It’s another frosty day on the east coast, compounding Australia’s energy woes as wholesale power prices soar.
Caitlin Cassidy is here to guide you through this morning’s news. I am deeply concerned if my electric blanket usage in just two days of winter indicates where my gas bill is heading.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will be briefed today on the situation facing the energy market, which he says is facing a “perfect storm” following a decade of climate change “policy failure”.
Forecast prices in Victoria soared to 50 times their normal level earlier this week, prompting the energy market operator to intervene. Yesterday, it warned of potential gas supply shortages amid the ongoing burst of cold weather.
Meanwhile, Penny Wong has flown to the Pacific for the second time as foreign minister as the Labor government ramps diplomatic efforts in the region.
After China’s foreign minister signed new deals with the Pacific, Wong arrived in Samoa today and will travel to Tonga tomorrow.
And in one of former environment minister Sussan Ley’s final acts, the Coalition scrapped recovery plans designed to prevent the extinction of almost 180 threatened species and habitats, including the Tasmanian devil.
Grab your blankets, and let’s jump in.
Updated at 17.46 EDT
Tamsin Rose
Koalas found in Kosciuszko
There is fresh hope for koalas in New South Wales after evidence of an important population was discovered in Kosciuszko National Park.
Surveyfromen found male koalas at 14 different places across the park’s Byadbo Wilderness Area last November and February.
NSW environment minister James Griffin said it was big news because until now, there had been just 16 recorded sightings of koalas in Kosciuszko in 80 years.
This exciting news provides hope that Kosciuszko National Park may be a refuge for this iconic species.
ANU koala expert David Lindenmayer explained the researchers believed the park could be home to a more significant population that may be “more resilient to climate change”.
He said:
These findings are important because of the area’s elevation, which we hope will make the populations more resilient to climate change. The project involved using 100 passive acoustic recorders and spotlight surveys.
Griffin said the next step was to understand the park’s population better and work out what it could mean for the endangered species.
Updated at 18.03 EDT
Coldest morning of the year
Let’s talk weather.
On day two of winter, it’s been the coldest morning of the year in New South Wales, and Queensland, including the disparity between the actual temperature and the “feels like” temperature.
Coldest morning so far this year in parts of #NSW, with many places that feel the temperature is harder than the air temperature. Go to the BOM app to see the feels temperature in your area. Or, check MetEye for the latest weather.MetEye: https://t.co/1yxAIPrpyJ pic.twitter.com/SvH8AFDwQd
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) June 1, 2022
Scrolling through the BoM app, it’s officially -3.4 degrees in Canberra, but it feels like a crisp -7. In Sydney, it’s a warmer 8.2 degrees but feels like 3.3; in Brisbane, it’s 11.8 degrees but feels like 9.2.
In Victoria, frosts with temperatures down to -2 degrees are forecast this morning in parts of the Mallee, Wimmera, Northern Country, North Central, North East, South West, and Central forecast districts.
And a marine wind warning is in place for every state and territo,ry excluding the NT and Queensland.
Updated at 18.00 EDT
Budget to focus on wellbeing
Chalmers is asked about the October budget, which will focus more on well-being measures, as was rolled out in New Zealand as part of a mental health strategy.
The idea is to implement broader living standards like health and education that impact people’s well-being alongside economic data.
Chalmers:
One of my obsessions is that we need to get better at measuring what matters … we should be measuring progress in this country more effectively.
Updated at 17.56 EDT
No quick fix to energy cost, says Chalmers.
Asked what’s currently on the table to ease immediate energy pressures, Chalmers said he wouldn’t preempt discussions and deliberations about the “various levers” governments have.
The energy market operator has already imposed a cap … that’s an important step; there is the so-called trigger which is about domestic supply; we need to recognize that even that potential policy trigger has its challenges and is not necessarily immediately our most important responsibility is to try and inject the sense of certainty.
If there are near-term steps, we will discuss and deliberate with them.
But Chalmers said the government “shouldn’t pretend” there would necessarily be a quick fix to a challenge that had been “building for over a decade”.
He said a decent energy policy, including the push to expand renewables, would be the long-term solution.
I’m not going to be the kind of treasurer who says to Australian people … that everything’s fine in the economy when it’s not. I want to be upfront and honest … we’ve got a serious set of economic conditions inherited from our predecessors, which we must acknowledge.
Iweto deal with these challenges, I must acknowledge them.
Updated at 17.57 EDT
Treasurer talks about energy woes
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is speaking now on Radio National.
Asked if he wasn’t upfront enough with Australians about the nation’s energy woes, he replied, “no, of course not”.
We’ve been upfront with people before and after the election that this country has a cost of living crisis. The most crucial element of that now is these challenges in the energy market … putting extreme pressure on industry and households around Australia.
We’ve … said these are some of the challenges we’ve inherited.
Chalmers said the government would implement a cost of living package in October to get wages moving, push on renewables and implement childcare reform.
He said if there were an “easy fix” to the challenges, they would already have been implemented, citing near-term and international pressures and ten years of inadequate Coalition action.
We shouldn’t pretend that flicking one switch or another will fix things overnight when it won’t.
Updated at 17.57 EDT
It’s another frosty day on the east coast, compounding Australia’s energy woes as wholesale power prices soar.
Caitlin Cassidis y here to guide you through this morning’s news. I am deeply concerned if my electric blanket usage in just two days of winteindicatesof where my gas bill is heading.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will be briefed today on the situation facing the energy market, which he says is facing a “perfect storm” following a decade of climate change “policy failure”.
Forecast prices in Victoria soared to 50 times their normal level earlier this week, prompting the energy market operator to intervene. Yesterday, it warned of potential gas supply shortages amid the ongoing burst of cold weather.
Meanwhile, Penny Wong has flown to the Pacific for the second time as foreign minister as the Labor government ramps up diplomatic efforts in the region after China’s foreign minister signed new deals with the Pacific,
Wong arrived in Samoa today and will travel to Tonga tomorrow.
And in one of former environment minister Sussan Ley’s final acts, the Coalition scrapped recovery plans designed to prevent the extinction of almost 180 threatened species and habitats, including the Tasmanian devil.
