Budget, Clean Tech, Carbon, EPBC

Federal Clean Technology Investment Program

In March 2013, Climate Change functions of the former Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (DCCEE) were transferred to the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIICCSRTE).

One outcome in the Portfolio Budget Statements is continued support of the 2013-14 Budget under the Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education portfolio  was the decision to retain funding for the Clean Technology Investment Program.

Funding for the program will actually increase from $167m in 2013/14 to $376m in 214/15.  This is one of few winners in the carbon reduction grant programs.

Carbon Price

The Federal Government has significantly reduced its forecasts for the carbon price.  The budget is based onarbon trading commencing in July 2015.  The forecasts for the carbon price have been reduced from $29 in 2015/16 to $12.10.

The fall in revenues from the carbon tax have led to reductions or deferrals:

·       $225.4m will be deferred and $32.3m redirected from the Biodiversity fund

·       $370m will be deferred from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA),

·       $58 million in funding for the Clean Technology Program moved to 2017-18.

·       Carbon capture and storage will be wound up and

·       Coal industry assistance programs have been shelved.

Note that the personal income tax cuts which were to begin in July 2015 to help with the flow on of costs of the carbon to consumers, have been deferred until carbon price estimates reach $25.40. The new estimate for 2015-16 is just $12.10.

ASBG also notes the Coalition has also flagged that its Direct Action Policy requiring $3.5 b is also under threat due to the short fall in tax revenue.  It appears that many of the government funded carbon based programs are in for a tough time, regardless of whoever wins the next election.

EPBC

One of the key strategic priorities for Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC) is: ensuring efficient and effective environmental regulation in cooperation with stakeholders, especially in relation to protecting matters of national environmental significance and improving the delivery of regulatory services under the EPBC Act.

It would appear that DSEWPaC will continue to administer the EPBC Act in 2013–14, rather than devolve all these responsibilities to State Governments.

DSEWPaC recently announced  proposed amendments to the EPBC Act undertake environmental assessment and approval for coal seam gas and large coal mining developments that are likely to have a significant impact on water resources.

The Budget provides $38 million to implement environmental law reforms: streamlining legislation and leading to better environmental outcomes and stakeholder cooperation.  This appears to follow on with the COAG agreements to reduce overlap between Federal and State Governments. 

A reminder for Ros Bates

Prompted by comments by Henry Palaszczuk on twitter, I thought it might be prudent to remind Ros Bates of the Charter of Ministerial Responsibilities that was kindly provided by Premier Newman.....

10 April 2012

The Honourable Ros Bates MP

Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts

Level 5, Executive Building

100 George Street

BRISBANE QLD 4000

Dear Minister

Ministerial Deliverables

Congratulations on your success in the electorate of Mudgeeraba and thank you for accepting my invitation to serve Queensland as the Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts.                       

Our electoral success was achieved with a strong cohesive CanDo team committed to real change, and your contribution to the team played a significant part.  Queenslanders have voted for change, and it is critical that we respect the trust bestowed on us by delivering on our commitments to grow a four pillar economy, lower the cost of living by cutting waste, deliver better infrastructure and better planning, revitalise front line services for families, restore accountability in Government and work towards our goal of achieving 4% unemployment in six years.

For this reason, I am writing to each Minister outlining my expectations of the priority tasks to be achieved to deliver on our election commitments.   You and your Department have a vital role to play in the reform program, as reflected in the following tasks for which I am requesting you to take responsibility. 

I expect that at all times Ministers will demonstrate to the public the capabilities and behaviours that will define us as the Government we undertook to be – united, energetic, disciplined and ethical. I refer you to the Queensland Cabinet Handbook, the Queensland Ministerial Handbook, the Queensland Executive Council Handbook, the Queensland Parliamentary Procedures Handbook and the Queensland Legislation Handbook.

First Term Tasks

·         Implement all LNP election policy commitments relevant to your portfolio.

·         Identify wasteful expenditure that could be redirected to front line services.

·         Ensure a consistent approach to IT systems and applications across Government to enable effective and efficient delivery of front line services.

·         Audit current IT systems, applications and support services being used by all State Government agencies including how they enable effective and efficient delivery of front line services, limitations, faults and risks; and implement a strategy to ensure continued use of endorsed systems and applications for the next three years without failure; and specifically: 

-          Ensure that further operating losses are not incurred relating to the Centre for Information Technology and Communication (CITEC);

-          Support the Minister for Health in resolving the Health payroll debacle.

