Quest Events
Leaders of Australia’s energy industry, government ministers and department representatives will gather in Melbourne next week for Australian Energy Week on 25-27 May.
Australian Energy Week brings together over 90 speakers in 60 sessions with an audience of almost 400 senior managers from 150+ organisations.
The conference sessions will cover the biggest issues facing the length of the energy supply chain, covering feedstock, generation, transmission, distribution, retail, end use, policy and regulation.
There will be a series of keynote presentations, case studies and interactive panel discussions in what will be the most significant discussion with representatives from the energy industry in 2021.
Warning âoff-budgetâ spending could hit AAA rating
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A leading credit rating agency has warned Laborâs plans to inject up to $45 billion into special investment funds for housing, the energy grid and manufacturing could weigh on Australiaâs AAA rating.
While the so-called âoff-budgetâ spending has the political advantage of appearing to be fiscally responsible by not increasing the deficit, the investments would still be counted as debt by credit agency S&P Global Ratings.
Both Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese have made âoff-budgetâ spending a feature of their budget week pitches.Â
Dominic Lorrimer/Alex Ellinghausen
Labor is exploring using more off-budget measures to pay for its policies, while Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese also flagged policies to help people buy their own homes as he seeks to make soaring house prices a key campaign theme.
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The country’s innovation giants say tax breaks for profits generated on local intellectual property will nurture high-value, local jobs and foster new companies, despite Australia still offering significantly weaker incentives than countries such as Britain and Singapore.
Australia joins 24 other countries with patent box schemes, which offer lower tax rates on profits generated from local intellectual property.
Cochlear boss Dig Howitt has been a major advocate for the establishment of a patent box.
Rhett Wyman
The introduction of a 17 per cent tax rate for locally developed biotechnology and medical innovations comes after a push from high-profile industry leaders such as Cochlear chief executive Dig Howitt, Planet Innovation CEO Stuart Elliot and Brandon Capital partner Chris Nave.
10 May 2021
Federal spending on environment and climate change measures has fallen dramatically under successive Coalition governments, leading an environmental group to declare that it was effectively “killing our environment”.
An analysis produced by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) estimated that just 53 cents of every $100 spent by the federal government go towards environmental and climate change challenges.
This includes just 37 cents per $100 spent that go towards environmental protection and just 16 cents spent towards tackling climate change – a rate that the ACF described as “killing” the environment.
The ACF published the analysis a day before the Morrison government will deliver the next federal budget, which will include further support for the gas industry and for roads.
Power reliability at risk by 2030 after Yallourn closes
May 10, 2021 – 1.58pm
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The pending early closure of the Yallourn power station in 2028 has triggered a warning from the operator of the country’s electricity market of an increased likelihood of blackouts in Victoria and South Australia late this decade unless new on-demand generators are built.
However, the Australian Energy Market Operator noted that new projects have already been announced and voiced optimism that although they do not yet qualify as committed projects, they are “very likely” to proceed, improving the outlook for reliable supply.
Power projects in the wings should help offset the closure of the Yallourn power station in 2028, reducing Victorian emissions.