Thread: Keeping tabs on Australia"s newly elected Government

I thought it was going to be a slow week (Queen passing away). But no. So, I’m updating the thread with a little news before tomorrow’s update.

First things first.

Political Alert - Climate Change Act 2022 and Climate Change (Consequential Amendments) Act 2022 have received Royal Assent #auspol https://twitter.com/political_alert/...15300806365185

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• Labor overhauls Climate Change Authority to counter concerns of excessive business influence

The Albanese government has appointed three women with environmental backgrounds to the board of the Climate Change Authority in a bid to counter concerns the advisory body was taken over by business leaders under the Coalition.

The authority was given expanded responsibilities under climate change legislation that passed parliament last week, including advising the government on future emissions reduction targets and an annual statement to parliament by the climate change minister. The advice must be made public, and the minister must explain why if he rejects it.

Climate activists have questioned whether the authority’s existing board is qualified to offer scientific advice after the Coalition appointed several business leaders to fill board vacancies.

The chair is Grant King, a former head of Origin Energy and president of the Business Council of Australia. The former Greens leader Christine Milne has called for King to be replaced by a climate scientist.

Under changes to be announced by the climate change minister, Chris Bowen, on Thursday, there is no change to the existing six board members, but he has made three appointments to fill vacancies.

The new members are the biologist Prof Lesley Hughes, a distinguished academic who has held government advisory roles and is a member of the Climate Council, Dr Virginia Marshall, a legal researcher who has worked on Indigenous water rights, and Sam Mostyn, a businesswoman and sustainability adviser who was chair of the climate advocacy group 1 Million Women.

Bowen said they would bolster the authority’s role in “providing independent advice to government on the reduction of the nation’s emissions and climate change policy”.

“With this expanded membership, the authority is better placed to oversee emissions reduction efforts and provide government with expert advice,” he said.

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, said the appointments were “a welcome change from the coal and gas advocates appointed in the past”.

“I hope this is the beginning of the Climate Change Authority returning to a focus on the science of how we power past coal and gas and fight the climate crisis,” he said.

The authority was created in 2012 as part of a suite of climate policies agreed by the Gillard government, the Greens and independent MPs. The Coalition under Tony Abbott tried to abolish it, but failed. Instead, it cut its funding, slashed its staffing and sidelined its advice.

Milne, who was the Greens’ climate spokesperson when the authority was introduced, said the new appointments were important, and praised Hughes’ inclusion in particular.

But she said she believed the makeup of the board meant the new appointees would have an “uphill battle” in getting their colleagues to take climate science seriously and not prioritise the future of the gas industry.

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• Emissions standards to drive EV uptake

The federal government is being urged to establish vehicle emissions standards as a priority to drive the uptake of more eco-friendly cars.

Robyn Denholm, who chairs the board of directors for electric vehicle giant Tesla, wants the federal government to position Australia as a global leader in the electric car industry.

Specifically, she said Australia could learn policy lessons from other countries that have increased the numbers of new electric vehicle sales.

In a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Ms Denholm compared Australia to New Zealand, which has successfully lifted the number of new electric car sales from 2.5 per cent to 11 per cent in the past year.

In Australia, electric models make up only two per cent of new car sales.

"I once worked at Toyota, when cars were still being made in Australia, and I believe Australia can have an even bigger car industry in the electric age," she said.

"Where tech skills converge with manufacturing skills to create advanced manufacturing industries ... we have the know-how, we have the skill and an abundance of mineral resources."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers last month introduced incentives for car buyers to purchase electric vehicles by reducing upfront costs.

Proposed reforms include changes to fringe benefits tax and removing the import tariff on electric vehicles to make the cars cheaper for more people.

But Ms Denholm said the single biggest policy change Australia could make would be to introduce vehicle emissions standards.

"It signals to the market that they have to start reducing emissions even from their internal combustion engine vehicles ... if I had a magic wand, we would do that tomorrow," she said.

Last month, Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced the government will take action on dirty car emissions by introducing national fuel standards for manufacturers.

The proposal is currently in a consultation period and Mr Bowen would not put a time frame on when the standards would come into effect.