Angus Taylor Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister

Angus Taylor 

Minister for Energy and Emissions 

Reduction

There has been scandal after scandal after scandal … 

Contents 

THE ANGUS TAYLOR STORY: FROM THE LIBERALS' GOLDEN BOY TO A MAN 

ON THE EDGE ................................................................................................................................ 5 

WATERGATE / $80 million without going to Tender .................................................. 10 

'All Hell Broke Loose': The Strange Story Behind Joyce, Taylor and 

#Watergate ............................................................................................................................ 10 

WATERGATE / $80 million without going to Tender .................................................. 14 

$80 Million Without Going To Tender .................................................................... 14 

GRASSGATE / MONEY FOR JAM ......................................................................................... 15 

Angus Taylor ‘Allegations of misleading Parliament’ .................................... 16 

No sooner had Watergate died down than Grassgate flared .................... 18 

ANGUS TAYLOR #GRASSGATE TIMETABLE ......................................................... 19 

Conflicts Of Interest, Prompting The Question “Money For Jam”? ........ 25 

CLOVERGATE / FORGED DOCUMENTS ............................................................................ 35 

A timeline of Angus Taylor’s mystery document controversy .................. 35 

Scott Morrison’s Phone Call To Police Chief an Inappropriate Attempt 

to Use Position, Former Top Judge Says ............................................................... 42 

AFP did not interview Sydney mayor over alleged forged travel 

documents .............................................................................................................................. 44 

TAYLOR CALLED ON THE COALITION GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE ITS 

SUPPORT FOR WIND FARMS IN JUNE 2013 .................................................................. 47 

https://www.michaelwest.com.au/angus-taylor/.......................................................... 47 

WELL DONE ME: ANGUS TAYLOR PRAISES HIMSELF AS 'FANTASTIC' IN 

FACEBOOK FAIL .......................................................................................................................... 48 

THE LUCK OF THE TAYLORS ................................................................................................. 50 

ANGUS TAYLOR CONNECTED TO DELIBERATE POISONING OF PROTECTED 

WEDGE-TAILED EAGLES .......................................................................................................... 62 

FAREWELL BASH FOR TONY ABBOTT COST TO TAXPAYERS … NOVEMBER 

2019 ................................................................................................................................................. 64 

NAOMI WOLF ACCUSES ANGUS TAYLOR OF 'ANTISEMITIC DOGWHISTLE' 

AND FALSE CLAIM ABOUT OXFORD UNIVERSITY ....................................................... 65 

2


ANGUS TAYLOR’S WIFE LOBBIED FOR SEX DISCRIMINATION COMMISSIONER 

POSITION - LATE 2015 ............................................................................................................ 67 

STACKGATE: ANGUS TAYLOR’S LATEST SCANDAL ..................................................... 68 

Taylor’s expert panel on emissions reduction is extremely heavy in 

fossil fuel lobby groups .................................................................................................. 68 

Have a look at who is participating in deliberations on Climate Change 

Policy ......................................................................................................................................... 70 

Covert-19: Government stacks Covid Commission with oil and gas 

mates, cosy deals follow ................................................................................................. 73 

Angus Taylor Revamps Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) 

Board as Funds Dwindle to $70 Million ................................................................. 79 

Coalition Quietly Adds Fossil Fuel Industry Leaders to Emissions 

Reduction Panel .................................................................................................................. 82 

COALITION REFUSAL TO EMBRACE A 2050 NET ZERO EMISSIONS TARGET IS 

“ABSOLUTELY” AT ODDS WITH THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT ..................... 86 

Kyoto Credits: as Australia cooks, the Coalition cooks the books ........... 87 

Angus Taylor’s Energy Projects push....................................................................... 89 

LATEST GOVERNMENT RORT SUPPORTING RELIABLE ENERGY 

INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM MUST BE INVESTIGATED BY SENATE ................. 90 

Coalition Hands Out $4 Million To Pursue New Coal Generator In 

Queensland ............................................................................................................................ 90 

Federal government refuses FOI request for coal plant feasibility 

findings .................................................................................................................................... 92 

Links between Shine Energy and multinational mining giant, Glencore. 

...................................................................................................................................................... 94 

POLITICAL STUNT BY ANGUS TAYLOR ............................................................................. 96 

OIL OVER WATER: WHAT IS BEHIND ANGUS TAYLOR’S $94 MILLION US 

STOCKPILE DEAL? ...................................................................................................................... 97 

$61.2 MILLION ENERGY EFFICIENT COMMUNITIES PROGRAM - YET TO BE 

ALLOCATED ............................................................................................................................... 101 

COALITION PARTY DONORS WIN BIG FROM GOVERNMENT ROADMAP TO 

MORE FOSSIL FUEL USE ....................................................................................................... 102 

3


$16 MILLION COVIDSAFE APP WHICH MANAGED TO IDENTIFY A TOTAL OF 

17 PEOPLE .................................................................................................................................. 106 

“CRAZY”: HOW TAYLOR PLANS TO CO-OPT CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE 

CORPORATION (CEFC FUNDS) INTO UNPROFITABLE GAS PROJECTS ............ 108 

LOCAL DOCTORS SIGN OPEN LETTER AS A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN 

MINISTER ANGUS TAYLOR ................................................................................................. 114 

TAKE A BOW ANGUS TAYLOR........................................................................................... 118 

GREEN BANK SHOULDN’T FUND GAS-FIRED POWER, EX-OFFICIALS TELL 

FEDERAL MPS ........................................................................................................................... 119 

AUSTRALIA WILL NOT BE GIVEN SPEAKING SLOT AT CLIMATE SUMMIT ...... 121 

MORRISON GOVERNMENT SUBSIDISING DIRTY FUEL AMID THE CLIMATE 

CRISIS BEGGARS BELIEF ....................................................................................................... 122 

AFR READERS SLAM ANGUS TAYLOR OVER ENERGY POLICY ............................ 126 

4


THE ANGUS TAYLOR STORY: FROM THE LIBERALS' GOLDEN 

BOY TO A MAN ON THE EDGE 

By Annie Davies – The Guardian on 30 November 2019 

When Taylor entered parliament six years ago, a glittering future 

seemed assured. Now, things look very different. 

Angus Taylor feels the heat during question time 

Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP 

When Angus Taylor was elected to federal parliament in 2013 he 

was feted as a man to watch, a prime minister-in-waiting. 

Taylor has struggled to stand out from the pack of ambitious men 

(and a few women) in their 40s in the Liberal party. 

Now a series of unfortunate events may well have cruelled Taylor’s 

chances “Watergate”, “Grassgate”, and now the doctored document 

scandal have conspired to take the gloss off Taylor. 

5


The controversies have proved a major embarrassment for the 

Morrison government. They raised questions about Taylor’s 

judgment and political instincts. For the most part, he has 

responded with an arrogance that arguably fails to read how the 

public perceives his behaviour. 

So how did it come to this? 

The right stuff 

Well educated and well connected, Taylor was elected in 2013 to 

the NSW southern highlands seat of Hume as a Liberal – with the 

Nationals’ blessing, even though they had held the seat for decades. 

He advised the Victorian government about opening up its coal 

seam gas industry and he mingled with the cream of the mining 

industry. 

Turnbull clearly rated his intellect but it was a relationship that 

would not endure 

The only blot in his business career was a dot-com business 

Farmshed, an online store for farmers. Perhaps it was ahead of its 

time in 1997, but Taylor had convinced McKinsey to invest and they 

lost money. 

Meanwhile the Taylor family expanded their own agricultural 

holdings, focusing on a strategy of buying farms in high rainfall 

areas. They established Growth Farms, chaired by Angus’s brother 

Richard, which offered management services for farm investors. 

The firm landed a major client, the UK based Sir Michael Hintze, a 

hedge-fund manager turned investor and a Conservative party 

backer. Hintze is now one of the biggest agricultural investors in 

Australia. 

6


Taylor also dabbled in his own deals. Together with a New 

Zealander, Connor Maloney, he co-founded Eastern Australia 

Agriculture Ltd in 2007, which bought two large cotton farms in 

Queensland. They had a tilt at buying the giant Cubbie station when 

it was offered for sale in 2010, but were not successful. 

Eastern Australia Agriculture Ltd and the punt on cotton and water 

entitlements might have remained a footnote on Taylor’s CV, but for 

what has unfolded a decade later. 

But let’s not jump ahead. 

