‘It's our lifeblood': the Murray-Darling and the fight for Indigenous water rights

When the water levels of the Darling river fall, local elders in Wilcannia, New South Wales, say, the crime rate spikes, particularly juvenile crime.

The dried out Paroo river, part of the Murray-Darling basin,
on the Wilcannia to Tilpa road. When the water levels
 fall, the crime rate spikes, Indigenous elders say. 

It seems like an odd correlation until the elders explain just how important the river is to their everyday lives.

“It’s boring here when the river stops running,” says Michael Kennedy, chairman of the Wilcannia Local Aboriginal Land Council. “It becomes a lifeless place. We can’t find the tranquilities and therapies of the river.”

Read the story by Anne Davies from The Guardian - “‘It's our lifeblood': the Murray-Darling and the fight for Indigenous water rights.”

AEMC admits, reluctantly, the renewables will push prices down

Australia’s principal rule maker, the Australian Energy Market Commission, has belatedly admitted that the much delayed surge in investment in wind and solar will cause wholesale electricity prices to fall in Australia, but it is clearly not happy about it.

In a report that appears to be deliberately misleading about the impacts of wind and solar, the costs of coal generation, and the impacts on wholesale prices, the AEMC says that rises in consumer bills this year, due to the jump in wholesale prices, should be reversed in the next couple of years.

The fall in wholesale prices from the influx of renewable energy has long been predicted by most analyses, but its impact has been delayed because of attempts – supported by the AEMC – to kill the renewable energy target, causing an effective three-year investment strike.

Read the RenewEconomy story by Giles Parkinson - “AEMC admits, reluctantly, the renewables will push prices down.”

Power prices forecast to fall over next two years but AEMC warns they won't last

Power prices in Australia rose almost 11% during 2017 but a new forecast says they will fall over the next two years because of the entry of 5,300 MW of new generation capacity into the national electricity market – most of it renewable.

The Liddell power station in New South Wales. Power prices in Australia rose almost 11% during 2017. 

A new assessment from the Australian Energy Market Commission predicts power prices will fall over the next two years, beginning in mid-2018.

But the AEMC, which played a significant role in designing the Turnbull government’s proposed national energy guarantee, says the price reductions won’t last if governments don’t settle an energy policy that provides incentives for investing in dispatchable power.

Read Katherine Murphy’s story on The Guardian - “Power prices forecast to fall over next two years but AEMC warns they won't last.”

Frydenberg 'absolutely confident' energy prices will fall but gives no guarantee

The energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has stopped short of guaranteeing prices will come down under the Turnbull government’s new energy policy, but says he’s “absolutely confident” power prices will fall.

Josh Frydenberg and Malcolm Turnbull speak to a
 worker at the Ixom plant in Melbourne, on Friday. 

Frydenberg also indicated the major parties might be able to come to terms on the mechanism, which imposes reliability and emissions reduction obligations on electricity retailers.

He said it was possible Labor might agree on the mechanism but propose a more ambitious level of emissions reductions, with that a point of difference between Labor and the Coalition at the next federal election.

Read Katharine Murphy’s story on The Guardian - “Frydenberg 'absolutely confident' energy prices will fall but gives no guarantee.”