-          Decide if migrating to managed services would be the best solution for 13 Queensland Government agencies currently receiving assistance through CITEC;

-          Review the benefits management plan for both Identity, Directory and Email Services (IDES) and ICTC outlining performance measures, agency migration plans, estimated migration costs, savings and benefits.

-          Define timelines for (IDES) to ensure there are no further delays in this program.

-          Liaise with the Health Minister in relation to the IeMR server contract signed before the 2012 caretaker period.

·         Deliver the LNP’s election policy Science and Innovation for Economic Success, in consultation with Ministerial colleagues.

·         Oversee policy development for the Digital Economy.

·         Provide direction and policy development regarding the Queensland Government Chief Information Officer (CIO). Your priority will be to bring to Cabinet your recommendations for future roles of the CIO, including consideration of the CIO’s role and activities across the whole of government.

·         Establish mechanisms for research and development coordination and planning and innovation across sectors involving government agencies, universities and industry, including international collaborations, to improve Queensland’s economic performance with more effective and efficient services.

·         Deliver the LNP’s election policy Arts for all Queenslanders.

·         Establish a Super Star Fund to promote our growing performing arts industry which organisations can apply for, to develop a major local production featuring an internationally known artist or artists.

·         Establish a Regional Arts Fund to extend the reach of current touring programs and to ensure that major State companies such as the Queensland Theatre Company, the Queensland Ballet, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Opera Queensland are supported in their goal of touring high quality arts experiences annually to regional Queensland.

·         Develop and implement a strategy for the growth of the arts sector in Queensland including a commercially oriented approach to artistic events and performances and facilities to have wide impact for Queensland communities.

·         Foster a ‘community of arts’ across Queensland involving artists and performers, for profit and not for profit organisations and community organisations and teaching institutions to contribute to the growth of the arts sector.

·         Implement the LNP’s election commitment for sustainable public sector growth.

·         Implement the LNP’s election commitment to reduce red tape.

·         Continue to establish effective working relationships with stakeholders and other interest groups relevant to your portfolio areas.

Existing government strategies and programs

In addition, there are existing strategies and programs implemented by previous governments which need to be examined.  Such strategies and programs need to be assessed to decide if and how they might be retained, either in their existing or an altered form.  You are to assess and make recommendations on the Smart State Strategy.    

Could you please consult with your Director-General to ensure these goals are understood by the Department and that systems are in place to monitor and report on progress towards their achievement, so that you are able to update Cabinet regularly. In this regard, the Department of Premier and Cabinet will be responsible for coordinating reports to Cabinet on progress, and will assist your Department with proposed reporting formats. 

I intend to review this charter and your efforts to implement it regularly.

Finally, I congratulate you again on your appointment and I look forward to working closely with you as a Ministerial colleague as we implement our policies and achieve the goal of providing a CanDo Government to get Queensland back on track.

Yours sincerely

CAMPBELL NEWMAN

PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND

and then a Supplementary letter......

16 April 2012

The Honourable Ros Bates MP

Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts

Level 5, Executive Building

100 George Street

BRISBANE QLD 4000

Dear Minister

Ministerial Deliverables

Further to my letter of 10 April 2012, I write to clarify certain issues regarding your role and responsibilities as a Minister in my LNP Government.

As you are aware, the dissolution of the former Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) in particular, and MoG changes in other Departments have presented some issues regarding the placement and role of government scientific officers.

It is my intention that scientists from DERM and certain other Departments, and their functions, should be transferred to your Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, and that the expertise and services of these scientists should be made available to other Ministers and Departments to perform specific research, projects and tasks.

Therefore, I am tasking you with establishing and maintaining a new system to provide other Ministers and Departments with appropriate access via your Department to scientific assistance to meet their various requirements.

It is my further intention that you take over responsibility for the management and administration of CorpTech, Queensland Shared Services (QSS), and Smart Services Queensland (SSQ) from the Department of Housing and Public Works as part of your Department and portfolio responsibilities.

