According to The Australian Financial Review, agribusiness Australia president Mark Allison says the two pillars of agriculture in Australia – livestock and grain production – are well down the track in reducing emissions as the industry comes under increased scrutiny from bankers and investors.
Mr Allison, who will bow out as chief executive of Elders Limited later this year, doesn’t see a risk to food security or exports from so-called carbon farming as big fossil fuel producers and users try to offset their emissions. An Elders-commissioned report shows the biggest players in the industry are largely meeting their environmental, social and governance reporting obligations. The report, prepared by KPMG, examined how 34 of the top balance sheets across ASX-listed, private and multinational agribusinesses were tracking and reporting on key ESG indicators. https://www.afr.com/companies/agriculture/agribusiness-boss-says-farmers-making-hay-on-esg-20230309-p5cqsx
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According to The Australian Financial Review, under the NSW government scheme, which kicked off on January 16, first home buyers of properties under $1.5 million can opt into paying a smaller annual land tax instead of stamp duty.
The scheme is limited to properties worth $1.5 million or less, which the government said would cover 97 per cent of first home buyers. For homes worth $1.5 million, first-home buyers can save $66,700 in stamp duty if they opt to pay $3100 in annual land tax for as long as they own the property. Sydney home buyer Leighton Aurelius quickly realised the segment of the market he was targeting – homes worth up to $1.5 million – was so competitive that properties were getting snapped up at auctions even before he had a chance to bid. https://www.afr.com/property/residential/buyers-left-scrambling-as-mini-bubble-hits-sydney-housing-market-20230309-p5cqof
According to The Asahi Shimbun, aiming to nurture innovation-driven startups that would compete globally, Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward has created a joint-stock company with the participation of private companies.
The enterprise, called Shibuya Startups KK, was formed on March 6. “Shibuya is home to the most startup companies in the capital,” said Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe during a news conference held on Feb. 13 to announce the project. “We will be taking advantage of this feature as the driving force for our town’s development.” A ward estimate suggests there are more than 2,000 startup firms in Shibuya. Shibuya Ward works with Tokyu Corp., Tokyu Land Corp. and GMO Internet Group Inc. to operate Shibuya Startups, which is capitalized at 170 million yen ($1.2 million). https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14846558
According to The Asahi Shimbun, a team of Japanese researchers has produced a chemical compound that is being touted to save the lives of victims of gas poisoning in the event of a fire.
Developed by scientists from Doshisha University and elsewhere, the compound’s immediate effectiveness and safety were confirmed through testing on mice. “It is anticipated that it will provide a safe solution with no adverse effects,” said Hiroaki Kitagishi, an organic chemistry professor at the university’s Faculty of Science and Engineering. “We want to save as many patients as possible as there is a spate of flame-derived gas poisoning deaths reported all over the world.” https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14845811
According to The Australian Financial Review, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says the technology behind Japan’s $2.35 billion investment to make hydrogen from coal in the Latrobe Valley is yet to be proven, as he played down tensions between his treasurer and resources minister over the project.
The Australian Financial Review reported that the Victorian Resources Minister Lily D’Ambrosio’s repeated refusal to endorse the green energy project in parliament potentially threatened the investment secured by Treasurer Tim Pallas during his recent visit to Japan. Mr Andrews also claimed the technology behind the project, including the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS), was yet to be proven, despite the Victorian and federal governments pumping a combined $100 million into a successful pilot phase over the past five years. “This is about technology that’s not yet proven up ... there’s many questions that are still unanswered,” he said. https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/japan-s-2-35b-victorian-hydrogen-project-not-proven-andrews-20230309-p5cqpk
According to The Australian Financial Review, the price of airfares on some of the country’s most popular routes remain more than 50 per cent higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, with official data showing record levels in the past three months.
The travel industry is warning the higher domestic fares are part of a “structural reset” as airlines pursue higher margins, which could push down demand for travel after heavy post-pandemic patronage. Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Dean Long said “we’ve hit the peak for airfares,”. “We are not expecting any significant pricing shocks over the next year or a full retraction to the levels seen back before the pandemic. It has stabilised for the moment, but there will not be a massive change.” https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/airfares-remain-stubbornly-high-well-above-pre-pandemic-levels-20230302-p5cotq
According to The Australian Financial Review, building approvals slumped to their lowest level in a decade in January, fuelling the risk of further rental inflation as immigration numbers return to more normal levels.
The number of standalone home approvals dropped 13.5 per cent in January from December to a seasonally adjusted 7664, the lowest monthly total since June 2012, as buyers pulled out of the market in the face of rising interest rates and surging construction costs. https://www.afr.com/property/residential/rising-costs-rates-send-building-approvals-to-decade-low-20230302-p5covf
According to The Asahi shimbun, Suntory Spirits Ltd. will invest 10 billion yen (US$ 76 million) over two years to upgrade its Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries and release new canned highball products to mark its 100th anniversary of making whisky.
It plans to introduce the traditional production method of floor malting at both distilleries for some of its products, where workers will spread out barley, the main ingredient for making whisky, on the floor and stir it by hand so it germinates into malt. This method brings out more aroma than mechanized processes, although Suntory officials have yet to settle on how to use it for marketing purposes. But they hope the experiment will help the company improve the quality of its products overall. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14838055
According to The Asahi Shimbun, to boost Japan's domestic production of next-generation semiconductors, Rapidus Corp. has unveiled a plan to build its first chip plant in Hokkaido.
Rapidus President Atsuyoshi Koike will visit Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki on Feb. 28 to officially announce the plan. The new plant is expected to be built in an industrial park in Chitose, which has convenient access to a major airport along with a stable supply of electricity and water, both vital for chip production. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14850023
According to The Australian Financial Review, Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure has ditched ideas to potentially build a hydrogen plant and will investigate making ammonia instead, boss Anthony Timbrell said, as the Queensland export port’s annual net profit halved to $69 million.
The company, which operates the Dalrymple Bay export terminal, has been examining the possibility of building a hydrogen plant to diversify away from coal. But the difficulty of keeping liquid hydrogen at the required temperature of about minus 253 degrees Celsius in tropical north Queensland was “a bit of a challenge”, Mr Timbrell told The Australian Financial Review. “So we’ve taken the decision that given our berths sit about four kilometres offshore, liquid ammonia at about minus 30 degrees Celsius would be a much easier proposition,” he said. “That’s where we will be directing most of our feasibility work.” Feasibility studies are expected to start in the next few months. https://www.afr.com/companies/infrastructure/dbi-says-hydrogen-too-cold-for-tropical-north-queensland-20230224-p5cngr |
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