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NATIONAL

The federal government has released a revised draft EPBC Act National Environmental Standard on Matters of National Environmental Significance.

The revised draft standard says unacceptable impacts on matters of national environmental significance - such as threatened species and threatened ecological communities - must be avoided.

Compensation that results in a net gain must be provided for any residual significant impacts on these matters.

Comments are due by May 29.

The federal government will allocate more than $45 million over four years to finalise bilateral EPBC assessment and approval agreements with states and territories, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced.

State and territory governments that sign new bilateral agreements will be empowered to conduct assessments and issue approvals on behalf of the federal government.

However, they will need to comply with the provisions of the federal EPBC Act, and with the new EPBC National Environmental Standards that are currently under development.

"Instead of a two-stage, two-track process, with that all the cost of delays and doubling up that occurs, this will be a one-step process, with one, clearer, faster, yes or no," Albanese said.

"This will ensure proponents can benefit sooner from quicker, more efficient environmental approvals."

The federal government has announced it will trial the development of EPBC Act Protection Statements for five species.

Protection Statements are a new tool under the EPBC Act that will set binding rules on how threatened plants, animals and ecological communities are to be protected.

If a Protection Statement applies to a particular species or ecological community, then it would replace guidance contained in recovery plans, and would become the main document for conserving that species or community.

Position Statements do not require advice from the federal government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee. The five trial species for the development of protection statements are:

• the Regent honeyeater
• the Southern bent-wing bat
• the Pygmy blue-tongue lizard
• the Grand spider orchid
• the Southern right whale.

Climate Change Authority Chair Matt Kean has pointed out that a rapid transition to electric vehicles would do much more to boost energy security than building a new refinery, in a recent speech to CEDA.

Building a new conventional refinery "would likely take the better part of a decade to deliver and, on indicative figures, add petrol output equivalent to only a modest share – around one-sixth – of national demand", Kean said.

"By contrast, if half of all new cars sold over the next 10 years were electric – which is one of the plausible pathways we examined – that would steadily and permanently cut demand for imported oil," he said.

"Over the decade, the reduction in liquid fuel demand would be material," Kean said. "By the end of the period, the cut could be of the order of one-third of annual petrol demand."

New data from the Australian Energy Market Operator shows that across the National Electricity Market renewables reached a record for a first quarter, supplying 47% of the grid.

The average wholesale electricity price across the NEM fell 12% year-on-year in the quarter. 

AEMO Executive General Manager Policy & Corporate Affairs, Violette Mouchaileh, said the increase in large‑scale and household battery capacity "is changing how electricity is produced, consumed and priced across the day".

"Grid-scale batteries are increasingly absorbing excess renewable energy during the day and shifting it into the market during evening peaks, helping moderate prices during high-demand periods."

In a speech on the State of the Great Barrier Reef, federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said "one action will dramatically improve the quality of water flowing to the Reef – a key step towards maintaining the Reef’s Outstanding Universal Value.

The Minister was referring to more stringent federal scrutiny of land clearing proposals in Reef catchment areas that was introduced as part of EPBC Act reforms.

The new requirements have been criticised by the Queensland government, which has instigated a Queensland Productivity Commission inquiry into the EPBC reforms.

Minister Watt noted in his speech that the Great Barrier Reef has an estimated value of $95 billion and directly supports 77,000 jobs, which makes it Australia's fifth biggest employer.

The figures are "a powerful reminder of what's on the line – economically - when it comes to protecting the Great Barrier Reef", he said.

The federal government has awarded $50 million over five years to four projects that will protect wetlands across Great Barrier Reef catchments, under its Reefwise Wetlands Program.

The projects will revegetate mangroves, and restore natural flow patterns. The projects will also restore low-lying, degraded agricultural and pastoral lands, to manage erosion and prevent run-off.

They will also target feral pigs and invasive weeds.

Australia's E3 energy efficiency and ratings program has released a final Regulatory Impact Statement on plans to introduce minimum energy performance standards for heat pumps.

Water heating accounts for about a quarter of household energy use in Australia. Heat pumps hot water systems are much more efficient than other types of water heaters. However, they can vary in quality.

The RIS says the introduction of performance standards and mandatory labelling will have net benefits of $689 million out to 2040.

The standards would also result in cumulative reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of 1.5 million tonnes.

The standards will be introduced through a federal Determination that is currently being drafted.

More than 350,000 households, small businesses and community organisations have now installed batteries with the support of the federal Cheaper Home Batteries program.

About half of them have installed new or upgraded solar systems at the same time. 

New postcode-level data shows about 77% of the uptake has occurred in regional and outer-suburban areas. 