Yours sincerely

CAMPBELL NEWMAN

PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND

cc: Hon Andrew Powell MP, Hon Andrew Cripps MP, Hon Bruce Flegg MP

Toilet 2.0 - the next Generation

In recent years we have seen a transition from analogue radio and television to digital services.

Smarter telephone technologies including video and net based applications are complementing the traditional voice down a copper wire.

Automotive companies are starting to roll out electric vehicles to replace internal combustion engine technologies.

These processes are transitional.

Prototypes were developed.  They begin as pilot projects, to prove the concept.

This is exactly what is proposed for developing Toilet 2.0 technologies.



The rationale for source segregation is to encourage nutrient recovery and reduce to costs and environmental impacts of the tradition method of aggregating urine and feaces with vast quantities of flush water, grey water and trade waste.

We need to identify pilot projects, to demonstrate the concepts of source separation of urine and feaces.

We need to develop the supporting processes, the institutional arrangements and encourage the social acceptance of the paradigm shift.

We need to develop trade waste policies and charges that incentivate and support source segregation.

Using traditional toilet technologies, there is a peak load of nitrogen, phosphorus that coincides with a hydraulic peak load, every morning and evening.

We need business models and a business case that demonstrates the value of source segregation.  There is a potential for delaying large capital investment for infrastructure upgrades by reducing the peak loads.  There are opportunities to reduce or avoid the operational costs at sewage treatment plants by reducing the need for energy intensive, biological and chemical processes for removing nitrogen and phosphorus.

The Toilet2.0 technologies provide an opportunity to lower the costs of delivery of sewage treatment services and increase the opportunities for resources recovery, energy efficiency, water efficiency and better environmental outcomes.

If Toilet2.0 technologies can be developed and demonstrated in my community, there is a huge market potential to meet the needs of 2.6 billion people who lack access to any form of toilet.

Toilet 2.0

Today I had the pleasure of talking about the exciting potential for the next generation of Toilet technologies, to my colleagues at work.  I work for a water and sewage treatment utility.


Our current Toilets are connected to a grid in a way that is analogous to a landline telephone connected to copper wires, telephone exchanges and data centres.  The toilets in my community, are dependent on a reliable water supply, sewer pumping stations and sewage treatment plants.  The floods in Brisbane in January 2011 and the subsequent earthquake in Christchurch and the Tsunami in Japan, demonstrated the vulnerability of these systems.

My ambition (which is shared by many others) is to see the development of the next generation of toilet which are "off the grid".


The imperative is providing services for 2.6 billion people in developing communities, who lack a sustainable place to poo, wee and/or change sanitary pads.


In the developed world, the cost of living pressures, the cost of water, electricity and the cost of running sewer networks and sewage treatment treatment plants are all on the radar.


The regulating authorities in the Qld State Government have capped the price one can charge for water and sewage treatment.  The price of raw water is under review.  All indications are, that Water Authorities are going to be under significant political pressure to reduce the cost of delivery of services.


Climate change, peak oil, peak phosphorus are all driving the need for change, to reduce the energy intensity of water and sewage treatment services and recover energy, nutrients and/or water from the process.


There arises a need for a next generation of toilets.  Yet the toilet is really just a user interface.  We need a whole new "back end" to the process.  


The first distinction between 1.0 series toilets and the 2.0 series is the separation of one's Number Ones from one's Number twos.

Our Number One's a choc full of nutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium....


One person's urine contains enough nutrients to grow enough cereal to feed one person.


In my community, our number twos are not nearly as interesting (or valuable).  We tend to eat too much processed food.  However, the poo from a Vegetarian could be highly valuable. The dry solids can be combusted, digested or under go pyrolysis to generate electricity, heat, light, gas or compost.


The process engineering aspects of Toilet 2.0 are really very straight forward.


The complexity lies in the social engineering.  Some of the greatest resistance to change comes from within the water/sewage treatment industry.  Today I had the opportunity to make a case for change.


I was hoping someone would say: "It cannot be done!".  I was hoping someone might say: " You're crazy!"


However, the questions and discussions were actually intelligent and provocative.  There maybe some who want to work on intermediate technologies.  Perhaps there is still a need for Toilet 1.1.   


My ambitions are still quite modest.  Toilet 2.0 is not a silver bullet.  Toilet 2.0 is the next generation of toilets.  It is time to get Toilet 2.0 out of the laboratories and into your lavatories.