Europe sets Australia’s outsourced carbon tax rate

  Climate Change bureaucrats have today confirmed that Europe will effectively set the rate of the carbon tax adding to Australians’ electricity bills, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today.   It follows carbon tax redesign and linkage with the European Union announced by the Gillard Government in August.   The announced…

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Weatherill damaging Basin Plan goodwill

  South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill should apologise for misguided remarks attacking irrigators over Murray-Darling Basin water use, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today.   Mr Weatherill has suggested farmers suffering stock loss and property damage as a result of any flooding associated with increased environmental flows in the Basin do not deserve compensation.…

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Basin modelling welcome but answers would be too

  The Coalition welcomes the release of today’s hydrologic modelling report.   We hope it will assist the state and federal governments to end the bickering and reach some agreement around this important reform.   The Coalition remains committed to Murray-Darling reform that delivers a triple bottom line that considers economic, environmental and social sustainability…

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Labor’s desal waste warrants investigation

  The Auditor-General should investigate the provision of hundreds of millions of dollars in Commonwealth grants for a mothballed desalination plant, Coalition Murray-Darling Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today.   Senator Birmingham’s letter* to Auditor-General Ian McPhee follows the decision last week to place the $1.8 billion Adelaide Desalination Plant ‘in standby mode’ until at…

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Sue Boyce

  Sue Boyce is a good friend and wonderful colleague who I will miss greatly when she retires as a Senator for Queensland in 2014.   I have always enjoyed a special connection with Sue, the two of us having been sworn in at the same time on 8 May 2007 to fill casual vacancies.…

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Federal millions wasted on mothballed desal plant too

  Taxpayers deserve explanations from Federal and SA Labor about the spending of both federal and state taxpayer dollars on a mothballed desalination plant, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray-Darling Basin Simon Birmingham said today.   It follows SA Water’s shock announcement today that intends to ‘mothball’ the $1.8 billion Adelaide Desalination Plant until at…

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South Australians should embrace World Rivers Day

  Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham is urging South Australians to photograph their favourite river location as part of a competition coinciding with World Rivers Day this month.   Senator Birmingham, the Coalition’s spokesman on the Murray-Darling Basin, is proudly supporting the “Rivers Matter” initiative, created by Australian not-for-profit group the International RiverFoundation.   People are…

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