Man on the move 

Business wasn’t enough for the quietly ambitious Taylor. According 

to a 2014 profile in the Australian Financial Review, Taylor was 

already friends with MPs Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Heffernan, and 

they introduced him to former prime minister John Howard, who 

was impressed by Taylor’s business credentials. Howard helped 

smooth the way for Taylor’s preselection in Hume. 

Taylor moved his family to a farm near Goulburn in 2011, and his 

wife, barrister Louise Clegg, stepped back from her career to run his 

campaign – with military precision and solid financial support. 

Electoral records show Taylor was a major donor to the Liberals in 

2012-13, forking out $150,000 to support the party that was 

supporting him. 

The Coalition swept into power in 2013 and Tony Abbott was 

installed as prime minister. Taylor was among a raft of new MPs to 

come to Canberra as a result. 

7


Tony Abbott and Angus Taylor 

Freshmen rarely go straight onto the frontbench unless they come 

from state politics, but perhaps Taylor had been promised 

otherwise. According to the AFR he was “left to languish” on the 

backbench by Abbott. Others who had served in opposition and 

had deeper political networks, such as Josh Frydenberg , Kelly 

O’Dwyer and Paul Fletcher, were elevated ahead of Taylor. 

But the 2015 leadership coup by Malcolm Turnbull boosted Taylor’s 

fortunes. In 2016, during a reshuffle, he was made assistant minister 

for cities and digital transformation 

Turnbull clearly rated his intellect, but it was a relationship that 

would not endure. 

The conservative uprising 

A conservative at heart, Taylor became part of the Abbott and 

Dutton aligned insurgency that met for lunches in the Monkey Pod 

room – so named because of the tropical hardwood used in its 

table. 

As internal tensions grew over a new energy policy, Taylor 

played a crucial role in killing first the Clean Energy Target put 

forward by chief scientist Alan Finkel, and then the National 

Energy Guarantee promoted by the embattled Turnbull. 

As tensions came to a head in October 2018, Taylor backed Dutton 

in the leadership spill, a move that Turnbull seems unlikely to forget. 

8


After the coup Morrison rewarded Taylor with the portfolio of 

energy and emissions reduction. 

It was an appointment that raised eyebrows in the energy sector, 

given Taylor’s outspoken opposition to wind farms and the role he 

played in frustrating policy options that were supported by most 

major energy companies. 

Taylor has spoken at numerous anti-wind farm rallies and said 

Australia’s Renewable Energy Target was increasing electricity costs, 

a claim that is hotly disputed by the renewable energy industry, 

which points to rapidly falling costs in the sector. 

Taylor insists he is not a climate sceptic and that he does not have a 

vendetta against renewables. But he has also advanced a number 

of pro-fossil fuel policies, including taxpayer subsidies for keeping 

gas and coal plants open and subsidies for new coal plants. He has 

also urged Victoria to lift its bans on coal seam gas exploration and 

fracking and supported the Santos Narrabri gas project. 

But what has so damaged Taylor is a series of extra-portfolio 

activities that raise questions about his judgment and his political 

instincts. 

9


WATERGATE / $80 million without going to Tender 

'All Hell Broke Loose': The Strange Story Behind Joyce, Taylor 

and #Watergate 

By Peter FitzSimons, columnist and author for The Sydney Morning 

Herald on April 28, 2019 

By now you surely know at least the gist of the so-called 

#Watergate story. In July 2017 a record $79 million of taxpayers’ 

money was signed off on, without tender, by then water minister 

Barnaby Joyce for the “water rights” to two Queensland 

properties owned by Eastern Australia Agriculture, a company of 

which Joyce’s Coalition colleague and now Energy Minister Angus 

Taylor was once a director and secretary. That company is wholly 

owned by Eastern Australian Irrigation, which Taylor co-founded, 

and is based in the Cayman Islands. 

There is no suggestion anything illegal has been done a la the 

original Watergate. Taylor was not a director of either of these 

companies when the water transaction occurred. But the 

transaction's lack transparency – and that the deal is of dubious 

worth in the first place when it is for a possible future collection of 

water, not existing, and that even then there are real questions as to 

whether such collected water, available only after flood events , can 

be released to help farmers and the environment downstream. 

Ten days ago Hamish Macdonald, with the help of business 

journalist Michael West, did a major story on it for The Project to 

deserved wide acclaim as they shone light where much had been 

dark, while The Guardian’s Anne Davies has also done extensive 

work on the story. 

10


Where the story truly exploded in the public domain though was a 

little over a fortnight ago, and therein lies a tale. At 5.30 pm on 

April 10 one of the twitterati by the name of “Ronni Salt” – not her 

true name – posted a Twitter thread containing extraordinary 

documentation on the whole deal. 

All hell broke loose. The original post immediately went viral and 

journalists who re-tweeted it were served with very strong legal 

letters by Taylor’s lawyers. Later that night, the tweet disappeared, 

as did “Ronni Salt” from the Twittersphere. Stories circulated that 

she had been banned from Twitter, and even legally shut down. 

But who is this “Ronni Salt” and how did she come by the story? 

It is a strange tale. Fearing the legal forces she claims will crush her 

if she is identified, she chooses to remain anonymous, but I have 

tracked her down to hear her tale. 

So how did she come to get those documents? Well, by her 

account, as someone who has a background in this complex field, 

she had a “Deep Throat”, someone she has still never met, but who 

– from deep within the deal done – contacted her on social media in 

mid-March, and after earning her trust started sending her digital 

copies of the extraordinarily sensitive documents. 

When they spoke on the phone, it was via a particular system called 

“Signal”, whereby the call could never be traced, going via a server 

in Switzerland, and in fact she says even Deep Throat’s voice was 

disguised. 

11


She believes Taylor to be extremely sensitive to his connection to 

the Cayman Islands, noting how in 2013, a mere letter to the editor 

to the Goulburn Post that asserted among other things that “Angus 

Taylor had an investment company registered in the Cayman 

Islands” was met with such a strong Taylor reaction that the paper 

followed up a couple of days later with a formal apology saying the 

letter about his “personal financial affairs” was incorrect, and should 

not have been run. Taylor has always maintained he had no financial 

interest in EAA or EAI. 

Salt also asserts – and has sent me screen shots – showing that 

Taylor’s wife Louise Clegg has been discussed on Wikipedia forums 

for trying to change her husband’s entry on his Wikipedia entry. She 

also sent screen shots showing that someone, not Clegg, did 

succeed in removing a reference to Eastern Australia Agriculture, 

just weeks before the $79 million transaction went through. 

When The Project asked Taylor if he was still a part of EAI, he 

responded with a very terse “No”, and declined to say why it was set 

up in the Cayman Islands. 

Whatever else, it really is beyond doubt that Taylor regards his own 

involvement in the whole affair as very sensitive. In 2016 when Aoife 

Champion, the ALP candidate standing against him in Hume for 

both that year’s election and this one, referenced at an event 

Taylor’s involvement with Cayman Islands-registered EAI and water 

licences, she received a strong phone call the next day from a Taylor 

staff member who threatened defamation action if it was not 

removed from the video hosted on the event’s Facebook page. 

I repeat this is a very strange tale, a complicated saga. And it needs, 

urgently, more light. A large part of the complication is Taylor 

declining to give a full and frank account of the whole thing. 

This is a serious matter, of great public importance. 

12


It is not unreasonable for we, the people, to seek full answers on 

how it came to this. 

“Australia’s water buybacks scheme was designed to help 

drought-stricken farmers and our vital ecosystems, not to 

deliver a large profit for investors in a Caribbean tax 

haven.” - Michael West, business journalist 

Source: 

https://www.smh.com.au/national/all-hell-broke-loose-the-strangestory-behind-joyce-taylor-and-watergate-20190426-p51hjm.html 

13


WATERGATE / $80 million without going to Tender 

$80 Million Without Going To Tender 


So let’s return to Eastern Australia Agriculture, the cotton company 

that Taylor helped set up in 2007 while a consultant, and where he 

served as a director in 2008 and 2009. 

When the company sold some of its water to the federal 

government in 2017 – apparently as a result of an unsolicited 

approach by the government, which paid a hefty $80 million 

without going to tender – questions were asked. 

It emerged that the parent company was domiciled in the notorious 

tax haven of the Cayman Islands and had booked a $52 million 

profit on the sale, to the delight of investors. 

The largest of these was Pacific Alliance Group, whose founder was 

a buddy of Taylor’s from Oxford. 

The government has faced criticism about the high price paid, and 

the unreliability of the water purchased for the environment. It is yet 

to receive one drop from the deal because the overland flows the 

government paid for are only available in floods and there has been 

a drought since 2017. 

