Jun 2007 - Australian Institute of Energy

EnErgy nEws 

Official JOurnal Of the australian institute Of energy Vol. 25 No. 2 June 2007 

Web www.aie.org.au 

Print Post Approved — PP 326043/00001 

In this Issue 

• Energy & the Law 

• Emissions Trading 

• Methane to Markets 

• Australian OPAL 

• The Budget 

And, introducing… 

• The Inbox

PRESIDENT 

Murray Meaton 

Economics Consulting Services 

Ph: (08) 9315 9969 

email: murray@econs.com.au 

VICE-PRESIDENT & WEBMASTER 

Tony Forster 

Forster Engineering Services 

Ph: (03) 9796 8161 

email: forster@ozonline.com.au 

TREASURER 

David Allardice 

Ph: (03) 9874 1280 

Mobile: 0418 100 361 

email: allad@bigpond.net.au 

SECRETARY 

Paul McGregor 

McGregor & Associates 

Ph: (02) 9418 9544 

email: paul@pmac.com.au 

Rob Fowler 

Abatement Solutions - Asia Pacific 

Ph: (02) 8347 0883 

Mobile: 0402 298 569 

email: rob.fowler@abatementsolutionsap.com 

Malcolm Messenger 

Messenger Consulting Group 

Ph: (08) 8361 2155 

email: mjmessenger_aie@yahoo.com.au 

Colin Paulson 

Ph: (02) 4393 1110 

Mobile: 0422 030 830 

email: vivcol@adsl.on.net 

A I E BOArD 2007 

Tony Vassallo 

Ph: (02) 9810 2216 

email: tvassallo@invenergy.com 

Gerry Watts 

Ph: (03) 6259 3013 

Mobile: 0418 352 543 

email: gapwatts@bigpond.com 

BRANCH REPRESENTATIVES 

BRISBANE 

Andrew Dicks 

Ph: (07) 3365 3699 

email: andrewd@cheque.uq.edu.au 

CANBERRA 

Ross Calvert 

Ph: (02) 6241 2856 

Mobile: 0404 822 300 

email: rcalvert@homemail.com.au 

EDITOR 

Joy Claridge 

PO Box 298, Brighton, VIC 3186 

Ph: (03) 9596 3608 

Mobile: 0402 078 071 

email: editor@aie.org.au 

SECRETARIAT 

Australian Institute of Energy 

PO Box 534, Raymond Terrace, NSW 2324 

Ph: 1800 629 945 

Fax: (02) 4964 9599 

email: aie@aie.org.au

ISSN 1445-2227 (International Standard Serial 

Number allocated by the National Library of 

Australia) 

THE AUSTRALIAN 

INSTITUTE OF ENERGY 

Energy 

News 

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Joy Claridge 

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email: editor@aie.org.au 

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PUBLISHED BY 

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Print Post Approved No. PP 32604/00001 

DISCLAIMER 

Although publication of articles 

submitted is at the sole and absolute 

discretion of the Australian Institute 

of Energy, statements made in this 

journal do not necessarily reflect 

the views of the Institute. 

CONTENTS 

President’s Message 30 

Around the Branches 

Emissions Trading 33 

Corporate Member Profile 

Blake Dawson Waldron 35 

Young Energy Professionals 

AIE Member Profile 

Hydrogen Matters 

Articles 

Methane to Markets Partnership 39 

Science Writers and Energy 41 

Australia’s New Reactor 42 

Budget 2007 43 

The Darwin Declaration 45 

Getting the Most from a Legal Team 47 

The Inbox 

Calendar 

29 EnErgy nEws Vol 25 no. 2, June 2007 

31 

36 

37 

38 

48 

52

Raising our profile 

Murray Meaton, 

President of the 

Australian Institute of Energy 

This is an exciting time to be a part 

of the energy industry in Australia. 

Commonwealth, state and territory 

governments are reviewing energy 

sources and use options. Governments 

are competing to regain the upper 

hand with effective mechanisms to 

reduce the impact of fossil fuel use 

on the environment. Businesses are 

striving to reinvent themselves in 

a new paradigm that better reflects 

the shifting community attitudes to 

environmental impacts and service 

standards. AIE branches across 

the country are responding to this 

energetic debate. Most branches have 

scheduled busy programs for 2007 with 

a commitment to promote an informed 

energy discussion. 

I am honoured to have been selected 

to lead this Institute for 2007. My 

wish is that we can raise the profile of 

the organization and make a positive 

contribution to policy development. 

From the boardroom 

To this end, with the assistance of 

other board members, I contributed to 

a substantial article in the Australian 

Financial Review entitled “Industry 

report finds unis lacking in energy”. 

The article reported on the Australian 

Technology Network’s (ATN’s) recent 

survey of the energy sector which 

found “…that 60% of respondents did 

not think university energy-related 

education was up to scratch”. The AIE 

was quoted extensively along with 

the ATN and the Energy Networks 

Association (see box). 

The board is well aware of the risks 

involved in seeking a higher profile. 

The media highlights the controversial 

and quickly moves away from the 

complex issues that are not readily 

packaged into ‘black and white’ 

options. Despite this, we are convinced 

that the benefits to us all outweigh the 

risks involved. 

A first step in our vision for a higher 

profile is the creation of an ‘expert 

panel’ database. All AIE members are 

being asked to indicate areas of expertise 

when completing subscription renewals 

this year, including their willingness 

to provide media comment. We will 

provide guidelines for those willing to 

join the panel. Our experts may speak 

as members of the Institute, but not on 

behalf of the Institute. Branches and the 

national board would like to hear from 

any members with ideas to help raise 

our profile, and further the goals of the 

Institute. Send a message to us at aie@ 

aie.org.au. I look forward to sharing this 

year with all members of the Australian 

Institute of Energy. 

At its recent June quarter meeting, the AIE Board agreed the following support 

for branches: 

• funds for Canberra and Hobart Branches to facilitate expansion programs 

• funds for all branches (up to $1,000 each in 2007–08) to promote the Institute 

in their respective geographic locations. 

These initiatives will support volunteer committees in their efforts to raise the 

profile of the Australian Institute of Energy. To find out more, contact aie@aie. 

org.au. 

President’s Message 

Excerpt from AFR 

16 April 2007 

The national president of the 

Australian Institute of Energy, 

Murray Meaton told The Australian 

Financial Review that many 

organisations, including universities, 

had “struggled to keep up” as energy 

issues changed rapidly with pressures 

such as global warming. 

“The emerging issues such as 

emissions trading, renewable 

applications in grid systems, efficient 

use of energy, nuclear policy and 

more effective means of promoting 

competition in energy supplies all 

need to be addressed,” Mr Meaton 

said. 

“Nuclear energy has been overlooked 

and it is hard to blame universities 

when a number of state governments 

are reluctant to entertain any 

informed discussion.” 

Mr Meaton said the energy debate has 

move rapidly in recent years and the 

federal government white paper was 

“well out of date”. Industry would 

contribute to the development of new 

policy measures but government had 

to take the lead. 

 

Mr Meaton pointed to a shortfall of 

graduates in technical areas of energy 

supply and use, which he said had 

become less attractive to university 

entrants. The ageing profile of the 

workforce also meant most technical 

areas, such as electrical engineering, 

faced staff shortages as engineers 

moved into retirement. 

30 EnErgy nEws Vol 25 no. 2, June 2007

Sydney Branch was busy in the first quarter of 2007. The event on 2 April ‘sneaks’ 

into first quarter events because of its relevance to September issue’s special feature. 

MELBOURNE 

• Melbourne Branch hosted a site visit to the Energy 

Training Centre at Gippsland TAFE Chadstone campus 

on 8 March 2007. 

PERTH 

• Dr Laurence Mann, Research Manager, Seapower 

Pacific Ltd, presented “Towards the Generation of Base 

Load Electricity and Potable Water from Wave Energy” 

on 13 March 2007. 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA 

• Mr Terry Kallis, CEO, Petratherm, presented “Hot Rocks 

in South Australia: Petratherm’s approach to exploration 

and development” on 28 March 2007. 

SYDNEY 

• Prof Stuart White, University of Technology Sydney, 

presented “A Tale of Two Infrastructures: The future of 

water and energy use in our cities” at the annual meeting 

of four societies on 28 February 2007. 

• Mr Martin Thomas AM, member of the UMPNER 

review panel, presented “Uranium Mining, Processing 

and Nuclear Energy – Opportunities for Australia” on 

5 March 2007. 

• The Young Energy Professionals Working Group enjoyed 

an evening presentation of “Twelve Steps to Effective 

Writing” on 22 March 2007. 

• Mr Tony Beck, Coordinator, Australasian Emissions 

Trading Forum, and Ms Anthea Harris, Project Leader 

for the National Emissions Trading Taskforce, presented 

“Emissions Trading: International and domestic 

perspectives” on 2 April 2007. See page 33. 

Read both sides! 

Subscription Invoices 2007–08 

Around the Branches 

BRANCH AND DIVISION SECRETARIES 

Brisbane 

Dr Patrick Glynn 

Ph: (07) 3327 4636, Fax: (07) 3327 4455 

Mob: 0409 610 823 

email: Patrick.Glynn@csiro.au 

Canberra 

Ross Calvert (Acting Secretary) 

Ph: (02) 6241 2865 

email: rcalvert@homemail.com.au 

Hydrogen Division 

Brad Ladewig 

Ph: (07) 3346 1413, Fax: (07) 3365 4199 

email: b.ladewig@uq.edu.au 

Melbourne 

Chris Hamilton 

C H Energy Pty Ltd 

Tel. (03) 9852 9339 

Mob: 0408 997 305 

email: chenergy@bigpond.net.au 

Newcastle 

Jim Kelty 

Ph: (02) 4961 6544 

email: jim.kelty@advitech.com.au 

Perth 

Sam Bartholomaeus 

Office of Energy 

email: sam.bartholomaeus@energy.wa.gov.au 

South Australia 

Brad Gay 

Ph: (08) 8226 1385 

email: gay.bradley2@saugov.sa.gov.au 

Sydney 

David Hemming 

NSW Department of Water and Energy 

Ph: (02) 8281 7406, Fax: (02) 8281 7451 

email: david.hemming@dwe.nsw.gov.au 

Tasmania 

Sue Fama 

Ph: (03) 6230 5305 

email: sue.fama@hydro.com.au 

Members should have recently received their 2007–08 subscription invoices. These forms are double sided and request 

additional details on the reverse side. The additional details are in three parts: 

1. A request for members to indicate their expertise and interests in energy categories which will be used to update our 

membership database. The current categories in the database are a mix of categories collected over the last 30 years and 

we now plan to standardise the categories for consistency. 

2. Members are requested to indicate whether they are willing to handle media inquiries. The Institute often receives requests 

from the media for information and opinion and is therefore considering creating a panel of experts who can field such 

requests. Members will communicate their opinions as members of the AIE but not as statements of policy of the AIE. 

3. We are trialling an EFT payment option. Members who wish to use this option are requested to follow the instructions 

on the reverse side of the subscription form. 


FORTHCOMING AIE EVENTS 

Note, not all forthcoming AIE events are listed here. To keep 

up-to-date with what’s on, see under ‘Events’ in http://www. 

aie.org.au or make sure you receive the regular email notices 

of events by contacting aie@aie.org.au. Also, notices and 

registration forms will usually be available at least a month 

prior to the event. For Sydney events, see http://www.aie. 

org.au/syd/ for notices and registration forms. 

3 July SYDNEY 

Young Energy Professionals meeting 

“The Energy Future of Australia: 

Discussing the Asia-Pacific Partnership 

on Clean Development and Climate” 

5.30 for 6.00 pm, University of 

Technology Sydney, Building 10, 

Room 6.430. 

11 July SYDNEY 

Young Energy Professionals seminar 

“Personal Financial Planning” 

by Fiducian Financial Services 

and Mercer Wealth Solutions 

5.30 for 6:00 pm at University 

of Technology Sydney Building 2, 

Room 429. 

24 July SYDNEY 

Half-day symposium 

“Climate Change and Energy: Challenges, 

opportunities and solutions” 

12:00 noon to 7:00 pm at Corinthian 

Room, Sydney Masonic Centre, 

Cnr Castlereagh & Goulburn Streets. 

27 July ADELAIDE 

Hon Alexander Downer, 

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 

“Energy and Foreign Policy” 

Details to be advised. 

