It is undeniable that minerals and energy resource development is a key contributor to the Australian economy, and in particular to the state of Western Australia. The recent ‘mining boom’ has been much discussed in the last seven years or so and has brought considerable revenue to state and federal governments. As well as being...

The most important characteristic of a city is whether it meets the needs of its residents, both material and psychological. Despite the fact that these needs are central to our lives, they are often at the periphery of conversations about the future of Australian cities. With these criteria in mind, it is clear that while...

Victoria's high-polluting Hazelwood power station can be replaced as soon as the end of 2012 while maintaining energy security, cutting Victoria's greenhouse emissions by 12 percent and creating more jobs, according to this report.

Australia currently lacks a mechanism to gather evidence on the formation of public attitudes to the introduction of new technologies, particularly the formation of attitudes to nuclear energy technology. This is a limiting factor in achieving informed debate in the development of a national energy policy. These are key findings in a research project recently...

The Australian debate on carbon pricing has been dominated by concerns that Australia might lose industry and jobs offshore if it has a carbon price when competitor countries do not. If Australian production moves to countries with higher emissions, this would defeat the purpose of carbon pricing. To protect industry from such an event, government...