Taylor has said he and his family did not benefit from the water sale, 

and that he ceased to be a director of the Caymans parent before 

becoming an MP. He has said he was not aware of the water 

purchase until it was announced. 

But he has continued to face questions. The purchase has now been 

referred to the auditor general. 

14


GRASSGATE / MONEY FOR JAM 

15



Angus Taylor ‘Allegations of misleading Parliament’ 

- July 2019 

In July 2019, Taylor was accused of misleading the Australian 

Parliament regarding his involvement in the #Grassgate scandal, 

involving: 

"An investigation into illegal land clearing against a company partowned 

by the family of federal minister Angus Taylor was dropped 

by the New South Wales government, and a separate investigation 

under federal environmental laws has taken more than two years. 

Both actions relate to allegations of clearing of endangered native 

grassland, in October 2016, near Delegate in southern NSW shortly 

after a company, Jam Land Pty Ltd, purchased the property. A NSW 

government briefing document alleged about 200 hectares were 

illegally cleared." 

On 29 July 2019, when questioned concerning his involvement in 

the illegal land clearing and the origins of the investigation, Taylor 

informed the Parliament that he was discussing "long & detailed 

concerns" on native grass legislation with a farmer in Yass on 21 

February 2017, whereas the Parliamentary Records 

instead show that Taylor was in Sydney participating in a High Value 

Data Roundtable discussion. 

Source: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Taylor_(politician) 

16


Angus Taylor and Scott Morrison in Parliament 

17


No sooner had Watergate died down than Grassgate flared 


It concerned an investigation into alleged illegal clearing of native 

grasslands in 2016 by a company, Jam Land, in which Taylor has a 

shareholding. 

Shortly after Jam Land was investigated for allegedly poisoning the 

critically endangered habitat, Taylor asked for and received briefings 

from the federal environment department. 

He insists these have been confined to the general issue of the 

grasslands listing, even though compliance staff were asked to 

attend. But when first asked whether he had made representations 

on the compliance action, he replied curtly, “No.” 

Through freedom of information requests the Guardian has 

established that there were numerous requests for information 

about the listing from then environment minister Josh Frydenberg’s 

office, which culminated in a briefing for Taylor in his parliament 

house office from senior bureaucrats. 

No notes were taken, but Taylor has insisted that the compliance 

action was not discussed. 

The case against Jam Land was – and is – the only prosecution for 

land clearing of native grasslands under way. 

After the briefing, Frydenberg’s office wanted advice about how 

difficult it would be to quietly scrap the protections for native 

grasslands (the answer was “very”). The minister then 

commissioned a review on the impact of threatened species 

protections, like the grassland listing, on agriculture (the review 

didn’t recommend scrapping the protections either). 

18


Taylor told parliament he was asking for briefings about grasslands 

listing on behalf of his constituents in Hume, a seat to the north of 

the Monaro, which includes some areas of protected native grasses. 

He has also said he was approached by a concerned but unnamed 

farmer from Yass. 

ANGUS TAYLOR #GRASSGATE TIMETABLE 

Before we examine whether the review was “independent” as 

claimed, let’s roll out the chronology of events of the scandal known 

as #Grassgate which led to the push for the EPBC review. 

Josh Frydenberg has defended a decision when he was environment 

minister to query whether he had the power to water down federal 

protections for critically endangered grasslands, and establish if any 

change had to be published, saying he was just investigating the 

process. 

In April 2019, Angus Taylor’s office offered this line to the media: 

“The minister has not made any representations to federal or state 

authorities in relation to this investigation.” 

Which is awkward, because as an investigation by The Guardian has 

shown, Angus Taylor did indeed seek meetings with Frydenberg 

over the issue. In fact, Taylor requested that an officer investigating 

the allegations against his brother be present at the meeting. 

Although to be fair, Taylor has assured us they were merely there as 

an observer, because clearly, the usual staff in Frydenberg’s office 

weren’t up to the task of heavy listening. 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/06/frydenbergdefends-decision-to-query-if-he-had-power-to-weaken-grasslandsprotections 

https://www.thebigsmoke.com.au/2019/07/05/the-green-green-grassgateof-home-angus-taylors-latest-scandal-explained/ 

19


After the poisoning of critically endangered grasslands by a 

company which he part-owned, Angus Taylor pushed to have 

the environment legislation reviewed. The review was chaired 

by Dr Wendy Craik, a regular reviewer for government. 

Jommy Tee and Sandi Keane investigate conflicts of interest, 

prompting the question “money for jam”? 

by Jommy Tee | Energy & Environment, Government | Michael 

West Media on September 17, 2019 

Background: 

Following an investigation into controversial land clearing by Jam 

Land Pty Ltd and representations made by part-owner, Angus 

Taylor, to then Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg to revisit the 

legislation, a review of how the Environment Protection and 

Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) “intersected with the 

agricultural sector” was commissioned. Dr. Wendy Craik was handpicked 

by the Federal Government to chair the review. The final 

report contained a recommendation (No. 21) that a $1 billion trust 

fund be set up to compensate farmers. 

Should the $1 billion fund be approved, it would 

apply not only to the farms owned by Jam Land, 

but other Taylor-owned holdings and managed 

properties in the South Eastern Highlands. 

20


2000: Temperate grassland of the South Eastern Highlands in NSW 

declared endangered when the EPBC Act is introduced. 

April 2016: South Eastern Highlands grasslands upgraded to 

“critically endangered”. 

November 2016: Complaints received from neighbours that Jam 

Land Pty Ltd illegally poisoned thirty hectares of critically 

endangered grasslands on their Monaro plains property in the 

South Eastern Highlands. Minister for Energy Angus Taylor and his 

brother, Richard Taylor, are part -owners. 

Apparently, Angus Taylor failed to divulge his interest in Jam Lands 

which would constitute a breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct. 

January 2017: NSW government investigates Jam Land Pty Ltd. 

March 7, 2017: Federal Department of Environment and Energy 

meets with Jam Land to discuss possible breaches of environment 

laws. 

March 10, 2017: Jam Land denies breaching federal or state 

environment laws. 

March 20, 2017: Just 10 days later, Angus Taylor meets with then 

Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg in a bid to have the 

environment protection order (EPBC Act) watered down. Taylor later 

claimed that he was merely lobbying the environment minister on 

behalf of his constituents. However, during parliamentary question 

time on July 29 this year, Taylor was unable to produce a single 

letter from a constituent in response to Labor’s request. 

April 18, 2017: NSW government drops investigation into Jam 

Land. 

21


March 29, 2018: An “Independent Review” of the EPBC 

Act was announced by Josh Frydenberg and Minister for Agriculture 

David Littleproud to look at “interaction between environmental law 

and the agriculture sector”. As Frydenberg stressed at the time: “It is 

important that we get the balance right between protecting our 

environment and allowing our agriculture sector to grow and 

prosper”. The announcement also followed heavy pressure from the 

National Party via lobbying by former Senator John “Wacka” 

Williams who said the Act was “treating farmers like criminals” and 

newly-deposed leader, Barnaby Joyce, who argued the EPBC laws 

had “become excessive”. 

September 28, 2018: Release of final report “Review of Interaction 

Between the EPBC Act and the Agriculture Sector”. 

July 29, 2019: Labor loses motion to have Angus Taylor referred to 

Senate inquiry over his conduct in the #Grassgate scandal. 

September 10, 2019: Labor demands PM Morrison sack Angus 

Taylor as energy minister over #Grassgate. 

May 23, 2020: Jam Land, the company part-owned by the 

energy minister, Angus Taylor, and his brother, Richard, has 

sought a ministerial review of an order to restore native habitat 

after it was found to have illegally poisoned critically 

endangered grasslands. The review will be conducted by a 

departmental delegate for the environment minister, Sussan 

Ley, not by the minister directly. 

22


Cartoon by Alan Moir 

AFTER THE POISONING OF CRITICALLY ENDANGERED 

GRASSLANDS BY A COMPANY WHICH HE PART-OWNED, 

ANGUS TAYLOR PUSHED TO HAVE THE ENVIRONMENT 

LEGISLATION REVIEWED. 

Source: 

https://www.michaelwest.com.au/money-for-jam-land-enviro-reviewnot-as-independent-as-its-craiked-up-to-be/ 

23


If the recommendations of the Review are adopted, farmers like 

Angus and brother Richard Taylor may be financially 

compensated thanks to a $1 billion trust fund to “compensate 

landholders affected by the influx of a mobile threatened 

species into an area causing significant financial burden.” 

