Ryde Labor

25/03/2026

'The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, has pledged to put an extra half a million square kilometres of Australia’s ocean out of reach of fishers and drillers in a step conservationists hope will “right the wrongs” of an Abbott-era downgrade of marine protection.

Watt confirmed last year Australia would put 30% of its ocean estate under a high level of protection that bans extractive industries as part of an international agreement to protect 30% of the planet’s oceans.

On Tuesday, Watt met conservationists, fishers and representatives from tourism, oil and gas and offshore wind to kickstart a review of management plans across 44 national marine parks.

Large blue wave with perfect curl breaking in the open ocean over a shallow reef bombora off the south-west coast of Australia
Australian government to declare almost a third of its oceans ‘highly protected’ in the next five years
Read more
Watt told Guardian Australia the process was a “major priority for our government this term” and said he wanted to avoid the “culture wars” ignited by the Abbott government before marine park maps were redrawn in 2018.'

Josh Wilson MPSally Sitou MP Fiona Phillips MPJosh Wilson MPLEAN North Coast LEAN NSW South Coast Liza Butler MPDr Michael Holland MP - Member for Bega Wendy Backhous - Labor for PageLEAN WA - Labor Environment Action NetworkLEAN Qld - Labor Environment Action NetworkLEAN VictoriaLEAN Tasmania - Labor Environment Action NetworkLEAN Townsville - Labor Environment Action Network Labor Environment Action Network SALEAN NSW - Labor Environment Action Network

04/02/2026

Minister Penny Sharpe said: "These six big batteries mean we’re on track to smash our storage targets, harvesting the sun and the wind, so we can power NSW around the clock and put downward pressure on prices."

“We’re not stopping here – NSW will support more projects, so we’re ready for a grid powered by renewable energy, supported by gas.”

The Minns Labor Government is backing the largest rollout of big batteries in NSW history. The NSW Government has awarded contracts for six new long‑duration battery projects to strengthen the state’s energy grid.

These batteries will ensure that NSW is on track to exceed its energy storage targets for the future. The batteries will help keep the lights on and provide enough low-cost renewable energy, being so powerful they can run one third of Sydney’s households for a day.

NSW has the most battery projects in Australia with over 200 projects either under construction or in the planning pipeline.

The projects are:

Great Western Battery in Wallerawang, near Lithgow (Neoen Australia) storing 3,500 megawatt hours (MWh)
Bannaby Battery Energy Storage System, in the Southern Tablelands (BW ESS) storing 2,676 MWh
Bowmans Creek Battery Energy Storage System, in the Upper Hunter (Ark Energy) storing 2,414 MWh
Armidale East Battery Energy Storage System (FRV Services Australia) storing 1,440 MWh
Kingswood Battery Energy Storage System, near Tamworth (Iberdrola Australia) storing 1,080 MWh
Ebor Battery Energy Storage System, near Armidale (Bridge Energy) storing 870 MWh
The big batteries are due to be completed by 2030.

As part of the Renewable Energy Rollout, the projects have been awarded contracts that provide a revenue underwriting, accelerating new energy infrastructure while protecting consumers. This means that the Government is supporting the project by providing investment confidence.

This tender was run by ASL, the independent Consumer Trustee. It is the state’s largest tender for long-duration storage to date, both in terms of total storage capacity and the number of contracts.

These projects are subject to the relevant planning approvals.

Penny Sharpe MLC LEAN Australia - Labor Environment Action Network Hunter LEAN LEAN Central Coast Hunter Jobs Alliance

29/01/2026

Full story: https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/landmark-moment-renewables-record-surge-sends-power-prices-tumbling-20260128-p5nxmf.html

SMH 29/1:

'Figures from the energy market operator, to be released on Thursday, confirm renewables and batteries powered more than 50 per cent of the grid in the December quarter for the first time in history, crunching coal to its lowest-ever seasonal share of the mix, and gas to its lowest since 2000.'
Wholesale power prices – what retailers pay generators for electricity before selling it to customers – tumbled to $50 megawatt-hour, a 44 per cent decline from the same time a year earlier.
Violette Mouchaileh, the Australian Energy Market Operator’s head of policy, said the lower average prices across the quarter were the result of years of sustained investment in clean energy and storage projects. It proved that adding more wind, solar and battery capacity into the grid reduced the need to burn higher-cost coal and gas for electricity, putting “downward pressure” on prices, she said.'

