To start cutting gas and electricity prices, here’s what the government looks likely to deliver by Christmas

By Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he’ll have a system in place to deal with rising energy prices by Christmas. He can’t yet tell us what it will be, because that will depend on the outcome of negotiations with gas and electricity companies, and possibly on…

Batteries of gravity and water: we found 1,500 new pumped hydro sites next to existing reservoirs

By Andrew Blakers, Australian National University; Anna Nadolny, Australian National University, and Ryan Stocks, Australian National University In eight years, Australia wants to be four-fifths powered by renewables. Solar and wind investment is pouring in. But to firm the renewables and overcome the intermittency, we need overnight energy storage. That’s why there’s so much interest…

Leading economists back federal government action to curb rising gas and electricity prices

By Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Australia’s top economists have overwhelmingly endorsed intervention to restrain gas and electricity prices, with only three of the 47 leading economists surveyed believing the best thing the government can do is to leave things to the market. The 47 economists surveyed are members of…

Ai Group CEO Innes Willox

Peak industry bodies warn of ‘high-risk’ impacts of new workplace laws

The Business Council of Australia, Ai Group and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have said proposed workplace laws allowing multi-employer bargaining may have “harmful, unintended consequences”. The government has accelerated the introduction of the industrial relations bill within the Fair Work Act that allows unions to make enterprise agreements that cover multiple employers…