….. wrote investigative journalists Ronni Salt, Jommy Lee and 

Sandi Keane 

Source: 

https://www.michaelwest.com.au/money-for-jam-land-enviro-review-not-asindependent-as-its-craiked-up-to-be/ 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/20/labor-demandsangus-taylor-and-josh-frydenberg-explain-allegations-of-misconduct 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/23/company-partowned-by-angus-taylor-seeks-ministerial-review-on-illegal-grasslandclearing?CMP=share_btn_tw 

24



Conflicts Of Interest, Prompting The Question “Money For 

Jam”? 

Jommy Tee, Ronni Salt and Sandi Keane Investigate 

How independent was the Environment Protection and 

Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) review? 

The Final Report of the ‘Review of Interaction Between the EPBC 

Act and the Agriculture Sector’ was released twelve months ago. 

However, concerns about its “independence” have only just come to 

light. While in no way impugning the professional reputation of Dr 

Wendy Craik, the list of examples below of non-disclosures and 

serious conflicts of interest is nevertheless of concern. 

Craik was appointed to chair the review in March 2018. A 

popular choice by this Government, it seems, as she has also 

been appointed to do reviews into biosecurity, the Murray 

Darling Basin Compliance Compact as well as the Great Barrier 

Reef Marine Park Authority. 

For good measure, Craik also was appointed to chair the Climate 

Change Authority and was even appointed to the Reserve Bank 

board. 

Wendy Craik is also a senior associate of Aither — a consulting 

firm that won a government tender in April 2018 to provide the 

independent review Craik was conducting. 

At a Senate Committee hearing on August 23, 2019, Craik 

claimed that her firm Aither was approached first by the 

Government and that she only came onboard afterwards to 

head the EPBC review. 

But her appointment was announced March 29, 2018, several 

weeks before the tender was awarded to Aither. 

25


It would be highly unusual for ministers to approach a consulting 

firm to conduct a review before awarding the tender and then ask 

the consulting firm to nominate a chair. 

Indeed, promising a contract to a firm before it went to 

government tender could possibly be a breach of procurement 

rules. 

Remembering this was promoted by the government as an 

“independent review”, it’s somewhat surprising to find that 

since 2015, Wendy Craik has been and remains a director of the 

Australian Farm Institute (AFI). 

The AFI is sponsored by a coterie of vested farming interests such as 

NSW Farmers (platinum sponsor), Grain Growers Limited (gold 

sponsor), Queensland Farmers’ Federation and the Victorian 

Farmers Federation (both silver sponsors). Indeed, an examination 

26


of the AFI’s constitution reveals that the founding member of the 

AFI was, in fact, NSW Farmers’ Association. 

When questioned in Parliament on July 29 this year whether he’d 

received a single letter from any constituent prior to his meeting 

with Minister Frydenberg, Angus Taylor claimed he’d called on NSW 

Farmers on 21 February 2017 – at the behest of an unnamed farmer 

from Yass – and received a briefing from them on the listing of 

temperate grasslands under the EPBC Act. 

The communication with NSW Farmers occurred at approximately 

the same time Taylor was talking to Minister Frydenberg about the 

Department of Environment compliance action involving Jam Lands. 

The AFI also has a Research Advisory Council. One of its 

members David Sackett, the managing director of Growth 

Farms — a company founded by Angus and Richard Taylor and 

still partially owned by them. 

As it happens, the independent review chair (and director of AFI), 

Wendy Craik, sought and received submissions and/or 

held consultations with NSW Farmers, Queensland Farmers’ 

Federation, Victorian Farmers Federation, Grain Growers Limited, 

and Richard Taylor as part of the “independent review”. 

The review also held consultations with the National Farmers 

Federation (NFF) — an organisation where Dr Craik was once Chief 

Executive 

It appears that not once throughout the process, either at the 

review’s conception, announcement, commencement and 

conduct, were the obvious conflicts of interest of the chair of 

the review ever raised. 

27


At no time during the conduct of or subsequent to the review 

did the chair offer up the morsel that she was a serving member 

of the AFI — an organisation supported and funded by key 

contributors to the review. 

Rather gallingly, various tweets by the Aither, the AFI, and 

the NFF during and after the review make no secret of the fact that 

Craik was a Senior Associate of Aither; a board member of the AFI; 

and met with a full delegation of the NFF’s Sustainable 

Development Committee where the focus was the streamlining of 

native vegetation legislation. 

The tweet by the National Farmers Federation was liked by none 

other Minister David Littleproud — the joint instigator of the 

independent review. 

Farmers Federation 

28


Tweet by National Farmers Federation @NationalFarmers 

May 4, 2018 

The Sustainable Committee meeting is in session talking 

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act Review 

chair Wendy Craik. Farmers r calling 4 increased transparency & the 

streamlining of Fed. Native veg leg, #auspol #ausag @OzFarmers 

#agchatoz 

If anything, the actions and social media activity of the 

participants (including the chair) demonstrate a set of biases 

working against an independent assessment of the EPBC 

Act and intersection with the agricultural sector. 

Additional examples of bias were revealed during the Senate 

Committee hearing on August 23, 2019, when the Committee heard 

no less than nine Department of Environment officials visited the 

Monaro region to discuss the EPBC review. 

The entourage included the Deputy Secretary, First Assistant 

Secretary, an Assistant Secretary and the departmental official in 

charge of compliance. 

This extraordinary level of departmental representation in both 

numbers and seniority was only given to the Monaro region 

and its farmers, including Richard Taylor, and was never 

extended to any other party to the review. It could be argued 

that the failure to adhere to common probity practices severely 

compromises the review. 

There also appear to be other non-disclosures and potential serious 

conflicts of interests. 

29


These relate to a property that owned by Wendy Craik. The property 

is located between Canberra and Yass and sits within the 

boundaries of the temperate grassland listed under the EPBC Act. 

It is not clear if the Commonwealth’s overlay specifically impacts on 

Craik’s property. Craik was unavailable to respond to questions from 

this publication. 

However, what can conclusively be said is Craik’s land contains 

an overlay of “vulnerable regulated land” as per NSW 

legislation, the Land Management (Native Vegetation) Code 

2018. According to the NSW code, vulnerable regulated land is 

land where clearing of native vegetation may not be permitted. 

30


Tweet by Jommy Tee – electric HiLux owner @jommy_tee 

September 10, 2019 

Given the review came about after extensive lobbying by Angus 

Taylor, it is important to establish if there were any prior interactions 

between the independent chair of the review and the person 

pushing hardest — 

Angus Taylor. As it turns out, there was a significant interaction in 

2008 relating to a $1.8 million environmental water buyback. 

Back in March 2008, Angus Taylor, as co-founder of the companies 

Eastern Australia Agriculture (EAA) and the Cayman Islands-based 

Eastern Australian Irrigation (EAI), bought the two farming 

properties, Kia Ora and Clyde. 

Within a fortnight of the purchase, EAA and EAI were approached 

by then Murray Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) to buy an 

allocation of their water to the value of $1.8 million. 

31


The chief executive officer of the MDBC at the time was Wendy 

Craik. The history of that transaction demonstrates there were 

furtive negotiations to complete the deal, thus enabling the 

purchased water to be released to flow through to the 

environmentally-stressed Narran Lakes. 

An official evaluation of the transaction reveals that initial 

negotiations were firstly conducted with the local farm manager. 

EAA’s 2008 annual report to ASIC reveals that Hamish McIntyre was 

the farm manager at the time. As previously revealed, McIntyre is 

the current chair of Cotton Australia, a former director of EAA, 

is well-known to the directors of the Cayman-based parent 

company and one of Barnaby Joyce’s long-term associates. 

As farm manager, McIntyre, however, needed the approval of his 

international board of Cayman directors who were urgently 

contacted in April to approve the deal and get the contract signed. 

When Wendy Craik was interviewed on ABC radio on March 25, 

2008 about the deal, she claimed “it’s a commercial-inconfidence 

deal, so we are not disclosing from whom we 

purchased”. 

To this day, that contract and the signatories to the contract have 

never been publicly revealed. It makes the most recent statement by 

the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) that 

“due diligence was followed” very hard to swallow, especially if in 

2008, the negotiation occurred with the international board of EAA’s 

parent company. 

32


It stretches credulity to believe that DAWR did not know that the 

ultimate parent of EAA was a Cayman-based company. What is clear 

is that the Government’s appointment of Dr Wendy Craik to chair 

the EPBC Act review has contributed once more to the erosion of 

public trust in government processes. 