Contact gay.bradley2@saugov.sa.gov.au 

Call for Contributions 

Energy News had scheduled a special feature on Emissions 

Trading for this issue. However, recent announcements have 

made this topic more suitable for September issue. The Emissions 

Trading Task Group reported back to the Prime Minister on 

31 May 2007. In June, the Australian Greenhouse Office was 

thought to be going to expand its role in the carbon offsets 

market, particularly with its Greenhouse Friendly initiative. The 

National Emissions Trading Taskforce (NETT) established by the 

state and territory governments is now expected to report in either 

July or August. All of these announcements are taking place 

after the June issue content has been finalised. That being said, 

this issue does include an extract from the Emissions Trading 

Taskforce Report and an article on emissions trading based on 

a presentation to Sydney Branch in April. The article includes a 

summary of the global emissions market and an update on the 

design of the NETT’s emissions trading scheme. 

13 August SYDNEY 

Speaker to be advised. 

“Ethanol from sugar cane and biodiesel: 

are these real alternatives in the mix 

for our future fuel needs?” 

23 August ADELAIDE 

Mr Reg Nelson, CEO, Beach Petroleum 

“Beach Petroleum: A Rapidly Growing 

South Australian Oil Company” 

Details to be advised. 

Contact gay.bradley2@saugov.sa.gov.au 

4 September SYDNEY 

NSW & ACT Excellence 

in Energy Awards 

9 October SYDNEY 

Young Energy Professionals Meeting 

Nicole Rothmann, The Nous Group 

“Communication and influencing skills” 

16 October SYDNEY 

Joint symposium with CSIRO 

“Distributed Generation” 

29 November SYDNEY 


End of year meeting 

3 December SYDNEY 

Speaker to be advised. 

“The future of oil prices: is peak oil 

an issue to be addressed?” 

MARK YOU DIARY NOW! 

If your branch is organising an event for the last quarter of the 

year (or even early 2008), send details to editor@aie.org.au to 

promote the event in the September issue of Energy News. 

The revised schedule for special features is: 

September 2007 Emissions Trading 

December 2007 Energy Efficiency & Demand Management 

March 2008 Energy and Water 

If you have any suggestions for other 2008 topics please send 

them to editor@aie.org.au. 

The aim is to include at least two articles, and not more than four, 

that will give readers a better understanding of the topic. Ideally, 

we would like to present the different aspects of the topic and the 

different viewpoints in the relevant debate. Contributions should 

be approximately 1,500 words in length; in ‘Word’ or compatible 

format; and may include illustrations (original format) and 

photographs (jpegs of minimum 300 dpi resolution preferred). 

Please send contributions by no later than 3 August 2007 to AIE 

Communications Sub-Committee Chair, Rob Fowler, at rob. 

fowler@abatementsolutionsap.com. For further information, 

call Rob on (02) 8347 0883. 


Emissions Trading: International 

and domestic developments 

Summary by Tony Vassallo, AIE Sydney Branch 

Presentation to Sydney Branch (hosted by Blake Dawson Waldron) on 2 April 2007 

Tony Beck, Coordinator of the Australasian Emissions Trading 

Forum (AETF), had just returned from the Point Carbon 

Conference in Copenhagen in mid-March. He started the 

presentation with a summary of the global emissions market, 

which has seen explosive growth since early 2006. This growth 

has been driven by the Kyoto Protocol coming into force, the EU 

emissions trading scheme (Phase 1) and both state and voluntary 

schemes in the USA and Australian markets. In millions of 

tonnes of CO2 equivalent, the 2006 total of 1,600 was double 

the 2005 total, with a value of over A$35 billion in 2006. The 

EU scheme comprised 62% and the CDM (Clean Development 

Mechanism) just under 35% of the CO2 equivalent totals. 

The EU scheme covered more than 12,000 installations. The 

Phase 1 pilot scheme is now over-supplied, but the Phase 2 

scheme (2008–2012) has much tighter caps and is trading at 

about A$27/tonne at the moment. In 2006, between three and 

five million tonnes per day were traded. The Phase 3 scheme 

is due to continue beyond 2012, and early trades have already 

started with a 2013 delivery of A$32/tonne. 

The CDM scheme has approximately 570 registered projects 

delivering 780 million tonnes of abatement. There are another 

1,000 projects in the pipeline. There is a diverse mix of 

projects, with biomass energy, hydro, wind, energy efficiency 

and agriculture accounting for three-quarters of the projects. 

There is strong demand for the CDM projects, especially from 

the EU, Japan and Canada, and capital markets are already 

responding. The majority of projects are in India (33%), Brazil 

(16%), Mexico (13%) and China (8%). The main countries 

investing in these projects are the UK (35%), The Netherlands 

(17%) and Japan (11%). 

Figure 1: Australia’s emissions profile 

Mr Beck also covered activities in the USA, where the cap 

and trade scheme across nine north-eastern states is set to 

start on 1 January 2009. Five other states (California, Oregon, 

Arizona, Washington and New Mexico) are also planning a 

similar scheme. The Chicago Climate Exchange is operating a 

voluntary trading scheme, which the Australian company AGL 

has already joined. There is a substantial change in attitude 

occurring in the USA and, coupled with congressional pressure, 

there is likely to be a greater engagement in emissions trading 

in the United States in the next three to five years. 

Anthea Harris, Project Leader for the National Emissions 

Trading Taskforce (NETT) provided an update on the progress 

on the state-based National Emissions Trading Scheme (NETS) 

design. The scheme is supported by all Australian state and 

territory premiers and chief ministers. On 9 February 2007, 

they announced that NETS will commence by the end of 2010 

if the Commonwealth does not agree to implement an alternative 

scheme. The states and territories, as well as the Labor Party at 

a national level, are committed to a 60% reduction in national 

emissions by 2050. 

The scheme will initially apply to all power generation facilities 

emitting more than 25 thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalent 

per year from 2010, with expansion to cover all stationary 

energy systems above 25 thousand tonnes, as well as fugitive 

emissions (underground coal mines, gas production, processing 

and transport) and gas retailers (imputed emissions) in 2013. A 

review of non-covered sectors will be undertaken in 2014. 

The scheme is essentially a ‘cap and trade’ design, where 

emissions are capped at some level in each period and permits 

to emit greenhouse gases are issued for that period. There is a 

penalty for non-compliance which 

underpins a value for emissions, 

and scheme participants can trade 

these permits among themselves 

with prices set by the market. 

The scheme is likely to be based 

on 10 years of known firm caps 

with gateways for 10 further years 

beyond firm caps. The firm caps 

will be extended annually, with 

gateways updated every five years, 

extending them for a further five 

years. These gateways provide the 

limits within which firm annual 

caps may be extended. The permits 

will be an annual, secure property 

right, date stamped with the year in 

which it first became valid. While 

unlimited banking of permits will 

be allowed, borrowing is not. 


Permit allocation will be based around three categories: free 

allocation to some generators; free allocation to trade exposed 

energy-intensive industries, and auctioned permits. Ms Harris 

explained that the reasoning behind this approach was to try 

and maintain a degree of fairness for existing emitters whose 

profitability would be affected. This should help maintain 

shareholder value, but would only continue for the first few 

years of the scheme. After this period, all power generators 

would be required to buy permits. Free permit allocations to 

trade-exposed industries would be maintained until international 

trading agreements applied to their competitors. 

A penalty for non-compliance would be set at a level that caps 

the cost of the scheme at an acceptable level but also encourages 

compliance. The penalty would be applied against each tonne 

of emissions for which a permit had not been surrendered, and 

the penalty would be identical across jurisdictions. NETT is 

currently modelling various penalty levels. Another interesting 

aspect that is likely to be included is ‘offsets’. Offsets would 

be those activities that could be undertaken by participants to 

reduce emissions and could be used to meet their obligations. 

Acceptable offset activities would be aligned with those already 

underway in other schemes, such as the Joint Implementation 

(JI) mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol, providing participants 

with greater flexibility in how they manage their emissions 

reductions. 

There were many questions from the audience, mostly related 

to permit allocation and penalty levels. Readers interested in 

following up some of these details should go to the NETT 

website at www.emissionstrading.net.au and the AETF website 

at www.aetf.net.au. 

Emissions Trading: Task Force Report Key Conclusions 

Extract from the Executive Summary. For a copy of the full report see http://www.pmc.gov.au/ 

emissionstrading/index.cfm 

Climate change is a global challenge that requires a long-term 

global solution in order to avoid environmental, social and 

economic dislocation. 

Curtailing greenhouse gas emissions will impose a cost both 

on the global economy and individual nations. 

Addressing climate change is a risk management issue on a 

global scale. 

The goal of reducing emissions needs to be achieved while 

maintaining international economic growth and development. 

While a comprehensive global approach to climate change is 

required, it will be difficult to reach international consensus in 

the near future. 

In the short to medium term, international action on climate 

change is likely to be focused on cooperation between countries 

at the bilateral, regional and plurilateral levels. 

Australia already has an emissions cap that is applicable until 

2012. 

On balance, there would be benefits in the Australian Government 

now setting a post-2012 constraint on emissions. 

Market-based approaches that deliver a price on carbon will 

achieve greenhouse gas abatement, commensurate with an 

emissions target, at least cost. The overriding goal of Australia’s 

efforts should be to lower emissions at least cost. Of the marketbased 

instruments, emissions trading should be preferred to a 

carbon tax. 

An Australian emissions trading scheme, with a carbon price set 

by the market, would improve business investment certainty. 

For Australia to commit to emissions trading now would place 

us in advance of most of the world community. 

A workable global emissions trading scheme is likely to evolve 

slowly through a patchwork of linked national and regional 

schemes. 

It is in Australia’s interest to develop a domestic emissions 

trading scheme that might, over time, be linked to complementary 

schemes in other countries. Deepening the engagement of 

developing countries in greenhouse gas abatement will require 

the development of links between emissions trading and a range 

of other measures consistent with those countries’ economic 

growth and energy security objectives. 

An Australian scheme should be tailored to our own needs. 

Introduction of an Australian emissions trading scheme will 

require careful planning and implementation. 

Australia’s medium term emissions trajectory and its long-term 

aspirational goal must be set with great care while recognising 

the need for deeper emissions reductions over time. 

An Australian emissions trading scheme needs to take account 

of the trade-exposed nature of many of our emissions-intensive 

industries. The inclusion of trade-exposed, emissions-intensive 

industries in an Australian emissions trading scheme must avoid 

prejudicing their competitiveness but also provide them with 

appropriate incentives for abatement. 

The key design features of an Australian emissions trading 

model should be based on a ‘cap and trade’ model. 

Flexibility is vital. The operation of the scheme should be 

reviewed periodically, initially on a five-yearly basis, to allow 

calibration of the sequence of short-term emissions caps. 

Policy towards deployment of low-emissions technologies 

should be technology neutral, allowing the market to choose 

the least-cost solutions. Emissions trading is not a panacea. An 

Australian approach to reducing emissions must be national and 

operated by only one level of government. It will take about four 

years for Australia to begin full-scale emissions trading. 

The challenge of addressing climate change through policies 

of adaptation and mitigation must not be underestimated. It is 

highly complex. The Task Group believes the key to success 

is to begin at once, but to proceed with care on the basis of 

considered and informed decisions. 


Blake Dawson Waldron 

Resources and Energy Practice 

Blake Dawson Waldron (BDW) is one of Australia’s leading 

law firms with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, 

Perth, Brisbane, Shanghai, Port Moresby and an associated 

office in Jakarta. It was named Australian Law Firm of the 

Year in 2006 by Chambers Global. BDW’s resources and 

energy practice most recently won the 2007 Australasian 

Legal Business (ALB) Award for Australia’s best energy and 

resources deal, as well as Australian Deal of the Year (ALB 

Awards 2006) and Australia’s best energy and resources 

practice (Australian Law Awards 2005). 

Companies in the resources and energy sectors represent 

a substantial part of BDW’s client base and the firm has 

experience in all the issues that arise in transactions in the 

mining, oil and gas, and energy sectors. Clients range from 

comparatively small entities to some of Australia’s largest 

companies, including BHP Billiton, Alinta and Woodside 

Petroleum, as well as international organisations. BDW’s 

lawyers have experience in infrastructure, engineering and 

construction, insurance, financing, environment and native 

title law, industrial relations, taxation, administrative law 

and property. 

BDW’s mining law specialists regularly assist clients 

by providing legal advice, undertaking negotiations and 

preparing documentation on their behalf, including: 

• application of mining legislation and other relevant 

legislative and regulatory regimes to proposed and existing 

mining projects and liaising with relevant government 

departments and regulatory agencies; 

• acquisition, management and disposal of mining assets 

and interests, including due diligence reviews; 

• financing of mining projects and capital market fund 

raisings; 

• agreements with state governments in relation to significant 

mining projects; 

• contractual agreements relating to exploration and production 

of minerals and the development of mining projects, 

including the development of project infrastructure; 

• contractual agreements for the transportation, marketing 

and sale of mineral products; and 

• grant of tenure and land access. 

