350 Australia is tracking the fossil fuel lobby and its attempts to use the Covid-19 health crisis to its advantage. We will be providing a weekly update to developments in the area and highlights of the week to come.
What happened in the week of 23-29 May:
- Nev Power, head of the National Covid-19 Coordination Commission, is set to appear before the Senate Select Committee into Covid-19 on Thursday June 4th. Nev Power is reported to have stepped back from his role as Deputy Chair of Strike Energy (a WA based gas company) over perceived conflicts of interest. He retains his position as Chair of the National Covid-19 Coordination Commission, with no public process for dealing with conflicts of interest.
- Andrew Liveris, member of the Government’s Manufacturing Taskforce and Board member of Saudi Aramco and WorleyParsons has also been appointed Co-Chair of the Northern Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission.
- Strike Energy’s West Erregulla Gas Project has been granted Lead Agency Status by the WA Government. Nev Power is the Deputy Chair of Strike Energy. Lead Agency Status means the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation will provide the West Erregulla Project with “case-management for government interfaces, and the coordination of approvals across a range of Government departments. This will assist Strike in navigating the approvals processes, expediting timeframes and ensuring efficient communication between Government agencies.”
- The Queensland Resources Council has called on the Queensland Government to expedite environmental assessments of nine coal mine projects.
- The Minerals Council of Australia has called for “expediting environmental assessments and approvals, reforming greenfields agreements and expanding incentives for exploration”, as well as a reduction in the company tax rate.
- Senator Matt Canavan called for Australia to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.
- Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor, continued his campaign for a ‘gas-fired recovery’ by calling on state and territory governments to “unlock more gas”
Next Week:
- Monday, 1 June – Zali Steggall MP, Senator Matt Canavan and Joel Fitzgibbon MP are appearing on ABC’s Q&A program.
- Tuesday, 2 June – Nev Power is speaking at the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce from 12-1pm.
- Thursday 4 June – Nev Power is set to appear before the Senate Select Committee into Covid-19.
Contact for further background and media comment:
Lucy Manne
CEO, 350 Australia
0417 387 516