I’ve spent the last few months talking to people in the energy sector, and the many advisors, user groups and regulators working alongside it. Aside from the general frustration at Australia’s inability to form bipartisan energy policy, there are also signs people are switching off from the media’s coverage of it.
The policy solutions needed to manage a transitioning industry have never been more complex (just consider the 50 recommendations from Finkel, and 56 from the ACCC). But the policy environment is being shaped by ideology as much as evidence. Business leaders and politicians shouting opinions at eachother certainly help news outlets drive traffic, but it’s only a matter of time before informed players grow tired of the same simplistic arguments.
The way our early audience sees it, policy is generally behind industry. The market is getting on with the energy transition. Policy can be a help or a hindrance, it has always been so. When it’s incomplete or erratic, it’s a problem.
That’s where we’re hoping to be of help. Right now we’re summarising the daily narrative on energy policy. The daily count since the NEG was killed is a bit of fun, but when the government and the opposition do finalise the energy policy they will take to the election, we’ll be there to cover it.
We’re hiring reporters and freelancers in Canberra, and across Australia, to follow and report on policy at both a state and federal level. We won’t be publishing opinion. There’s plenty of that already. What we will do is offer context, and tools we hope will save you time in understanding new or emerging policy, and the people that shape it. If this sounds helpful to you, please spread the word online, and tell your colleagues to register for these emails.
In coming weeks we’ll publish some original stories on issues that matter to the sector. If there’s a policy issue you think isn’t getting the scrutiny it needs, please let me know.
— Charis Palmer, Editor