Media analysis in this report shows that over the last year, the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has overwhelmingly focused its energy on promoting coal and opposing cleaner energy sources like renewables.

This discussion paper evaluates the energy policies required to meet Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets set by the Abbott Government and pledged at the international climate summit in Paris.

The Australian government is justifying it proposed plans to remove marine protections by arguing that they have an adverse effect on the fishing industry. However, there is little evidence of any significant negative impact of marine protection measures.

State government agencies often lack basic information on how many mines are in operation, with still less published on closures and abandonments.

Attempts to develop northern Australia by subsidising capital-intensive industries like irrigated agriculture have a long and unimpressive history.