04 April, 2011

Sustainable Business Weekly QLD Edition [Biodiversity, Stradbroke, Water, Power, Gas]

The Society of Sustainability & Environmental Engineering (SSEE) Have a QnA forum scheduled for 24 May 2011 with a presentation on Electric Vehicles (EV’s), followed by a Panel discussion on roads, rail, rates, rides etc…

A subsequent QnA forum will consider the vulnerability and sustainability of our industrial food system.

ASBG are still negotiating the next round of Environmental Management Practitioner’s Workshops, Safety Management Workshops (including changes to Dangerous Goods labelling).

When the details become available, ASBG will help unpack & explain the implications of a Carbon Price for businesses.





Biodiversity Strategy

The Queensland Government is seeking feedback on Building Nature’s Resilience: A Draft Biodiversity Strategy for Queensland its plan for conserving biodiversity over the next 10 years.

The plan places nature's resilience at the centre of the state’s conservation efforts and attempts to recognise the critical role of all Queenslanders in delivering real change to biodiversity.

The strategy has been developed in draft to provide an opportunity for all interested parties to have their say about the future of Queensland’s natural environment.
While key stakeholders were engaged throughout its development, the opportunity now exists to further adapt the draft strategy to meet the needs of the community.
The main strategy document is accompanied by Protected Areas for the Future: Cornerstones for Terrestrial Biodiversity Conservation which provides a deeper look into how an expanded protected area system will be developed.

Feedback can be provided on the Get Involved website or by email to biodiversity@derm.qld.gov.au.

Comments can also be posted to: Feedback on Queensland’s draft biodiversity strategy, Biodiversity Integration Unit, Department of Environment and Resource Management, GPO Box 2454, Brisbane QLD 4001.
For further enquiries phone 13 74 68 (13QGOV).

Due to the recent natural disasters the consultation period has now been extended until 8 April 2011.




Stradbroke Island

ASBG member Sibelco Australia (formerly known as Unimin) has taken out full page ads in the Courier-Mail depicting Premier Anna Bligh and Honourable Kate Jones (minister for Environment & Resource Management) sitting on a sand dune that used to be a sand mine.

For better or for worse, the Queensland State Government has brought forward the timetable for the cessation of sand mining on Stradbroke Island. Whilst it might seem like a good idea to declare another National Park on Stradbroke Island, it should be noted that many of our National Parks are poorly managed & are home to feral fauna & noxious flora.

While there are many examples of mining companies who have not been good stewards of the land, there are also many examples of environmental management & rehabilitation by responsible mining companies. Sibelco encourage your feedback and invite you to use the 'Questions and Comments' link.




Can Do’s Water policy

The LNP’s Candidate for the Seat of Ashgrove in the (yet to be announced) Queensland State Election is now writing the State Opposition’s policies for them.
If elected in Ashgrove, Campbell Newman is committing the LNP to amalgamate the five bulk water (bodies) that were set up, save all the money in the administrative costs.

Can-Do Campbell wants to write off the non-performing assets, & believes Queenslanders should repay the debt for these water assets over a 40-year period, not a 20-year period




Poles & Wires push up Power Prices

A recent update paper from the Australian Government's climate change advisor, Professor Ross Garnaut, has confirmed that renewable energy is not the major culprit in electricity price rises and acknowledges its increasingly important role in distributed generation.

The notion that renewable energy sources such as solar power substantially drive up electricity prices is a bandwagon that some corners of the media have been happy to jump on and stay on, even while much has been published to bust that myth.

Professor Ross Garnaut has weighed in on the argument in his latest Climate Change Review Update, published last week.

The paper states recent electricity price increases have mainly been driven by increases in the costs of transmission and distribution; an issue that Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, warned of in March last year.




Coal Seam Gas

This week there was an escalation of tension between farmers and British Gas at Tara, west of Brisbane.

Environmental Campaigner – Drew Hutton was arrested by police for blockading British Gas workers, attempting to construct a pipeline.

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