27/11/2025

09/11/2025

Wonderful news!

LEAN has long called on the NSW Labor party to go further and finish the job of banning single use plastic ... now they move to go even further than any other state! Well done Penny Sharpe MLC and the Minns Labor Government!

Yahoo: 'NSW has launched a plan to go further than any other state in banning some of the world’s most damaging plastic items. Incredibly, the hit list includes ALL plastic bags with handles, tomato sauce sachets, soy sauce fish, and single-use umbrella sleeves. And new regulations will force many takeaway containers to be redesigned, and coffee shops to change their practices.

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe explained the government’s decision is driven by a need to protect human health and the environment. “Microplastics are entering our bodies and plastic is polluting our environment and oceans, killing our wildlife,” she said. “This plan moves NSW another step closer to phasing out these problematic items.”

Only 16 per cent of plastic waste is recycled in NSW, and the government has warned the state is facing a “waste crisis”. Greater Sydney will run out of landfill space in just five years if nothing is done to combat our use of cheap, single-use items.'

LEAN North Coast LEAN Australia - Labor Environment Action NetworkLEAN Central CoastHunter LEAN LEAN NSW South Coast LEAN Free Discussion Group

13/07/2025

Guardian:
'The Australian government has secured the backing of at least eight members of the 21-country World Heritage committee as it lobbies to quell concerns about the impacts of industrial emissions on Indigenous rock art at Murujuga and have the Western Australia site inscribed on the World Heritage list.

The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, has been in Paris for the meeting since Wednesday, alongside a delegation from the WA state government and the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, which has led the nomination.

The committee is due to make a decision on the inscription of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape on Friday night or early Saturday, Australia time. Indigenous groups have been pushing for the nomination for two decades.'
'ICOMOS said it wanted Australia to remove “degrading acidic emissions” and stop any further industrial development, before a nomination could be approved. A “draft decision” reflecting the ICOMOS recommendations, has gone before the committee.

An amendment, published overnight by committee member Kenya and co-sponsored by Senegal, Zambia, Rwanda, Ukraine, South Korea, Japan and Qatar, scrubbed much of the ICOMOS advice and asked the committee to immediately inscribe Murujuga.'

LEAN WA - Labor Environment Action Network

11/05/2025

ABC: 'Ross Garnaut says this moment is significant.

Four days after Labor's historic election victory last weekend, the leading economist delivered the opening address at the national conference of the Energy Users' Association of Australia (EUAA) in Melbourne.

It was Wednesday morning, and the room was full of representatives from Australia's electricity and gas retail markets, regulators and academia.

Garnaut told the audience that Labor's historic victory should toll the death knell for the political conflict and policy instability that had plagued Australia's energy "debate" for so many years.

He didn't mince his words.'

LEAN WA - Labor Environment Action NetworkLabor Environment Action Network SA LEAN NT - Labor Environment Action NetworkLEAN - Sunshine Coast & Wide BayLEAN Townsville - Labor Environment Action NetworkLEAN North CoastLEAN VictoriaLEAN NSW - Labor Environment Action NetworkLEAN NSW South Coast

14/04/2025

This is the election that will decide if our children will have fully funded public school education available right next to our homes 📚

This election will be the one that solidifies Medicare as the only healthcare option our communities need 👩‍⚕️

This is also the election to decide between a trusted local who has your back or another parachuted candidate 🪂

This election, let's decide on a positive future, a plan that will deliver more outcomes for Bennelong. Vote 1 Jerome Laxale, and number every square as shown here.

19/03/2025

🎓 More opportunity
💼 More secure jobs

Only Labor is building a better future for Australians.

17/03/2025

More choices, more control ✅

Australian women now have better access to contraception, endometriosis and IVF treatments thanks to the Albanese Labor Government’s latest updates to the PBS.

05/03/2025

Public education changes lives.

That’s why the Albanese and Minns governments have signed a historic deal to fully-fund public schools in NSW.

Only Labor can be trusted with our public education system.

03/03/2025

🍺 Good for Brewers
🍺 Good for Venues
🍺 Great for Aussies

Tag your local 👇