BDW’s oil and gas law specialists have worked on projects 

in almost every major Australian and Papua New Guinean 

offshore and onshore petroleum region, including the 

Gippsland and Otway Basins in offshore Victoria, the Cooper- 

Eromanga Basin in South Australia/South-West Queensland, 

the Carnarvon, Bonaparte and Perth Basins in Western 

Corporate Member Profile 

Australia, the Papuan Fold Belt, the North-West Shelf, and the 

Timor Sea. They have also worked on projects involving gas 

transportation on the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline, 

LNG, gas-to-liquids, and coal bed methane. International 

petroleum-related projects include the Guangdong LNG project 

(China), Sonatrach LNG Refinery (Algeria) and the Ravva Oil 

project (India). BDW can provide advice on all aspects of 

projects for the exploration, production and use of oil and 

gas including regulatory approvals and issues, construction, 

subsea production facilities, well services, contracting and 

procurement, contract management, shared facilities and 

infrastructure, port services, industrial relations, pipelines, 

petroleum resource rent tax, FPSOs and floating production 

facilities, PSLA, operational issues, asset acquisitions and 

disposals, stamp duty and registration fees on transactions. 

BDW has extensive experience in the energy industry, acting 

for a number of generators, transmission operators, distribution 

operators and retailers Australia-wide, including: 

• advising on project financing for the acquisition of interests 

in power stations; 

• acting on the sale and purchase of power assets, including 

gas pipelines; 

• documenting and negotiating hedging contracts and retail 

sale agreements; 

• preparing and negotiating energy procurement and 

operation and management contracts for power projects; 

• advising on, negotiating and documenting arrangements 

for the construction and ownership of cogeneration 

facilities, electricity access, connection and supply; 

• advising on the regulation of utilities both to regulators 

and government and to bidders on projects, privatisations 

and private sales of utilities; 

• developing access arrangements under the National Access 

Code; 

• documenting and negotiating gas transportation and supply 

agreements; and 

• advising on retail market price regulation and standard 

contracts. 

Members of the national energy team are regularly involved in 

projects overseas in location as diverse as Mauritania, Armenia, 

Mongolia, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. The 

BDW energy team regularly advises the Minerals Council of 

Australia, the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration 

Association Limited and the Queensland Mining Council. 

Involvement with peak mining and resources industry bodies 

and with governments in relation to resources legislation places 

BDW at the forefront of developments in the law. 


Energy News asked BDW partner, 

Martin Kudnig, about the key legal 

issues in the energy sector. Mr 

Kudnig is head of BDW’s natural 

resources and energy group. He 

practices mainly in resources 

and commercial law, including 

infrastructure and resource 

projects, the acquisition and 

disposal of mining and oil and gas 

assets and corporate and project 

due diligence investigations. 

“Emerging legal issues relate to where energy is going to 

come from in the future,” said Mr Kudnig. 

“That means taking into account climate change and 

greenhouse gas emissions. 

Mr Kudnig said that the questions raised include: Will 

nuclear energy be viable in Australia? What is the direction 

of technology such as clean coal technologies? What will 

be the impact of using other forms of clean energy? Will 

Australia embrace a carbon trading scheme? What are the 

timeframes for any changes in energy supply? 

“New forms of energy imply new laws to deal with new 

situations,” he said. “For example, the nuclear energy task 

force recommended that a central administrative body 

oversee mining, processing and export of uranium. Some of 

these aspects are currently covered by state laws.” 

YEP group one year on 

Martin Kudnig 

Just over a year ago, AIE held its inaugural young energy 

professionals (YEP) event in Sydney. To build on the 

momentum of the inaugural event and to develop suitable 

activities that catered for the needs of younger members, 

the YEP Working Group was formed. The commitment 

and energy of the group has created a diverse and exciting 

programme of events in 2006 and 2007. 

In 2007, the YEP program started with a workshop entitled 

“12 Steps to Effective Writing” on 22 March. This lively 

and informative workshop was facilitated by Verne Ordman 

from Verne Ordman and Associates, who presented simple 

techniques to assist with planning and writing documents. 

He also discussed conventions from the latest edition of the 

Commonwealth Government’s style manual. 

In May, the YEP Working Group hosted a seminar on 

“Energy Policy in New South Wales”. Participants heard 

presentations from Ms Liesl Baumgartner, Deputy Director 

General of the Department of Water and Energy, and Mr 

Simon Kelley, Senior Analyst with the Independent Pricing 

and Regulatory Tribunal. Ms Baumgartner’s presentation 

focused on the development of two key energy policies in 

BDW has been a corporate member of the AIE (through 

the Perth Branch) for two years. With offices in Brisbane, 

Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, BDW staff attend AIE events 

in each of these locations. In Sydney, BDW has kindly 

provided its function rooms and, in some cases, catering 

for AIE events in 2006 and 2007, the most recent being the 

presentation on emissions trading on 2 April. 

“The AIE hosts excellent presentations by senior executives 

and the meetings are great networking opportunities,” said 

Martin Kudnig. 

“I have recently moved to Melbourne from Perth. There, the 

AIE events were well-attended and all the people of importance 

in the energy industry were there. I am now looking forward 

to attending some of the events in Melbourne. 

“Being an Institute corporate member is a good way of 

keeping close to the energy industry. Lawyers working in 

the energy sector need to have a good understanding of the 

industry, be familiar with the terminology, and keep up-todate 

with project developments.” 

For further information about Blake Dawson Waldron and 

its energy practice, contact Martin Kudnig on 03 9679 3000 

or martin.kudnig@bdw.com.au. 


New South Wales – the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme 

(GGAS) and the New South Wales Renewable Energy Target 

(NRET). Participants were also given a general overview of 

the Owen Inquiry into Electricity Supply in New South Wales, 

which had been announced the day before. Simon Kelley’s 

presentation focused on the general role of IPART in regulating 

infrastructure industries, as well as the implementation of 

GGAS, which is administered by IPART. 

In the coming months, the YEP Working Group will be 

hosting events on a range of topics of relevance to younger 

members, including a personal financial planning seminar and 

a workshop on how to develop better working relationships. 

An energy forum on the Asian Pacific Partnership on Clean 

Development and Climate (AP6) is being planned for 

July. The forum will enable participants to gain a better 

understanding of AP6, and to share their views on Australia’s 

energy future through interactive dialogue. Further details of 

these and other events will be sent to Sydney-based members 

and friends in due course. Alternatively, feel free to email 

Debborah.Marsh@uts.edu.au for more information. 


‘GETTING TO 

KNOW YOU’ 

Introducing Susie Wood, Young Energy Professional 

and winner of best overall project at the AIE National 

Postgraduate Student Energy Awards in 2006. 

How did you get involved with the Energy Industry? 

My undergraduate degree was in chemical engineering. I 

enjoyed the research on combustion I did as part of my final 

year thesis project, so chose to do a PhD in the same field. 

I’m especially interested in the environmental impacts of 

the energy industry. 

What is your current job? 

PhD student in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular 

Engineering at the University of Sydney. My research is 

about using porous burners to burn very dilute fuels that 

would not normally be flammable, eg for example fugitive 

methane emissions from coal mines or landfills. 

What do you enjoy about your job? 

It involves a good mixture of hands-on experimental work 

and computer modelling, and I have lots of opportunities 

to communicate my research through writing papers and 

presenting at conferences. 

What is the most challenging aspect of your job? 

Staying focused on my thesis and not allowing myself 

to become too sidetracked by the many interesting but 

tangential topics that keep cropping up. 

What do you think is the biggest issue in the industry? 

Dealing with climate change. 

AIE Member Profile 

What is your vision for the industry in say 20 years time? 

Dynamic and diverse: increasingly sustainable and more and 

more focused on carbon abatement and renewable energy 

technologies. 

How do you start your working day? 

With a double espresso whilst reading the Sydney Morning 

Herald website. 

Whose job do you most covet and why? 

Tim Flannery’s, because I’d love to be able to write that well 

about something I am passionate about. 

What is the funniest thing you’ve done or experienced? 

My few attempts at singing in public, or so the audiences on 

each occasion have told me. I would beg to differ. 

Who or what motivates you and why? 

A fast-approaching deadline for obvious reasons. 

What are your favourite hobbies? 

Racing outrigger canoes and dragon boats, scuba diving, 

bushwalking and reading. 

Currently reading 

“Cloudstreet” by Tim Winton. 

What is your favourite movie of all time? 

The Thomas Crown Affair (original version). 

What are your strengths? 

Working well under pressure and being interested in the 

big picture. 

What are your weaknesses? 

Red wine and dark chocolate. 

If you were stuck on a desert island, what three items 

would you want to have with you? 

A mask and snorkel (can that count as one item?), the Oxford 

English Dictionary, and a wind-up radio. 

Sydney Branch Young Energy Professionals Group is a great success 

(see their events program on page 32) 

Are other branches keen to start a similar group? 

Yes? 

Then, don’t start from scratch. 

Get in touch with the Sydney group to discuss how to form 

and operate a local network of young professional people in the energy sector. 

Email Debborah.Marsh@uts.edu.au 


Australian Government review of hydrogen energy 

AIE members will be aware of the National Hydrogen Study 

commissioned by the Department of Industry, Tourism 

and Resources and published in 2003. This was followed 

by the Australian Hydrogen Activity Report prepared by 

CSIRO in 2005. However, in the 2004 Energy White Paper, 

hydrogen rated barely a mention. Now, hydrogen is back 

on the Government’s agenda. Following the recent review 

of nuclear power, the House of Representatives Standing 

Committee on Industry and Resources is reviewing the 

development of the non-fossil fuel energy industry in 

Australia. The Committee will undertake a comparative 

study of the following renewable energy sectors: solar, 

wave, tidal, geothermal, wind and hydrogen. The study will 

examine the relative state of development of these sectors 

and their prospects for economically-viable electricity 

generation, storage and transmission. This means, hydrogen 

energy will be reviewed in the context of Australia’s energy 

business as a whole. Submissions for the review were invited 

by 15 June. To keep track of this review, see http://www.aph. 

gov.au/house/committee/isr/renewables/index.htm. 

Queensland alliance with South Carolina 

Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, was in South Carolina 

on 11 May to witness the signing of a Memorandum of 

Understanding between the University of Queensland and 

the University of South Carolina in hydrogen and fuel cells. 

As well as providing a framework for collaborative research 

between Queensland and its sister state in the United States, 

the agreement will support the exchange of faculty and 

students working in hydrogen and fuel cell technology as 

well as the development of business interests in the two 

states. The first tangible outcomes of the agreement are 

that the University of Queensland has been chosen as the 

international partner in a proposal for a new engineering 

centre of excellence in the USA, and the South Carolina 

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance has agreed to be a sponsor 

of WHEC 2008, which will be held in Brisbane next year. 

Hydrogen plant in WA 

On 17 May, Rio Tinto and BP joined forces to form a 

joint venture, Hydrogen Energy, which will develop 

‘decarbonised’ energy projects around the world. The venture 

will initially focus on hydrogen-fuelled power generation, 

using fossil fuels and carbon capture and storage (CCS) 

technology to produce new large-scale supplies of clean 

electricity. Decarbonised energy projects are based on the 

conversion of fossil fuel feedstocks, such as coal, petroleum 

coke (a refinery by-product) and natural gas, to hydrogen 

and carbon dioxide gases, with the carbon dioxide being 

captured and sent for permanent sequestration in geological 

formations deep beneath the Earth’s surface. In power 

projects, the hydrogen would be used to fuel a gas turbine 

for generation of industrial-scale supplies of electrical power. 

Full integration with CCS technology would ensure that 

90% of the carbon dioxide which would otherwise have 

been emitted to the atmosphere would be safely captured 

and stored. On 21 May, Hydrogen Energy announced it 

would undertake feasibility studies and work on plans 

Hydrogen Matters 

for the potential development of an A$2 billion (US$1.5 

billion) coal-fired power generation project at Kwinana in 

Western Australia to be fully integrated with CCS. If it goes 

ahead, the project will gasify locally-produced coal from the 

Collie region to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The 

hydrogen will be used in the first instance to fuel the power 

station generating 500 MW of electricity – enough to meet 

15% of demand in south-west Western Australia. Each year, 

four million tonnes of CO2 will be captured and permanently 

stored in deep underground saline aquifers. This project 

mirrors other projects on coal gasification and CCS in the 

United States, and could provide the coal industry with a 

transitional path to a future hydrogen economy. 

