Federal funding for higher ed comes with strings attached, but is still worth it
Yet the money spent on student loans, Pell Grants and funding for research is not generally keeping pace with the demand for higher ed.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Spinning ‘green tape’ as the climate changes
With only inverted commas signalling the spin, the news media have happily re-cycled the term “green tape”, the latest rhetorical gambit by those decrying environmental protections as unnecessarily delaying…
Cutting ‘green tape’ may be good politicking, but it’s bad policy. Here are 5 examples of regulation failure
In my 30 years of research, I keep uncovering long-standing environmental issues the mining industry doesn’t seem to learn from.
‘Green tape’ cuts: industry wins, locals and the environment lose
Deep cuts to environmental programs and staff predicted in today’s federal budget aren’t the only “green” cuts that Australians should be concerned about. The federal government is currently holding an…
Green tape reform - dangers but also opportunities
The last few weeks have seen an extraordinary cross party agreement that environmental regulation of development needs reform. The Prime Minister wants coordination with the states streamlined; the Leader…
Environmental regulations likely to be first casualties in post-pandemic recovery
As governments race to revive economic growth, expect a bonfire of green tape.
Federal ‘green-tape’ myth for Alpha mine
The dispute between the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments over the approval of Gina Rinehart’s Alpha Coal Mine continues to escalate with the Prime Minister now backing her Environment Minister…
Cutting ‘green tape’ won’t make a more prosperous Australia
Proposed changes to Australia’s national environmental law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act (EPBC) 1999, appear to have been shelved. The politics have shifted rapidly. Ultimately, the…
Mr Morrison, you can cut ‘green tape’ without harming nature – but it’ll take money and gumption
I was a federal environment official for 13 years. Streamlining approvals for big infrastructure projects is a big environmental risk, unless it’s done properly.
Time for the ‘green tape’ debate to mature: jobs and the environment are not implacable foes
Both industry and environmental groups need more certainty over the government’s approvals process. But the recent hectic rhetoric has given them less certainty - and that could be bad for both sides.