The Household Energy Upgrades Fund has helped finance energy upgrades in more than 4,100 homes since it started in May 2024, according to a new analysis.

The Fund provides discounted finance products to help householders upgrade their homes with items such as energy-efficient appliances, PV systems, batteries, EV chargers and double-glazed windows.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has committed $400 million to participating lenders since the scheme began. These lenders - which include several major banks - have so far committed a further $400 million.

QUEENSLAND

Queensland's Western Downs Regional Council has finalised a $30 million Community Benefit Agreement with the proponent of the proposed Goombi Renewable Energy Hub.

The Hub would comprise a wind farm with up to 107 turbines, and an 800MW/3,200MWh battery storage system near Chinchilla.

Goombi Energy Holdings Pty Ltd, which is a joint venture between LP Renewable Projects and TagEnergy, has pledged to make annual contributions totalling $840,000 to communities surrounding the project.

This amounts to $30 million over the project's 35-year life.

Half the annual contribution will be spent by GEH on housing for its workers, with GEH also spending money on training, infrastructure improvements, and support for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.

It will also spend $84,000 a year on a community Fund grants program.

The council will receive $42,000 a year, and will allocate it to waste and landfill improvements and road upgrades.

The Hub would produce enough energy to power around 400,000 Queensland homes, and will avoid 1.6 million tonnes of greenhouse gas being emitted into the atmosphere every year.

Under Queensland legislation that passed last year, all new large-scale wind, solar and battery projects must finalise a Community Benefit Agreement with relevant local governments before seeking state government approval.

Western Downs Regional Council mayor, Andrew Smith, said a number of other proposed renewable energy developments across the region are negotiating Community Benefit Agreements.

The federal and Queensland governments have awarded a total of $820,000 to seven organisations to protect and boost turtle populations, in the latest round of funding under the Nest to Ocean Turtle Protection Program.

Queensland is home to six of the world's seven marine turtle species, all of which are considered threatened due to climate change, habitat loss, and predation of eggs by introduced pests like feral pigs.

The Queensland coast is home to some of the most important marine turtle nesting and feeding sites in the world.

The Queensland government has declared the state's third Special Wildlife Reserve, in an area southwest of Mount Isa.  

The 228,657-hectare Pilungah Special Wildlife Reserve is owned by Bush Heritage Australia and has now become Queensland's third Special Wildlife Reserve. 

The declaration means the area is permanently protected from other land uses, such as mining.

The area supports migratory waterbirds, and has one of the world’s most diverse reptile communities. 

In July 2021 the Wangkamahdla people’s rights over the area were formally recognised in a native title determination and the reserve then became known as Pilungah.

Bush Heritage Australia has prepared a management plan to guide conservation activities across the reserve in close consultation with the Wangkamahdla community.

NSW

A NSW parliamentary inquiry into waste to energy facilities has scheduled a public forum in Goulburn, to be held on Thursday.

For the first time in more than a decade, the NSW government is inviting applications for fossil gas exploration licences in two areas in NSW's Far West. Applications close on 31 July.

The state government will also update regulations to reduce the gas exploration licence application fee from $50,000 to $1,000.

A NSW Legislative Assembly committee has released a report on the impact of water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin.

CR Plus Pty Ltd is seeking approval to increase processing capacity at its Minto resource recovery facility from 450,000 tonnes a year, to 600,000 tonnes annually.

CR Plus is the largest recycler of concrete and brick in Sydney, and operates similar facilities in other Sydney suburbs.

VICTORIA

The Australian Energy Regulator has published its final revenue decisions for 2026 to 2031 for five Victorian electricity distribution network service providers (DNSPs) – AusNet, Jemena, CitiPower, Powercor and United Energy .

The AER said Victoria's energy market is undergoing a complex transition, with changes in household and commercial energy use, new loads such as data centres, and increased focus on resilience due to bushfires and severe weather.

The final decisions allow AusNet to recover $4,745.7 million out to 2031, Jemena to recover $2,000 million, CitiPower to recover $2,039 million, Powercor to recover $5,335.4 million and United Energy to recover $2,319.2 million. 

However, the Regulator estimates that Victorian householders will see an annual fall in the distribution component of their electricity bills of between $6 and $38 over the same period.

This is because forecast higher demand for electricity will result in the increased costs being shared among more customers.

Victoria has the world's third largest deposits of antimony, which is a critical mineral.

And it is now inviting grants for the early-stage development of downstream antimony processing facilities in the state. Grants totalling $1 million are available.

The main use of antimony is to harden lead in storage batteries, and it is increasingly being used in the semiconductor industry.

Solar Victoria has created a new Energy Efficiency Target Reform Division.

