The Oil Drum: Australia/New Zealand | The Bullroarer

The Bullroarer - Friday 15 February 2008

Posted by aeldric on February 14, 2008 - 6:33pm in The Oil Drum: Australia/New Zealand

The Age - The Public is Being Taken For a Ride

The State Government is blaming commuters for its own mistakes.

IT WOULD be good to know whether the people who make decisions about Melbourne's public transport system actually use it. And it would also be good to know if they have ever stopped to ask themselves why we have public transport in the first place.

Last month the State Government suggested that Victorian businesses should change their office hours so that fewer commuters travelled during peak hour.

ABC - Agri Energy suspends shares trading

The company behind troubled plans for big ethanol plants at Swan Hill and Murtoa, in western Victoria, has suspended trading in its shares.

The trading halt was requested by Agri Energy this morning.

It has been struggling to finance projects in the United States because of poor sentiment for the biodiesel industry in Australia and limited margins because of high grain prices.

New Zealand Herald - Are you considering an alternative fuel vehicle?

More New Zealanders than ever are saying goodbye to high petrol prices, logjammed traffic and polluting cars and saying hello to electric scooters.

The number of scooters of all types registered in New Zealand has more than doubled in the past five years, from 7685 in 2003 to 17,738 at the start of this year.

SMH - Woodside buys Shell oil stake off the shelf

WOODSIDE Petroleum has agreed to buy Shell Australia's 16.7 per cent equity share in oil fields on Western Australia's North West Shelf for almost $US400 million ($443 million).

SMH - Measure by measure (Smart Meters)

One family found it was relatively easy to cut power use and cost, writes Peter Hawkins.

It was the wake-up call Anthony and Kate Callaghan received from last year's winter electricity bill that made them do something about reducing their carbon footprint.

SMH - Costa won't back down on privatisation

NSW Treasurer Michael Costa says the government is determined to go ahead with the privatisation of the electricity industry, despite union opposition.

"No, there won't be a backdown," Mr Costa said.

He said the government did not make enough profit on its investment in power generation and distribution, with the current return on assets about five per cent a year.

The Advertiser - Tapping energy from the ocean (Using wave energy for desalination).

PORT MacDonnell waves are being considered as an alternative energy source to power water-desalination plants to supply Adelaide.

The potential is being explored by Carnegie Corporation in talks with the State Government.

The Perth-based company last week successfully deployed a wave energy prototype, called CETO 2, off the coast of Fremantle in Western Australia.

TVNZ - Tui oil notches up milestone

New Zealand Oil and Gas has sold its one-millionth barrel of oil from the Tui fields off the Taranaki coast.

The field went into production at the end of July and has averaged over 40,000 barrels of oil a day.

The Timaru Herald - Making our public transport appealing

Timaru bus use increased 4 per cent last year after four years of decline. And in a continuing push for greater bus use a six-month bus host trial will start in late March.

The aim is to increase middle-of-the-day patronage when the elderly, less able and parents with prams and shoppers may appreciate help.