This is a call to all of you who read this to make a submission to the federal government's planned National Energy Security Assessment.

In February, I sent an email to my federal member for the Leichhardt riding within which I reside, Jim Tourner. The letter was like this:

(beginning of my email)
Good morning, I am writing to express my concern about a phenomenon known as Peak Oil. We are entering a period of history where we are becoming unable to meet worldwide demand for oil, both because demand increases worldwide, and because all of the easily discovered oil is gone. Transport poverty is beginning to impact on families around Australia as lack of transportation options for suburban workers means they have to spend a lot of money on petrol. The implications on regional and rural Australia are both positive and negative. Positive because communities are generally tighter and more self-reliant; negative because goods and supplies have to be brought in by petrol-related transport over long distances, i.e. shipping, road train, diesel train, or plane.

My question to you is this: how does the Federal Government plan to make the infrastructure of rural and regional Australia resilient to high fuel prices and/or shortage of supply? Suggestions:
- Ramping up construction of electric railway whilst oil is still cheap ($100 a barrel is cheap in light of what is to come).
- Fast-tracking the electric car so that we can use more coal-derived electricity in our transport supply.
- Convert more automobiles to natural gas as this will buy us time in the search for longer-term solutions
- Encouraging more Australians to construct their own food-producing gardens in their own homes, because the cost of food is very, very fossil-fuel heavy. Fertilizers and transport contribute greatly to the production of food; however both are heavily dependent on fossil fuel liquids and therefore threaten to make food more expensive than it is now.
- Developing IT and telecommunications infrastructure that encourages "telecommuting", which is where people perform their information and communications based work from their own home, thus reducing dependency on fossil-fuels, and also reducing the bottom line for the companies they work for.
- Development of electricity production and distribution infrastructure beyond its current means. We need to replace energy lost from petrol and diesel, and one of those sources will have to be electricity.
- Retrofit remote electrical infrastructure that depends on diesel, such as that on Thursday Island, and fast-track wind and solar development in these areas. At current diesel prices, it may not look sensible to replace the infrastructure, but if you double, triple, or tenfold the prices, the economics look different. There is a growing concern that such pricing scenarios could play out - which could bankrupt energy companies or thier customers. I appreciate your time and look forward to your ideas. C Smith
(end of my email)

HIS RESPONSE TO MY EMAIL WAS AS FOLLOWS:

(beginning of his letter)
Dear Mr Smith

Thank you for your recent email regarding your concerns about 'peak oil' and offering suggestions for the future.

The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism is working with other Australian Government agencies, the states, territories and industry to improve critical infrastructure protection. The first priority is to implement Labor's election commitment to undertake a National Energy Security Assessment.

This assessment will provide an integrated picture of the outlook for electricity, gas and liquuid fuel supply and demand over the next five, ten and fifteen years. I can report to you that this assessment is already underway with stakeholder consultation planned for the second quarter.

The Australian Government has also made a commitment to increase the proportion of renewable energy to 20 per cent of our national electricity supply by 2020. Renewable energy will be a key part of the global solution and we need to make sure we have a wide range of appropriate technologies, including clean fossil fuels, bio-fuels, hydrogen and energy efficiency.

The Government is investing $500 million in a Renewable Energy Fund; $240 million to establish Clean Business Australia to deliver energy and water efficiency projects; $500 million for a National Clean Coal fund; $500 million for the Green Car Innovation Fund; and $150 million for solar and clean energy research.

Through direct financial incentives, strengthened energy efficiency regulations and targeted information, households will be helped to use less energy while saving money. Farmers will also be encouraged to engage in sustainable farming practices that reduce carbon emisions.

These initiatives will be delivered across and I look forward to reporting to my constituents as the various programmes are rolled out. In the meantime, I am working hard in my electorate of Leichhardt to understand the needs of all communities in Tropical North Queensland and ensure that they are represented in Canberra.

I thank you for taking the time to write to me and put forward your suggestions for a better future.

Yours sincerely,

Jim Tourner, MP
Member for Leichhardt
12/3/2008

(end of his letter)

Now, I am optimistic about these programs, and I hope that these will bring about real change, change that is more extensive than so-called "showcase programs".

The stakeholders to be consulted in the NESA assessment to be done in the second quarter (which I assume to be April 1 - June 30 2008) appear to be, based on my research, energy industry players. I urge you all to be heard in the assessment. Write to the Hon. Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources and Energy, Minister for Tourism.

If you look at what Mr. Ferguson has said in recent speeches, it appears that clean-coal, coal-to-liquid (CTL), and gas-to-liquid (GTL) technologies are going to play a big role in Australia's energy future.

To see what he has said, have a look at these links:
http://minister.dret.gov.au/TheHonMartinFergusonMP/Pages/SpeechtoCTlandG...
http://minister.ret.gov.au/TheHonMartinFergusonMP/Pages/GLOBALFOUNDATION...

It seems to me that the Government knows about Peak Oil, but aren't calling it as such at this point in time.

In the meantime, I'm going to plant some broad beans and pick some spinach and eggplant.

Peace.