A wonderful economic opportunity exists for Tasmania. It involves no contentious project, no negative environmental outcomes, no lengthy planning processes and could save the State of Tasmania billions of dollars over the next decade. In fact no other plan has the potential to deliver such a financial and economic gain to Tasmania.
That opportunity lies in our ability to wean ourselves from petrol imports. In 2012 -2013 the Australian BREE (Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics) reports Tasmania imported over 700 000 000 litres of automotive fuels – both petrol and diesel. This financial year Tasmania will import around the same amount.
For Tasmania the sums are staggering. At a price of say $1.50 per litre our fuel imports will cost over one billion dollars. The vast majority of this money will leave the State. This is an incredible amount of money for a small island State to be transferring out and it will only increase year by year.
If the predictions of the International Agency are correct the same fuel could cost up to ten times as much in a decade’s time.
This continuous draining of Tasmanian wealth is already weakening the Tasmanian economy. We are now exporting 300 million dollars more than we were a decade ago. The Tasmanian economy and small business would be in a much healthier position if this money was circulating in Tasmania.
The opportunity lies in the fact that for every dollar we don’t spend on petrol and petroleum products means an extra dollar circulating and bolstering our our Tasmanian economy. What an opportunity for the three tiers of Government to come together and craft a clever 10-year transition from petroleum products to job creating alternatives and save the State enormous sums of money.
Using a combination of incentives and removal of barriers we could create an electric car conversion industry, facilitate healthier transport options, electrify public transport, good urban design to encourage healthy transport, be the organic food State, smarter freight movement, to name a few.
This would all come with the financial reward of a dollar saved by not importing petrol would be a dollar available.
We can still have our cars but ones that cost significantly less to run with a major reduction in pollution. The savings will allow us to renew our fleet and to convert to electric vehicles over time.
We could start with a five year plan to reduce petrol use by 10% which would save approximately 300 million dollars over those five years.
What a remarkable investment that would be.
Tasmania has an envious array of resources and attributes that place us in a unique position to become much more self reliant in energy than any other state can hope to be.
Tasmanian decision makers will be forced to act later on as petrol prices continue their inexorable climb. The winners will those who can make the transition the fastest.
Let’s make Tasmania a winner, save billions and give our economy a permanent massive shot in the arm
LINKS
http://www.bree.gov.au/publications/aps/index.html
http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/environment/energy/tindo-solar-bus/
Aldeman Philip Cocker is a Hobart City Council alderman for the Greens.
• Tim Morris, Greens Tourism spokesperson: Triabunna – the Strahan of the East Coast?
The Tasmanian Greens today urged all sides of politics to back the development of Triabunna as a new tourism gateway to the East Coast.
Greens Tourism spokesperson Tim Morris MP said reports of progress on tourism developments at the site of the former Triabunna woodchip mill were positive news for the region, and a strong sign of growing confidence in Tasmania’s new economy.
“The forest industry downturn has been rough for Triabunna, so it’s heartening that a new generation of entrepreneurs are prepared to invest their own money in bringing new jobs to the area,” Mr Morris said.
“Triabunna is an ideal gateway to all sorts of amazing East Coast attractions, including National Parks at Maria Island and Wineglass Bay.”
“With good weather and easy access, Triabunna is just waiting to be transformed into the Strahan of the East Coast.”
“We are calling on Labor and Liberal to also get behind the development of Triabunna, because it’s exactly the shot in the arm that this hard-hit part of regional Tasmania needs right now.”
“Tasmania’s economy is slowly but steadily shifting away from an over-reliance on unreliable resource industries, and towards sustainable, new generation industries.”
• State Cinema: Pandora’s Promise
Release Date: 10 October 2013
Mark Duffett & Cinema Ventures present the controversial new film PANDORA’S PROMISE, by Academy-Award®-nominated director Robert Stone. Screening one night only on the 10th October, there will be a Q&A after the screening with special guests including Tasmanian Government Climate Action Council member Chris Harries.
The atomic bomb and meltdowns like Fukushima have made nuclear power synonymous with global disaster. But what if we’ve got nuclear power wrong? An audience favourite at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, PANDORA’S PROMISE asks whether the one technology we fear most could save our planet from a climate catastrophe, while providing the energy needed to lift billions of people in the developing world out of poverty.
In his controversial new film, Academy-Award® nominated director, Robert Stone, tells the intensely personal stories of environmentalists and energy experts who have undergone a radical conversion from being fiercely anti to strongly pro-nuclear energy, risking their careers and reputations in the process.
Stone exposes this controversy within the environmental movement head-on with stories of defection by heavyweights including Stewart Brand, Richard Rhodes, Gwyneth Cravens, Mark Lynas and Michael Shellenberger. Undaunted and fearlessly independent, Pandora’s Promise is a landmark work that is forever changing the conversation about the myths and science behind this deeply emotional and polarising issue.
Ticketing Information:
Regular admission $24, including 1x Standard Drink
Admission + DVD $44, including 1x Standard Drink and 1x Limited Edition DVD
More, State Cinema: Here
Mark Duffett has maintained a keen interest and commentary on climate and energy issues for many years. He holds a PhD in geophysics from the University of Tasmania, and has worked mainly in the environmental monitoring and earth resources sectors.
• Forums to discuss benefits of Tasmania’s GM moratorium
• Philip Cocker, in Comments: The focus of discussion quickly moves to electric cars but the intent of me raising this issues is to bring entrepenuership and different thinking to the problem of the cost to Tasmania of importing fossil fuels and the increasingly deleterious effect on the State. From discussing and looking at the problem will come ideas and initiatives suitable to the context of this time and the technologies available. The discussion here has been fantastic. The pressure on the economy of Tasmania to find alternatives will most likely only increase and the opportunities will hopefully become clearer through continued discussion and advocacy.
