Environment law and policy tracker

Tuesday, 24 May 2016 10:09am

Reminder: Footprint subscribers can forward Tracker to relevant staff in their organisation.

Law and policy changes in all jurisdictions, and a roundup of the latest jobs, grants and seminars. A Footprint weekly snapshot for environmental and carbon professionals.

Upcoming events
Jurisdictional round-up (national, states and territories)
Jobs and appointments

** Featured vacancy ** The City of Melbourne is advertising a suite of sustainability positions, including leaders for its new climate resilience and low-carbon future teams.

Upcoming events:

Commercial-scale renewables systems and the RET A May 23 webinar by the Clean Energy Regulator for those interested in commercial-scale solar PV systems detailing how they can best benefit from the Renewable Energy Target scheme.
Inclusive business forum 2016 A May 24 conference in Melbourne, hosted by EY, Business for Development and Business Call To Action, on commercially-viable inclusive business models that provide solutions to the problems of the world's poor.
Environmental protection licences workshop A May 25 workshop in Sydney, hosted by the Australian Sustainable Business Group, in conjunction with Henry, Davis, York.
Introduction to green bonds A May 25, 6pm webinar hosted by the Climate Bonds Initiative.
Accessing and managing sensitive ecological data A May 25 evening seminar in Canberra, hosted by EIANZ.
WA 'Best of Ozwater' A May 25 evening seminar in Perth, covering the top themes of the recent Ozwater conference in Melbourne.
The emergence of electric vehicles A May 25 evening seminar in Erina on the NSW central coast, hosted by Engineers Australia.
How to prepare a best-practice sustainability report A May 25 and 26 course in Brisbane, delivered by the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility.
Protecting the environment privately: An evening with Professor Jeff Bennett A May 26 evening seminar in Brisbane on the role of the private sector in conservation, hosted by EIANZ.
Safeguard mechanism workshop A May 26 half-day seminar in Brisbane hosted by the Clean Energy Regulator.
Environmental assessment basics A May 30 one-day course in Brisbane, hosted by EIANZ.
The Australian energy storage conference A June 1 and 2 conference in Melbourne, featuring local and international speakers.
Renewable cities forum A June 1 and 2 conference in Sydney.

For other events, including a workshop in Melbourne on the treatment of wastewater and biosolids, see the extensive Footprint what's on listings.

National:

Environment Minister Greg Hunt and his state and territory colleagues will give officials and industry representatives until the end of the year to negotiate a revised version of the covenant that was introduced in 1999 to cut packaging waste (see background).
The Clean Energy Regulator has approved a consultancy to earn carbon credits by installing energy-efficient refrigerated display cabinets in supermarkets (see background).
The Clean Energy Regulator has released new details on deadlines and procedures for meeting safeguard mechanism obligations (see background).
The Australian Energy Storage Alliance has released the Australian Energy Storage Database, which provides details of commercial and utility-scale energy storage projects in Australia and New Zealand.
A new solar cell configuration developed by engineers at the University of New South Wales, with support from ARENA, has pushed sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency to 34.5% – establishing a new world record for unfocussed sunlight.
Comment closes on June 10 on the third consultation paper on proposed changes to industrial chemical assessment procedures administered by NICNAS.

Queensland:

Environment Minister Stephen Miles has announced the members of a working group that will help prepare a statutory guide to the state's new 'chain of responsibility' pollution law (see background).
Comment closes on June 3 on proposed changes to operating conditions for 20 activities that require an environmental authority from the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. The changes deal with matters including environmental offsets and the duty to notify contamination.
Comment closes on June 27 on a draft revised code for the transport of regulated waste. Award nominations invited: The State Government has invited nominations for the 2016 Premier's sustainability awards, with applications closing on July 15.

NSW:

Comments on the draft Biodiversity Conservation Bill are due by June 28.
Grant opportunity: The NSW Government is inviting grant applications for new rounds under two waste schemes, with applications closing on June 27. The resource recovery facility expansion and enhancement program offers grants of between $100,000 and $1 million, while the innovation in priority problem wastes program offers grants of up to $1 million for infrastructure projects and up to $200,000 for R&D projects.
Grant opportunity: The Environmental Trust has also opened round four of the Love Food, Hate Waste Grants Program, with applications due by June 14.
Award nominations invited: Applications close on July 11 for the NSW Green Globe awards.

ACT:

Grant opportunity: Environment and Climate Change Minister Simon Corbell has invited applications by June 27 for ACT environment grants, with funding of up to $50,000 available.

Victoria:

As part of a major reshuffle, Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews has appointed Lily D'Ambrosio as Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change (see background).
The Goulburn Valley Waste and Resource Recovery Group has released a draft resource recovery implementation plan for the region, which is open for comment until June 10.
Grant opportunity: Sustainability Victoria is offering resource assessment grants to cover 50% of the cost of a resource assessment of their operations. Grants are capped at $10,000 for a combined materials and energy assessment, with a $3,000 implementation bonus also available. Applications must be submitted by August 5.

Tasmania:

Comment closes on June 30 on a draft feral and domestic cat management plan issued by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment.

Western Australia:

State Government-owned Horizon Power will trial a new pricing plan with up to 500 Port Hedland residents and businesses this summer. Participants will receive an incentive payment if they stay within a consumption allowance for the 1pm-to-8pm peak period.
The Department of Environment Regulation has confirmed it will publish annual audit compliance reports submitted by licence-holders, rejecting calls from some quarters to only release them in response to FOI requests (see background).
The EPA will revise its procedures and policies before the end of the year to satisfy the recommendations of an independent review (see background).
Grant opportunity: Environment Minister Albert Jacob has invited funding applications to subsidise purchasing decisions that boost recycling rates for construction and demolition waste (see background).

Northern Territory:

Grant opportunity: The EPA has invited applications for its 2016-17 environment grants program.

Jobs and appointments:

Real estate company CBRE is seeking a Sydney-based sustainability manager.
Glencore is seeking a Darwin-based senior environmental technician to work at its McArthur River mine.
AngloGold Ashanti is seeking a senior environmental advisor to work at its Tropicana mine.
Pacifico, an Acciona-Ferrovial joint venture, is seeking a Coffs Harbour-based environmental graduate to work on its Warrell Creek to Nambucca Heads Pacific Highway upgrade project.
The Department of Environment is seeking a contract manager – integrating renewables to administer a number of grants issued by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
Douglas Partners is seeking a Sydney-based senior contaminated land consultant.
The City of Cockburn has a 12-month vacancy for a sustainability officer.