Vale Joan Kirner – 1938-2015

Joan Kirner has left a wonderful legacy to the people of Victoria and Australia through her tireless work for change. Her life of activism began after she took her child to kindergarten and saw that there was one teacher for fifty children. She organised a petition and protested outside the Education Department until this was rectified. Joan then began agitating for a better education system which led to her becoming the President of the Australian Council of State School Organisations and a lifelong advocate for public education.

Joan worked passionately for change throughout her life, as Conservation Minister she consulted closely with the Union, stood up for workers and fought for jobs. She made her mark as Minister though her pragmatic approach to getting the balance right between conservation and industry development. She oversaw the formation of Land Care – a policy now implemented throughout Australia.

She then went on to become Minister for Education, her enduring passion and was able to implement many of the reforms she had agitated for throughout her life of community service.

She was a mentor and friend to many women who have gone on to play important roles in progressive politics. She was a the joint founder of Emily’s List which has played an enormous role in supporting and promoting women’s involvement in the ALP which has in turn led to a more inclusive and representative party.

Joan was motivated to fight injustice wherever she saw it.  She made the shift from community activism to politics following the dismissal of the Whitlam Government. Throughout her life she was a passionate advocate for the disadvantaged. Joan had an abiding interest in everyone she met and her capacity to listen ensured she faithfully represented all she fought for.

Germany heads for Solar Power Record

Germany’s electricity traders may face busy weekends as sunny weather positions the nation for a season of solar power records.

After Wednesday’s all-time high of 27.7 gigawatts, Europe’s biggest electricity market is poised for new highs in the next few days or weeks, according to group meteorologist Marcus Boljahn at MeteoGroup. The previous record of 24.2 gigawatts was set on June 6, 2014, when fewer solar panels were installed, the weather forecaster said. One gigawatt is about equal to the capacity of a nuclear reactor.

“A solar generation record may impact prices, especially on weekends when demand for electricity is low, less on weekdays,” Hendrik Saemisch, chief executive officer of Next Kraftwerke GmbH, said Wednesday in an interview from Cologne. The company sells power from renewables on the German intraday and balancing markets.

Germany’s planned decade-long, 120 billion-euro ($127 billion) shift to cleaner energy from fossil fuels has made the nation the biggest economy in the world to rely so heavily on renewable power. Unpredictable solar and wind energy can flood the grid, resulting in negative power prices, when generators must pay consumers to take electricity. The risk is higher at weekends, when usage slows as offices and factories shut.

Longest Day

“From Saturday on, most regions in Germany will get high-pressure weather, and therefore a lot of sunshine,” MeteoGroup’s Boljahn said by phone from Berlin. “Until June 21, the longest day of the year, the possible solar output will be rising daily.”

Germany got about 26 percent of its electricity from renewables in 2014, a share the country aims to increase to 45 percent in the next 10 years. Solar accounted for 22 percent, according to the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, a lobby group.

Intraday German day-ahead power prices were negative for eight hours on Sunday in continuous trading, dropping as low as minus 79.94 euros a megawatt-hour, according to Epex Spot SE data. Prices turned negative for two hours on Wednesday, sliding to minus 1 euro a megawatt-hour from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and minus 1.10 euros from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

“Traders and marketers of renewable energy often have to think about reducing power-plant output if prices turn negative for several hours,” said Saemisch at Next Kraftwerke.

24 Gigawatts

German solar output will peak at 21.2 gigawatts on Saturday and about 24 gigawatts the next day, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

“New German solar records wouldn’t be surprising,” Ricardo Klimaschka, a power trader at Energieunion GmbH, said by phone Thursday. “Weekends are increasingly being treated more carefully, and rightfully so.”

Germany has about 39 gigawatts of installed solar capacity. While installations expanded by more than 22 gigawatts in the three years since 2010, they have slowed to as little as 100 megawatts a month after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government cut subsidies.

“As the number of installed solar panels is continuously increasing, a small change in the weather forecast doesn’t mean 1,000 megawatts, but 3,000 or 4,000 megawatts,” said Klimaschka.

ACTU: Lowest Paid Still Do It Tough

2 June 2015

Australia’s 1.86 million lowest paid workers will receive a $16 increase to their weekly pay packets following the Fair Work Commission’s decision in the annual wage case today.

This increase is not enough to close the growing gap between average and minimum wages that is putting enormous pressure on our lowest paid.

As a result of this decision the national minimum wage will be just 43.3 per cent of average weekly ordinary time earnings, the lowest proportion on record.

The $16 increase represents an additional 2.5% per week for the national minimum wage. All award rates including those above the C10 tradesperson rate also received a 2.5% increase.

This is below the 2.8% increase in average wages and lower than the 2014 increase of $18.70 which represented a 3% increase.

The ACTU called for a $27 per week increase to the minimum wage which would have delivered a $3.1 billion per year economic stimulus and contributed towards closing the wages gap.

The ACTU also called for compulsory superannuation to be increased by 0.5 per cent to 10 per cent to compensate Australia’s lowest paid workers for the cut to their retirement savings caused by the Abbott Government’s decision to freeze the 0.5 per cent increase to compulsory super that was due to come into effect on July 1 under the Superannuation Guarantee.

ABS data proves that low paid workers and their families are under increased financial pressure with health costs having increased by 4.4 per cent and education costs by 5.4 per cent over the 12 months to the March quarter 2015. Childcare costs have grown on average by 7 per cent per annum over the last decade.

Key facts:

• The minimum wage is now $656.90 per week or $17.29 per hour
• Two-thirds of all award-only workers are employed in four key industries: Retail trade, in Accommodation and food services, in Health care and social assistance and in Administrative and support services.
• 57.5% of workers reliant on a minimum wage are women
• 18.8% of the workforce (1.86 million Australians) is paid the national minimum wage or an award minimum wage.

Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver:

“A $16 per week wage increase for Australia’s lowest paid workers isn’t enough to close the gap with average wages.

“Every year that gap is getting wider and wider and will see Australia head down the path of an entrenched US style working poor.

“This decision won’t relieve the stress on low income households in the face of increasing healthcare, education and childcare costs.

“Every year Australian Unions fight for a wage increase for our lowest paid workers but every year we’re playing catch up.

“It’s not good enough when profits are up, productivity is high, executive salaries are up and the Abbott Government delivered a small business bonanza in the budget – but once again workers are left with the scraps.

“Unions will continue to try and claw back the Abbott Government’s cuts to superannuation.

“The reality is that any worker that wants a decent wage increase should join a union and get a collective agreement.”

U.S.: draconian spy laws shut down

Sweeping US surveillance powers, enjoyed by the National Security Agency since the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, shut down at midnight on Monday after a dramatic Senate showdown that saw even the NSA’s biggest supporters concede that substantial reforms were now inevitable.

The expired provisions, subject to a “sunset” clause from the beginning of June onwards, are likely to be replaced later this week with new legislation – the USA Freedom Act – that permanently bans the NSA from collecting telephone records in bulk and introduces new transparency rules for other surveillance activities. The USA Freedom Act, once passed, will be the first rollback of NSA surveillance since the seminal 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

But until then, in addition to the expiration of the NSA’s phone records collection, the FBI is prevented from using powers granted under the Patriot Act, including the pursuit of so-called “business records” relating to internet use, hotel and rental car records and credit card statements.

Both developments represent a remarkable capitulation for the Republican Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who had initially sought to simply extend the Patriot Act provisions, despite overwhelming support in the House of Representatives for the USA Freedom Act.

The development was welcomed by the White House, which has also come to support the USA Freedom Act after Barack Obama proposed that the NSA could seek specific records directly from telephone companies instead.

“The Senate took an important – if late – step forward tonight,” White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said. “We call on the Senate to ensure this irresponsible lapse in authorities is as short-lived as possible.”

McConnell and his colleagues who opposed reform were thwarted in their efforts by a growing backlash by Senate Republicans and, in particular, his Kentucky colleague, Senator Rand Paul.

Bill Shorten: Marriage Equality

I’ve just introduced a bill for marriage equality into the Parliament.

Whatever our religious views, I believe we have to change this law which discriminates against adult couples on the basis of who they love.

Now that the bill has been introduced to parliament it comes down to the numbers. In this final push we need to show how strong community support for marriage equality is. 

Please sign this petition to show your support for marriage equality and demonstrate to those Liberals who are wavering that the community is behind this reform. 

The Irish referendum has given this debate momentum, but it's only when we work together to utilise that momentum that we can make great things happen.

This is a long overdue change. Together we can tell the world that Australia thinks it's time. Together we can make marriage equality a reality.

Please sign and share this petition on Facebook or forward this email to a friend. It’s a privilege to stand up for marriage equality knowing there are so many of you standing with us.

Thanks for standing with me on this,

Bill