According to The Australian Financial Review, lower long-term oil and gas prices – predicted by global majors BP and Shell – should be good news for domestic gas pricing, but major gas suppliers and retailers are still failing to pass on cheaper rates, say big chemicals companies Incitec Pivot and Qenos.
Since oil majors BP and Shell have slashed their forecast long-term price of Brent crude from $US55 and $US60 per barrel respectively down from $US70 or more
But the major gas retailers and producers in Australia are sticking to high prices, offering Incitec Pivot and Qenos long-term gas contracts at between $8-$9 a gigajoule when the spot prices have dwelled around $5 earlier this year.
Jeanne Johns, chief executive officer of Incitec Pivot, said the spot price reductions don't mean much for business as they need long-term contract prices to make investment decisions.
"If the LNG price is going to be low for the next four years, this lower price should inevitably be reflected in more competitively priced long-term contract offers for domestic gas.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/high-gas-prices-for-long-term-east-coast-contracts-persist-20200701-p557zc

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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/2495485.html
​

According to The Australian Financial Review, a $650 million power station project in South Australia that will utilise gas and solar power to deliver 422 megawatts of dispatchable power into the electricity grid has been given the green light by South Australian authorities, with construction to begin next year.
The Summerfield Hybrid Grid Firming Power Station is to be built on farm land at Tepko, about 60km east of Adelaide by privately-owned company SAPGen Pty Ltd, after gaining approval from the SA Planning Minister Stephan Knoll.
It would be the third largest power station in the state behind AGL Energy's Torrens Island station and Engie's Pelican Point operation in Adelaide's industrial north-west suburbs.
SAPGen managing director Ben Lee said the Summerfield project would create about 700 jobs during construction, which was earmarked to begin next year.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/650m-hybrid-power-project-in-sa-gets-green-light-20200618-p553u5

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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/7714251.html
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According to The Australian Financial Review, entrepreneurs are starting new businesses at the highest rate seen so far this year, a positive sign the economy is starting to emerge from the COVID-19-induced hibernation.
Insurance agency BizCover sold 20 per cent more new business insurance policies – mainly to sole operators and small business owners – at the start of June compared with February, while policy cancellations were down 20 per cent compared with the start of the year.
"The rate of increase in small businesses starting seems to have accelerated in every week since the beginning of May, which is great news for small businesses and the economy," said BizCover chief financial officer Simon Schwarz.

https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/small-business-starts-rise-as-lockdown-eases-20200612-p551w7

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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/7410955.html
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According to The Australian Financial Review, a small Australian company called H2X has unveiled ambitious plans to begin making hydrogen fuel cell powered cars under the 'Snowy' brand by 2022 from a site in Port Kembla in New South Wales.
Brendan Norman, the chief executive of the company, had previously been working with Chinese group Grove Automotive on hydrogen vehicles, and has joined forces with a group of investors and automotive experts to try to bring a new range of homegrown SUVs to the Australian market.
A prototype of the 'Snowy' would likely be ready by mid-2021 and commercial production is being eyed for 2022.
But Mr Norman said the rollout of vehicles to the broader retail market would also depend on the availability of hydrogen filling stations around Australia for motorists wanting to use the new technology.
He said with the sharp economic downturn around the world triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, now was the right time to bring vehicle manufacturing back to Australia. The aim is to use hydrogen fuel cell technology and other green technology to make a range of different vehicles, including passenger cars and industrial vehicles. Under the growth plans, it hopes to have a workforce of 5000 people by 2025. The industrial vehicles are likely to go into commercial production first.

https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/snowy-hydrogen-powered-car-rises-as-sun-sets-on-holden-20200612-p551ya

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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/6141502.html?lang=ja
​ 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Australia's success in combating COVID-19 has helped rare earths hopeful Hastings secure a crucial supply agreement in Germany, as Berlin seeks to diversify its supply chains away from China.
Hastings said it signed a binding, 10-year off-take agreement with automotive parts giant Schaeffler on Wednesday, allowing it to begin negotiating the terms of debt funding agreements with the Australian and German governments.
The ASX-listed junior miner, which has a market capitalisation of $120 million, is benefiting from fears in the United States and among its allies that China could exploit its dominance of the rare earths trade by cutting off supply to advanced manufacturers.
Rare earths are used in everything from electric vehicles to wind turbines and weapons. China controls about 80 per cent of the global market and has threatened to cut off supply amid trade tensions with the US.

https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/australia-s-success-against-virus-delivers-rare-earths-opportunity-20200603-p54z3a

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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/2875800.html
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According to The Australian Financial Review, pipeline owner Jemena is proposing a national accreditation system for renewable gas that could give a boost to proposals to produce hydrogen and biomethane in the same way that measures to support renewable electricity have spurred the boom in wind and solar power.
The introduction of such a system as Australia looks to recover from the economic hit from COVID-19 could unlock regional jobs and business growth, while also enhancing security of energy supply, said Jemena's executive general manager, gas distribution, Jennifer Purdie.
Dr Purdie said that some of Jemena's customers were demanding the sort of "green" gas product available in some overseas markets, where gas could be purchased with environmental credentials certifying it as carbon-free.
"Fundamentally this is a building block towards the development of a renewable gas product which enables green gas PPAs [power purchase agreements] in the same way as we've got renewable electricity PPAs," she told The Australian Financial Review.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/fresh-push-for-green-gas-accreditation-20200528-p54x6a