WHEC 2008 

This is a call for AIE members to help find more potential 

sponsors for the World Hydrogen Energy Conference (WHEC 

2008) being hosted by the Australian Institute of Energy. See 

the advertisement on the back cover. Also, there are quite a 

few international hydrogen and fuel cell conferences coming 

up (see Calendar on page 52). WHEC 2008 will be targetting 

potential delegates, exhibitors and sponsors at these events, 

So, if any AIE members intend to go to these conferences or 

other hydrogen or fuel cell events and are happy to be AIE 

ambassadors for WHEC 2008, please contact conference 

organisers at whec2008@icms.com.au. 


The Methane to Markets Partnership 

By Saravan Peacock, 

Assistant Director, Bilateral Climate Change Partnerships, Australian Greenhouse Office 

In October 2007 the international Methane to Markets 

Partnership (M2M) will take its collective expertise to 

Beijing to showcase opportunities to generate energy (and 

profits) from methane. The Beijing Expo will bring together 

project developers and financiers, technology manufacturers 

and vendors, and government policy-makers to exchange 

ideas and showcase new projects. A range of Australian 

companies and researchers are already planning to attend 

the expo to see the latest technologies, explore new business 

opportunities and exchange ideas and experience with 

practitioners in key markets like China, the United States, 

India and Europe. 

Methane is a valuable energy resource that is often wasted 

by companies and governments across many sectors of the 

economy. It is also a major contributor to global greenhouse 

gas (GHG) emissions, being 23 times more effective than 

carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. As energy 

costs increase and governments look to reduce greenhouse 

gas emissions there are huge commercial opportunities to 

convert wasted methane to energy through already proven, 

cost-effective technologies. 

Since the industrial revolution, methane concentrations in 

the atmosphere have more than doubled, largely because of 

human activity. Methane now accounts for 16% of all GHG 

emissions globally, with about 60% of total methane emissions 

coming from anthropogenic (human-related) sources. 

As well as reducing emissions and promoting profits, 

projects that capture and use methane can also facilitate 

broader economic development, strengthen energy security 

and improve local living conditions such as air quality and 

industrial safety. For example, capturing methane from 

underground coal mines improves safety conditions by 

reducing explosion hazards. 

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 

M2M was formed in 2004 to capture these benefits by 

promoting methane’s cost-effective capture and use as a 

clean energy source in the near term. M2M targets four 

major methane sources: animal waste management, coal 

mines, landfills, and natural gas and oil systems. National 

governments, private sector entities, development banks, 

non-governmental organizations, financial and technical 

experts, and other interested parties work together to 

develop methane capture and use projects internationally. 

There are currently 20 member countries and more than 500 

companies, professionals and organisations involved in the 

partnership. M2M achieves its goals by facilitating public 

Articles 

and private sector investment in projects that capture and use 

methane. Partners work together to both identify barriers to 

the development of projects and support activities to help 

overcome these barriers. These activities include capacitybuilding 

workshops and other training events, technology 

transfer, feasibility studies, and technical assistance. Partners 

also work together to identify and assess potential project 

sites and to clarify regulatory and legal issues. 

The Methane to Markets Partnership Expo in Beijing 

from 30 October to 1 November 2007 is the premier 

international forum for promoting project opportunities 

and technologies that capture and use methane. The expo’s 

technical programme will include four sector-specific tracks, 

along with presentations, training, and other sessions. The 

expo will be hosted by China’s National Development and 

Reform Commission and the United States’ Environmental 

Protection Agency along with China’s major industry 

departments and three major Chinese state-owned oil and gas 

companies. Among the major sponsors for the event is the 

Asian Development Bank, which has extensive experience 

with clean energy projects. The Australian Government will 

have a stand to promote Australian companies and expertise, 

and to highlight the work Australia is doing to promote the 

worldwide capture and use of methane. 

Figure 1: Australia’s sector contributions to methane emissions, 2005 

Action in each of the partnership’s four key target sectors 

– coal mine methane, landfill gas, oil and gas, and the 

agriculture sector – is coordinated by a subcommittee with 

its own action plan focussed on sector-specific issues. 


COAL MINES 

The M2M Coal Mines Subcommittee has a particular focus 

on promoting the cost-effective capture and utilisation 

of methane produced from coal mines. Methane must be 

removed from underground mines for safety reasons, either 

in advance of mining, during mining activities, or after 

mining has occurred. Traditionally, coal mine methane 

(CMM) has been flared or simply vented to the atmosphere 

despite being an efficient and relatively clean-burning energy 

source. In Australia, methane produced from underground 

coal mines has been estimated by the Australian Greenhouse 

Office to constitute 3.1% of Australia’s net GHG emissions. 

Globally, coal mines account for approximately 8% of all 

methane emissions. The effective capture and utilisation of 

CMM offers significant environmental as well as economic 

benefits. There are a number of significant projects underway 

in Australia. In March this year, Anglo Coal and Energy 

Developments Limited announced the opening of the 32 MW 

German Greek CMM power station which will be fuelled by 

waste mine gas from the Grasstree Coal Mine. The project 

has received a A$15 million grant as part of the Australian 

Government’s Greenhouse Gas Abatement Programme and 

will deliver an annual reduction in GHG emissions of up 

to 1.1 million tonnes per year. In its 2007/08 budget, the 

Australian Government also invested A$18.5 million over 

five years, to reduce GHG emissions from underground coal 

mining activities. 

Australia is also a world-leader in innovative uses for 

CMM, including ventilation air methane (VAM) which often 

has a concentration of less than 1% methane. CSIRO has 

developed a technology called VAMCAT (Ventilation Air 

Methane Catalytic Turbine) to safely extract methane from 

ventilation air and capture it for electricity generation. 

Figure 2: Methane released through coal mine fan exhaust ports like 

this one in Central Queensland are the target of the new VAMCAT 

technology (Photo courtesy of CSIRO) 

The new technology is being demonstrated through the 

testing of a 10-30 KW prototype unit at a mine site in China. 

In China, more than 70% of coal mine drainage gas has a 

Figure 3: Design of the ~30 KWe VAMCAT demonstration unit 

(Photo courtesy of CSIRO) 

methane concentration of less than 30% – too low for use 

by conventional technologies. VAMCAT can use this level 

of methane either as a primary fuel or as a supplementary 

fuel when it needs additional methane to operate on the very 

low concentration ventilation air. 

The M2M Coal Mines Subcommittee is working closely with 

industry and governments across the partnership to promote 

opportunities for the capture and use of CMM. The expo 

will showcase the significant potential for CMM projects in 

partner countries such as China, India and Russia. 

LANDFILL GAS 

The M2M Landfill Subcommittee is focussed on lowering 

the main barriers to developing more landfill gas (LFG) 

projects. These are lack of information about existing and 

planned landfills in each member country, lack of experience 

of LFG projects in many member countries, and lack of 

awareness among local authorities of the opportunities 

to develop LFG projects. The Australian LFG market is 

very mature with most major opportunities already being 

exploited. Consequently, a number of Australian companies 

are interested in opportunities abroad, and the Beijing Expo 

will be a useful opportunity to meet potential partners and 

learn from the experience of developers who are already 

working in these overseas markets. 

The expo’s landfill programme will highlight lessons learned 

in developing projects for the capture and use of landfill 

methane. These include interpreting and using LFG models, 

the relationship between landfill operations and gas capture 

systems, and project financing and contracts. There will also 

be panel discussions highlighting case studies and innovative 

uses, such as vehicle fuel technologies, small-quantity LFG 

projects, and LFG projects in China and other economiesin-transition. 

AGRICULTURE 

Methane from animal waste represents 12% of Australia’s 

national greenhouse gas emissions. Innovation in the 

agriculture sector can reduce these emissions significantly, 

while implementing methane reduction programs can 

also provide secondary income streams for farmers. The 


M2M provides a useful opportunity to learn about leading 

developments in this new field. As part of its involvement in 

the partnership, the Australian Government is working with 

the intensive livestock industries and the Rural Industries 

Research and Development Corporation, to develop and 

adapt technologies that capture and use methane. The 

expo’s agriculture program will focus on the global status of 

anaerobic digestion of livestock waste. Topics may include 

the economics of anaerobic digestion as a pollution control 

alternative, profiles of existing projects, examples of national 

programs that develop sustainable markets and mechanisms 

for deploying anaerobic digestion technologies, examples of 

emerging waste management and pollution control programs, 

rural household/small-scale digesters and gas uses, unheated 

covered lagoons for milder climates, and digesters using 

co-mingled waste and centralized operation. 

OIL AND GAS SYSTEMS 

The expo will cover all aspects of worldwide reductions 

in methane emissions from oil and gas systems, especially 

those located in China. There will also be a technical program 

focused on policy and regulatory issues such as carbon 

markets, and low methane emissions pipeline maintenance 

and repair technologies. 

FURTHER INFORMATION 

For more information about the Methane to Markets 

Partnership and the Beijing Expo, please visit http://www. 

methanetomarkets.org/ 

You can join the partnership’s voluntary and free project 

network online at http://www.methanetomarkets.org/ 

partners/network/index.htm 

The Australian Government is coordinating Australian 

involvement in the expo and providing information and 

advice to Australian companies and researchers who are 

attending. For more information about the Australian 

Government’s involvement, please contact Saravan Peacock 

at saravan.peacock@environment.gov.au/ 

Science writers focus on energy 

By Joy Claridge, Editor, AIE 

Energy was a key topic at the 5th World Conference of Science 

Journalists held in Melbourne on 16–20 April 2007. The 

plenary on the third day – Reporting Climate Change – featured 

Kevin Hennessy (CSIRO Climate Impacts and Risk Group), 

Geoff Love (Bureau of Meteorology) and Ian Lowe (Australian 

Conservation Foundation). Their ‘consensus’ message was that 

there is a scientific consensus about climate change and this 

is reflected in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

Change (IPCC) technical report which was agreed to by 300 

delegates from 200 countries. Although scepticism is how 

science works, the panellists advised journalists to be critical 

in their selection of alternate views on climate change. Science 

sources should be reputable and expert, and that means peerreviewed 

in prestigious journals. 

Although there was little room for sceptics at the plenary 

session, debate was lively later that day in the parallel 

session – Coal: fuel of the future? Chaired by ABC Science’s 

Bernie Hobbs, this session featured Peter Cook (CRC for 

Greenhouse Gas Technologies), Doug Holden (Australian 

Coal Association), Ian Lowe (Australian Conservation 

Foundation) and Wang Yu (China Daily). For those 

familiar with the debate, there were no real surprises in the 

presentations, however it was interesting to hear the debate 

in a forum for journalists. 

Bernie Hobbs opened the session with the question, “Is coal 

on the way out?” 

“If you look at the recent efforts by UK and EU governments 

you might think so,” said Ms Hobbs. 

“Yet coal sustains many economies including that of Australia 

– the world’s biggest coal exporter with 30% of the traded 

coal market. Australia’s coal mines employ about 30,000 

people and, in 2005–06, Australia earned $25 billion from 

coal exports making it the single biggest commodity export 

by value. Our industries enjoy the competitive advantage of 

cheap energy, but, one-third of all emissions of CO2 from 

human activity come from burning fossil fuels to generate 

electricity. So, is there a future for coal?” 

Doug Holden opened the presentations, noting that 

1.5 million people do not yet have access to electricity. 

The world is consuming 6 billion tonnes of coal this year, 

and will consume 10.5 billion tonnes by 2030. Australia 

is responsible for only 6% of production and 2% of 

consumption. Coal has a future, but it will have to be used 

more efficiently and produce fewer emissions through new 

clean coal technologies. 

Peter Cook added that there needs to be a portfolio of 

responses to climate change, including carbon capture and 

storage (CCS) as long as we use fossil fuels. 

“We have enough CO 2 storage space but it is not always 

where we would like it,” he said. 

“Australia is well-positioned to implement CCS in terms of 

expertise and storage opportunities. Our first CCS project is 

underway in Victoria and will start injecting CO 2 to a depth 

of two kilometres in September this year.” 

Although Australia is a major exporter of coal, the vast 

majority of coal is produced and consumed in other countries. 

For example, China produces and consumes about one-third 

of the world’s coal and, in 2006, China started to import coal 

for the first time in 10,000 years. 


According to Wang Yu, this was the result of changes to 

trade barriers, local mine depletion, safety issues and high 

internal transport costs. 

“China will be an important driver of the future price of 

coal,” he said. 

Although the Chinese Government has plans to reduce its 

reliance on coal for electricity generation and increase the 

use of gas and renewables, this shift will take many years 

and will significantly reduce the world’s overall consumption 

of coal. 

Ian Lowe pointed out that the historic costs of coal – smog, 

acid rain and particulate emissions – are largely cleaned up, 

at least in OECD countries. Today, the cost of using coal is 

CO2 emissions. 