Editor’s Note: Dr Wendy Craik was asked if she would like to 

comment/respond to the above non-disclosures and conflicts 

of interest. We have received no response at this stage. 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS 

Jommy Tee is a long-time career public servant, having worked in the 

policy development field for 25+ years as well as an independent 

researcher interested in politics, current affairs, and Nordic noir. 

You can follow Jommy on Twitter @Jommy_Tee. 

Ronni Salt is also an independent researcher, who comes from the land 

and has an interest in politics and current affairs. The identities of the 

authors are known to the editors of this publication. 

33


Sandi Keane is MW's managing editor. She was formerly editor at 

Independent Australia and before that ran a highly successful business 

which landed her on the front cover of Personal Investment magazine. 

Sandi has conducted corporate investigations, principally into the CSG and 

media sectors. Her investigation into the anti-wind lobby and Waubra 

Foundation was used to support Labor’s Clean Energy Bill, thus, making it 

into Hansard. One of Sandi's investigations into the CSG industry saw 

Santos forced to pull its TV advertising. Sandi holds a master’s degree in 

journalism from the University of Melbourne. For story ideas, contributions, 

syndications and production issues, please email 

Sandi at sandi@michaelwest.com.au. 

You can follow Sandi on Twitter @jarrapin. 

Source: 

https://www.michaelwest.com.au/money-for-jam-land-enviro-reviewnot-as-independent-as-its-craiked-up-to-be/ 

34


CLOVERGATE / FORGED DOCUMENTS 

A timeline of Angus Taylor’s mystery document controversy 

By Christopher Knaus – The Guardian on 26 November 2019 

As the prime minister stands by his energy minister, NSW police 

are investigating Labor’s allegations 

The office of the energy minister, Angus Taylor, is being investigated by 

New South Police over relying on falsified documents to attack 

Clover Moore. 

Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian 

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has stood by his energy 

minister, Angus Taylor, despite revelations Taylor’s office is under 

police investigation for relying on falsified documents to attack 

Sydney’s lord mayor, Clover Moore. 

How did we get to this point? Here’s a recap of the main events that 

led Taylor into controversy. 

35


Angus Taylor Clovergate timeline 

24 June 2019 

Clover Moore declares a climate emergency which is endorsed by 

the council. The council writes to the federal government to tell it of 

its decision. 

29 September 2019 

Taylor writes a letter to Clover Moore in response suggesting 

councils take practical steps to reduce their own emissions and 

points out the council’s annual report shows “your council spent 

$1.7 million on international travel and $14.2 million on domestic 

travel”. 

The letter is also handed to the Daily Telegraph. 

30 September 2019 

The Daily Telegraph publishes a story on page three and online, 

quoting the letter claiming the council spent more than $15 million 

on domestic and international travel. 

Moore disputes the Telegraph story and asks the reporter to 

provide evidence. 

The reporter provides a page from the council’s annual report, 

which she says was handed to her by Taylor’s office. 

The page contains two figures purporting to show the council spent 

“$14.2” in expenses on interstate travel and “$1.7” on overseas visits. 

Moore checks the annual report: on page 14 it shows councillors 

spent $4,206.32 on interstate travel and $1,727.77 on overseas visits. 

Moore angrily disputes the story with Taylor via Twitter. 

36


22 October 2019 

Moore writes to Taylor asking him to “correct a stark error in your 

letter” saying the $15 million figure was grossly inaccurate. 

Clover Moore lodges a complaint with the Press Council. 


The Guardian publishes a story revealing the falsified figures and 

their use by Taylor’s office. 


Taylor says he makes “no apology for suggesting that the lord 

mayor should take real and meaningful action to reduce the City of 

Sydney’s carbon emissions instead of hollow virtue-signalling 

through letters”. 

He states that he obtained the version of the annual report from the 

council’s website. 

But the council releases evidence from its systems showing the 

documents had not been changed since they were uploaded with 

the accurate figures in November 2018. 


Labor refers the matter to the NSW police, citing the Guardian’s 

story and asking for an investigation of whether someone had 

“made a false document with the intention” of inducing journalists 

at the Daily Telegraph to accept it as genuine for the purpose of 

influencing the “lord mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, and other City 

of Sydney councillors in the exercise of their public duties”. 

Police are also asked to investigate whether an offence had been 

committed “on the basis that Mr Taylor or one or more individuals 

from Mr Taylor’s office” knew or believed an offence had been 

committed but failed to bring it to the attention of police. 

Taylor issues a statement sticking to his version of events. 

37


He says again he had accessed the document from the council’s 

website, and says he had evidence multiple versions of the annual 

report existed at various points since they were uploaded. He says 

minor formatting differences between the Word and PDF files on 

the council’s website show multiple versions could have existed 

online, leaving open the possibility his office downloaded some 

version of the report containing false figures. 

The explanation is rejected by Labor and Clover Moore 


Taylor apologises unreservedly for relying on inaccurate figures to 

attack Clover Moore, but insists he downloaded them from the 

council’s website. 

25 November 2019 

Taylor refuses to answer questions about whether he misled the 

House when he told parliament he had sourced incorrect figures 

about City of Sydney travel directly from the council’s website. 

26 November 2019 

Police reveal they are investigating the allegations against Taylor 

through Strike Force Garrad. 

Morrison stands by Taylor. Morrison says he believes there is no 

need for action after a conversation with the NSW police 

commissioner, Mick Fuller. 

20 December 2019 

The New South Wales police investigation into energy 

minister Angus Taylor over the use of doctored documents to attack 

Sydney’s lord mayor has been referred to the Australian federal 

police. 

“The AFP can confirm it received a referral from New South Wales 

Police on December 20, 2019, in relation to the alleged doctoring of 

a document,” it said in a statement. 

38


6 February 2020 

The Australian federal police has dropped its investigation into a 

doctored document used by energy minister Angus Taylor to attack 

Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore’s record on climate change. 

On Thursday the AFP confirmed it had finalised the matter because 

it had “determined it is unlikely further investigation will result in 

obtaining sufficient evidence to substantiate a commonwealth 

offence”. 

“The AFP assessment of this matter identified there is no evidence 

to indicate the minister for energy and emissions reduction was 

involved in falsifying information,” an AFP spokesman said. 

“The low level of harm and the apology made by the [minister] to 

the Lord Mayor of Sydney, along with the significant level of 

reSource required to investigate were also factored into the decision 

not to pursue this matter.” 

19 February 2020 

The AFP commissioner, Reece Kershaw, told reporters at the 

National Press Club on Wednesday he was “not aware” that the 

minister was interviewed before the investigation was concluded 

earlier in February. 

AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw confirmed that Ms Moore was 

not spoken to before his officers abandoned their investigation into 

the falsified travel figures. 

“The mayor was not interviewed,” Mr Kershaw told a Senate 

estimates hearing on Monday. 


to indicate the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction was 

involved in falsifying information,” an AFP spokesperson said at the 

time 

“The AFP now considers this matter finalised.” 

39


Greens senator Nick McKim asked whether the AFP had considered 

ringing Mr Taylor to ask whether he had forged the City of Sydney 

travel figures. 

“Isn’t that the first thing you’d do?” Senator McKim said. 

Mr Kershaw laughed off the question. 

“No, we don’t operate like that,” the commissioner said. 

CURRENT RUMOUR 

Angus Taylor’s wife, Louise Clegg has her eye on the 

Sydney Lord Mayor role. 

Source: 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/26/a-timelineof-angus-taylors-mystery-document-controversy 

Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney and Angus Taylor 

40


41



Scott Morrison’s Phone Call To Police Chief an Inappropriate 

Attempt to Use Position, Former Top Judge Says 

By Christopher Knaus – The Guardian on 28 November 2019 

Call Crimestoppers: ….. 

When David Shoebridege, left, dobbed in Mick Fuller, centre, 

over his phone call with Scott Morrison, right, 

he was calling the police on the police 

“When two powerful men have a private chat about an ongoing 

police investigation then of course questions will be asked, and 

they need to be answered.” 

Former anti-corruption commissioner and senior judge David Ipp 

says Scott Morrison’s phone call to the New South Wales police 

chief appears to be an inappropriate attempt to use his position to 

make a political decision. 

Morrison came under fire for calling NSW police commissioner 

Mick Fuller to discuss an active investigation into one of his cabinet 

ministers, Angus Taylor. 

42


NSW police set up strike force Garrad to investigate whether 

Taylor’s office came to rely on a falsified document to attack Sydney 

lord mayor Clover Moore for her travel-related carbon emissions. 

