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26/08/06  Fingers point over Snowy Hydro sale cost, - The Age - AAP New South Wales August 06

26/08/06 Locals feel duped as the taps are turned off on a major tributary supplying the Snowy - Liz Minchin, The Age; New South Wales August 06

22/08/06 Australia PaperlinX says global outlook improving , The Age , Business, Strezlecki's Central Highlands August 06; New South Wales August 06

14/08/06 Solar power comes down to earth - The Age Business Northern Territory; New South Wales August 06 

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- our highlighting

Down to a drip-feed: John Gallard, chairman of the Snowy River Alliance, at the Mowamba Aqueduct, which he says brought back a pulse of life into the river.
Photo: Angela Wylie

Liz Minchin, The Age
August 26, 2006

SHOUTING above the newly unleashed rushing water behind him, Steve Bracks declared it was "probably one of the proudest moments I've had as Premier". Bob Carr said it was "a happy day for Australia".

At 10.23am on August 28, 2002, the Victorian and NSW premiers pushed a button and watched as water began pouring over the Mowamba Weir, near Jindabyne, in southern NSW.

It was supposed to be the start of the revival of the famous Snowy River, which winds south to the sea in East Gippsland.

But many living along the Snowy claim the weir — where water now gurgles out a small side outlet rather than rushing over the top — is symbolic of how the river's restoration has been mishandled.

Walking on the weir's edge this week, retired park ranger John Gallard points to dark stains on the concrete walls.

They are all that remains of the heavy flows of the Mowamba River, once a major tributary supplying the Snowy, that were turned off on February 1 when Snowy Hydro diverted the water back into Jindabyne Dam.

"After all that hoo-ha four years ago, it's been brought undone again," says the 72-year-old chairman of the Snowy River Alliance, which has organised a community protest at the weir tomorrow to mark the four-year anniversary.

"Now you come here and all that's left is this piddling little flow out the side, which is the blooming equivalent of three draught horses peeing."

They also point out that the annual volume of water being returned to the Snowy has not changed, because extra water is now being released upstream from the dam to compensate for what was lost from the Mowamba River.

"The recommissioning of the Mowamba aqueduct enables the three kilometres of the Snowy River closest to the dam, which was identified in environmental studies as being the most in need of water, to get those environmental flows," a Snowy Hydro spokesman said.

But backed by Monash University ecology professor Sam Lake, who was on the scientific panel that recommended reopening the Mowamba weir, locals argue the Snowy's best chance of revival is being supplied by free-flowing rivers, not artificial releases from a dam.

"It's like looking at a great life-support system," Mr Gallard says. "The water from the Mowamba brought back a pulse of life into the Snowy, because the levels changed naturally, like when you had a new flush of water from a storm. "Elected in 1999 on a campaign to save the Snowy, independent MP for Gippsland East Craig Ingram was delighted by the Mowamba reopening, months before the November 2002 state election.

Now, with another November election looming, Mr Ingram is accusing the Victorian Government of failing to ensure key parts of the environmental flows program — such as appointing an independent scientific committee — are acted on by NSW. "Steve Bracks went to the last election running ads about the Snowy, saying what a great outcome it was, and showing the Mowamba flowing," he says.

"This time around, the Liberals could run a pretty good ad, saying 'these are the things Bracks promised: where are they now?' "

NEW WATER RESTRICTIONS

■Manual garden watering systems to be used only from 6am to 8am, and 8pm to 10pm on alternate days.

■Automatic garden watering systems to be used only between midnight and 4am on alternate days.

■Filling pools of 2000 litres capacity or more needs water authority approval.

PERMANENT RULES

■Fit hoses with a trigger nozzle.

■No hosing paved areas.

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August 22, 2006 - 1:14PM

Rising input costs have continued to impact Australia's biggest paper maker, but PaperlinX Ltd says global sentiment in the industry is improving.

PaperlinX reported a 60.7 per cent drop in net profit to $65.4 million for 2005/06 but said capacity reductions and price rises in the United States, Europe and Australia are signs of improving conditions.

Excluding tax and one-off items, the company's operating earnings fell 15 per cent to $152.4 million.

PaperlinX said one-off costs associated with restructuring, closures and acquisitions had been largely funded internally from the sale of non-core assets and reductions in underlying working capital.

The global group was buoyed by its performance in North America, which included a four month contribution from acquisition Spicers Canada.

PaperlinX chief executive Tom Park said the North American markets benefited from reduced capacity and higher prices with underlying volume up five per cent.

However, rising pulp, chemical and oil costs, together with the continued strong Australian dollar, hurt PaperlinX at home.

The Australian Paper business came under significant pressure due to lower prices and the group's inability to recover escalating cost increases over the past three years.

"This dramatic cyclical downturn was magnified by the rising Australian dollar which affected earnings dramatically over the period," Mr Park said.

"While the overall environment has remained difficult and conditions haven't eased at this stage, industry sentiment is improving with capacity realisation and price rise announcements in Europe, the US and Australia."

Australian Paper recorded a $4.1 million loss in earnings before interest and tax, which included net costs of $13.6 million from a combination of asset sales and costs associated with strategic initiatives.

A $3.7 million decline in earnings to $190.4 million for the Paper Merchanting division was attributed to lower average prices and lower volumes in the United Kingdom, Netherlands and New Zealand.

Mr Park said a series of strategic initiatives, which included the integration of three Australian businesses to service the office products and stationery markets, are on track to deliver more than $100 million in net benefits in 2009.

Other initiatives include the exit from the unprofitable Portuguese market, the Maryvale pulp mill upgrade, the Spicers Canada acquisition and the closure of the Shoalhaven mill earlier this year.

Mr Park said the strategy will leverage PaperlinX's global platform, improve customer offerings and lift returns to target levels in more balanced market conditions.

"Our returns are not where we intend them to be however, so we are continuing to aggressively pursue opportunities for improvement," he said.

Expansion into higher margin categories such as industrial packaging was proceeding organically and through small acquisitions.

2006 AAP

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August 14, 2006 - 12:59PM The Age Business

Solar technology developed to power satellites in space will be adapted to Australia's sun-drenched lands in a $10 million deal.

United States company Spectrolab, a subsidiary of Boeing, will supply 500,000 solar cells to Australian company Solar Systems.

The cells, previously used for space applications, have been adapted to land-based use and are said to be three times more efficient than typical solar cells.

"The result is the world's first, full-scale, ultra-high efficiency photovoltaic generator," Environment Minister Ian Campbell said.

"It's a major shift in the technology and offers a new pathway for sustainable development."

Senator Campbell said Solar Systems had already trialled the solar energy technology at Hermannsburg in the Northern Territory.

It had upgraded one of its concentrating dishes from a capacity of 24kW to 35kW by replacing the existing silicon cells with the new solar technology.

The deal came about under the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (AP6), to which the Australian government has contributed $25 million for renewable energy initiatives.

The AP6 renewable energy taskforce meets in Sydney this week.

2006 AAP

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