Green Car Innovation Fund 

The Green Car Innovation Fund will direct $1.3 billion in tax payer dollars, and is relevant not only to manufacturers, but also car buyers both in the community and across business including commercial fleet operators. Customers must be broadly consulted as a part of achieving the best outcome for this expenditure. Further, Universities and other parties interested in research and development in Western Australia will also be disadvantaged by this arrangements. 

Originally, consultation sessions were scheduled to the first week of February in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, but with no consultations advertised for Perth. WA SEA raised the matter up with AusIndustry arranged for a consultation session in Perth. the following week.

The framework paper is on-line at www.ausindustry.gov.au - and is what will be covered in the consultation sessions. 

Green Car Innovation Fund  WA SEA Submission 476.08 Kb 

WA SEA Renewable Energy Target (RET)

The RET workshop held at the WA SEA office on Wednesday 4 February was a great success with over 20 members attending to put forward recommendations which will be used in WA SEA's submission to the Federal Government. Thank you to all who attended. 

WA SEA submissions:

Comments on the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill 2008 exposure draft legislation  Submission here 163.66 Kb

Comments on the treatment of electricity-intensive, trade-exposed industries under the expanded national Renewable Energy Target scheme  Submission here 156.61 Kb

Renewable energy target scheme design submission  July Submission 658.66 Kb

Submission to the Garnaut Climate Change Review:  April Submission 436.75 Kb

Submission to the Garnaut Climate Change Review:  January submission 127.76 Kb

Concluding remarks:

The challenge of climate change must be the catalyst for changing the way we think about and plan infrastructure, changing the way we use energy and in so doing, future proofing our economy.

The future of energy in Australia and for the globe is an array of sustainable energy solutions incorporating low or zero emissions energy generation in whatever form that ultimately proves most economically competitive. And Australia must, as a commitment to nation-building, plan to deliver through our exports the most greenhouse friendly source of resources in the world.

Any measures must recognise that 2020 is not an end point, but a point on the journey to higher levels of emissions cuts, to greater investment in renewable energy and other low emissions technologies, and infrastructure investment and planning, including development of utility corridors, must take this into consideration.

Sustainability must logically lead to outcomes that are also anti-inflationary. Decisions taken in our development of emissions free energy in Australia must be forward-looking and nation-building, developing energy use practices and renewable energy sources that that result in long term energy savings and reduce inflationary pressures from rising energy prices that would otherwise impact on the Consumer Price Index.

Market competition is important in the long term, but in the short term new technologies will need support to make it to the commercial phase - the urgency of dealing with climate change is that these cannot be left to natural market processes to grow to that point, but that significant measures must be in place to ensure that the potential of new technologies is reached as fast as possible.
The Federal and State Governments must ensure that the unique opportunity arising in Labor Governments across Australia in 2008 is not wasted, and that collaborative efforts of all Australian Governments are generated and lead to real changes in the Australian economy - changes that can create a sustainable future for all Australians.