerns about recent environmental decisions made by some state governments.

But in terms of the fundamentals of the COAG process, the position of environmental groups differed to the federal government, he said.

 PLEASE NOTE HANDS OFF COUNTRY IS EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES AND ONLY ONE POST IS SHOWING UP AT ONE TIME. 

TO READ MORE, CLICK ON TO OLDER POSTS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST. WE ARE WORKING ON THE ISSUE. Red

9 comments:

  1. Haha bloody brilliant!
    Barnett in charge of environment we would be back to mining the Pilbara with nukes.

    ReplyDelete
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  3. For the Kimberley it could be a sign of things to come.

    Labor MLA for Pilbara Tom Stephens said Mr Grylls should resign.

    AN ADMISSION OF FAILURE.

    Pilbara a basket case: Grylls

    Mr Grylls, the Regional Development Minister who hopes to become the member for Pilbara at the March 9 State election after switching seats from Central Wheatbelt, told a meeting of local government representatives and senior public servants yesterday that the region’s residents were being reduced to tears by high rents and inadequate services

    “It wasn’t planned and then the community has had to put up with what they’ve got and struggle with it,” Mr Grylls said.

    “I’ve been in politics for 12 years. I’ve had more people cry in meetings with me in the Pilbara in the past 12 months than I’ve ever had in my full political career. And they’re crying because of the failure of government.

    “They’re crying because having rents of $2000 a week when you’re a small business owner means you’re probably going to lose your business because you can’t afford employees

    Labor MLA for Pilbara Tom Stephens, who will retire at the election, said the speech was an admission of failure and instead of contesting the seat Mr Grylls should resign.

    “He’s been in the driving seat for four-plus years, with a policy commitment to fix it,” Mr Stephens said.

    “He’s blaming everyone for their failures, but he’s a senior Government minister with direct responsibility for land release and regional development.

    “He’s become part of the problem, not part of the solution.”
    Mr Grylls’ Labor opponent, Port Hedland mayor Kelly Howlett, could not be reached for comment

    ...

    SAVE THE KIMBERLEY FROM THESE SHORT SIGHTED IDIOTS.

    ReplyDelete
  4. All these are from todays Australian.

    Cost risks for LNG producers as rivals ramp up


    CHEVRON'S revelation yesterday of a $9 billion cost blowout on its Gorgon natural gas venture off the coast of Western Australia confirms the warning of other resources companies about the rising cost of doing business in Australia.

    It comes as resource giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have also been expressing concern about costs in Australia, with BHP in particular taking a much more critical view of its plans here

    US energy chief frustrated with our taxes, costs


    IT takes a lot to rile Chevron Australia boss Roy Krzywosinski, an amiable American who has steered clear of controversy since he landed in Perth in 2008 to build two massive liquefied natural gas projects now worth a combined $80 billion.

    But when he fronted the In The Zone conference at the University of Western Australia two weeks ago, it was apparent Krzywosinski's patience with Australia as a place to do business was running out.

    Gas exports face threat from US


    AS Chevron was trying to gently break the news of a $9 billion cost blowout at its Gorgon liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia, the US Department of Energy was releasing a new report that challenges the business case being pursued not just by Chevron but all the companies behind Australia's $200bn LNG investment boom.

    The Department of Energy's release of the study from NERA Economic Consulting, titled Macroeconomic Impacts of LNG Exports from the United States, appears to offer overwhelming support for the country to begin exporting LNG

    Chevron's $9bn Gorgon blowout sounds alarm


    CHEVRON could be forced to deliver more bad news about its Gorgon gas project on top of yesterday's announcement that costs at the company's massive liquefied natural gas venture in Western Australia have blown out by $9 billion to $52bn thanks to a soaring wages bill, logistics problems and bad weather.

    The well-flagged cost overruns come amid growing warnings from business leaders in the local energy sector that Australia is becoming very uncompetitive at a time when competition in the world's gas supply is increasing

    ...........

    SO WHERE DID ALL THAT BULLDUST ABOUT GREENS DENYING ABORIGINALS THEIR RIGHTS TO SELF DETERMINATION GO?

    THE GREENS WERE STANDING IN THE WAY OF WHAT?

    ReplyDelete
  5. http://www.smh.com.au/business/billions-in-cost-blowouts-wreak-havoc-with-export-gas-projects-20121206-2ay8l.html

    Billions in cost blowouts wreak havoc with export gas projects

    MORE than $25 billion in cost blowouts have been recorded across Australia's fleet of export gas projects, with Chevron's Gorgon project now officially the biggest overspender of the lot.

    The $9 billion blowout at Gorgon, which was confirmed on Thursday, follows cost overruns at projects run by Woodside, BG, Santos and ExxonMobil, and means the tally of excess costs now stands above the amount required to build an entire LNG plant.

    Chevron's blowout - from $43 billion to $52 billion - was long expected and was blamed on a familiar set of challenges: the cost of Australian labour, local productivity rates and the strength of the dollar.

    Weather delays and logistical challenges were also cited.

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    First gas from the project is expected in early 2015, and with only 55 per cent of the project complete, there appears to be potential for more schedule and cost blowouts before gas is delivered. Part of the challenge with Gorgon relates to the decision to build the three processing ''trains'' on the environmentally sensitive Barrow Island, off the West Australian coast.

    The island is an important habitat for numerous species including a type of turtle that uses the beaches for nesting.

    Currency fluctuations mean the $9 billion blowout is worth $US15 billion to those back at Chevron's head office in the US.

    ...the spate of cost overruns is threatening to turn away investors in future projects.

    The viability of Woodside's Browse and Greater Sunrise proposals is unclear, while Chevron's Wheatstone is only 7 per cent complete

    Citi analyst Mark Greenwood said the industry would shift its focus from building large greenfields projects to expanding existing assets or processing gas through floating platforms such as the one Shell is planning to use on the Prelude field.

