INTERGOVERNMENTAL CO-OPERATION – AUSTRALIA

Crisis cabinet to outlive virus

roymorgansocial 3 Comments

Original article by Geoff Chambers, Paige Taylor, Joe Kelly, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Apr-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has praised the high level of federal and state co-operation since the national cabinet was established in mid-March. He has flagged the possibility that the national cabinet model could be retained when the coronavirus crisis is over. Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has called for the national cabinet to permanently replace the Council of Australian Governments, which typically meets twice a year. The 13th meeting of the national cabinet will be held on 16 April.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

PM strikes $2b gas deal with NSW

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 31-Jan-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian will release details of a $2 billion energy deal on 31 January. Under the agreement, NSW must find an extra 70 petajoules of gas per year for the east coast market, in return for the federal government underwriting new non-coal power generation, constructing new interconnectors and making funding available for carbon emissions reduction projects. The most likely way in which the NSW government will make available the extra 70 petajoules of gas is by approving Santos’s Narrabri coal seam gas project.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Convene COAG over disasters: Albanese

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 25-Nov-19

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has called for an emergency meeting of the Council of Australian Governments in the wake of deadly bushfires. He says the agenda for a COAG meeting should include Australia’s preparedness for natural disasters, the development of an action plan on adaptation to climate change, and increased investment in research on natural disaster response, recovery and mitigation. The federal government will provide grants of up to $15,000 to assist farmers and small businesses to recover from the recent bushfires in New South Wales.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Taylor buys off NSW with big energy deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 22-Nov-19

The New South Wales government has backed a proposal by federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor to pursue bilateral negotiate bilateral energy and climate policy agreements with each state. NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean had previously advocated an integrated national policy on climate and energy policy, as well as the revival of the shelved National Energy Guarantee. Details of a bilateral deal between the two governments is expected to be disclosed within weeks, and Kean says the deal will be much better for the state than the NEG.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, MINES AND ENERGY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING

Energy fix could isolate Victoria

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mark Ludlow, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 18-Nov-19

Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor will shortly meet with his state and territory counterparts at the Council of Australian Governments energy council meeting. He will use a speech in Sydney on 18 November to outline his plans to negotiate a bilateral energy and climate policy agreement with each state, based on its unique circumstances. However, Taylor has warned that he will only strike deals with states that are ‘collaborative’. Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott is supportive of state-based deals, provided they do not undermine existing national electricity rules.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

South Australia to release water for drought relief

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 8-Nov-19

South Australia will release 100 billion litres of water to the federal government so that up to 6,000 drought-impacted farmers can grow fodder for their stock. The federal government will pay the South Australian government $88 million for the water, while it will also give it a $10 million ‘sweetener’ to help the South Australian government assist its own drought-impacted farmers. South Australian Premier Steven Marshall says the deal with the federal government will not lead to higher water prices or put at risk the state’s water security.

CORPORATES
SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Pull your weight: Feds tell states

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Jul-19

Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge has called on the states to accelerate new infrastructure projects where possible to help stimulate the Australian economy. While noting that capacity constraints in the construction sector are at their highest level since the resources boom, Tudge has suggested three areas where new infrastructure can be fast-tracked, including the 166 small urban congestion projects that the federal government announced in the lead-up to the 18 May election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA

Reforms to help protect buyers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Feb-19

State and territory building ministers agreed to a ban on the use of unsafe aluminium composite panels in new apartment buildings at a Council of Australian Governments meeting on 8 February. However, the meeting did not define "unsafe". The meeting also agreed that builders have an ongoing duty of care to apartment owners to provide a building that meets required building code standards, and that builders will face extra liability if their buildings do not comply with such standards.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, OWNERS CORPORATION NETWORK OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Feds slap down NSW over net zero emissions

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Potter, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 20-Dec-18

Tensions between the federal government and its New South Wales counterpart have deepened following the Council of Australian Governments’ Energy Council meeting on 19 December. Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor used a procedural rule to block a motion to develop a national pathway to net zero emissions by 2050. The motion was put forward by NSW Climate and Energy Minister Don Harwin and had the support of many state and territory energy ministers. Harwin says he will continue to push for his proposal.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT FOR TRANSPORT, ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENERGY AND WATER SUPPLY

Canberra still to control overall overseas intake, says Morrison

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Tillett, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 13-Nov-18

The federal government will seek greater input from the states on the immigration rate, based on what they feel is their "carrying capacity" in terms of the infrastructure and services they can provide. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government will always be responsible for setting overall migrant numbers, and that it is not something it will be "contracting out" to the states. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has welcomed plans for the states to have more input on migrant numbers, saying it is "playing catch-up" on the infrastructure that is needed because of recent population growth.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET