January Newsletter #6: 🔵 “The system is failing”

HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🗣️ “The system is failing”: Zali Steggall calls for royal commission into domestic violence

Following the murder of three in a central west New South Wales town, Warringah MP Zali Steggall has called on the prime minister to establish a royal commission into domestic violence “as a matter of urgency”.

What happened: NSW Police are currently searching for a 37 year old man accused of murdering a man and two women — one of whom was seven months pregnant — in Lake Cargelligo last Thursday. Police are regarding the shooting as a domestic violence incident.

Steggall urges investigation: Over the weekend, Zali Steggall, Member for Warringah, responded to the incident by urging for a federal royal commission into domestic violence, claiming “incremental reform has not worked”.

“Routinely when this happens, we are told the same thing: the offender was not deemed a serious risk and was complying with bail conditions”, said Steggall. “Clearly, those assessments are wrong. The laws are not working”.

Support grows: Steggall's calls follow similar campaigning from Australian Femicide Watch founder, Sherele Moody, who on the 24th of January launched a petition calling for a royal commission “into the killing of Australian women and girls”. The petition has amassed over 24,000 signatures.

What now: Currently, Steggall stands alone in parliament on this. Bradfield MP Nicolette Boele told the Lorikeet that while she supports “renewed efforts that treat this crisis with the gravity it warrants” she would not currently back Steggall's call without first seeing "clear and effective" terms of reference.

See the full story below.

💾  What actually is a data centre?

Australia is building hundreds of data centres across the country that will use massive amounts of water and energy. Yet few Australians could confidently tell you what a data centre actually does.

In this video, we break down what data centres do, as well as the potential impacts they are having on our climate. 👇️ 

🚘️ Heads up: school zones are back early this week on the North Shore

School zones will be back in place across the North Shore early this week, as the school holidays near their end. The 40km speed limits came back into effect this morning.

For many schools across the state, students will not return until Thursday, with Tuesday and Wednesday as development days for teachers.

An executive director for Transport for NSW said that despite this, some schools return earlier than others, and the decision is aimed to “avoid confusion” for motorists.

School zone speed limits generally apply on weekdays from 8 to 9.30am and from 2.30 to 4pm.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

🔥 Coal power plant extension blamed on government dilly-dallying over wind, solar project approvals

On Tuesday, Origin Energy announced it would extend the lifespan of its coal-fired Eraring Power Station - near Lake Macquarie, 135km north of Sydney - until April 2029.

Finance and energy experts have blamed the NSW Government, saying slow project approvals were delaying the shift to renewable energy and maintaining our reliance on expensive fossil fuels.

🗓️ The extension

Origin Energy cited a “range of factors” behind the extension, and said the delay would allow more time for renewables, storage and transmission projects to be delivered.

Australia’s power grid manager (AEMO) says shutting the plant too early could make the electricity system less stable.

Experts say the extension is a sign that clean energy capacity hasn’t been built fast enough, and that keeping the plant alive longer will keep people’s electricity bills high.

🤔 Why it matters

At the time of its closure Eraring will be 45 years old.

Energy sector expert at Griffith University Associate Professor Joel Gilmore says once plants reach 40 years of age “they increasingly start to fail, and that is an expensive risk and a dangerous one”.

Read the full story below.