“Climate change is real and serious and a driver of other 

environmental problems such as loss of biodiversity,” he 

said. 

“The main cause is burning fossil fuels especially coal. It is 

clear we cannot sustain our present pattern of energy use, let 

alone extend it. The rational response is to shift to cleaner 

energy sources such as gas and renewables, and to improve 

efficiency.” 

Prof Lowe argued that CCS has unresolved questions. 

“How much will it cost? How reliable will it be? How much 

useful energy would it absorb?”, he asked. 

“It seems odd to me to release CO 2, then try and catch it to 

send it back. Might it not be better to leave it there in the 

first place?” 

The presentations provoked many questions from the 

audience, four of which are reported here. 

Q. Who should pay for emissions? 

DOUG HOLDEN: The UN decided that consumers are 

responsible and should pay at consumption. We all consume 

electricity, so we should all pay. However we, as producers, 

also have a responsibility to help other countries to reduce 

greenhouse gas emissions. We are funding clean coal 

technology projects here and overseas. 

Q. How do we make sure other countries use CCS? 

PETER COOK: We can’t make sure they do, but we can 

work on international protocols and share costs. China, 

for example, will not take up CCS immediately because 

it increases costs and they cannot afford it. But, China is 

working on the technology. We need an international accord 

and targets we all share. 

Q. Won’t the CO2 leak in the Otways? 

PETER COOK: It will not leak because is compressed at 

depth and sealed in porous rocks which are capped. Natural 

accumulations have been in the ground for millions of years, 

and we are just emulating nature. 

Q. But the rate of injection cannot keep up with demand, 

so is CCS only a short-term solution? 

PETER COOK: CCS is a transitional technology to 100% 

renewables, but we are a long way from reaching our 

capacity in the Gippsland Basin. The IPCC estimates there 

is enough global storage to 2100. Australia is one of the first 

countries to assess its storage resource and there is enough 

here for 1,000 years, but some of this capacity is a long way 

from the source of CO2 emissions. 

Q. If we use less coal, what do we do about the impact on 

jobs and the economy? 

IAN LOWE: The coal industry employs only one-third of the 

jobs we have lost in manufacturing. Efficiency and cleaner 

energy are more labour-intensive, so more jobs are added 

than lost. From an economy-wide perspective it makes sense 

to shift to renewables. 

When, at the end of the session, Bernie Hobbs asked, “Would 

you put your superannuation in coal?”, all except Ian Lowe 

said “Yes”. 

If you want to see what else was discussed at the conference, 

you can access the blog from the conference web at www. 

scienceinmelbourne2007.org. 

Australia’s new nuclear reactor 

By Leslie Kemeny* 

On 19 and 20 April 2007, the Australian Nuclear Science 

and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) celebrated the recent 

commissioning of its new, world-class, OPAL (Open Pool 

Australian Lightwater) research reactor at the Lucas Heights. 

On the 19th, scientists, business leaders and academics were 

introduced to the reactor and its technical capacity for the 

manufacture of radiopharmaceuticals, its material science 

applications, its environmental services and its neutron 

scattering facilities for business applications. The formal 

OPAL opening function took place that evening and, on the 

20th, Prime Minister John Howard visited ANSTO to be 

briefed about OPAL and to be shown the work being carried 

out at Lucas Heights. 

The OPAL research reactor is of an open pool type, costing 

around $350 million. It operates at 20 megawatts. This is 

twice the thermal energy of the first ANSTO reactor, HIFAR 

(High Flux Australian Reactor), which was commissioned 

at Lucas Heights in 1958 by the predecessor of ANSTO, 

the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC). OPAL 


has a light water coolant and moderator and a heavy water 

reflector. It utilises plate type fuel elements and provides high 

and low energy neutron sources for research purposes. As 

well, it has more than 50 facilities for radioisotope production 

and seven facilities for silicon doping. 

When the AAEC was established under the Atomic Energy 

Act No.31 in 1953 it was assigned three main areas of 

responsibility: uranium exploration, mining and processing; 

design, construction and operation of nuclear power plant; 

and research, training and publication of scientific reports. 

It should be noted that in 1953 the AAEC was assigned 

responsibilities which essentially embraced nuclear power 

generation and the whole uranium fuel cycle. 

The HIFAR reactor had first attained criticality on Australia 

Day, 1958. The possibility of harnessing nuclear power 

for Australia’s energy needs was the vision of Sir Philip 

Baxter, first Vice-Chancellor of the University of New South 

Wales and also the first chairman of the AAEC. As early as 

1954 he had established an Institute for Nuclear Science 

and Engineering at the university. Subsequently, in 1962, 

this became Australia’s first, and only, School of Nuclear 

Engineering offering both undergraduate and postgraduate 

training to hundreds to Australian and overseas students. It 

made full use of appropriate facilities at the AAEC research 

laboratories and used the HIFAR reactor extensively over 

24 years to develop innovative nuclear power plant safety, 

surveillance and control strategies. The school was closed in 

1988 under considerable funding and political pressures. In 

the same year, the mandate for nuclear power development 

was withdrawn from the AAEC and the organisation was 

renamed and re-badged as ANSTO. 

For the rapidly growing number of young Australians 

interested in nuclear science and technology in 2007, it is 

a matter of great encouragement that ANSTO will shortly 

be providing fifteen places each year for areas of specialist 

training for postgraduate students. For some of these 

areas, OPAL could well become a platform for the design, 

construction and operation of Australia’s first nuclear power 

station. 

* Leslie Kemeny FAIE is the Australian Foundation Member 

of the International Nuclear Energy Academy and visiting 

professor with the University of New South Wales School of 

Nuclear Engineering where he supervised the research work 

at Lucas Heights from 1964 to 1988. 

Budget 2007: Additional funding 

for climate change initiatives 

By Tony Hill, Partner, Sydney, and Lisa Moore, Senior Associate, Melbourne, Blake Dawson Waldron* 

In brief: 

• The 2007/08 Budget includes a range of measures to address 

climate change, at a cost of $741 million over 5 years. 

• The Budget focuses on funding initiatives to support 

action by governments, industry and households to reduce 

greenhouse gas emissions. 

• It does not include any new measures likely to significantly 

change the regulatory landscape, such as the introduction 

of an emissions trading scheme. 

• The Federal Government will wait until after it receives 

a report from a joint government-industry task group at 

the end of the month, before announcing its policy on 

emissions trading. 

• However, the Prime Minister has recently given his 

clearest signal yet that he is likely to support such a scheme 

as the centrepiece of a long-term strategy for dealing with 

climate change. 

Federal Budget 2007–08 

Describing global warming as a ‘serious long term threat’, 

Treasurer Peter Costello announced that the Federal Budget 

for 2007–08 will provide $741 million over five years 

to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and prepare 

Australia for the impacts of climate change. 

Key climate change measures 

Key funding initiatives in the Budget include: 

• $170 million for climate change adaptation measures; 

• $197.2 million towards the Global Initiative on Forests 

and Climate to help reduce global emissions from 

deforestation; 

• $150 million for the federal solar rebate programme; 

• $59.6 million to accelerate the production of greenhouse 

friendly transport fuels; 

• $18.5 million to reduce methane emissions from 

underground coal mine activities; 

• $18.2 million to support offshore carbon capture and 

storage; 

• $23.6 million for tax deductions for carbon sink forestry 

projects; 

• $52.8 million to encourage greenhouse action by individual 

households and small businesses; and 

• $7.9 million to phase out inefficient light bulbs. 

We have outlined some of these measures below. 

Climate change adaptation measures 

The Budget includes a $170 million package to help Australia 

adapt to the effects of climate change. This includes: 


• $26 million for the establishment of a new think tank, the 

Australian Centre for Climate Change Adaptation, and 

$100 million in programme funding for the Centre. The 

Centre aims to bring together a wide range of economic 

and scientific expertise on climate change, across all key 

research agencies, so as to provide information to decision 

makers to help manage climate change impacts. 

• $44 million for an Adaptation Flagship to be established 

in the CSIRO, in collaboration with the Bureau of 

Meteorology. The Flagship is intended to complement 

the new Australian Centre for Climate Change Adaptation 

measure by providing the underlying science required to 

improve climate projections. 

Global Initiative on Forests and Climate 

The Federal Government will provide $197.2 million 

towards its Global Initiative on Forests and Climate. 

Launched in March this year, the initiative aims to work with 

other countries to protect the world’s forests by supporting 

new forest planting, preventing deforestation, and promoting 

sustainable forest management. 

Support for solar energy 

The Budget will provide an additional $150 million under the 

federal Photovoltaic Rebate Programme (PVRP) to support: 

• a doubling of the rebate for solar panels on homes, up to 

a maximum of $8,000; 

• a new competitive grants scheme for schools and 

communities to install solar panels; and 

• a targeted scheme to support the design and installation 

of solar systems on commercial, industrial and iconic 

buildings. 

The Federal Government expects this funding to more than 

double the number of solar powered systems installed in 

Australia over the next five years and to stimulate further 

growth in the solar industry. 

Coal mine methane reduction programme 

The Federal Government will invest $18.5 million over 5 years, 

partly funded from the existing Greenhouse Gas Abatement 

programme, to reduce methane emissions from underground 

mines, found mainly in New South Wales and Queensland. 

The coal mine methane reduction programme will provide 

competitive grants to industry to reduce methane emissions 

from underground coal mines in the Kyoto target period 2008 

to 2012. The programme is expected to reduce emissions by 

up to 0.9 million tonnes per year; 4.5 million tonnes over 

the 2008 to 2012 period. 

CCS legislative regime 

The Budget provides $18.2 million over four years for 

the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources and 

Geoscience Australia to develop and implement laws and 

regulations for carbon capture and storage (CCS). The new 

legislative regime will: 

• provide industry with access and property rights in 

Commonwealth waters to allow for carbon dioxide to be 

stored in offshore geological structures; 

• provide for the release of areas for exploration; and 

• regulate CCS activities. 

Tax deductions for carbon sink projects 

The Budget provides $23.6 million over four years for new 

tax arrangements applying to the costs of establishing forests 

for the dedicated purpose of reducing GHG emissions. Carbon 

sink forest operators will be allowed to depreciate the costs 

of establishing a qualifying carbon sink forest under the 

horticultural plant provisions, with effect from 1 July 2007. 

In addition, the Government will introduce immediate 

deductibility for costs incurred in establishing a qualifying 

carbon sink forest during a 5 year period commencing 1 July 

2007. The immediate deduction will take precedence over the 

general horticultural provisions during this period. To be eligible 

for carbon sink forest tax concessions, businesses will need to 

participate in the Government’s Greenhouse Challenge Plus 

programme. Carbon sink forest projects must also demonstrate 

that they comply with environmental and natural resource 

management guidelines for their geographic location. 

Responses from the Opposition and green groups 

Labor and green groups have criticised the Budget’s climate 

change measures, claiming they are neither substantial nor 

new. They criticise the limited support for renewable energy, 

the lack of long-term targets for emissions reductions, and 

the absence of any announcement about the introduction 

of an emissions trading scheme. Opposition environment 

spokesman Peter Garrett said. “The budget will not stop 

Australia’s greenhouse pollution from soaring by 27% by 

2020, and clearly shows the government lacks the political 

will to try and prevent dangerous climate change.” 

Australian Greens climate change spokesperson, Senator 

Christine Milne, said Treasurer Costello’s 12th budget 

demonstrated that he is “negligent and reckless” when it 

comes to climate change. The Australian Conservation 

Foundation (ACF) acknowledged that the Budget contained 

some useful funding for environmental initiatives, but 

argued it does not match the scale of the action required to 

tackle climate change. ACF’s executive director Don Henry 

commented that, “Avoiding dangerous climate change is 

going to take more than modest funding for isolated programs 

– it requires leadership and far-sighted structural changes.” 

Prime Minister supports emissions trading 

In response to criticism over the Budget’s perceived lack of 

climate change measures, Prime Minister John Howard said 

he was awaiting a report from the Task Group on Emissions 

Trading at the end of this month. 

“Everybody agrees that you have to have some price on 

carbon to effectively deal with the emissions problem,” he 

told the Seven Network. 

“And the best way of delivering a price on carbon is through 

a market mechanism, namely an emissions trading system. 

That ... is the centrepiece of any long-term strategy and I’ll 

be saying quite a bit about this whole issue a few weeks 

after we’ve received the report.” [“Howard backs emissions 

trading scheme”, The Age, 9 May 2007] 

Reprinted from Blake Dawson Waldron’s Greenhouse 

Update, 17 May 2007. 


