Archived News for Green Sector Professionals

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG)  meeting this week received a report from its Future Competition and Regulatory Reform Taskforce which has been consulting with peak business bodies and organisations including conservation groups which have an interest in environmental regulation reforms.

Ultraviolet radiation has caused a steep increase in deaths among marine animals and plants, according to an international team including scientists at the Oceans Institute of The University of Western Australia.

Queensland’s Ministerial Environmental Roundtable has met for a question and answer session with representatives from a range of interest groups including the Queensland Conservation Council, Sunshine Coast Environment Council, National Parks Association and the Environmental Defenders Office.

Environment Minister Tony Burke has announced funding 66 projects under the  Caring for our Country program.

The Western Australian Government has taken steps to prevent future coal mining in the Margaret River area by terminating all pending applications for coal exploration activities within a 230-square kilometre zone.

The WA Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore said the decision followed Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) advice which indicated coal mining in the area posed an unacceptable environmental risk.

Based on that advice, the State Government rejected the Vasse Coal proposal last February.

“The Government has now decided that the advice should also be applied to the whole of the coal mineralisation extending through the identified 230-square kilometre zone and applications for coal exploration or mining should not be supported,” Mr Moore said.

“This decision sends a signal to the industry - applications will not be accepted to explore for or mine coal in this area."

Under the Mining Act 1978, the Minister for Mines and Petroleum can terminate or refuse applications if the Minister is satisfied on reasonable grounds that it is in the public interest to do so. This provision will be invoked if explorers are unwilling to withdraw their coal applications.

"I would emphasise that this decision is based on unique and local circumstances existing only in the Capes region. It will provide some future certainty for local residents and landowners without adding unnecessary sovereign risk to the State’s $107billion resources sector,” Mr Moore said.

The Minister said any future applications for exploration or mining activities for commodities other than coal in the Capes region would be reviewed on their own merits and would be subject to the same rigorous assessments before any approval would be considered.

A study by CSIRO has found that the waves in the ocean could supply about 10 per cent of Australia’s electricity by 2050.

Two mine referrals in the Tarkine in Tasmania will undergo environmental assessment under national environment law.  

Members of Low Carbon Australia's Carbon Neutral Program have been praised for avoiding more than 1 million tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution.

The Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith has appointed six new members to the Western Coast Regional Coastal Board to develop a coastal action plan for the region and provide advice on coastal development and use.

The NSW government is currently reviewing Native Vegetation regulations and laws introduced  in 2003 and 2005 to end broad scale land clearing in the state.

The NSW government has cut 350 jobs from its Office of Environment and Heritage, and will close many programs in national parks, animal management and climate change research.

The South Australian Minister for Water and the River Murray Paul Caica has stated that South Australia is still suffering the consequences of decades of upstream over-allocation from the River Murray, exacerbated by the recent severe drought.

The Productivity Commission  has released a consultation paper outlining the Commision’s general approach to industry reviews that it will undertake under guidelines issued by the Government on 15 June 2012.

A new report released by the Climate Commission has found that Victoria is failing to capitalise on near ideal conditions for solar and wind energy.

A new framework to provide a faster, more flexible and transparent approach to assessing the impact of industrial chemicals on human health and the environment has been launched by the Federal Government.

The Inventory Multi-tiered Assessment and Prioritisation (IMAP) framework has been designed to accelerate the assessment of industrial chemicals..

It uses a staged approach to look at the impact of unassessed industrial chemicals listed on Australia’s national inventory, the Australian Inventory of Chemical Substances (AICS).

The  framework has been developed by the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS), the Australian Government regulator for industrial chemicals, in consultation with community, industry and government stakeholder groups.

The IMAP framework will be implemented in stages. Stage one which began on 1 July this year, will run over four years and see the assessment of about 3,000 chemicals on Australia’s national inventory that have been identified as priorities for early consideration.

They are chemicals for which NICNAS already holds information about their quantity or use in Australia, chemicals identified as a concern or for which regulatory action has been taken overseas, and chemicals reported in international studies analysing the blood in babies’ umbilical cords.

Stage one will also include an external review of the framework, which is expected to make recommendations on the most efficient and effective approach to assessing and prioritising the remainder of the chemicals on the national inventory.

Innovative individuals and projects across seven fields have an opportunity to secure cash prizes and national recognition as part of the Australian Innovation Challenge, an initiative of The Australian newspaper in association with Shell Australia.

The world’s largest full-service restaurant company has invested US$900,000 in research being conducted into seafood sustainability by the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS).

The Australian chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists has named Mount Gambier’s iconic Blue Lake has been named as one of Australia’s seven hydrogeological wonders.

Sea levels could rise significantly faster than previously thought, according to research conducted by the Australian National University, who’s researchers have used fossil corals to understand how warmer temperatures have impacted on polar ice sheets.

The New South Wales Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has approved an application for a one off discharge of waste water produced by the Metgasco coal seam gas operations into the Casino Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) facility.