This is part 3 in a video series trying to explain every policy announced in the 2023 Federal Budget.

Investing in a stronger and more secure economy

Probably one of the most extensive group of reforms by the government based on sheer volume. This article will focus on Renewable technology and the environment. The meaning behind this section appears to be converting the nations strengths into long lasting growth, primarily through refining our natural minerals and making use of renewable power. 

Important here is that the nation's economy determines what it produces and how its people fare. Ensuring the economy is focussed on the things we need like renewables ensures the future safety and prosperity of Australians.

Categories here include: RENEWABLE ENERGY, POWERING NET ZERO INDUSTRIES AND JOBS, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES, and DISASTER RESILIENCE

RENEWABLE ENERGY

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Biggest argument against renewables is that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow. This is wrong. Somewhere in the world the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. All we need to keep harvesting it is a big grid that can draw power from anywhere, and the Australian government plans on making it.

$12.0 billion of its $20.0 billion investment in Rewiring the Nation will be spent on Transformational transmission projects, Putting its grid on track to becoming 82% renewable by 2030.

Upgrading the systems responsible for transmission will allow the reliable use of multiple sources of power which is vital to using renewable technology. Power production is one thing, but making sure that power is distributed and stored in such a way that everyone can constantly use power requires some heavy infrastructure.

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The government is spending $12 billion to secure the electricity grid. 

For starters, $1 billion of low debt loans was invested in Tasmania's “Battery of the Nation” project, which will use hydro power in places like Lake Cethana to store energy.

$1.5 billion will also be seen for Victorian Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) and offshore wind. Renewable Energy Zones are areas determined to be most ideal for building renewables on, a bit like planetary features in stellaris.

On top of that, $4.7 billion will unlock critical transmission and REZ in New South Wales, including “plugging in'' snowy 2.0. Other examples include the Hunter Transmission Project, where the Uniquely potent renewable sources and existing mining infrastructure could see massive investments in green industry.

All these projects will be linked by massive electricity interconnectors like the Marinus Link, which is a $3 billion wire planned to connect Tasmania and Victoria.

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Turning Power on and off at a whim is much harder on a nation-wide scale, but this new scheme will make it possible.

The Capacity Investment Scheme will tender the delivery of renewable generation and storage to the SouthEastern States to unlock $10 billion of new investment.

The Government wishes to increase the amount of power that can be turned on and off on demand - Known as dispatchable power - by offering to underwrite (essentially take risk for) investors to build Dispatchable renewable sources like Grid Batteries.

A desire to prevent the 2022 Winter energy crisis partially caused by the Liberal government failing to maintain the grid, allowing a 4GW dispatchable power grid to be replaced with a 1GW power grid, along with just modernising the Australian energy grid are the known motivators behind this initiative.

This is just one of hundreds of different complementary power projects falling into place nationwide, and is an amazing sight to see.

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There are two ways to decrease carbon usage, increasing renewable energy usage, and decreasing general power usage.

$1.3 billion is allocated to a Household Energy Upgrades Fund, which will provide cheap loans to houses for various energy saving projects like solar and more efficient appliances

For Businesses with >$50 million turnover, $310 million will also be invested to give tax deductions for upgrading their electrical systems efficiency through the Small Business Energy Incentives. The max claim is  20% tax off any assets related to improving energy efficiency, and can be up to $100’000 of costs, potentially saving $20’000.

This is predicted to affect 3.8 million businesses, and apply to all upgrades used or installed until the 30th of June 2024.

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There is now a proper plan to get Australians to adopt and afford electric cars!

First part of this plan is the National Electric Vehicle Strategy, which intends to outline a broad idea for adopting electric cars. This strategy contains three key objectives: Increase supply of affordable EVs, Establish EV infrastructure, and Encourage EV demand.

The first policy enacted under this strategy is $7.4 million to support Fuel Efficiency Standards, designed to encourage the supply of more EVs.

$7.8 million for the Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Roadmap and Action Plan, organising the many changes to how emissions can be reduced in transport, including alternative fuel, new technology, and improved infrastructure like Rail, something that was unsurprisingly welcomed by the Australasian Railway Association.

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POWERING NET ZERO INDUSTRIES AND JOBS

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What is the Future of Fuel in Australia?

The $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart program will support large scale renewable hydrogen projects through competitive contracts.

Hydrogen is a renewable, combustible fuel that can be used for industrial heat, heavy transport fuel, and potentially manufacturing purposes.

