Climate Spectator's Tristan Edis (27/8/13) reports on estimates by the ALP's Mark Butler of the penalties that some larger companies might pay under the Liberals' Direct Action plan, based on emissions figures from the last four years:

Labor’s Climate Change Minister Mark Butler has released data illustrating how a large number of companies are likely to be paying penalties under the Coalition’s Direct Action scheme.  These companies include Origin Energy, Rio Tinto, BHP, OneSteel, Qantas,...

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A new report by the Climate Institute finds that emissions will increase not decrease under the Coalition's Direct Action policy and that costs would blow out by between $4b and $15b.

From Climate Institute press release:
The Coalition’s climate policy will see Australia’s emissions increase rather than decrease, exposing the Budget, our nation’s carbon competitiveness and its national climate interest.

These are conclusions from the most detailed independent assessment to date of the Co...
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Ben Eltham in the New Matilda:

The man who will become the chair of the Coalition's proposed business advisory council, Maurice Newman, is perhaps the exemplar of this [climate science denialism] line of thinking. Newman, a wealthy former business executive who once chaired the Australian Stock Exchange, is a well-known climate sceptic. Last year he penned an op-ed in The Australian (where else?) in which he claimed that “we have seen the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change discredited...

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How would the wind industry fare under a Coalition government? 

Some excerpts from an article in the Guardian:

The Coalition is under intense pressure from the anti-windfarm lobby and also from many of its own MPs to take much tougher action, either banning new windfarms entirely or abolishing the renewable energy target that provides the industry with an effective federal subsidy. It is promising a review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET)...

The yet-to-be-released [Liberal Party] resources p...
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Tristan Edis from Business Spectator asks whether Greg Hunt or Cory Bernardi is in charge of Coalition climate policy.

"In trying to work out exactly how the Coalition’s Carbon Emission Reduction Fund (ERF) might work, you can’t help but get a little confused by the contradictory statements made about the policy from different members of the Coalition.

Just as shadow climate change minister Greg Hunt starts to reassure you, someone else from the Coalition makes a statement that makes yo...

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Anthony Green, well-known election analyst, lists Batman as Labor's safest seat with a margin of 24.8%. However, he notes that "the margins for Batman and Grayndler are shown with a two-party preferred [Labor/Liberal] margin despite the Greens finishing second at the 2010 election."  When you look at the seat as  Labor/Greens marginal a different picture emerges. 

From Leone Taylor, 'The Guardian':

Batman is officially Labor’s safest seat, held by a margin of 24.8%.

But an aggregation of the l...

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More from Business Spectator on the rumoured behind the scenes ALP struggle over the carbon price: It may prove mere coincidence that the day Business Spectator breaks news of Shorten possibly maneuvering on carbon pricing, Combet declares removing it would be “immoral”, arguably his strongest line since the policy was enacted.Regardless, his doorstop interview makes for intriguing reading in light of the Shorten speculation.
Journalist: Is Labor still committed if you find yourself in Opp...

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Is there a battle brewing between Shorten and Combet for leadership of the ALP after the election - if they lose? Is Shorten sounding out colleagues about walking away from the carbon price like the Coalition did with WorkChoices?

From Business Spectator: "… some strong proponents of climate change action believe Bill Shorten has begun lobbying members of Caucus to abandon carbon pricing as a Labor policy after the next election.
The argument follows the precedent set by the Coalition over Wo...
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Two Liberal MPs want Tony Abbott to review or consider abandoning parts of his $3.2 billion plan to combat climate change in light of ''dire economic circumstances''.

Mal Washer and Dennis Jensen made the comments about the Coalition's Direct Action plan in the same week MPs broke ranks to publicly criticise Mr Abbott's paid parental leave scheme as economically irresponsible.
Western Australian MP Mal Washer said: ''If we are not going to get a big environmental bang for our buck then we ought...
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Electricity generated by Australia's highly polluting brown coal power plants has fallen 14 per cent since introduction of the carbon price, while renewable power has soared. However, there are many factors at work.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/less-electricity-from-brown-coal-20130509-2jals.html
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Latest analysis by expert pollster Anthony Green suggests that the Liberals could win control of the Senate and thus be able to repeal the carbon price.

As reported in The Age:

If current polling continues, and Mr Abbott wins a majority in the House of Representatives, then to repeal the carbon tax he would need 39 votes in the Senate. Currently the Coalition controls 34 out of the 76 seats. 
The Coalition will win another seat in Tasmania and is likely to claim Greens' Senator Sarah Hanson-Youn...
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Read part 1 here.
Read part 2 here.
Read part 3 here.
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