The death of mangrove forests stretched over 1000 kilometres of
Australia's northern coast a year ago has been blamed on extreme
conditions including record temperatures.
About 7400 hectares of
mangroves strung along the Gulf of Carpentaria died in early 2016
because of the unusual warmth, a prolonged drought and an El Nino that
reduced local sea levels by about 20 centimetres, said Norman Duke, head
of the Mangrove Research hub at James Cook University.
The death of so much mangrove forest in one hit is "unprecedented", a researcher says. Photo: Norman Duke
"Essentially, they died of thirst," Dr Duke said, adding that the
sea-level drop triggered a "highly significant loss of tidal waters".
El
Nino events are marked by a stalling or reversal of the easterly
equatorial winds that would typically build up waters in the western
Pacific. Still, previous El Ninos had not produced the huge death rate
of mangroves as seen last year.
Before and after photograph of the massive dieback along the Gulf of Carpentaria. Photo: Norman Duke
Dr Duke said scientists now know that mangroves, much like coral
reefs, are vulnerable to a warming climate and extreme weather events.
Until now, Australian mangroves were considered to be in relatively good
condition, and there had never been such dieback recorded.
The
mangrove wipeout could have multiple impacts, including the loss of
fisheries worth hundreds of millions of dollars, more coastal erosion
because of the loss of forest protection, and poorer water quality given
the filtering role the trees play, he said.
Scientists examined the dead trees for signs of a plant pathogen but
found the impacts to be widespread across the 20-odd mangrove species.
They were also not confined to pockets of plants that might point to a
culprit other than extreme weather.
The dieback of trees took four
to five months to become apparent, and even then the damage
gained little attention given the region's remoteness from population
centres. The collapse of the important kelp forests off the Tasmanian
coast in recent years is another instance of rapid ecological change
largely out of the public view.
The mangrove wipeout could have multiple impacts, including the loss of
fisheries worth hundreds of millions of dollars and more coastal erosion
because of the loss of forest protection. Photo: Norman Duke
"The Gulf dieback has been a wake-up call for action on shoreline
monitoring," Dr Duke said. "We urgently need a national shoreline
monitoring program commensurate with our global standing."
Leading specialists and managers will hold a workshop during next week's Australian Mangrove and Saltmarsh Network annual conference in Hobart to press for such monitoring to be set up.
A new government-owned gas power plant forms the cornerstone of
a $550 million plan to provide South Australia with energy security and
avoid a repeat of recent blackouts.
The plan also features a large
battery storage project, a second gas power station to be built by the
private sector backed by a contract to supply the state government and
other measures to encourage the development of additional gas resources
and an energy security target for the state.
Power plan for the future SA Premier Jay Weatherill has announced a plan to secure the State's energy future as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull prepares to meet gas producers this week.
"We're taking charge of our energy future," Premier Jay Weatherill
said of the series of measures outlined Tuesday, which include giving
additional ministerial powers to direct the market to operate in the
interests of south Australians.
He also promised that the steps
would help to reduce power prices, although this would likely occur once
all of the measures were in place.
South Australia will be tapping its budget surplus to fund the new power plant, he said, which will cost $360 million.
This
plant will be a so-called gas peaker plant which will operate for short
periods at times of high demand to help the state avoid power
interruptions.
The plant could also help offset the intermittency of renewable
energy sources such as wind and solar energy, which critics say has
served to exacerbate some of the supply problems in South Australia.
However the source of gas for this plant has yet to be clarified.
Obtaining sufficient
gas supplies at a competitive price has been a stumbling block for
private power generators serving the state.
"This is a plan that puts control of our energy system back in South
Australian hands," Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said on Tuesday. Photo: Sean Davey
Battery plant
The battery storage plant is planned to have 100 megawatt capacity,
which would make it the largest in Australia. Built and operated by the
private sector, the cost has yet to be clarified. A number of groups are
vying to win this contract at present.
Details of the state's energy policy have emerged just days after Tesla boss Elon Musk offered to save the state from blackouts by installing large-scale battery storage.
The minister said the plan would also create about 650 jobs, although it
stopped short of guaranteeing the new gas plant would be up and running
by next summer. Photo: Brendan Esposito
"This is a plan that puts control of our energy system back in South
Australian hands," Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said on Tuesday.
"For
too long, South Australian households and businesses have been at the
mercy of private companies seeking to maximise their profits and a
national operator that manages our grid from Melbourne and Sydney."
The new policy comes after a statewide blackout last September
when freak storms brought down major transmission lines in the state's
north, with further widespread disruptions in early February when local
power generators refused to supply to help avert further blackouts.
On
one occasion about 90,000 properties were intentionally blacked out
when the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) ordered load shedding
to deal with a lack of adequate supply. On other occasions it has warned
of possible supply cuts as demand soared.
Mr Weatherill said the government's plan would also put downward pressure on electricity prices.
"We'll
get reliable, affordable and clean power and ensure more of the state's
power is sourced, generated and controlled here in South Australia," he
said. "Our state has built its reputation on a clean, green environment
and this plan recognises that clean energy is our future."
