21:46
Australia’s eight planned nuclear submarines will cost $70bn at an “absolute minimum” and it’s “highly likely” to be more than that, defence analysts say.
With inflation, the cost could be as high as $171bn, according to a new report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
The thinktank’s report contained a series of estimates ranging from low to high and conceded that estimating the final cost of the project is necessarily an “extremely assumption-rich activity”.
Under the low range, for a smaller submarine with a more efficient build, the “constant” cost (not including inflation) would be about $70bn. Including inflation (the “out-turned” cost), it would be $116bn.
You can read the full report below:
21:26
Updated
21:17
21:07
Fresh doubts have emerged over whether Australia can rely on boosting soil carbon to achieve its net zero emissions goals with a new New South Wales government report predicting the land sector will become a significant source of emissions in a warmer climate.
The concerns are raised in a report on soil health trends in NSW forests, published recently without fanfare by the state’s Natural Resources Commission. It examined soil organic carbon (SOC) levels in eastern NSW forests and how they may be affected by projected rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns.
They found major losses could be expected, particularly for southern forests, suggesting “forest managers will have to implement appropriate soil carbon-enhancing strategies even to just maintain current SOC levels”.
You can read the full report below:
20:59
Updated
20:41
Joyce says Julian Assange should not be extradited to the US
Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States to face charges.
Joyce has penned an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald stating that he believes a trial should be held in the UK or Assange should return to Australia, as he wasn’t on American soil at the time the alleged espionage offences occurred.
As an individual, whether you like him or despise him, it is beyond him, given his circumstances, to protect his rights by himself. So we must hope for the British courts to do so, and we will judge its society accordingly.
I have never met him and, from observation, don’t respect him. I presume I would not like him. And I view these facts as a clarion call to be all the more vigilant that he is treated just as one of my most powerful colleagues or dearest friends would be.
Joyce also noted that Assange “was not in breach of any Australian laws at the time of his actions”, urging the UK courts not to cave to pressure from the US to send him over.
Updated
20:31
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