The Darwin Declaration 

After two days of meetings, the eighth APEC Energy Ministers’ 

Meeting in Darwin concluded on 30 May 2007 with the release 

of the ‘Darwin Declaration’, recognising the need to deploy 

cleaner, more efficient and sustainable energy technologies. 

“This is a landmark achievement for the APEC member 

economies, said Industry Minister and Chair of the meeting, 

Ian Macfarlane. 

“Energy Ministers from across the 21 economies have agreed 

to a number of ways forward to achieve energy security and 

sustainable development. 

A summary of the agreed instructions to APEC member 

countries follows. 

ACHIEVING OIL SECURITY 

APEC oil import dependency is forecast to rise from 36% 

in 2002 to 52% in 2030. Recent high oil prices have been 

driven by supply-demand fundamentals, geopolitical risks 

and concerns about supply interruption and speculative 

trading. In response we encourage APEC economies to adopt 

a broad range of measures designed to enhance security of 

supply and promote fuel efficient transport and the uptake 

of viable alternative fuels. 

(a) Facilitating investment and trade in downstream 

and upstream oil markets 

To ensure sufficient investment in refining capacity to meet 

growing demand, including for cleaner fuels, we encourage 

APEC economies to: 

• provide a transparent and streamlined regulatory 

framework for such investment; 

• facilitate freer trade of oil products; and 

• create a positive environment for technology development 

to help refiners to produce cleaner oil products more 

efficiently. 

Transparent, credible, equitable, and effective legal and 

regulatory frameworks, including the ability to enforce 

contracts, are essential to generate sufficient and sustainable 

international upstream investment. 

• We support ongoing dialogue between consumers and 

producers to facilitate an enabling investment climate in 

oil and natural gas resources and reserves. 

• We recognise the importance of facilitating upstream 

investments. 

Observing the important role of oil and gas companies in 

APEC economies: 

• We encourage the Energy Working Group (EWG) to 

study the trade and investment practices of these oil and 

gas companies and to examine how partnerships and 

cooperation can improve the value chain. 

(b) Enhancing emergency preparedness 

Oil supply disruptions can affect all member economies. 

In response: 

• we encourage APEC economies to participate in the Real- 

Time Emergency Information Sharing System (RTEIS) 

and to develop and communicate emergency mechanisms 

and contingency plans, including through the APEC 

Taskforce for Emergency Preparedness and also through 

enhancing the RTEIS to facilitate the establishment of 

an APEC Rapid Response Points of Contact Network 

for the Protection of Critical Energy Infrastructure to 

help minimise the potential for supply disruptions and to 

better protect critical energy infrastructure, including for 

maritime transportation; 

• we instruct the EWG to strengthen cooperation with other 

relevant international fora, such as the IEA, for coordinating 

efforts at the time of energy supply disruption; 

• we recognise the implications of disruptions and limitations 

to maritime energy transport and we instruct the EWG to 

develop linkages with organisations responsible for regional 

maritime security with a view to identifying and reporting 

any cross-cutting issues to our next meeting; and 

• we encourage interested economies to continue to report 

on implementing best practices for the establishment, 

financing and management of strategic oil stocks. 

(c) Improving oil data sharing 

A lack of transparent and reliable oil market data aggravates 

price volatility. 

• We reaffirm our support for the Joint Oil Data Initiative 

(JODI) as an international initiative that addresses investor 

uncertainty, contributes towards global harmonisation of 

energy data, and strengthens producer and consumer 

dialogue by demonstrating concrete action. 

• We encourage APEC economies to report timely, accurate 

and complete data on oil reserves, supply and demand, 

stocks and production under the JODI. We direct the 

EWG to continue to provide training through JODI 

for economies to undertake this task and to contribute 

towards the JODI World Database. 

(d) Promoting energy efficient transport and 

alternative transport fuels 

Transportation is the leading sector for oil demand growth in 

the APEC region and high oil prices are driving cost-effective 

improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency and the development 

and uptake of alternative transport fuels. 

• We welcomed the report of the APEC Biofuels Task Force. 

Among its key findings are that biofuels from several crops 

are cost-competitive at current oil prices, that biofuels 

can lower greenhouse gas emissions and that biofuels 

can displace a sizeable share of oil use over time. 

• Biofuels production should be advanced in line with 

sustainable development objectives. We encourage 

intensified efforts to develop and deploy techniques for 

the cost-effective use of non-food feedstocks, such as 

farm and forest residues and grasses, which hold the 


greatest potential for expanded biofuels production and 

greenhouse gas reductions. 

• We encourage the EWG to collaborate on alternative fuels 

with other international bodies, such as the IEA and the 

Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBeP). 

• We encourage APEC economies to manage their growing 

dependence on oil for transportation through policies and 

measures to promote energy efficiency in transportation 

and to diversify the fuel mix using cleaner fuel sources. 

• We direct the EWG to develop best practice principles for 

energy efficient transport. 

PROMOTING CLEAN AND EFFICIENT ENERGY 

PRODUCTION AND USE 

Meeting growing energy needs with a lower environmental 

impact requires cooperation to improve energy efficiency, 

cleaner and more efficient energy technologies, attraction of 

additional energy investment and facilitation of cross-border 

energy trade. 

(e) Improving energy efficiency 

Improving energy efficiency is a cost-effective way to enhance 

energy security and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. 

There is great potential for energy efficiency improvements 

in the power generation, industrial, transportation, public, 

residential and commercial sectors. 

• We encourage APEC economies to individually set goals 

and formulate action plans for improving energy efficiency 

on an overall and/or sector basis. 

• We direct the EWG to collaborate with the IEA to develop 

energy efficiency indicators and compile best practices 

that can be used to help formulate and track progress 

towards such voluntary goals and action plans. 

• We direct the EWG to strengthen efforts to share 

information on energy efficiency policies and measures, 

identify effective energy efficiency approaches and review 

progress towards efficiency goals. 

• We encourage APEC economies to contribute to and utilise 

the APEC Energy Standards Information System (ESIS). 

(f) Developing and deploying cleaner and more 

efficient energy technologies 

New energy technologies can address energy security and provide 

environmental benefits by reducing greenhouse gases and other 

atmospheric pollutants. To accelerate their deployment: 

• we encourage the development of cleaner and more 

efficient power generation technologies, including 

renewables, clean coal, natural gas/LNG, and for 

interested economies, nuclear technologies; 

• we direct the EWG to progress the development of clean fossil 

energy technologies, including carbon capture and storage; 

• we encourage EWG collaboration with the Renewable 

Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) on 

financing, policy and regulation; 

• we recognise the importance of progress in the uptake of 

new and renewable energy through the APEC 21 st 

Century 

Renewable Energy Development Initiative; 

• we encourage interested APEC economies to join the 

EWG’s Ad-Hoc Group on Nuclear Technologies and 

to ensure that the safety, security, seismic, health and 

waste handling aspects, including trans-border effects, of 

civilian nuclear energy are adequately addressed; and 

• we await EWG advice on the recommendations from the 

forthcoming meetings of regional nuclear safeguards 

experts. 

(g) Attracting energy investment and facilitating 

cross-border trade 

Meeting energy demand in the APEC region will require 

new investment of at least US$6 trillion to 2030. Significant 

economic benefits can be gained by removing barriers to 

such investment. 

• We encourage continued efforts by the Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy Financing Task Force to help 

governments, businesses and financial institutions 

incorporate the value of energy savings in large-scale 

investment decisions. 

• We direct the EWG to review the uptake and currency of Best 

Practice Principles on: Accelerating Investment in Natural 

Gas Supplies, Infrastructure and Trading Networks in the 

APEC Region; Facilitating the Development of LNG Trade; 

Financing Energy Projects; and Natural Gas Trade. 

• We direct the EWG to contribute to the proposed APEC 

Energy Trade & Investment Study and Roundtable. 

• We encourage APEC economies to address the 

recommendations of the APEC Gas Forum. 

• We direct the EWG to continue implementation of its 

LNG Public Education and Communication Information 

Sharing Initiative. 

• We direct the EWG to continue cooperative efforts to 

improve natural gas data collection. 

(h) APEC Energy Peer Review Mechanism 

To assist interested economies in developing policies that 

support energy security and environmental objectives: 

• we direct the EWG to develop a voluntary Energy Peer 

Review Mechanism, with an initial focus on progress 

toward attaining energy efficiency goals. 

PROMOTING BROADER ENERGY COOPERATION 

Cooperation and partnership are essential to addressing 

energy security and environmental challenges that extend 

beyond the sphere of any single economy or the APEC 

economies as a group. In response: 

• we direct the EWG to further advance collaboration 

with other international energy fora, including the 

International Energy Agency; 

• we welcome the work of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on 

Clean Development and Climate (APP) and await advice 

from the EWG on potential areas of cooperation; and 

• we direct the EWG to continue to report sustainable 

development activities to the United Nations Commission 

on Sustainable Development. 

To get your copy of the Darwin Declaration, go to www. 

industry.gov.au/apec2007mediacentre/ 


10 WAYS TO GET THE MOST FROM YOUR LEGAL TEAM 

By Mark Kemp* 

Very few energy companies whose involvement in major infrastructure 

projects requires large scale land or easement acquisitions use their 

lawyers to best effect. Typically, such companies call their lawyers 

in at the beginning of these projects to ensure compliance with 

regulatory and planning issues, and then at the tail end to deal with 

any unresolved disputes with a small number of recalcitrant land 

owners. Using your legal team through the acquisition/construction 

phase of a project can save you money, avoid disputes and ensure 

that project timeframes are met. It is here that a good legal team can 

really prove its worth and deliver value for money. 

1. INVOLVE THE LEGAL TEAM EARLY 

Don’t wait until discussions with land owners have already taken 

place. Involve your lawyers in those discussions and in any initial 

project team briefings so that they are familiar with and understand 

all of the issues surrounding the project. Involving your lawyers 

early is critical if there are likely to be issues which relate to 

particular owners or involve geographical features, endangered 

fauna and flora, or community sensitivities. 

2. INVOLVE THE LEGAL TEAM 

IN COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS 

It is pretty much standard procedure nowadays for companies to hold 

community briefings and presentations in the major regional centres 

and towns along a project’s proposed route. For some inexplicable 

reason, lawyers, valuers, surveyors, engineers and other expert 

service providers are rarely included in such activities. But, who 

else can satisfactorily answer the questions that will be asked? The 

attendance of these service providers will increase the transparency 

of the project and help to alleviate any community distrust. 

3. LET YOUR LEGAL TEAM PRESENT 

TO LOCAL LAWYERS 

Not only will a presentation enable your legal team to explain the 

project’s procedures, timeframes and lines of communication, but 

it will allow individual members to begin establishing their own 

comfortable relationships with the local lawyers who’ll be acting 

for various landowners. Meeting and greeting over a drink or some 

food is just as important as the company’s formal presentation and 

will break down the barriers between your legal team and the local 

lawyers with whom they might find themselves at loggerheads. 

4. ENSURE YOUR LEGAL TEAM ESTABLISHES 

STRONG PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH 

THE LOCAL LAWYERS WHO WILL BE ACTING FOR 

THE LAND OWNERS 

Your legal team will be much better equipped to resolve potential 

disputes before they happen if they can have a friendly chat to an 

aggrieved landowner’s solicitor rather than having to rely solely 

on formal correspondence which is typically anything but friendly. 

When you’ve got a very tight construction timetable and an owner 

denies you access by locking the front gate, the chances are that 

a letter won’t bring about a speedy solution. Lawyer-to-lawyer 

relationships are essential when dealing with emotional owners 

who are facing compulsory acquisition. 

5. GET YOUR LEGAL TEAM OUT OF ITS OFFICE 

AND INTO THE FIELD 

Not only will getting out and about enable your lawyers to develop 

a better knowledge and understanding of the project but it will help 

them build relationships with property owners and the local lawyers 

who represent them. You and your lawyers will both benefit if they 

visit the project site every month or so to update themselves on 

progress and meet with local lawyers and landholders. 

6. ENSURE THAT YOUR LEGAL TEAM KNOWS AND 

BUILDS STRONG PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 

WITH YOUR OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS 

Many issues that arise during the land acquisition phase of a project 

require contributions from your lawyers, surveyors and valuers. 

If you require efficient resolution, it is crucial that these service 

providers develop good professional and personal relationships 

so that they can work together. It is very difficult, for example, for 

lawyers to contribute to resolving compensation issue if they have no 

or only limited knowledge of the approach your valuer is taking. 

7. ENSURE THAT THE LEGAL TEAM PREPARE AS 

MANY DOCUMENTS AS POSSIBLE 

Most companies will already have easement terms and although 

lawyers rarely need to be involved when landowners sign standard 

easements, large-scale land acquisition and construction creates 

related issues which require specific legal documentation. It is 

essential that your lawyers are involved not only in the discussions 

with owners and their solicitors in relation to these types of issues 

but that any documentation involved is prepared by your legal team 

to ensure that it is correct. 

