Category: Archive

The Land, 27/4/2006, p. 25

Source: Erisk Net  

Dams can’t compete say the stats: A dam will capture only 5 per cent of the rain that falls in its catchment and less in a dry year. Half of that then will evaporate from the dam surface. The price of a 22,000 litre tank (already used on most farm houses) is $2700, for which a council rebate of $750 is available. Add $500 for plumbing, and the annualised cost of 7 percent of` the net $2450 is only $171, which will deliver the 250kL of water at a cost of $0.68/kL compared with Brisbane City Council’s $0.89/kL.

Tanks are streets ahead: Water tanks deliver a 40-fold improvement in catchment efficiency, substantially reduce infrastructure costs, increase the value of your house by as much as you spend on the tank and protect you from future price increases. A very smart investment.

The Courier Mail, 6/5/2006, p. 29

Source: Erisk Net 

180 day deadline: That law required the companies to cede production to YPFB, Bolivia’s former state energy monopoly, which would set its price and sell it. The decree puts this into immediate effect. It also gives the companies 180 days to accept new contracts, the terms of which will be set after a government audit.

State take to soar: In the interim, the State’s take from the two largest fields will rise to 82 per cent from 50 per cent (itself an increase from 18 per cent a year ago). This boosts the Government’s annual gas revenue by $320m to $780m.

Who’s the boss now? Secondly, YPFB will take a majority stake not just in the main gas and oil production companies, but in refineries and pipelines. Previously, the foreign companies had 51 per cent, with 49 per cent split between private pension funds and the government, which used the dividends to pay a pension to older Bolivians.

Pension system at risk: Those shares will be handed over to YPFB, potentially wrecking the pension system. (Since the funds have sold some of the shares, this provision may be unenforceable.) The extra shares needed for a majority stake will be "nationalised" – by unspecified means.

The Economist, 6/5/2006, p. 41

Source: Erisk Net  

Blessing or curse? Making resource projects a "blessing and not a curse" in developing countries by encouraging the reporting of revenue flows was made a priority by the Blair Government in 2002 when it formed the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The head of EITI’s secretariat, Ben Mellor, said EITI was about disproving the accusation that the extractive industries were an inevitable "curse" to the economic performance and stability of developing countries.

Dark side of resources trade: "Oil and mineral wealth, if managed transparently, has the potential to play a major role in the sustainable economic development of countries," Mr Mellor said. "But too often weak governance of these revenues has led to poverty, corruption and conflict."

Elites "capture" benefits: He said, typically, in a non-transparent, resource-rich country, revenue was captured by a small elite that established a network of personal political patronage. "The elite can be unwilling to encourage opposition movements that could remove them from power. Unsurprisingly these countries are prone to civil war," Mr Mellor said.

Wars for profit: Conflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola and the DRC were largely financed by revenues from oil, gas and mining, he added.

The Age, 10/5/2006, p. B5

Source: Erisk Net  

Families paying for policy neglect: The chief executives of some of Australia’s biggest companies recently called on the Government to get serious about climate change before the cost of inaction becomes too great, she said. Families pay the increasing daily price of an economically, socially and environmentally unsustainable addiction to oil.

Lip service to public transport: Cities are grinding to a halt under the weight of traffic while governments at all levels pay lip service to public transport. Each of these problems has at its heart a tax damage to inefficient resource use.

Time to strengthen renewables incentives: With predictions of a global peak (then decline) in oil production within the next decade, this is a time for tax reform that strengthens incentives for energy efficiency and innovation, and makes polluters pay the full cost of the damage they do to our children’s planet, she said.

The Age, 8/5/2006, p. B6

Source: Erisk Net  

Shocked into protest: Beaudesert Shire Mayor Joy Drescher said her constituents were shocked by last week’s surprise announcement but had quickly organised websites and protests, with the next one at Rathdowney on 5 May night. "They’re as mad as hornets," Cr Drescher said.

Lack of consultation: "For some God-forsaken reason, the Government chose this spot and didn’t tell us a thing about it." Mary River Action Group spokeswoman and landholder Glenda Pickersgill said about 2000 were at a meeting at Kandanga last week.

We’ll consult later, says minister: Water Minister Henry Palaszczuk said dams would be built on the Mary and Logan catchments by the end of 2011 and residents would be consulted widely.

The Courier Mail, 5/5/2006, p. 12

Source: Erisk Net