Further support for Biodiesel amendment

In a show of support for Senator Lyn Allison's proposed amendment to the fule tax bill before the Australian parliament, the Coalition Senator Barnaby Joyce says he will cross the floor and support the Democrats amendment to provide greater tax rebates for farmers who purchase biodiesel. This underscores the sense of the Australian Democrats amendments and their general position on supporting environmentally and economically sensible energy policy (as discussed in an earlier post). Unfortunatly, even the defection of a government Senator may be to no avail (and perhaps hints at grandstanding) given that the opposition Labour party intend to support the Government on this bill; simply underscoring the fact that there is no choice between major parties on the majority of issues.

Technorati Tags: Australian politics, Australian Democrats, alternative fuel

Proposed Fuel Tax Bill limits uptake of alternative fuels

The federal government is introducing a fuel tax bill that has incentives on fuels the wrong way around. Instead of encouraging alternative fuels, such as bio-fuels, it is reducing the incentives for them. This will increase the cost of bio fuels and other alternative engery sources and have the duel negative effects of promoting the continued polution of our world through fossule fuel usage, and of harming the already struggling growth of the Australian alternative fuel industry. It is also a hit on Australian farmers who produce the raw products for our bio-fuels. As Senator Lyn Allison remarks:

"It makes no sense to cripple this renewable fuel industry at a time when Australia faces higher and higher oil imports. Australia is a backwater in promoting alternative fuels and this is either a very clumsy mistake or another sop to the big oil companies."

Bad all round it seems - unless you are an oil company.

Technorati Tags: australian politics, Australian Democrats, alternative fuel

Renewable power not nuclear power

Australia is in the grips of a revitalised Nuclear energy debate. If only we would spend as much political, intellectual and media energy on encouraging renewable energy sources we might make progress toward a sustainable future.

"The nuclear power debate in not only about economics but whether Australians want a nuclear power plant in their backyard or solar power on their roofs and wind turbines on the hills." Democrats Leader Senator Lyn Allison said today.

The Australian Democrats have long been supporters of renewable energies, and the idea of poluting the world with more nuclear waste that will be around for centuries to come, seems somehow obsene.

It is a pitty that most people might see that we are forced to accept nuclear power now as other carbon fuels run out. It's not too late to look to bio-fules, wind, solar and so on, as Lyn suggests.

Technorati Tags: politics, Australian Democrats, nuclear