Contracts for 2-3 flagship projects including $2mil for indigenous consultation support will have the goal of providing 1 gigawatt of electrolyser capacity, and build the basis for the hydrogen industry to expand further. It has become more difficult to invest in renewables in Australia due to the US increasing their competition and taking away the expertise and investors needed for these cutting edge projects.

$38.2 million will also be spent to establish a Guarantee Origin scheme which will reliably track where emissions come from.

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Australia plans on becoming a renewable energy superpower by manufacturing their own technology, but how are they going to get the minerals for it?

$57.1 million will be spent to develop the Critical Minerals International Partnership Program. Working with countries like the US and Japan among others, this will advance mineral science, sustainable practice, and Address risks to supply chains, which as seen from the Pandemic can cause devastation to productivity when disrupted.

This program secures all the necessary resources to build a renewable manufacturing industry. With a $2bil Critical Minerals Facility and $15bil National Reconstruction Fund, The country will soon be able to sustain even major economic disruption and still keep growing.

As the world’s number 1 producer of lithium (49%) and titanium (26%), the 2nd largest producer of zircon (zirconium) (21%), and top 5 producer of other rare earth minerals, This partnership program will also secure The renewable energy future of all countries involved.

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How are Australia’s small businesses supposed to capitalise on the renewable energy boom?

The new federal budget outlined $14.8 million to establish something called the Powering Australia Industry Growth Centre, designed to support businesses in making, commercialising, or adopting renewables. Industry growth centres are not-for-profit organisations led by experts in industry trying to lead cultural change in their sector. This Growth centre will get minerals producers and renewables manufacturers rubbing shoulders.

Additionally, $3bil is allocated to investments in low emissions tech like Green metals under the National Reconstruction Fund. All these policies come in the context of strong competition with the American government who’s Administrations Inflation Reduction Act  has stolen many renewable investors from spending their resources and expertise in our country. 

Will Australia make up for lost time and become the renewable superpower it dreams to be? Only time will tell

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Will Australia compete with America’s record investments in renewable energy?

$5.6 million will be used to analyse new implications of the increased competitiveness of renewable energy for Australia and ways to find new opportunities.

The world is at a critical a point in renewable energy industry, and Australia has all the necessary components to become a renewable energy superpower, but with the USA stealing all the investors and expertise, along with a wasted decade under the previous gasbag government, It's not clear if Australia can become the power of it's dreams. 

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The government is going full war economy to reach its renewable energy targets.

Just like in the war days, $8.3 million will be spent over 4 years  to develop and issue green bonds. Often issued by a government, bonds are bought by investors with the promise that they will be paid back by the issuer in the future, with interest. These Green bonds are designed to raise money for investing in renewable projects to get the country to net 0 emissions. 

Additionally in an echo of the War era stocktaking of the Curtin period, $1.6 million is being spent to co-fund with private companies the Australian sustainable finance taxonomy, which is essentially a list that defines all the economic activities that count as “sustainable”.

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Companies lying about their environmental friendliness seems like an everyday occurrence, but it could soon be a thing of the past.

The commonwealth is moving $4.3 million to bolster ASIC enforcement against greenwashing in order to remain competitive in global capital markets. Greenwashing is when a company overstated its environmental friendliness. ASIC has already enforced against multiple superannuation companies with one of the largest being against Mercer Superannuation who’s “sustainable” plan that claimed to not invest in fossil fuels had money invested in 15 different fossil fuel companies from Whitehaven coal to BHP. 

Finally no more companies with names like evil-planet-burner ltd claiming to be carbon neutral.

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The government rushed the Governor General to establish a new executive called the Net Zero Authority. Focussing on regions and industry, this new agency will be composed of an independent chair and supported by an advisory board. 

It is responsible for promoting an orderly and effective transformation of NetZero emissions that allows the communities most affected to not get left behind in the rush of the world's greatest boom since the Industrial revolution.

Workers in emission-intensive sectors will get access to new skills and support to help them transition to a different sector, Regions will get extra programs to ensure industries in their areas will benefit them, and investors and companies will be supported to better engage with projects related to NetZero.

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The government will be using the Powering the Regions Fund to populate the regions and turn them into an unshakable superpower

The Powering Australia fund, as called in the 2023 federal budget, has a plan for what to do with the dwindling parts of the vast empty nation.

