AUSTRALIA URGED TO FOLLOW QUEENSLAND’S GREEN FUEL LEAD
Published Tuesday, 28 August, 2007 at 01:01 PM
Minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations
The Honourable John Mickel
CAIRNS: Queensland Minister for State Development John Mickel today urged State leaders and the Federal Government to follow Queensland’s lead in getting behind ethanol.
Speaking at the Regional Development Council today in Cairns today, Mr Mickel said with global warming, the depletion of the world’s oil supplies and the increasing price of fuel, it was absolutely critical that Australia develop a local ethanol industry.
Mr Mickel said it was also equally important that all levels of government did everything they could to promote the use of ethanol by motorists and to debunk the misinformation causing people to still turn away from bio-fuel.
He said Queensland was a good model for the rest of the country to follow.
“We’ve really thrown our weight behind ethanol and bio-diesel in Queensland – from a vigorous Government campaign to promote the take-up of the fuel in the State to helping to get the alternative green fuels out into the marketplace to helping establish the industrial base necessary to satisfy future demand,” Mr Mickel said.
He said the Federal Government should also maintain its excise relief as an incentive to build new ethanol production plants.
“These plants have taken longer than expected to build, so the Federal Government should extend the excise incentive beyond 30 June 2011. Otherwise, Australia will continue to rely on fossil fuels and some ethanol we use may be imported.”
Mr Mickel said the Government’s Queensland Ethanol Industry Action Plan was a $7.3 million investment in the industry in Queensland and the plan to date had achieved great success in both driving consumer acceptance of ethanol and the distribution of ethanol blended fuel.
For example, the number of Queensland service stations retailing ethanol blended fuel has increased from about 40 two years ago to over 280 today.
He said in addition, the Government’s +e campaign to inform consumers about ethanol and its use had seen the number of consumers using ethanol increase from one in six to two in five in the past two years.
Mr Mickel said the industry was beginning to take shape in Queensland.
“The Dalby Bio-Refinery will be Queensland’s first large scale grain-to-ethanol production facility and earlier this year Caltex announced a deal under which they would take 30 million litres of ethanol over three years from the new refinery when it’s up and running next year,” he said.
The $130 million Dalby Bio-Refinery at full capacity will produce 90 million litres of ethanol each year.
Currently, fuel grade ethanol production in Queensland, based on sugarcane, is estimated at around 32 million litres per annum, with CSR Ethanol at Sarina in Central Queensland and Rocky Point Distillery, south of Brisbane, the main producers.
“Queenslanders currently consume around 20-25 million litres per annum, but we believe that with peak oil and the international push to reduce carbon emissions, demand will grow and this is why, in Queensland, we are positioning ourselves as a leader in biofuel production.
“An ethanol industry will enable Queensland to further diversify its industrial base and provide future generations with valuable jobs and more export opportunities.”
He said the Queensland Government remained committed to introduce a 5 percent ethanol mandate in Queensland in 2010.
He said despite calls to introduce a mandate sooner, it would be imprudent given that the State still did not quite have the capacity yet to meet the demand a mandate would bring about.
“But given the progress of the industry in Queensland, by 2010 we’ll be ready,” Mr Mickel said.
He said the New South Wales Government had also announced its intention to implement an ethanol mandate. However, because of the Mutual Recognition Act, ethanol mandates would work more efficiently if they were done on a national basis.
“The Australian Government inaction on a national ethanol mandate is standing in the way of a better ethanol supply industry in Australia,” Mr Mickel said.
Queensland is hosting the Cairns meeting of the Regional Development Council (RDC).
Comprising Federal, state and territory ministers responsible for regional development, the RDC is the inter-governmental Ministerial Council responsible for regional development issues in Australia.
The RDC aims is to facilitate more effective cooperation across all spheres of government in order to achieve sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes for regional Australians
Ministerial contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784.
28 August, 2007
Speaking at the Regional Development Council today in Cairns today, Mr Mickel said with global warming, the depletion of the world’s oil supplies and the increasing price of fuel, it was absolutely critical that Australia develop a local ethanol industry.
Mr Mickel said it was also equally important that all levels of government did everything they could to promote the use of ethanol by motorists and to debunk the misinformation causing people to still turn away from bio-fuel.
He said Queensland was a good model for the rest of the country to follow.
“We’ve really thrown our weight behind ethanol and bio-diesel in Queensland – from a vigorous Government campaign to promote the take-up of the fuel in the State to helping to get the alternative green fuels out into the marketplace to helping establish the industrial base necessary to satisfy future demand,” Mr Mickel said.
He said the Federal Government should also maintain its excise relief as an incentive to build new ethanol production plants.
“These plants have taken longer than expected to build, so the Federal Government should extend the excise incentive beyond 30 June 2011. Otherwise, Australia will continue to rely on fossil fuels and some ethanol we use may be imported.”
Mr Mickel said the Government’s Queensland Ethanol Industry Action Plan was a $7.3 million investment in the industry in Queensland and the plan to date had achieved great success in both driving consumer acceptance of ethanol and the distribution of ethanol blended fuel.
For example, the number of Queensland service stations retailing ethanol blended fuel has increased from about 40 two years ago to over 280 today.
He said in addition, the Government’s +e campaign to inform consumers about ethanol and its use had seen the number of consumers using ethanol increase from one in six to two in five in the past two years.
Mr Mickel said the industry was beginning to take shape in Queensland.
“The Dalby Bio-Refinery will be Queensland’s first large scale grain-to-ethanol production facility and earlier this year Caltex announced a deal under which they would take 30 million litres of ethanol over three years from the new refinery when it’s up and running next year,” he said.
The $130 million Dalby Bio-Refinery at full capacity will produce 90 million litres of ethanol each year.
Currently, fuel grade ethanol production in Queensland, based on sugarcane, is estimated at around 32 million litres per annum, with CSR Ethanol at Sarina in Central Queensland and Rocky Point Distillery, south of Brisbane, the main producers.
“Queenslanders currently consume around 20-25 million litres per annum, but we believe that with peak oil and the international push to reduce carbon emissions, demand will grow and this is why, in Queensland, we are positioning ourselves as a leader in biofuel production.
“An ethanol industry will enable Queensland to further diversify its industrial base and provide future generations with valuable jobs and more export opportunities.”
He said the Queensland Government remained committed to introduce a 5 percent ethanol mandate in Queensland in 2010.
He said despite calls to introduce a mandate sooner, it would be imprudent given that the State still did not quite have the capacity yet to meet the demand a mandate would bring about.
“But given the progress of the industry in Queensland, by 2010 we’ll be ready,” Mr Mickel said.
He said the New South Wales Government had also announced its intention to implement an ethanol mandate. However, because of the Mutual Recognition Act, ethanol mandates would work more efficiently if they were done on a national basis.
“The Australian Government inaction on a national ethanol mandate is standing in the way of a better ethanol supply industry in Australia,” Mr Mickel said.
Queensland is hosting the Cairns meeting of the Regional Development Council (RDC).
Comprising Federal, state and territory ministers responsible for regional development, the RDC is the inter-governmental Ministerial Council responsible for regional development issues in Australia.
The RDC aims is to facilitate more effective cooperation across all spheres of government in order to achieve sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes for regional Australians
Ministerial contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784.
28 August, 2007