He
indicated that the government owned power plant may not operate at a
profit as it will provide some ancillary services to the power market,
although by operating it at times of high power prices this could
generate income at those times.
'Considered and comprehensive'
The Australian Services Union's SA and NT branch said the plan would
bring an end to the employment insecurity its members in the energy
sector had been feeling.
"The government has offered pathways for
cleaner technologies to develop, whilst giving security to workers in
gas-fired generation until that pathway is clearer," branch secretary
Joseph Scales said.
AGL Energy, one of the largest power generators in South Australia described the new policy as "considered and comprehensive".
"Increased
gas supply is a key way of improving energy competitiveness for South
Australian businesses and households," it said in a statement.
"Whilst
national reform of the energy market architecture is urgently required,
these South Australian reforms will address some key issues required
for the more cost-effective integration of increasing renewable energy
generation."
'Royalty deed' gives shell company rights to recieve $2-a-tonne payment beyond first 400K tonnes mined for two decades
Entitlement owned by company registered in Cayman Islands, controlled by Adani family
Carmichael coal mine's production capacity means payment ammounts to about $120 million per year
Up to $3 billion from Adani's planned Carmichael coal
mine will be shifted to a subsidiary owned in the Cayman Islands if the
controversial project goes ahead, an analysis of company filings shows.
An "overarching royalty deed" gives a shell company
rights to receive a $2-a-tonne payment, rising yearly by the inflation
rate, beyond the first 400,000 tonnes mined in each production year for
two decades.
The company with this entitlement is ultimately owned
by Atulya Resources Limited, a secretive entity registered in the
Cayman Islands, and controlled by the Adani family.
"In plain
English, the upshot for the Adani family is [that] if the mine goes
ahead, they receive a $2-a-tonne payment, so up to $3 billion, via a
Cayman Islands company, a company owned in a tax haven," says Adam
Walters, principal researcher and Energy Resource Insights.
With a
production capacity of 60 million tonnes or more a year, that amounts
to about $120 million per annum in payments, increasing each year in
line with the CPI, potentially flowing offshore.
"I would describe
it as a structure that means that the Adani family enriches themselves
if the mine goes ahead but that other shareholders are impoverished,"
associate professor Thomas Clarke, director of the Centre for Corporate
Governance at UTS told the ABC.
"The worry is that this may be just the beginning.
"That
the Adani family have the ability to shift cash and assets around at
will and in the future they may well do so at the cost of shareholders
and the Queensland economy."
He said the billions
flowing to the Adani private company would come at the expense of
minority shareholders in the company listed on the Bombay stock exchange
which ultimately owns the Carmichael mine.
How Adani acquired the right to this multi-billion-dollar revenue stream is a tale in itself.
In
2010, Adani Mining Pty Ltd bought the coal tenement that is set to
become the Carmichael mine from the now defunct Linc Energy.
Part
of the sale involved Adani Mining giving Linc Energy an "overriding
royalty deed" which entitled it to receive $2-a-tonne for all coal mined
beyond the first 400,000 tonnes in any production year.
Linc
Energy informed investors at the time could be worth "over $120 million
per annum" and up to $3 billion over the course of the royalty right.
But
in August 2014, in dire financial straits, Linc Energy agreed to sell
the royalty deed back to Adani at a fire sale price: just $150 million.
The
obvious course would have been to extinguish the royalty deed, because
it represented a multi-billion-dollar liability for the mine which is
ultimately owned by Adani Enterprises Ltd, the Bombay-stock exchange
listed company.
Instead, the royalty deed "was assigned by Linc
Energy Limited to Carmichael Rail Network Pty Ltd as trustee for
Carmichael Rail Network Trust," notes in financial reports of Adani
Mining Pty Ltd say.
Carmichael Rail Network is one of a group of
companies behind the proposed North Galilee Basin rail line, which Adani
is currently seeking a subsidised loan of up to $1 billion from the
Federal Government's Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to
build.
"What this means is that one of the companies currently
seeking up to $1 billion in public subsidy is going to profit to the
tune of up to $3 billion if the mine goes ahead," Mr Walters said.
Adani Mining Pty Ltd, the proponent of the Carmichael mine and the
holder of its environmental approvals, appears to have lent Carmichael
Rail the funds to buy the royalty deed.
A spokesman for the Adani
Group said the subsidiary assigned to the royalty right was an
Australian registered and regulated company and "as such it pays all
applicable Australian taxes charges".
Last year Resources Minister
Matt Canavan dismissed the ABC's investigation into Adani's web of
companies leading to tax havens as "fake news".
He rejected
concerns about the web of companies and trusts, many owned in tax
havens, that Adani had set up for its Australian operations, says
resources companies such as Rio Tinto and BHP also had complex company
structures.
Dr Clarke said that is nonsense.
"This is a
classic third-world pyramid structure, with the Adani family having a
controlling interest in all of the different companies, publicly listed,
privately listed and the offshore companies which are its private
properties," he told the ABC.
"It can freely move cash or assets between the different entities to the benefit of its own family interests."
But according to the Minister, the advice from his department is that it is all perfectly legal.
Adani's spokesman did not respond to a series of questions.
