Committee Hearing....

Official Committee Hansard
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
STANDING COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY AND RESOURCES
Reference: Development of the non-fossil fuel industry in Australia: case study into
selected renewable energy sectors
WEDNESDAY, 20 JUNE 2007


From what I can gather.. and I am clutching at straws here, but the open to public Committee Hearings seem to be significantly more subdued than Question Time in the Senate. They seem simply to put forward a 'case study' or are referred to the committee and propose means and outline what changes have been made by which to over come the issue(s).

"The case study was referred to the committee by the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Hon. Ian Macfarlane, on 8 May 2007. The committee shall undertake a comprehensive study of the following renewable energy sectors: solar, wave and tidal, geothermal, wind, bio-energy and hydrogen. The case study will examine the relative state
of development of these sectors in Australia and their prospects for economically viable
electricity generation, storage and transmission." (Hansard 20 June 2007 , p. 7)

In this hearing other committee members can question elements of their study and gather further information and knowledge in a more professional means, for example-

Mr HATTON—Enhanced geothermal systems—it looks like a new steam age. There is a
fundamental use of fractured rock. What problems are related to that in terms of geological
stability? For instance, with a place like Yellowstone, which is a giant caldera, it can go up.

The issue/ concept outline in the case study is one of great importance to the community and outlines changes that can be made by means of renewable energy sources. Topics/ themes outlined and addressed in this hearing included
- the potential of geothermal energy
- the environmentally-friendly manner in which the proposed energy will be produced.
- How geothermal energy is the lowest cost emission-free renewable baseload energy
- The proposed monetary cost associated with geothermal energy.

Overall I found this hearing much more informative and interesting that being subjected to the sly and petty remarks or Question Time. I feel valuable issues and answers are presented in the hearing and am surprised Question Time in the Senate is not more professionally structured.
I think they could learn a lot from taking a page from the committee's book!