The division will be headed by Renae Gasmier, who was previously Head of Innovation and Strategy at AGL.

TASMANIA

The federal government is providing an additional $14.6 million under its Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative (SHEPI) to provide about 1,200 social housing properties in Tasmania with energy performance upgrades.

Work can include double glazing, electric heat pump hot water systems, thermal insulation, and LED lighting.

SHEPI is a $1.1 billion national program, in which the federal government aims to work with states and territories to deliver energy performance upgrades to 100,000 public and community homes.

The federal and Tasmanian governments have previously committed $8.3 million each under the program for energy upgrades to 1,700 properties.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Water testing results show the vast majority of South Australia's coastline is continuing to record zero or low levels of the Karenia algae species.

The majority of testing sites have consistently recorded zero or low levels of Karenia since the start of February.

In the latest round of testing, only one onshore site across the state recorded elevated levels of Karenia.

In line with lower levels of Karenia across South Australian waters, incidents of marine life washing up on beaches has declined significantly since the peak of the algal bloom.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The first federal Capacity Investment Scheme auction rounds for Western Australia's Western Energy Market has resulted in seven generation projects with a total capacity of 1.9GW receiving offers of CIS support.

Six of the projects are wind farms - including Neoen's 420MW Yathroo wind farm, and its 168MW Narrogin wind farm, Zephyr Energy's 470MW Parron Maam Marang project, and Synergy's 240MW Tathra wind farm.

The Capacity Investment Scheme auction has also resulted in support for three battery projects in the Western Energy Market with a total capacity of 482MW.

The successful projects represent a total of $5 billion in new energy infrastructure investment. They will create 7,000 construction jobs and 500 ongoing maintenance jobs in WA's Wheatbelt, Mid-West, Peel and South West.

Project developers have offered to pay more than $1.1 billion in host community benefits, as well as $894.8 million in benefits for host First Nations communities. They will also purchase Australian steel worth $1.1 billion.

The successful projects will generate enough electricity to power more than one million WA households and will provide enough dispatchable storage capacity to support more than 400,000 households for four hours during peak demand.

Federal Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said the successful projects would deliver "the biggest electricity boost in Western Australia's history".

The Capacity Investment Scheme isn't a grant scheme. Instead, successful projects receive payments up to a certain level if their revenue falls below an agreed floor, and make payments to the federal government if their revenue goes above an agreed ceiling.

The Western Australian government will establish a $1.4 billion Clean Energy Fund in this year's state Budget to support renewable energy projects.

The fund - to be detailed as part of the 2026-27 State Budget - will support Clean Energy projects like Clean Energy Link (CEL) - East, which will expand the South West Interconnected System to bring more renewable energy to households and industry in Perth and WA's South West.

CEL - North is currently under construction and will improve access to renewables between Malaga and Three Springs, with high-capacity transmission lines, terminals, substations, and transformers installed on the network to unlock the flow of clean energy from the Mid West. 

CEL - East is the next stage of expansion and will connect new wind and solar projects east of Collie, delivering cleaner, more affordable and more reliable power for the future. 

When complete, CEL - East will deliver enough energy to power about 1 million homes.

Together, CEL - North and CEL - East will deliver 3GW of renewable energy and will create about 800 local jobs during the construction phase.

CEL - North is on track for completion in late 2027, while CEL - East will be online by the end of 2029.

The Western Australian EPA has recommended that a proposed sand and limestone quarry near Mandurah not be approved, because it is bordered on three sides by a national park.

The Yalgorup National Park is the second largest national Park on the Swan Coastal Plain.

The EPA said noise and dust from quarry operations and truck haulage would result in unacceptable environmental impacts.

The same proponent had previously proposed a quarry near a nearby Ramsar wetland, but ultimately withdrew it.

A WA Reuse Impacts Study estimates charity and reuse organisations are keeping thousands of tonnes of waste out of landfill, and allowing households to save about $245 million a year by buying second-hand.

The savings are equivalent to about $200 for every WA household.

The sector is also supporting more than 1,300 jobs, and raised $42 million that was reinvested into social and community programs.

The study, by Charitable Reuse Australia in partnership with the WA Waste Authority, estimated the organisations are allowing households to avoid the consumption of 6,100 tonnes of virgin materials each year.

They are also preventing an estimated 110,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.

IDEAS, ADVOCACY, GUIDANCE, AND INNOVATION

Vanuatu has released the final text of a resolution regarding the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on climate change, which it will put to the United Nations General Assembly for a vote on May 20.

The resolution welcomes the Court's opinion, and calls on the UN Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly a report containing ways to advance compliance with all obligations identified by the Court.

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