Morrison called Fuller before announcing to parliament that he was 

standing by Taylor on Tuesday. His predecessor Malcolm Turnbull 

said he would never have made the call. 

Ipp, who served on the NSW court of appeal and as an Independent 

Commission Against Corruption commissioner, said the call was 

clearly not appropriate. He said it appears to have been made to 

aid Morrison’s party-political decision-making, rather than the 

interest of the state. 

“An ordinary citizen would not be able to get that information from 

the police … so what is it about the prime minister that entitles him 

to that information?” Ipp told Guardian Australia. 

Morrison and Fuller have a pre-existing relationship. 

Fuller told Sydney’s 2GB radio station last year that he used to be 

Morrison’s neighbour, and that the prime minister had collected his 

bins when he went away. 

Fuller did, however, tell the Australian that the conversation with 

Morrison was “extremely short” and one that gave “no more or less 

information than what was in the media release”. 

Ipp said the controversy was the kind that could be investigated by 

a properly constituted federal anti-corruption commission. 

Source: 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/28/pms-phonecall-to-police-chief-an-inappropriate-attempt-to-use-position-formertop-judge-says 

43



AFP did not interview Sydney mayor over alleged forged travel 

documents 

The New Daily with AAP on March 2, 2020 

Australian Federal Police did not interview Sydney Lord Mayor 

Clover Moore during an investigation into alleged doctored 

documents Energy Minister Angus Taylor used to attack her. 

AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw confirmed that Ms Moore was 

not spoken to before his officers abandoned their investigation into 

the falsified travel figures. 

“The mayor was not interviewed,” Mr Kershaw told a Senate 

estimates hearing on Monday. 

Commissioner Kershaw confirmed Mr Taylor was also not 

interviewed, telling the National Press Club he was “not aware 

that the minister was interviewed, or even offered an 

interview”. 

“We’ve been pretty clear in the decision-making process that we 

came to, not being able to substantiate any offences being 

committed,” he said. 

On February 6, the AFP dropped its inquiry into the travel claims, 

saying it had found no evidence Mr Taylor was involved in 

falsifying information. 


to indicate the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction was 

involved in falsifying information,” an AFP spokesperson said at the 

time. 

44


“The low level of harm and the apology made by the Minister 

for Energy and Emissions Reduction to the Lord Mayor of 

Sydney, along with the significant level of resources required to 

investigate were also factored into the decision not to pursue 

this matter.” 

“The AFP now considers this matter finalised.” 

Labor senator Kristina Keneally repeatedly questioned why 

Ms Moore was not interviewed before the AFP decided the 

allegations presented a “low level of ongoing harm”. 

“The lord mayor is the victim, if you will, in this circumstance,” 

Senator Keneally said. 

“How do you make a determination of harm and a decision not to 

continue an investigation without speaking to the victim of the 

alleged crime?” 

Mr Kershaw said the decision was objective and considered. 

“That’s a matter again for the decision-makers and they have made 

that decision on the materials available to them at the time,” he 

said. 

“That was what was referred to us by the NSW Police.” 

Greens senator Nick McKim asked whether the AFP had considered 

ringing Mr Taylor to ask whether he had forged the City of Sydney 

travel figures. 

“Isn’t that the first thing you’d do?” Senator McKim said. 

Mr Kershaw laughed off the question. 

“No, we don’t operate like that,” the commissioner said. 

45


Kristina Keneally 

@KKeneally 

#Estimates questions on @AngusTaylorMP on 

doctored document saga has given us these 

answers. “I’ll take that on notice.” “Again I’m 

going to take that on notice.” 

I think I need to take that on notice.” “I’m not 

sure. I’ll have to take it on notice.” #auspol 

#righttoknow 

The furore began after Mr Taylor wrote to Ms Moore on September 

30, chastising the City of Sydney for “unnecessary air travel”. 

His letter cited the council’s “most recent annual report”, which he 

said showed it had spent $1.7 million on international travel and 

$14.2 million on domestic travel. 

But, Mr Taylor’s figures were wildly at odds with the council’s actual 

annual report for 2017/18, which listed domestic transport, 

accommodation and travelling expenses at $4206.32 and overseas 

travel at $1727.77. 

The minister apologised to Ms Moore but has not said where the 

numbers came from. 

-with AAP 

Source: 

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australianpolitics/2020/03/02/angus-taylor-federal-police-travel/ 

46


TAYLOR CALLED ON THE COALITION GOVERNMENT TO 

REDUCE ITS SUPPORT FOR WIND FARMS IN JUNE 2013 

On renewable energy, ANGUS TAYLOR was a speaker at the “Wind 

Power Fraud Rally” organised by the anonymous anti-wind blog 

StopTheseThings.com and hosted by Alan Jones on 18 June 2013 in 

Canberra. 

Taylor has called on the Coalition government to reduce its support 

for wind farms and is concerned with Australia’s Renewable Energy 

Target (RET) based on a belief that renewable energy projects, in 

particular wind, are increasing electricity costs and a belief that 

there are cheaper carbon reduction methods. 

I am not a climate sceptic. For 25 years, I have been concerned 

about how rising carbon dioxide emissions might have an impact on 

our climate. 

Speaking about the Renewable Energy Target in June 2014, Taylor 

said “religious belief is based on faith not facts. The new climate 

religion, recruiting disciples every day, has little basis on fact and 

everything to do with blind faith.” 

Taylor was also a major donor to the Liberal Party, significantly 

exceeding amounts donated to the party by other members. 

Source: 

https://www.michaelwest.com.au/angus-taylor/ 

47


WELL DONE ME: ANGUS TAYLOR PRAISES HIMSELF AS 

'FANTASTIC' IN FACEBOOK FAIL 

By Naaman Zhou, reporter for Guardian Australia on 1 May 2019 

Coalition minister’s Facebook account congratulates himself for 

his own policies 

If you want to give yourself an ego boost online, it’s probably best 

not to leave a clear trail that you are giving yourself a pat on the 

back. 

The energy minister, Angus Taylor, was caught out after his official 

Facebook page was spotted replying to its own post, telling the 

minister he was “fantastic” and saying “well done Angus”. 

In the post from Monday, the Liberal MP announced an extra 1,000 

car spots at Campbelltown station, which sits in the electorate next 

to New South Wales seat of Hume. 

48


Four hours later, his official account replied, saying “Fantastic. Great 

move. Well done Angus”. 

As of Wednesday morning, other commenters had taken to the post 

to also say “Fantastic. Great move. Well done Angus”, or just 

“fantastic”. 

Taylor, who was previously the minister for cybersecurity, has since 

deleted the self-congratulatory comment. 

The minister’s media spokesman was asked if there was an 

explanation for the reply, and whether the minister or his staff 

regularly commented in praise of his own announcements under 

separate accounts, but has not yet replied. 

Source: 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/01/well-doneme-angus-taylor-praises-himself-as-fantastic-in-twitter-fail 

49


THE LUCK OF THE TAYLORS 

By Ronnie Salt and Jommy Tee on 21 June 2019 

Angus Taylor 

With his vast business experience and numerous companies behind 

him, Angus Taylor could even be described as a self-made man. 

So too could Angus’s brother Richard Taylor, who among many other 

things, runs the brother’s joint venture Growth Farms. Growth Farms 

is remarkable for having $400 million worth of farming properties 

under their control, (remember that detail). 

Most of the $400 million farm portfolio is owned by Australian born 

billionaire, Michael Hintze who happens to be a close personal friend 

of the Taylor brothers as well as a large corporate donor to the 

Liberal Party. And what a happy association that is. 

50


With another brother at corporate behemoth McKinsey & Co, & yet 

another running educational institutions (Duncan) & Duncan 

Taylor’s wife Bronnie Taylor sitting as a member of NSW parliament, 

you’d think the enterprising Taylor family would need no assistance 

at all. But . . . you would be mistaken. 

Feast your eyes on chart … next page 

A master class in accessing all that glorious government 

assistance. 

From the time Angus Taylor entered parliament in September 

2013, companies and organisations the Taylor family have 

managed, directed or are directly associated with have 

benefited from over $98,000,000 in federal and state 

government funds. 

And yes – you read that correctly. 

51


52


Let’s look at Monaro Farming Systems for example, situated in 

rural – & very, very grassy – South East NSW. 

With Richard Taylor as the chairman, this group luckily received a 

$563,728 Landcare grant during the period between Joyce and 

Littleproud changing over the agriculture ministry. 