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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/1261846.html 
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According to The Australian Financial Review, CSIRO-backed deep tech venture capital fund Main Sequence Ventures has invested $4 million in a newly formed start-up, spun out of multinational construction and engineering company Laing O'Rourke, which aims to use artificial intelligence to make construction and mining worksites safer.
Presien was cofounded by Kieran MacKenzie and Nathan Kirchner, who built the workplace safety product while working in Laing O'Rourke's research and development division.
The so-called Toolbox Spotter employs Artificial Intelligence (AI) vision systems based on deep convolutional neural networks, using sensors mounted on the side of heavy vehicles and machinery on worksites. It means vehicles can recognise people, vehicles and other objects working in blindspots and warn drivers about potential accidents.
Presien's product is already used by clients such as Transport for NSW, BHP, Fortescue Metals Group, Patrick, Queensland Rail, McConnell Dowell, Metro Trains Melbourne, Georgiou Group and Aurizon.

https://www.afr.com/technology/construction-giant-spins-out-ai-start-up-to-tackle-workplace-accidents-20200514-p54syr

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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/ai1239364.html 
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According to The Nikkei Asian Review, bidets are on the rise in not only America, but also Australia and elsewhere, according to Steven Scheer, president of California-based Brondell.
When Japan's Toto installed high-tech toilets at Narita Airport near Tokyo some years ago, the aim was to promote bidets by letting visitors try them upon arrival.
Electric bidets had not taken off abroad, where just 3% of U.S. households have adopted them, against an 80%-plus adoption rate in Japan.
Now a wave of momentum has come upon Japanese manufacturers as American consumers cast a fresh glance at ways to clean up without paper.
Bidets are on the rise in not only America, but also Australia and elsewhere, according to Steven Scheer, president of California-based Brondell.
Brondell, which sells bidet seats and other toilet accessories mostly in North America, saw orders triple through March and April when toilet paper vanished from store shelves. Things have settled down a little since then, but demand is still high, the company says.
And "this could be the tipping point that finally gets us to adopt the bidet," Miki Agrawal, founder and chief creative officer at add-on bidet seller Tushy, told People magazine.
Tushy offers bidet attachments starting at $79, as well as a portable alternative. Sales are now 10 times what the company had planned for, pushing it to expand production capacity.
The modern bidet seat was first popularized for medical use in the U.S. and Europe, but it never quite went mainstream in America. In Japan, however, ordinary consumers embraced the concept. More than 80% of households of two or more members now have bidet seats on their toilets.
Now, American consumers increasingly see the bidet as a hygienic and environmentally friendly alternative.
Big-name Japanese players are gearing up to take advantage. Toto has seen sales of its Washlet bidet seats double on the year in the January-March period. It aims to sell more than 2 million units overseas in fiscal 2022 -- triple the fiscal 2017 figure.
Lixil Group has made aggressive inroads into the field since acquiring American Standard in 2013. It launched an online campaign in March promoting its bidets as an alternative to toilet paper, doubling U.S. sales on the year that month.
But the pandemic has proved a mixed blessing. Toto suffered temporary disruptions at key production facilities due to parts shortages. Sales networks in U.S. urban areas have ground to a halt as residents stay home.
The global market for bidets will reach nearly US$4.9 billion by the end of 2026 -- up roughly 30% from 2020 -- according to a 360 Research Reports forecast posted on the MarketWatch financial news website.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/No-toilet-paper-No-problem-Bidets-gain-new-converts-in-US

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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-35216638.html 
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According to The Australian Financial Review, surging iron ore prices are breathing life back into marginal Australian iron ore projects as expectations grow that Brazilian exports could be weaker for longer.
Buoyant iron ore futures were on last Tuesday suggesting the 17 per cent rally in iron ore prices since April 30 have further to run, with the steel-making ingredient on track to test the $US100 per tonne threshold later last week.
Benchmark iron ore prices were 3.4 per cent higher at $US96.84 on last Tuesday morning, driving gains of close to 5 per cent in the share prices of iron ore miners Fortescue Metals, Rio Tinto, BHP, Mineral Resources and Mt Gibson Iron.

https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/iron-ore-rally-tempts-marginal-miners-back-to-market-20200519-p54ufz

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https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/6708245.html

According to The Australian Financial Review, Sunshine Coast tourism operator Aldy Johnston remembers the exact moment the phones starting ringing again to book accommodation at their "Secrets on the Lake" holiday cabins, near Montville.
After two months of cancelled bookings or refunds, there was finally a glimmer of hope last Friday when Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the three-stage road map out of coronavirus lockdowns.
A press conference by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk followed soon after and then the phone calls and emails started up again – and they haven't stopped since.
The date June 12 was marked in the diary. That's when overnight accommodation will be allowed again at their 11 cabins on Lake Baroon, five minutes drive out of Montville, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
"Last week it suddenly got hugely busy with people inquiring or wanting to book. It's all turned around and I'm no longer anxious about the bank balance," Ms Johnston told AFR Weekend.

https://www.afr.com/companies/tourism/the-phones-are-ringing-again-for-qld-tourism-operators-20200515-p54tcf

If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
https://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/6457796.html?lang=ja