Herald Sun - State rides a public transport nightmare

MELBOURNE will soon crack half a billion public transport trips in a year in dramatic evidence of the demands on the system.

Department of Transport figures sent to staff this week show that 510 million boardings are forecast next financial year, rising another 30 million the following year.

ABC - Brumby promises big spending on transport

The Victorian government is promising massive investments in infrastructure to address transport problems.

The government is holding a summit to discuss road, rail and public transport networks, including fixing chronic overcrowding on public transport and whether a proposed East-West tunnel is needed in Melbourne.

It will feed into the governments new transport plan being released later this year.

Stuff.co.nz - Horizon Energy lifts profit forecast

Whakatane-based electricity lines company Horizon Energy is forecasting after tax profit between $5.7 million and $6 million for the year to the end of March 2009.

NZ Herald - Greg Plowman: Climate change ideas generate more issues than they solve

I have concerns over the Government's energy and climate change policies.

The Government has a policy to develop only renewable sources of energy. This seems noble from a "climate change" point of view.

These renewable sources of energy include wind farms, hydro plants and geothermal generation. Everything else such as tidal power is still pie in the sky stuff.

Wind farms do not provide constant reliable energy so can only make up a small amount of the total generation. One of my concerns is that this will mean more pressure to build hydroelectric dams.

NZ Herald - Biofuel push may backfire says official

Principles have been written into legislation to try to avoid companies selling imported biofuels that are unsustainable - such as ones that have a bad impact on global food production.

But it is not yet known how it will be determined if a fuel meets the principles.

A top independent official remains concerned that the Government's push for biofuels could backfire, despite late changes to laws that will soon force oil companies to sell them.

News.com.au - Firepower investors told to write off their $120 million

SOUTH Australian investors in the failed fuel pill company Firepower officially have been told their money is unlikely to be recovered.

Stock and Land - Garnaut plan to lift power price by 40pc, fuel by 10c/l

Electricity prices could rise by as much as 40pc and petrol prices rise by up to 10 cents a litre as a result of a carbon price and emissions trading targets proposed by economist, Professor Ross Garnaut, in his second report to the Government which was unveiled today.
He says Australia should cut its emissions by 10pc by 2020, and 17pc by 2012, both of which would trigger major structural reform and adjustment in Australia.

ABC - Biofuels - solving poverty, destroying forests?

The oil palm is transforming the environmental and social landscapes of Indonesia and Malaysia. On the one hand, the current bio-fuel boom is providing a way out to a better life for many poor rural communities, while on the other hand, many view the rapid expansion of plantations as an environmental timebomb.

Australia.to - The Australian Economy and Global Conditions (Statement to Parliament)

At the same time higher food and oil prices have driven up inflation worldwide, limiting the response of central banks to the downturn in output growth.

These are the global challenges confronting the Australian economy, and they are considerable.

From the beginning, we have been upfront about them.

We also face formidable domestic challenges.

The Northern Advocate - Could power saving eco-bulbs be a fire risk?

Power-saving eco-bulbs are meant to be green.

But a Whangarei Heads man has discovered they burn red hot.

David van Buuren was horrified to find an energy-saving eco-lightbulb had melted hot plastic on to his carpet.

The Age - City of 8 million 'unliveable'

MELBOURNE'S population could explode to almost 8 million by 2056, placing massive strain on the city's public transport, water supplies and rapidly expanding urban boundary.