Fascinatingly, this huge Landcare grant for weather monitoring and 

pasture improvement was awarded while Richard Taylor and several 

others were still under investigation for illegal land clearing, which is 

interesting criteria for a federal Landcare grant. 

But who are we to judge? 

Monaro Farming Systems states it is a non-profit group that 

boasts having received over $600,000 in grants and 

sponsorship, yet according to its website, it has 41 financial 

members. 

It also employs an admin person who luckily, happens to work for 

the Taylor’s Growth Farms. 

It’s heartening to know that such a small, isolated farm group that 

receives so many government funds for its research projects can 

then, well . . . roll all that knowledge over into Growth Farm’s 

$400 million management of farm properties for a billionaire. 

Not to be outdone, Angus Taylor’s brother and Bronnie Taylor’s 

husband, Duncan, has been hard at work in the education sector. 

Duncan Taylor heads up an organisation known as Country 

University Centres and in a time of TAFE cuts and closures, CUC has 

gone from strength to strength. 

53


Duncan’s wife Bronnie Taylor, a Nationals MP in the NSW parliament, 

was once NSW parliamentary secretary to John Barilaro. 

Barilaro also coincidentally helped Monaro Farming Systems with 

some of their successful grants. 

THE TAYLORS ARE VERY LUCKY LIKE THAT 

54


Duncan Taylor had even more good fortune when CUC was 

registered as an umbrella group for rural education back in February 

2017, the same time as his wife Bronnie became Barilaro’s 

parliamentary secretary. 

Three months later, the CUC was the lucky recipient of an 

$8 million grant. 

Not to be outdone, the federal government awarded CUC a 

$5.1 million grant, although the grant is difficult to find as it was 

announced as part of a fund package in November 2108. 

To date, the Duncan Taylor led CUC is one of the only NSW rural 

facilities to obtain funding from this fund pool. 

Media releases show a grant pool of $7.5 million for 16 regional 

study hubs, making it clear that the Country University Centres 

luckily managed to grasp the lion’s share of the funds, with the 

majority of the other rural groups left to share in the remaining 

$2.4 million. 

55


56


That same week, an excited Angus Taylor spruiked the federal 

grant to Goulburn’s CUC. 

Unfortunately Angus Taylor forgot to mention his wife Louise 

Clegg sat on the Board of Directors and that his brother 

Duncan Taylor was the umbrella organisation’s CEO, which 

received the full $5,100,000. 

57


58


Angus Taylor of course helped steer his own companies toward 

accessing government funds prior to entering parliament. 

In 2013, while still listed as a director of the Cayman’s Eastern 

Aust Irrigation, Eastern Aust Agriculture sold water licences to 

the federal government for $4.3 million. 

Yes, before the infamous $80 million #watergate buybacks were 

ever thought of, Angus Taylor’s old company Eastern Australia 

Agriculture managed to accumulate $5,762,165 of taxpayer 

funded grants & sales. 

For Eastern Australia Agriculture, the luck just never stopped. 

It could be hard for some to understand that after sitting as a director 

on a cumulative total of 17 companies over 2 decades, Angus Taylor 

would leave behind his multi-million dollar earning capacity in the 

corporate world for the life of a humble politician. 

But then again – the rewards of helping people must help balance 

out all that sacrifice. 

Addendum: 

This thread is in no way intended to infer any of the Taylor family 

have acted in any way inappropriately. 

Quite the contrary – it is a tribute to their amazing work ethic and 

capacity to garner good fortune. 

59


JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS ON PAGE 51 … 

From the time Angus Taylor entered parliament in September 

2013, companies and organisations the Taylor family have 

managed, directed or are directly associated with have 

benefited from over $98,000,000 in federal and state 

government funds. 

Source: Ronnie Salt and Jommy Tee 

https://dingo.news/voice/2019/06/21/the-luck-of-the-taylors/ 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS 

Ronni Salt is also an 

independent researcher, who 

comes from the land and has an 

interest in politics and current 

affairs. The identities of the 

authors are known to the 

editors of this publication. 

Jommy Tee is a long-time 

career public servant, having 

worked in the policy 

development field for 25+ years 

as well as an independent 

researcher interested in politics, 

current affairs and Nordic noir. 

You can follow Jommy on 

Twitter @Jommy_Tee. 

60


61


ANGUS TAYLOR CONNECTED TO DELIBERATE POISONING OF 

PROTECTED WEDGE-TAILED EAGLES 

By Andrew Stafford, Freelance Writer and Author for The Guardian 

on 22 November 2019 

Taylor has even been linked to the criminal farmer in Victoria who 

was convicted of deliberate poisoning of protected wedge-tailed 

eagles. 

The scandals have all merged into one general term now: 

ANGUSGATE 

Apart from the political scandals and (alleged) corruption, Taylor is 

simply not a very high performer at the best of times. 

Having said that, it would be genuinely difficult to do one’s actual 

job effectively if one is constantly on the look-out for dodgy side 

deals to enrich oneself and then working out ways to cover them 

up. 

Source: 

https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/wrens-weekangus-taylor-sets-the-benchmark-for-political-scandal,13363 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/22/calls-forman-who-killed-420-wedge-tailed-eagles-to-face-charges-underwildlife-act 

62


Meet John … John Auer 

John is a farmer from Tubbut in Vic, near the NSW border 

When John's not farming he's plotting to kill Australia's native wildlife 

… especially eagles. 

63


FAREWELL BASH FOR TONY ABBOTT COST TO TAXPAYERS … 

NOVEMBER 2019 

Senior Liberal politicians billed taxpayers thousands of dollars for an 

overnight trip to Sydney November 2019, where they attended a 

lavish NSW Liberal Party farewell bash for Tony Abbott. 

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Energy Minister Angus Taylor were 

just two that attended the dinner and claimed the costs of staying 

overnight in Sydney on November 7, although both were already in 

the city for government business before the event. 

The event also doubled as a Liberal Party fundraiser, with 

guests charged $175 a head or a discounted price of $130 for 

Liberal Party members. 

Source: 

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/04/23/mps-chargetaxpayers-tony-abbott-farewell-dinner/ 

Peter Dutton, Bronwyn Bishop and Craig Kelly arrive 

at the tribute dinner for Tony Abbott. Photo: AAP 

64


NAOMI WOLF ACCUSES ANGUS TAYLOR OF 'ANTISEMITIC 

DOGWHISTLE' AND FALSE CLAIM ABOUT OXFORD 

UNIVERSITY 

By Naaman Zhou for The Guardian on 2 December 2019 

Author says she was not at Oxford with Australia’s energy 

minister, and his implication she was part of an ‘elite’ attacking 

Christmas is an ‘antisemitic dogwhistle’ 

Angus Taylor and Naomi Wolf. 

The Australian energy minister and US author 

have become embroiled in a controversy over his claims about a dispute 

over a Christmas tree at Oxford University in 1991. 

Composite: Mick Tsikas/David Levenson/AAP/Getty Images 

In early December 2019, US author Naomi Wolf disputed a claim 

made by Taylor in his maiden speech in December 2013, Taylor 

asserted that Wolf lived a few doors away from him at Oxford 

University in 1991, and they clashed over Wolf's attempt to 

cancel Christmas trees at the college. 

65


Wolf described Taylor's anecdote as being entirely false as she was 

at Oxford during 1985–88, while in 1991, she was living in New York 

City and loves Christmas and other festivities. His reference to 

"elites" led Wolf to call Taylor's accusations "antisemitic 

dogwhistling." Friends have backed up her account. 

Wolf demanded an apology requesting the record be corrected via 

a telephone exchange with one of his staff members and placed the 

recording on the web. In response, Taylor refused to apologize and 

demanded an apology from Wolf over her accusations 

of antisemitism. He stated that the accusation was offensive to him, 

since he had one Jewish grandparent. 

Source: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Taylor_(politician) 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/02/naomi-wolfaccuses-angus-taylor-antisemitism-false-claim-about-oxford-university 

66


ANGUS TAYLOR’S WIFE LOBBIED FOR SEX DISCRIMINATION 

COMMISSIONER POSITION - LATE 2015 

By Shane Dowling – Kangaroo Court of Australia 

on December 11, 2019 

Angus Taylor’s wife, the Sydney barrister Louise Clegg, had lobbied 

former attorney general George Brandis in late 2015 for the position 

of sex discrimination commissioner. 

As we recall, Elizabeth Broderick left the job after eight years in 

September 2015. 

