Corporate Australia keeps climate talks behind closed doors
The Business Council of Australia, which represents 130 of the country's biggest corporates, has been briefing its members on emissions policy modelling it commissioned more than 12 months ago, but has yet to decide if it will take a position or make it public.

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Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Chalmers needs to show some courage to help save Australian economy
For the first Albanese government timidity resulted in another bite of the cherry. But, unfortunately, caution is lingering as a second-term hallmark, despite a massive landslide that gave Labor open slather to effect wide-ranging change. This month's Economic Reform Roundtable should have been the vehicle for substantial reform. But, amid the Productivity Commission recommendations for tax reform, unions calling for curbs on negative gearing, the capital gains discount and the use of family trusts, business groups railing against too much change and suggestions that the transition from fossil fuels to renewables be speeded up, the government appears to have lost some chutzpah. A day after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese talked down the roundtable's significance, Treasurer Jim Chalmers also started hosing down expectations, sending a clear message around parliament: excited observers should curb their enthusiasm. Beginning on August 19, the three-day Economic Reform Roundtable aims to build consensus on ways to improve productivity, enhance economic resilience and strengthen budget sustainability in the face of global uncertainty. It brings together a mix of leaders from business, unions, civil society and government. Some 900 submissions have been received and anticipations of change were running high. But the Herald' s chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal said cabinet had become concerned about the huge expectations stoked, and the summit is expected to produce a handful of policies to which Chalmers would immediately commit. Speedier approvals for energy projects, cutting red tape and new incentives for home building were seen as quick wins with wide support from warring unions and business lobbies. More significant changes that gain support from assorted experts, captains of industry and unions will be put off for further examination. The roundtable was already seen at risk of becoming a Canberra gabfest. But tax will undoubtedly be the elephant in the room, given Albanese's refusal to consider changing the GST, a veto that is already tying one of the government's hands behind its back. The exclusion of those major players in taxation and deregulation, states and territories, is another handicap. For a summit considering Australia's economic future, ignoring the GST seems blinkered, especially as economist Richard Holden and independent MHR Kate Chaney suggested to the Herald 's Shane Wright that a 15 per cent GST could deliver a $28 billion boost to government coffers while providing an annual $3300 rebate to all Australians as an offset. However, almost all other taxes are on the table. The Productivity Commission has proposed a company tax cut for smaller businesses, while larger companies pay more. New visions are required in a world where old certainties are quickly fading, and the one reality is that productivity is key to meeting future challenges. That said, courage and big ideas – including controversial reform of the GST – will help drive the Australian economy, not the risk aversion displayed by a Labor government too afraid for, or of, its own mandate to act for the greater good.

Sky News AU
4 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Apprenticeship provider warns Labor $5 billion boost to employer incentives needed to stop worsening skills crisis
MEGT, Australia's largest apprenticeship network provider, has called on the Albanese government to boost employer incentives by $5 billion or risk deepening the nation's skills crisis. Catch up with all of the day's breaking news and live interviews from politicians and experts with a Streaming Subscription.

Sky News AU
4 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Renewable energy zone Orana blows out costs to $5.5b from $650m, adding to list of Labor's net zero failures across regional Australia
The Albanese government's Orana renewable energy zone, which is set to cost eight times more than first estimated, has been branded as yet another net zero 'disaster' taking place across the country. Located in the NSW Central-West region and spanning 20,000 square kilometres, the Australian Energy Regulator said Orana costs has blown out to $5.52 billion from the original $650 million figure. The AER said on Tuesday said the blow out in cost, calculated by Energy Co, was based on 'development and construction capital costs', which will be charged to the consumer further down the line. The Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWO REZ) covers more than 20,000 square kilometres around Dubbo, Dunedoo, and Mudgee and aims to generate over 6 gigawatts of renewable energy through wind, solar, and battery projects. Picture: Supplied The government operated EnergyCo said 4.5 gigawatts of electricity will be delivered by the Orana REZ transmission project - which will encompass areas such as Dubbo, Mudgee and Dunedoo - to support up to 7.7GW of energy from solar, wind and storage plants. EnergyCo said that blowout was due to 'significant challenges' in the infrastructure and electricity sectors. Institute of Public Affairs research fellow Mia Schlicht told the latest price-tag on Orana revealed that the notion renewable energy was cheap is 'farcical in reality'. 'The federal and New South Wales governments need to halt Orana now and stop destroying our affordable and reliable energy generators,' Schlicht said. 'Projects like Orana destroy regional communities, the very ones that feed and power this nation.' Environment Minister Murray Watt is yet to sign off on 10 electricity facilities involving solar, wind and batteries across the zone - including ACEN Australia's 'Valley of the Winds'. The Orana REZ is one of five planned for NSW slated to generate 12GW of renewable energy projects and 2GW of storage capacity, all of which will need transmission lines to connect to the main grid, which the Australian Energy Market Operator said would help lower energy costs. The NSW government said Orana will generate $20 billion of private investment and about 5,000 jobs at peak construction, from civil and land works to catering, graphic design and fencing. But Ms Schlicht said Orana was just one of a growing number of net zero impact zone 'disasters' which were springing up across regional Australia. The Albanese government's Orana renewable energy zone has been branded as yet another net zero 'disaster' taking place across regional Australia. Picture: Supplied 'The proposed projects in these zones are being overwhelmingly rejected by local communities because it will destroy prime farmland, and it pits neighbour against neighbour – all for very little in the way of actual energy produced, while fuelling an explosion in household energy bills,' she said. 'All of this damage is inflicted in the name of net zero, with the true costs hidden from the public and never honestly accounted for.' On Monday, Centre for Independent Studies energy analyst Zoe Hilton claimed the Albanese government's pursuit of net zero was causing power prices to "spike continuously". Ms Hilton claimed that rather than focusing on how net zero could or should be achieved, the government needed to simply ensure Australians had access to the cheapest and most reliable source of energy available.