    ''There are obviously cost pressures in Australia, particularly in remote locations in Western Australia where it's more acute, but I think we will see further LNG investment in Australia,'' he said.

    .......

    GOTTA LAUGH...THIS IS FOLLOWING PLUTO...CHEVRON ARE NOW DEPEDING ON OIL STAYING HIGH TO SAVE THEIR ASS.

    AND GUESS WHAT? THE US IS FRACCING SO MUCH OIL THEY ARE STARTING TO EXPORT IT - AS WELL AS LNG.

    ReplyDelete
  6. BARNETT OUT OF STEP - EVEN ON SMOKEN WEED.

    Washington has become the first US state to legalise the recreational use of marijuana.

    The new law makes it legal for people over 21 years of age to possess and use up to 28 grams of the drug.

    A number of US states have already legalised pot for medicinal purposes, but Washington is the first allowing it purely for fun.

    Within a year it will be legally sold and taxed at licensed shops.

    Colorado residents approved a similar law last month, on the same day President Barack Obama was re-elected.

    That state's pot lovers will have to wait until January 5 to light up with impunity

    ReplyDelete
  7. AND THE GENOCIDE MACHINE CHURNS EVER ON AND ON.....AND THE HEADSTONES KEEP GOING UP....AND THOSE RESPONSIBLE BLAME THE GREENS!

    Figures expose soaring rate of Aboriginal women in prison

    THE number of female prisoners has increased at 21 times the rate of male prisoners over the past 12 months according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

    They show the increase is due to the soaring rate of Aboriginal women in custody.

    The report, Prisoners in Australia, shows the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander female prisoners rose by 20 per cent from June 30, 2011, compared with a rise of 3 per cent for non-Aboriginal women.

    Prison policy expert Eileen Baldry, of the University of NSW, said the increase should be cause for alarm.

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    ''Over the last 15 years, the rate of Aboriginal women in prison has soared,'' she said.

    ''That raises some interesting questions. Are Aboriginal women innately more criminal than non-Aboriginal women? No, they are not.''

    She said Aboriginal women often lacked the social support afforded to the general population, while being at higher risk of domestic violence, mental or cognitive impairments, homelessness and poverty.

    Dr Baldry said the rates of incarceration had increased despite warnings from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice that improved support mechanisms were preferable to incarceration.

    ''It has continued despite warnings that there should be other ways to deal with this, largely through providing support for these women,'' she said.

    The statistics show the number of women in prison has increased by 48 per cent over the past decade while the number of male prisoners has risen by 29 per cent over the same period.

    Drug-related crime was the most common reason for women ending up in jail, accounting for 17 per cent of cases, followed by assault, which accounted for 14 per cent.

    Most prisoners had done time previously, with 55 per cent having served a sentence in an adult prison prior to their current spell inside.

    About 80 per cent of prisoners were Australian-born with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people making up just over a quarter of the prison population.

    .............

    TAKE A LOOK AT HISTORY,HOW HAVE THE "STUCK UP POMS" MADE THEIR MONEY?
    FIRST THEY STOLE ALL THEIR OWN PEOPLES COUNTRY.
    THEN THE COUNTRY OF THE PEOPLES WHO LIVED AROUND THEM - THE "TERRIBLE BEAUTY" OF IRELAND.
    HAVING PERFECTED THAT STYLE OFF THEY WENT ACROSS THE SEAS AND STOLE EVERYONE ELSES.
    HERE WE ARE IN TODAYS AUSTRALIA - NO CHANGE.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A DAY after Chevron was trying to calm investors about a $US15 billion ($A14.32 billion) blowout at the Gorgon LNG project, a report prepared for the US Department of Energy has given a ringing endorsement to LNG exports from the US.

    .......

    NEW Standard Energy has spudded its Gibb Maitland-1 well, and started on the second in its phase one exploration program on the Goldwyer Project in the Canning Basin.

    ....

    Dec 6 (LNGJ) - East Asian and European LNG price indicators narrowed to their smallest differential in 2012 of $3.10. That's as the value of an LNG cargo in East Asia was seen at $14.35 per million British thermal units compared with $11.25 per MMBtu in Europe

    ....

    Petronas Carigali Canada Ltd. and Progress Energy Resources Corp., Calgary, owners of what they have now named Pacific Northwest LNG, said Dec. 4 they have moved the project to pre-FEED following a successful feasibility study

    ....

    Wood Mackenzie Ltd. calculates oil and gas companies will spend $28 billion in the South Texas Eagle Ford play during 2013.

    Callan McMahon, WoodMac upstream analyst, said the anticipated Eagle Ford growth will concentrated on counties having crude oil and condensate exposure.

    ....

    The Apache Canada cache of world-renowned plays has publicly welcomed a new addition to the family – the Liard Basin.

    Situated about 150 kilometers northwest of Fort Nelson, the Liard Basin straddles the borders of the Northwest Territories and Yukon and British Columbia, where Apache has 100 percent working interest in 430,000 acres.

    Apache’s early results from Liard are described as “the most prolific shale gas resource test in the world,” with net estimated gas sales expected to hit 48 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas (8 billion barrels of oil equivalent) based on recent drilling, test results and well-control points.

    ...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Planet Earth - visible from just about anywhere.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-07/the-earth-at-night/4414684

    A video released by NASA shows the earth lit up at night by natural and man-made sources.

    The video is formed from a composite image constructed using cloud-free night images from new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite.

    The satellite uses a special sensor designed to view the Earth at night, which is sensitive enough to detect light from a single ship at sea.

    While man-made light sources are responsible for much of the glow, natural lights, including bushfires across Western Australia are clearly visible in the video.

    ReplyDelete