Core to the Powering Regions fund is reducing emissions in regional areas. Using a special Net Zero Economy Taskforce, existing industries like mining will be made more carbon neutral, and have the generated wealth feed back into the towns that made them, turning the country from a desolate 7 city backwater to a booming, continent-wide federation and world power.

The government is still nailing out how exactly it will use the Powering Regions Fund to  build up the regions, but complementing it already includes massive regional projects like Hydrogen hubs to create clean fuel, and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to ensure the things built in the regions suffer no funding delays.

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ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES: A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Beyond just focussing on renewable energy the government has also outlined new policies relating to the actual environment itself. The stated reason behind these policies is that Australia’s natural environment offers economic benefits and is of unique cultural and heritage value.

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The Murray-Darling Basin, Australia’s Largest and most complex river system, will have over $103 million dollars pumped into sustaining this million square kilometre water network,  through reviewing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Droughts and increasing human use made the need to manage the Basin’s water use in line with the water act of 2007 more pertinent, so The Murray-Darling Plan was enacted by the 2012 Gillard Labor government and followed through by the affected states.

Environment minister Tanya Plibersek says this plan has been sabotaged by the previous Liberal-National government, a statement reflected by Journalists like Michael West, noting insufficient requirements for managing the northern basin in 2017, and the Documentary Blood Water by youtuber Friendlyjordies who placed much of the blame for the Basin’s troubles on the NSW National party. 

With their new investment in the plan’s review, the government aims to both update the plan to changes in the basin’s condition, and ensure the use of climate change policy, Scientific understanding, and indigenous knowledge.

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In 2022 the government released the Nature Positive Plan.

This plan was based on a simple premise: If our laws don’t change, our trajectory of environmental decline will not change either. 

Based on a report by Professor Graeme Samuel AC, it was intended to improve environmental protections, get departments dependent on environmental decisions, and make doing the right thing easier.

The new budget has moved the plan further. $121 million to establish Environmental Protection Australia and $51 million to establish Environment Information Australia. 

Environment Protection Australia will serve like an environmental protection agency, independent and bound to transparency, it will make assessments, approvals, and conditions relating to the environment. 

According to mirage news, New laws being negotiated will enhance this new agency's powers in preventing biodiversity loss.

Environment Information Australia will be a data body which will provide quality information about the environment, with the intent to be used in regulation, planning, and reporting.

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Australia is large and diverse, which means it has a lot of national parks. According to Environment minister Tanya Plibersek however they have been neglected under the previous government, with programs to protect threatened species, protect native animals, and maintain infrastructure all suffering mismanagement.

The federal budget has outlined a total of $355.1 million to address chronic underfunding of national parks, with special mention being given to Kakadu where rangers stations are falling apart and Uluru-Kata Tjuta where basic shade and housing facilities are highly inadequate. 

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DISASTER RESILIENCE

Natural disasters have devastated Australia from the get go, But they have reached near unfathomable scales in recent years, with by far the most notable disaster being the 2019 bushfires, who’s memory only fades due to the pandemic that came right after. 

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$200 million will be moved to a Disaster Ready Fund to support Disaster relief projects. 

This fund will be made available to state and territory governments, and involve partnership with local councils. 

Projects can include improving drainage to reduce flood risk, Data sharing initiatives to better communicate and predict when events occur, and Fire Breaks and evacuation centres to reduce the damage when bushfire season begins.

A lot more needs to be done and is being done to reduce the impact of Australia’s increasing natural disasters, nevertheless this fund goes a long way in ensuring disasters like the 2019 bushfires and the 2021-22 Queensland Floods Don’t do the scale of damage that they did in the past.

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Does a government ever apologise for the actions of its previous regime? It's not common but in the case of Australia they kind of…have.

The 2019 bushfires was one of the worst fires in world history, and it saw the Prime Minister who defunded the services meant to prevent and manage them taking a holiday in Hawaii when hell literally broke loose.

Come election time and he inevitably lost to a far more pro not letting houses burn down leader named Anthony Albanese. 

In the 2023-24 federal budget he allocated $8.4 billion over 5 years to “reimburse” states for past disasters to make amends for the previous governments complete inaction.

This was on top of billions of dollars in 2022 for a disaster recovery allowance going directly to those still affected by Natural disasters.

It's a rare and pretty sight to see a government own up to the mistakes of its predecessors, But Australia shows that once in a red smoky moon it IS possible.