8. ENSURE THAT THE LEGAL TEAM IS AWARE OF 

THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE PROJECT 

Although this applies particularly to statutory corporations and 

government-owned utilities, it also applies to private sector 

organisations. The legal team needs to be briefed on and understand 

the political environment of your project. In particular, it needs to 

know about any owners’ actions groups which have been established, 

what local members of parliament are being told and what 

governments are saying, if anything, about the project. Providing 

technical legal advice about a project without understanding the 

political environment is of little value. This applies both to the formal 

legal advice provided to you as well as the formal and informal 

dealings your legal team has with owners and their local lawyers. 

Your lawyers need to understand that anything they write or say 

to an owner or the owner’s lawyer may end up in the hands of the 

relevant government minister with adverse implications for your 

organisation. ‘Ministerials’ are not only stressful and cause public 

relations problems. They also take a lot of time, effort and resources 

to answer, thereby diverting resources from the project itself. 

9. USE YOUR LEGAL TEAM AS ANOTHER SOURCE 

OF COMMUNICATION/INFORMATION 

In its meetings and field trips, your legal team may discover 

and be told things that your field representatives are not hearing 

about local issues. Because many local lawyers are involved in 

community associations and local government, they often know 

about potential problems and community concerns well before 

those issues become known to you. 

10. USE YOUR LEGAL TEAM AS PART 

OF YOUR PUBLIC RELATIONS EFFORT 

Do not keep the members of your legal team in reserve until a 

dispute erupts. Use them not just as advisors but also to manage 

legal issues throughout the life of your project. Furthermore, make 

it publicly known that you are doing so. This will make it clear to 

the local lawyers that your legal team is available and contactable 

and that you regard legal issues seriously. From a public relations 

viewpoint, there is considerable kudos in doing this. 

These 10 points about how to get the best from your legal team have 

been successfully used by energy companies in a variety of projects 

involving large-scale land and easement acquisitions. There’s 

nothing academic or theoretical about them. They actually work! 

*Mark Kemp is a Senior Associate with Melbourne law firm Mason 

Sier Turnbull. He can be contacted at mark.kemp@mst.com.au. 


The Inbox 

As editor for the Australian Institute of Energy I receive a variety of interesting material by email 

and post. Also, as we increasingly use the Internet as a source of information, just knowing what 

web pages to view can be very useful. Therefore, this new section of Energy News comprises short 

articles from these sources and a list of interesting web pages. By its nature such a collection is arbitrary 

but I have tried to cover areas not already covered elsewhere in the journal. Over time, all energy topics 

should get some coverage. If you have any ideas of have visited interesting web pages that would 

be of interest to fellow members of the AIE please send by email to editor@aie.org.au. In this issue, 

the focus is on oil and gas, energy efficiency, and people and places. 

OIL AND GAS 

… from the local impact of the drought to the global potential 

of unconventional oil and gas supplies … 

Drought drives up gas consumption and prices 

The current drought gripping eastern Australia is responsible 

for increased gas usage and higher prices, according to a 

major report released today on oil and gas production for 

the opening three months of 2007. The report, by energy 

advisory group EnergyQuest (http://www.energyquest. 

com.au), revealed a 20% jump in gas production in eastern 

Australia in the latest March quarter, compared with the 

same period last year. 

“This reflects growth in gas-fired electricity of 67%. 

Generation from hydro has fallen by 18% and total coal 

generation has been flat, constrained in Queensland and 

Victoria by water restrictions,” said EnergyQuest’s CEO, 

Dr Graeme Bethune. 

“Strong demand for gas has also pushed up wholesale gas 

prices, with average Victorian spot prices up 27% to $3.38 

per gigajoule on the previous March quarter,” he said. 

The EnergyQuest quarterly report also shows that Australian 

proved and probable gas reserves increased by 15% to 

40,454 PJ in 2006. There were gas reserves of 14,199 PJ on 

the east coast and 26,254 PJ on the west coast. East coast 

growth reflected increases in both conventional gas and coal 

seam methane. 

Technology a key to Australia’s gas future 

A technology roadmap defining future research priorities 

to support Australia’s growing gas industry was presented 

by CSIRO (http://www.csiro.au) at APPEA’s conference in 

Adelaide on 18 April 2007. Developed in close consultation 

with industry, the roadmap addresses the needs of both 

conventional and unconventional gas industries and covers 

the value chain from exploration, production, processing, 

utilisation and end use. 

Australia’s large natural gas resource has the potential to 

provide security of supply for transport fuels for Australia, 

particularly with the forecast declining levels of selfsufficiency 

in oil. However, according to CSIRO Petroleum’s 

Deputy Chief, Dr Dave Whitford, there are significant 

technological hurdles which must be overcome before the 

full potential of gas is realised. 

“Many of the technical issues are unique to Australia and 

therefore demand local solutions – we cannot necessarily 

rely on imported technology,” Dr Whitford said. 

“Much of Australia’s large gas resource is economically 

stranded, with 80% located in remote offshore locations. To 

access these resources, research and development are required 

to drive down production and processing costs. However, gas 

has the potential to make a major contribution to lowering 

greenhouse gas emission levels from energy consumption, 

even without carbon capture and storage. Given the diverse 

range of research opportunities, Australia has the potential 

to become a global leader in gas technologies.” 

It was the identification of these research opportunities that 

led to the AusGas initiative, conceived in 2004. AusGas is 

a national alliance of research centres in partnership with 

industry to address the technology challenges of the local 

gas industry. 

“A series of AusGas industry forums explored the 

opportunities and challenges for the industry,” said James 

Pullar, Commercial Advisor for CSIRO Petroleum. 

The principal drivers for gas-related research and development 

are the need to reduce costs and reduce emissions while 

ensuring long-term security of supply. It was from these 

consultations that the technology roadmap has been 

developed. The roadmap identifies three main areas of 

research focus: a secure and competitive supply of energy 

– particularly for transport fuels, low-emissions energy and 

wealth generation. 

Huge potential in unconventional oil and gas sources 

(Extract from the UK Energy Institute’s publication Energy 

World, May 2007, page 3) 

The world’s potential ‘unconventional’ sources of oil and 

natural gas exceed the current estimates of undiscovered 

conventional oil and gas sources around the world, according 

to a study released in February by energy analysts at Wood 

Mackenzie. The study estimates that unconventional 

sources such as heavy oil (including oil sands), ‘tight’ gas 

(gas trapped in nearly impermeable rock formations), coal 

bed methane, and shale oil could add up to the equivalent 

of 3.6 trillion barrels of oil. By 2025 unconventional oil is 

expected to supply more than 20% of global demand, and 

unconventional gas is likely to be as least as important. For 


example, Wood Mackenzie forecasts it will account for over 

40% of US gas supply by 2010. 

The study also identified the critical factors for successful 

development of these hydrocarbons which span technical, 

commercial, fiscal and environmental issues. In particular, 

the study warns that in order to unlock the potential of 

unconventional hydrocarbons, companies will need to fully 

understand the risks associated with the different challenges 

to ensure their investments are successful – the key risk is 

not in discovering the resource, but in identifying areas 

where the critical factors are in place to enable economic 

development. The study concluded that short to mid-term 

development will be driven by commodity prices. 

http://www.energyinst.org.uk 

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

… from smelting aluminium and desalinating water to 

‘district’ energy … 

Cool smelting 

Australian researchers at CSIRO (http://www.csiro.au) are 

investigating a new way of making aluminium that could 

cut the energy required to produce the metal by up to 30%. 

Aluminium is an energy-intensive industry, consuming 

as much as 15% of Australia’s electricity. Over the past 

decade, the industry has gone some way towards reducing 

greenhouse gas emissions from its smelter potlines and 

improving its energy efficiency. Now, the industry is working 

with the Light Metals Flagship – a national research program 

led by CSIRO – to investigate the use of ionic liquids in 

reducing the very high temperatures needed for aluminium 

smelting. The Flagship’s ionic liquids research project leader, 

Dr Theo Rodopoulos, says the key to ionic liquids is their 

low melting point. 

“Using ionic liquids instead of molten cryolite could 

dramatically reduce a smelter’s energy needs,” he said. 

“Aluminium is currently produced through electrodeposition, 

where the alumina is dissolved in a molten 

cryolite bath at 1,000°C and an electric current is applied to 

separate aluminium from oxygen. By contrast, ionic liquids 

typically melt below 100°C. If they can be used instead of 

molten cryolite, they could dramatically reduce a smelter’s 

energy needs.” 

The Flagship is working with CSIRO Minerals and mining 

company Rio Tinto to develop ionic liquids for aluminium 

production. Rio Tinto’s technology support general manager, 

Dr Ray Shaw, said that although research on ionic liquids 

is still in its early days, it is a novel approach that the 

company is monitoring closely. Ionic liquids could reduce 

the electricity used in aluminium production by 20–30%. 

“Whether that’s achievable or not is uncertain at this early 

stage, but if there’s an opportunity to improve, then we’re 

interested in exploring it,” Dr Shaw said. 

Ionic liquids could also be used as alternative media for 

reprocessing nuclear fuel and waste in the nuclear power 

industry, and as catalysts or solvents in a host of other 

industrial processes. CSIRO is also exploring their use 

as electrolytes in lithium batteries, because the organic 

solvents used in lithium battery manufacture are volatile 

and flammable. Other potential uses include carbon dioxide 

capture in power plants, desulphurisation of fuels and even 

perfume production. 

Energy-efficient desalination not a pipe dream 

The delivery of energy efficient desalination received a boost 

on 18 May with the establishment of the Advanced Membrane 

Technologies for Water Treatment Research Cluster – a 

major new research collaboration between the CSIRO’s 

Water for a Healthy Country Flagship (http://www.csiro. 

au) and nine of Australia’s leading universities. The research 

aims to dramatically increase efficiency, and reduce the 

financial and environmental costs of producing desalinated 

water. The research will help advance water desalination as 

an alternative water supply option for Australia. The cluster 

brings together some of Australia’s leading scientists from a 

range of disciplines in a bid to place Australia at the forefront 

of novel membrane development. Led by Professor Stephen 

Gray of Victoria University, a multi-disciplinary research 

team will carry out a comprehensive evaluation of existing 

membranes and develop new energy-efficient membranes. 

“Many desalination and recycling programs rely on a process 

called reverse osmosis, where the water is forced through 

a semi-permeable membrane, removing salts and any other 

contaminants,” Professor Gray said. 

“These membranes need regular replacement and cleaning, 

but they also require a large amount of energy to force water 

through what are nano-sized pores. We aim to improve 

membrane design to increase their energy efficiency and 

reliability, thus reducing the financial and environmental 

costs of producing desalinated and recycled water. We 

also aim to improve membrane ’anti-fouling’ properties, 

that is the ability of the membrane to ‘self-clean’. When 

contaminants are removed from water, some of them adhere 

to the surface. These contaminants build up on the surface, 

increasing the pressure and energy required. Chemicals are 

used to clean the membranes, but membrane surfaces that 

are less sticky would reduce the pressure and energy required 

and the frequency of cleaning.” 

The research will link with, and inform, related CSIRO 

research into membrane and carbon nanotube water filtration 

technologies. In combination with other research projects led 

by CSIRO, the aim is to reduce the amount of energy required 

to desalinate seawater using membranes by up to 50%. 

District energy 

Reported in the March/April 2007 issue of Ecogeneration, 

the journal of the Australian Business Council for Sustainable 

Energy, is the story of Australia’s first residential district 

energy system on the urban fringe of western Sydney. District 

energy uses small (in this case, gas) cogeneration plants to 

supply electricity to a local housing estate. The heat from 

the cogeneration plants is used to supply the estate with hot 

water, warm air for heating and chilled water for cooling. At 


the Vision Estate in Glenfield, 16 homes are connected to a 

160 kW plant for all their power, heating and cooling needs. 

Later in 2007, 200 homes will be added to the network and 

there will be three generators underground on the estate. 

They will work independent of the public grid, but will be 

linked to the grid in order to export any surplus electricity. 

The homes BASIX and Energy Star compliant and are 

equipped with energy-efficient equipment. Housing estates 

with district energy achieve efficiency levels of 70–80% 

compared to public grid power efficiencies of 30–50%. For 

further information see http://www.gridx.com.au. 

