Infrastructure
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Sydney transport: formidable task ahead for NSW Labor?
In NSW, Labor is favoured to end the Coalition’s 12 years in office at the forthcoming election. If it wins it faces a formidable task. Continue reading »
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Infrastructure policy ‘Pearl Harboured’
The Government’s response to the ‘independent’ review of Infrastructure Australia involves a surprise attack on public policy which should be rebuffed. Continue reading »
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Syria under the American whip: sanctions that kill
The western sanctions weapon is not new to Syria, but since 2019 it has become a lethal one, destroying entire Syrian sectors and killing its people. Continue reading »
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Australia needs much more solar and wind power, but where are the best sites? We mapped them all
Renewable energy’s share of Australia’s main electricity grid has more than doubled from 16% to 35% in five years, and the federal government wants this figure to reach 82% by 2030. Continue reading »
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Public transport system is one of Hong Kong’s wonders
Bloomberg recently reported that Hong Kong has just been ranked as having the best metropolitan public transit system in the world, ahead of Zurich, Stockholm, Singapore and Helsinki. The study on which the report was based surveyed 60 major cities worldwide. It was carried out by the Oliver Wyman Forum and the Institute of Transportation Continue reading »
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NBN write-down confirms its national importance and Coalition failure
The previous Coalition Government under the Minister for Communication Malcolm Turnbull promised: ’a cheaper, good quality NBN, faster delivered’. It failed on all counts. Continue reading »
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Australia’s frontier economy culture threatens opportunity and growth
John Menadue has written two insightful articles on the $530 billion infrastructure scandal. The documented account of waste and misallocation is deeply concerning not only on its own terms but also as the root cause of an even bigger problem in public sector resource allocation. It is a story of a missed opportunity and commitment Continue reading »
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The $530 billion junk infrastructure scandal – What the PM can do – Part 2 of 2
Sydney and Melbourne’s ‘big infrastructure build’ will soon prove Australia’s ‘big bust’. Our Prime Minister cannot aid and abet this madness. Continue reading »
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Exposed: Sydney, Melbourne’s $530 billion junk infrastructure scandal – Part 1 of 2
Sydney and Melbourne’s ‘big infrastructure build’ will soon prove Australia’s ‘big bust’. Our Prime Minister must not aid and abet this madness. Continue reading »
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Too late to avoid an electricity transition catastrophe?
About two years ago, I wrote an article for Pearls and Irritations (December 1, 2020) suggesting Australia was tracking to repeat and reap the mixed railway gauges folly of the Nineteenth Century in our handling of the transition from fossil fuel to renewable electricity generation. Continue reading »
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Nuclear Power: the right’s giant red herring
Politicians of the Right keep suggesting Australia should build nuclear power stations. Why? They are slow to build, very expensive and potentially risky, and we have far better alternatives. Their aim is to divide and to wedge. We should treat it as a giant red herring. Continue reading »
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Infrastructure Australia should be abolished
A review of Infrastructure Australia risks putting the cart in front of the horse. It should consider whether the organisation should exist. Continue reading »
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Avoiding a gas shortage is one thing, but what’s needed is action on prices
The Albanese government has accepted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s recommendation to “initiate the first step” to trigger the controversial Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism to avert a supply crisis in eastern Australia. Continue reading »
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Alan Pears: Climate action will drive disruptive change, but we can build on past experience…
Election May 2022 – a new beginning for climate and energy policy? Continue reading »
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Will Timor Sea oil and gas go begging?
The Attorney-General dropped the case against Bernard Collaery on July 7. Dreyfus’ announcement has greatly improved our relationship with Timor Leste and opened the door for smoother negotiations between Australian oil and gas companies and the Timorese government. That relationship is now oiling the wheels for further explorations in the Timor Sea but the wheels Continue reading »
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Restoring integrity to Commonwealth infrastructure spending
The new Parliament should take responsibility for dealing with pork barrelling – not pass the buck to an integrity commission. Continue reading »
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Don’t believe what you hear about fuel excise and road funding in the forthcoming election campaign
It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that road spending is way too high, priorities are wrong, and there is a roads empire which is out of control. Continue reading »
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Eraring’s 2025 exit and Mike Cannon-Brookes/Brookfield AGL takeover could reduce power bills
The closure of Eraring power station and AGL’s takeover bid are likely to reduce electricity prices for consumers as low-cost renewable energy and additional storage replace the retiring coal generators. Continue reading »
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Where there are tailings, no grass grows: Serbians protest against Rio Tinto
Australian mining giant Rio Tinto is at the centre of a new controversy — this time, over a lithium mine and processing plant in Serbia. Continue reading »
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Policy wreck: we’re being told two contradictory stories about NSW trains
Stories about Gladys Berejiklian’s private life or bureaucratic fights might sell papers, but they distract from grave problems in transport policy. Continue reading »
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Money and policy are the keys to elevate Australia into top broadband league
It seems Labor has bitten the bullet and decided that to have an overall better quality NBN, more money is needed to upgrade the fibre to the node to full fibre. Continue reading »
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The nuclear industry’s updated songsheet remains outdated
The campaign for nuclear power stations in Australia defies the unstoppable rise of renewables and should be rejected by governments and the electorate — it’s a technology whose time has passed. Continue reading »
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John Austen: Time to call time on Infrastructure Australia? It has failed
The latest Australian Infrastructure Plan avoids the key issue: Commonwealth (lack of) direction. It seems aimed at bureaucratic empire building and should herald the end of Infrastructure Australia. Continue reading »
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The China push for a cleaner and cooler planet
Not a day passes without our media damning China for some imagined infamy or other. So many stories, so many column inches, and nothing positive to be found. At the same time, our television screens are full of other images; real images of a disaster that is enveloping us all. Continue reading »
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Newcastle Port decision: overreach, misunderstanding or both?
The Federal Court’s rejection of the ACCCs case against Government-imposed penalties facing Newcastle Port seemed to misunderstand transport policy matters and give more weight to the Government’s latest excuses than to logic and observed actions. Continue reading »
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NSW rail policy: more than cooking the books
Media reports claimed changes to NSW railways artificially inflated State Budget results. Yet ‘cooked books’ are the least of the concerns. Continue reading »
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Australia’s infrastructure plans: why can’t we get it right? Thorough inquiries are needed.
Recent reports confirm severe problems with plans for transport infrastructure in at least Australia’s two biggest cities. The Commonwealth, as well as State Governments, is blameworthy. Continue reading »
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Radioactive trash – a tale of two Sydney suburbs
Australia is relatively clear of nuclear reprocessing waste problems. But the Sydney suburbs of Hunters Hill and Barden Ridge have radioactive wastes from uranium processing which have been sitting there for decades. A bill is now before the Senate addressing the issue. Continue reading »
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All-fibre, publicly owned, NBN must top the list of Post-Covid infrastructure investment
On December 24 2020, our Christmas stocking had a surprise gift from Santa in the form of Communications Minister, Paul Fletcher. He announced a fully operational NBN. The long-overdue baby had finally been delivered. Continue reading »
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The curious case of the new airport’s metro
Infrastructure Australia recently announced its refusal to include the proposed Western Sydney Airport Metro in its lists. That apparently reasonable result is surrounded by a range of murky matters. Continue reading »
