‘Missing in action': hunt goes on for Coalition's invisible environment minister

Hours after the release of a UN report on the dire state of the planet’s ecosystems, the environment minister, Melissa Price, posted a photo of herself on Facebook at the opening of a miniature railway in her electorate.

 Melissa Price speaks in parliament house before the
 election was called and she stopped giving interviews. 

It wasn’t until more than 12 hours after the Facebook post that the West Australian MP issued a statement responding to the analysis by 450 scientists and diplomats that warned the decline of the natural world was accelerating, and a million species were at risk of extinction.

There was no interview. The written statement referenced Coalition programs, including a $100m fund announced in the federal budget, aimed at tackling biodiversity loss. It was the most that had been heard of Price so far in the election campaign.

Read the story from The Guardian by Lisa Cox - “‘Missing in action': hunt goes on for Coalition's invisible environment minister.”

Traditional owners still stand in Adani’s way

Last week, federal environment minister Melissa Price approved Adani’s groundwater management plan for its proposed Carmichael mine.

Traditional owners are contesting the validity of Adani’s land use agreement. 

However, Adani’s proposed mine remains highly contested and uncertain. A number of environmental plans are still waiting state approval, and the Queensland government will not extinguish native title over land Adani needs while outstanding Traditional Owners’ court action is unresolved.

Members of the Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners Family Council (W&J Council) are contesting the validity of Adani’s Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA). The case is due to be heard by the full bench of the Federal Court in May.

Read the piece from The Conversation - “Traditional owners still stand in Adani’s way.”

The truth as opposed to what Melissa Price says.

Today, the misnamed Minister for the Environment, Melissa Price, announced that, on the advice of the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia, she was approving the Adani mine.

Environment Minister, Melissa Price.

That is completely untrue.

Read the story from AIM by Kaye Lee - “The truth as opposed to what Melissa Price says.”

Melissa Price denies being 'L-plate minister' but is unable to say when emissions will fall

Australia’s environment minister, Melissa Price, says she cannot pinpoint the time when carbon emissions will come down but has nonetheless expressed confidence the Morrison government has the right policies to do the job.

The environment minister, Melissa Price, says she is not an ‘L-plate minister’. 

Price, who has struggled since being appointed environment minister after the Liberal party leadership implosion, told ABC radio on Wednesday night the government was both reviewing some of its policies, and had the right policies, and “no one could pinpoint” when carbon emissions would come down during the at times tense interview with Patricia Karvelas.

On Wednesday Price was branded “an environment minister on L-plates” by fellow Liberal Concetta Fierravanti-Wells after a recent incident in a Canberra restaurant where three witnesses say she disparaged Pacific nations to the former president of Kiribati.

Read the story from The Guardian by Katharine Murphy - “Melissa Price denies being 'L-plate minister' but is unable to say when emissions will fall.”

Coalition wants to boost emissions reduction fund – but what did voters get for $2.3bn?

With Scott Morrison’s new environment minister, Melissa Price, flagging a boost in support for the emissions reduction fund – the centrepiece of the Coalition’s much-derided Direct Action climate policy – it is worth revisiting just what taxpayers have pocketed for the $2.3bn that has been spent on their behalf.

The new environment minister, Melissa Price, wants to push
 for increased funding for the emissions reduction fund.

The summarised view among those who have looked into the scheme ranges from “difficult to know” to “not much we wouldn’t have had anyway”.

Designed by the then environment minister, Greg Hunt, to fit the needs of the former prime minister Tony Abbott, the emissions reduction fund pays farmers and businesses to cut carbon dioxide pollution to below what it would otherwise be. It works as a reverse auction: bidders nominate how cheaply they think they can deliver reductions and what are assessed as the cheapest viable projects win contracts. The government buys carbon credits from the successful projects once the cuts are verified.

Read the story from The Guardian by Adam Morton - “Coalition wants to boost emissions reduction fund – but what did voters get for $2.3bn?”