PEOPLE AND PLACES 

The CO2CRC 

The Hon Julie Bishop, Commonwealth Minister for 

Education, Science and Training, officially opened the new 

offices of the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse 

Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) in Canberra on 20 May. In 

welcoming the minister, chief executive Dr Peter Cook 

acknowledged the importance of the CRC Program to 

Australia’s research effort, and outlined the CRC’s current 

activities. With a budget of around A$160 million over 

seven years and more than 100 collaborating researchers and 

staff, the CO2CRC is now one of the largest greenhouse gas 

technology research programs in the world. 

“The acid test is not in being the largest program but in 

delivering key outcomes,” said Dr Cook. 

“I believe that we have an outstanding track record not only 

in our collaborative research, but also in the demonstration 

and application of that research. The Otway Basin project 

in Victoria is one of the most ambitious geosequestration 

demonstration projects in the world, with an outstanding 

monitoring and verification program that we have developed 

in conjunction with the AGO and the EPA. 

“We are also testing the boundaries in many other areas 

too including licencing and regulation, as well as fluid 

flow modelling and risk assessment. We have two very 

important CO2 capture projects underway in collaboration 

with International Power and HRL. We have several 

capture patents lodged or underway. Our CO2 storage work 

has identified commercially and environmentally very 

significant storage opportunities for Australia, both onshore 

and offshore. And we have a growing commercial arm that 

is active throughout Australia and globally. 

Dr Cook highlighted the collaborative nature of the work 

with government departments and agencies, universities, 

major companies and others – together dubbed ‘Team 

Australia’. 

“This team approach has enabled Australia to punch far above 

its weight internationally in greenhouse gas technologies,” 

said Dr Cook. 

The following day, the CO2RC announced its participation 

in a consortium appointed to determine Ireland’s all-island 

potential for geological storage of carbon dioxide, assessing 

capacity, risk of leakage, cost, and relationship to suitable 

sources of carbon dioxide emissions. Others in the consortium 

include CSA Group and Byrne Ó Cléirigh in Dublin and 

the British Geological Survey. The CO2CRC will lead the 

project team in both risk assessment and the calculation of 

commercial potential for carbon dioxide storage, and will 

assist with identification of storage locations, development 

and analysis of models for potential carbon dioxide traps, 

and calculation of both theoretical and accessible carbon 

dioxide potential. 

Curtin University of Technology 

Curtin University of Technology’s School of Economics 

and Finance has appointed Professor Anthony (Tony) Owen 

Professor of Energy Economics, the first position of its 

kind in Australia. Energy economics focuses on economic, 

environmental, financial and management issues as they 

relate to oil, gas and other parts of the energy sector. 

“In addition to his academic qualifications, Professor 

Owen has undertaken energy-related consulting activities 

in Australia, China, Denmark, Indonesia, Norway, the 

Philippines and the UK,” said Pro Vice-Chancellor of 

Research and Development, Professor Linda Kristjanson. 

Professor Owen will take an active role in the Oil and Gas 

Management Area of Research Excellence (OGM AORE) 

at Curtin, which is uniquely placed to develop and maintain 

expertise in the field, particularly amid the current booming 

oil and gas industry in Western Australia. The OGM AORE 

seeks to provide an understanding of the methods and 

designs which result in the most efficient environment for 

the exploration, production, transmission, transportation, 

distribution, storage and retailing of oil and gas products. 

This is achieved by examining issues such as regulation, 

taxation, markets, strategic management, technology 

development, links to science and engineering, IT, financing, 

supply chain/procurement, taxation and contracts. 

Prof Owen has a PhD in Econometrics from the University 

of Kent (UK) and has held visiting appointments at the 

Universities of British Columbia, Colorado, Leeds and 

Exeter, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and 

Development (Paris), the UK Department of Energy 

(Harwell), and the International Energy Agency (Paris). 

He is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, and Past 

President (2004) of the International Association for Energy 

Economics and a founding member and President of the 

Australian Association for Energy Economics. He serves 

on the International Editorial Boards of Energy Policy and 

Energy Sources. 

Book Review 

Australian Innovation: Towards a Sustainable Future, by 

Valerie Khoo, CL Creations Pty Ltd (now incorporated into 

Associated Media Group), 2007, 160 pages, RRP A$55 

(incl. GST). 

Australian Innovation: Towards a Substainable Future is 

a volume of examples of innovation in sustainability in 

Australia, and includes sections on “The emerging carbon 

market – a new economy” and “Sustainable energy – finding 


alternative fuels”. These sections include case studies from 

‘partner’ organisations including BHP Billiton, ActewAGL 

and Australian Paper, as well as other companies such as 

Hydro Tasmania, Australian Renewable Fuels, Enecon 

and Ozmotech. Enecon is growing mallee trees to generate 

energy, provide eucalyptus oil and combat salinity; and 

Ozmotech is converting plastic to a fuel source. The other 

energy examples are the Australian National University/ 

Origin Energy SLIVER cell technology and the work of the 

CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship. 

Energy is only one part of this book (the others being water and 

waste), and the examples are fairly straightforward summaries. 

However, the book highlights the importance of the energy 

sector in any conversation about our future, and includes 

aspects of product stewardship, social change, community 

participation and finance. Essentially, it is a promotion of the 

‘sustainability’ activities of the organisations represented. 

The text is supported by a companion website, http://www. 

sustained.com.au. The website offers a free fortnightly 

eNewsletter; global commentary on sustainability through 

podcasts and videocasts; latest news, case studies, event 

updates, an eco store; and a searchable database on 

sustainability and innovation topics. Coming soon to the site 

will be a sustainable products and services directory; cultural 

exchanges; and sustainable destinations. Such is the future, 

with websites becoming an increasingly important media for 

communication. This website belongs to Associated Media 

Group, a communications and publishing company. 

Did you see …? (interesting places to visit on the web) 

Did you see the first three current IPCC working group 

summary reports for policy makers – The Physical 

Science Basis, Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, 

and Mitigation of Climate Change? The fourth working 

group summary report, Climate Change in 2007, was 

due out soon. You can find these reports and more from 

the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change at 

http://www.ipcc.ch/ 

Did you see the survey of European citizens that found 

only 14% consider energy-related issues as one of the 

most important topics in their country today? The three 

top issues are unemployment, crime and health care. 

Of all the energy issues, the most important by 

far is energy prices. See the report on this survey, 

Eurobarometer on Energy Technologies, and a whole 

lot of other interesting research at http://ec.europa. 

eu/research/energy/index_en.htm 

Did you see the communiqué of the 13th meeting of the 

Australian Ministerial Council on Energy which was 

held on 25 May? Topics discussed include the impact 

of the drought on the national electricity market, energy 

market reform, smart meters, the national framework 

for energy efficiency, and the Council of Australian 

Governments (COAG) climate change agenda. For a 

copy of this communiqué and reports on recent MCE 

activities, see http://www.mce.gov.au 

Excellence in Energy Awards 

The Sydney, Newcastle and Canberra Branches of the Australian Institute of Energy are pleased to announce 

the 2007 Excellence in Energy Awards. 

These awards aim to recognise and reward those individuals and organisations that, in the view of a judging 

panel, have made an outstanding contribution to the energy sector in New South Wales and the ACT. 

The awards are open to individuals and companies involved in energy projects or activities that have particular 

relevance to New South Wales or the ACT, and have been completed since 1 January 2002. Applicants must 

be a member of the Institute, however non-members can join as part of their application. 

A number of categories are available, including a Young Achiever Award for young energy 

professionals. 

Further details are provided in an application pack which is available from the Sydney Branch page on the 

website (http://www.aie.org.au/syd/). The closing date is 31 July 2007, to provide sufficient time for the 

judging panel to review all applications. 

The awards will be presented at a ceremony held on Tuesday 4 September in Sydney at the offices of Blake 

Dawson Waldron. Notice and registration form will be at http://www.aie.org.au/syd/ soon. 


CALENDAR 

JULY 2007 TO JUNE 2008 

2–6 July in Lucerne, Switzerland Fuel Cell Forum 200 http:// www.efcf.com 

13–15 July in Istanbul, Turkey 2nd International Hydrogen Energy Congress & Exhibition 

http://www.ihec2007.org 

17–18 July in Sydney Australian Energy & Utility Summit 

http://www.acevents.com.au/energy2007/ 

21–23 July in Shanghai, China 2007 China International Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Investment 

& Trade Expo http://www.hfce.cn 

25–26 July in Sydney Climate Change Summit http://www.climatechangesummit.com.au 

30–31 July in New York, USA 2nd Annual New York Energy Symposium and Hydrogen Expo 

http://www.neny.org/nes/2007/home 

1–2 August 2007 in Adelaide Hot Rock Energy Conference 

http://www.informa.com.au/hotrockenergy/ 

21–23 August in Hawaii Energy Ocean 2007 http://www.energyocean.com 

30–31 August in Brisbane Climate Change and Business Conference 

http://www.climateandbusiness.com 

5–7 September in Shanghai, China New Energy (Hydrogen and Fuel Cells) http://www.hy-fcexpo.com 

9–13 September in Brisbane 14th IUAPPA World Congress & 18th CASANZ Conference 

http://www.icms.com.au/iuappa2007/ 

18–21 September in Beijing, China ISES Solar World Congress http://www.ises.org/ 

25–27 September in London, UK Fuel Cells in a Changing World: 10th Grove Fuel Cell Symposium 

http://www.grovefuelcell.com 

24–27 September in California, USA Solar Power 2007 http://www.solarpowerconference.com/ 

27–30 September in Augsberg, Germany RENEXPO 2007 http:// www.renexpo.de 

2–6 October in Alice Springs SOLAR07 (45th Annual ANZSES Conference) 

http://www.solar07.org 

15–19 October in Texas, USA 2007 Fuel Cell Seminar http://www.fuelcellseminar.com 

15–17 October in Granada, Spain Hydro 2007 http://www.hydropower-dams.com 

17–18 October in Gold Coast Australian Energy User 2007 http://www.euaa.com.au 

30 Oct – 1 Nov in Beijing, China Methane to Markets Partnership Expo: 

http://www.methanetomarkets.org/expo/ 

4–7 November in Montecatini Terme, Italy World Hydrogen Technologies Convention 2007 

http://www.whtc2007.com/ 

11–14 November in Sydney Energy 21C, 9th International Transmission & Distribution Conference 

http://www.energy21c.com.au/ 

11–15 November in Rome, Italy 20th World Energy Congress http://www.rome2007.it 

19–21 November in Bonn, Germany The case of energy autonomy: Storing Renewable Energies (ISES II) 

http://www.eurosolar.org 

17–21 February 2008 in Adelaide 3rd International Solar Cities Congress 

http://www.solarcitiescongress.com.au/ 

15–19 June in Brisbane WHEC 2008 http://whec2008.com 

If you know of any conferences or other major events that would be of interest to AIE members 

and will be held from October 2007 to September 2008 please email details and web link to editor@aie.org.au. 


NEw MEMBERS 

naMe graDe Branch 

Mr Vigneswaran Kumaran Member Melbourne 

Mr Shamim Ahmad Member Sydney 

Dr Klaus Weber Fellow Canberra 

Mr Ben Link Graduate Sydney 

Mr Darren Gladman Member Melbourne 

Mr Ronald Hardwick Fellow Sydney 

Mr Royce Desousa Fellow Sydney 

Mr Paul Zurek Member Sydney 

Mr Chris Marshall Member Sydney 

Mr Mark Leszczynski Student Sydney 

Mr Cho Ng Student Sydney 

Ms Deanne Mcdonald-Ferritto Member Perth 

Mr David Peck Fellow Melbourne 

Mr James Coffey Member Melbourne 

Dr Stephanie Baldwin Member Sydney 

Ms Fiona Melville Associate Sydney 

NEw COMPANY MEMBERS 

cOMPany naMe rePresentatiVes Branch 

Western Power Mr Gavin Forrest Perth 

Mr John Farnhill Perth 

Petratherm Mr Terry Kallis Adelaide 

Mr Peter Reid Adelaide 

Watermark Mr Barry Newman Perth 

Mr Ray Tettman Melbourne 

Envestra Mr Scott Hardy Melbourne 

Mr Damien Skafte Melbourne 

Australian Energy Regulator Ms Sarah Keys Canberra 

MEMBERS RESIGNED 

Mr Scott Haig Canberra 

naMe Branch 

Mr Graham Baker Branch 

Mr David Maxwell Perth 

Miss Ngaire Mudd Melbourne 

Dr John Kingston Brisbane 

Mr Dale Suter Brisbane 

Mr Richard Scanlan Melbourne 

Mr Colin Probble Sydney 

Dr Brett Cohen Sydney 

COMPANY MEMBERS RESIGNED 

naMe Branch 

Allens Arthur Robinson Sydney

Jun 2007 - Australian Institute of Energy

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