Newly deposed prime minister Tony Abbott raised the possibility 

of his former chief of staff Peta Credlin being given that 

particular sinecure. Malcolm Turnbull turned him down. 

But Turnbull’s office also intervened to make sure Clegg did not get 

the gig either. 

Source: 

https://kangaroocourtofaustralia.com/2019/12/11/angus-taylors-wifeis-barrister-louise-clegg-does-she-advise-him-on-his-fraud-and-theft/ 

Angus Taylor and wife Louise Clegg 

67


STACKGATE: ANGUS TAYLOR’S LATEST SCANDAL 

Taylor’s expert panel on emissions reduction is extremely heavy 

in fossil fuel lobby groups 

By Andrew P Street, Author and Journalist for Crikey 

on January 24, 2020 

It has come to light, thanks to documents from 

an uncharacteristically non-redacted freedom of information 

request made by RenewEconomy, that Angus Taylor’s expert 

panel on emissions reduction is extremely heavy in fossil fuel 

lobby groups. 

The panel is led by ex-Origin Energy CEO and current president of 

the Business Council of Australia Grant King, and CEO of the 

Australian Industry Greenhouse Network (AIGN) Susie Smith. The 

AIGN is a lobby group with members that have included BP, 

ExxonMobil, BHP, Rio Tinto and other not-exactly-green companies. 

Yes, the panel also includes chair of the Clean Energy Regulator 

David Parker. But you could hardly call that balance. Zero 

environmental groups were invited to contribute their insights to 

the panel, and even representatives of the renewable energy 

industry were thin on the ground. Advice was, however, sought 

from the Minerals Council, the Australian Institute of Petroleum and 

several automotive groups… 

Taylor, you gotta slow down for a bit. We’re running out of 

things with which to suffix your scandals. ‘Gates’, unlike 

energy, are not a reliably renewable resource. 

68


Banking on it 

You might recall that the Coalition hasn’t always loved the Clean 

Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). The CEFC was created under 

Julia Gillard’s Labor government, and subsequent Coalition 

governments have attempted and failed to abolish it three times so 

far. 

However, the government has been more muted in its comments 

about the CEFC of late. Does that have anything to do with the fact 

the CEFC has been essentially acting as a conduit for public money 

to go to the big four banks and Macquarie? An investigation by 

Anthony Klan has found that just under one-third of the CEFC’s total 

investments have gone to the banks. 

His excoriating piece explains: 

CBA received $181 million, ANZ $150 million and NAB $180 

million in cheap funds so as to run ‘energy efficient’ loan 

programs for customers, while the CEFC invested in CBA and 

Investa ‘green bonds’, to the tune of $100 million and 

$19 million respectively. 

Macquarie also received loans totalling well over $200 million. 

Investing money is exactly what the CEFC is supposed to do. But this 

is intended for environmentally beneficial projects within very strict 

guidelines — and in these last instances there’s little concrete 

indication as to what Australian taxpayers and/or the environment is 

getting for that money. Maybe it’s all going to be a wonderful 

surprise? 

Source: 

https://www.crikey.com.au/2020/01/24/angus-taylor-scandal-newswrap/ 

69



Have a look at who is participating in deliberations on Climate 

Change Policy 

Australian Industry Greenhouse Network (AIGN) 

AIGN and its members are actively involved in monitoring and 

participating in deliberations on climate change policy in order 

to pursue the Network’s object of promoting development of 

Australia’s industrial resources. AIGN provides a focus for 

cooperative industry policy responses on key greenhouse issues 

and plays a facilitating and coordinating role in an industry 

contribution to key greenhouse policy and abatement 

measures. 

Industry Association Members 

70


Individual Business Members 

71


Source: 

https://www.aign.net.au/index.html 

72



Covert-19: Government stacks Covid Commission with oil and 

gas mates, cosy deals follow 

by Sandi Keane | Energy & Environment | Michael West Media 

on May 13, 2020 

The Government is quietly blowing away years of environmental 

protections under cover of Covid. Its Covid Commission (NCCC) is 

stacked with executives from the gas and mining lobbies in what is 

turning out to be a bonanza for multinationals and yet another 

destructive blow to Australia’s efforts to curb global warming. 

Sandi Keane investigates. 

His declaration in Parliament, “This is coal; don’t be scared”, came 

back to haunt Prime Minister Scott Morrison when summer’s 

catastrophic wildfires brought global media attention over his 

handling of the crisis and Australia’s response to climate change. 

Fast forward from bushfires to COVID-19 and his reputation has 

reversed thanks to the handling of the virus. Yet, while the attention 

of the nation has been drawn to the daily COVID-19 count and 

embracing the digital world of schooling, working and socialising 

from home, the fossil fuel industry – with help from the Morrison 

Government – has quietly seized the opportunity to entrench its 

power and profits. 

A report from environmental advocacy group 350 Australia has 

detailed 36 individual policy changes or requests for project-specific 

support — all under cover of COVID-19. 

The findings are shocking. While we’ve been in a deep funk, as of 

May 7, 69% of demands from the fossil fuel sector have already 

been enacted or agreed to by the Government. 

73


Concessions and sweetheart deals include 14 requests to slash 

important environmental or corporate regulations, 11 requests for 

tax cuts and financial concessions, and 12 instances of requests to 

fast-track project assessment. 

Lucy Manne, CEO of 350 Australia, called it out: 

“It is rank opportunism for the fossil fuel lobby to call for slashing of 

corporate taxes and important environmental protections under the 

cover of COVID-19.” 

Taking a cue from Howard’s love-in with the mining industry when 

alone among the rest of the developed world, he took key mining 

lobbyists to Kyoto rather than climate scientists, Morrison 

awarded key positions in the PM’s office to former mining 

executives and lobbyists. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that the 

National COVID-19 Co-ordination Committee (NCCC) has been: 

COVID-19 National Co-ordination Committee’s links to fossil 

fuels 

The NCCC was set up on March 25 with no terms of reference, no 

register of conflicts of interest with even less divulged about its 

financial resources. So let’s look at what 350 Australia has dug up on 

its links to fossil fuels. 

Its six-strong Executive Board of Directors is supported by the 

Secretaries of the Department of the Prime Minister and 

Cabinet, Philip Gaetjens, and Home Affairs Mike Pezzullo. 

Gaetjens was intimately involved with the controversial community 

grants pre-Election. NCCC’s role is described as two-fold … “to help 

minimise and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on jobs and 

businesses and to facilitate the fastest recovery possible once the 

virus has passed.” 

74


Here are the key players: 

Chair, Neville (Nev) Power, former Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) 

CEO is also Deputy Chair of Strike Energy which is seeking to exploit 

gas reserves in WA and SA. Power’s shareholding in Strike had 

a market value of $1,639,675 as of May 4, 2020. His shares in FMG 

have a market value of $16.2 million as of the same date. 

Power told The Australian on April 20, “…. we have abundant 

energy, particularly in the form of gas that we can deploy to make 

sure that we can manufacture all those large volume products 

[fertiliser and petrochemicals] ourselves.” 

The Australian Financial Review also reports that Power has 

advocated for a gas pipeline linking the West and East coast to 

facilitate an expansion of onshore gas in WA. 

Both Attorney-General Christian Porter and Assistant Minister to the 

Prime Minister Ben Morton record in the Register of Member’s 

Interests, that “I travelled on a return flight at the invitation of Mr 

Nev Power from Canberra to Perth on Thursday 9th April 

2020″. The Age reports that Finance Minister Mathias Cormann was 

also on the flight but failed to report it on the Register. 

Andrew Liveris is a special advisor to the NCCC and Deputy Chair 

of WorleyParsons as well as Board Member of Saudi Aramco. He 

is reported in The Australian to have advised the NT Government on 

the development of the gas industry, noting the potential of 

Beetaloo Basin. Last May, Liveris was reported in The Australian as 

saying: “There is a lot of gas sitting under the ground in Australia 

onshore (which could be tapped by) working with state 

governments.” 

Liveris’s shares in WorleyParsons have a value of $54,204 as at May 

4, 2020 and as a director of Saudi Aramco, he receives a fixed fee of 

$1,125,000 Saudi Riyal equivalent to $466,086 as of the same date. 

75


Catherine Tanna, one of the Commissioners, is the Managing 

Director of EnergyAustralia, the second largest climate polluter in 

the country. It’s also one of Australia’s biggest tax dodgers. As 

Michael West reported in Michael West Media on March 1 (after 

Senator Rex Patrick called for her to stand down from the board of 

the Reserve Bank for running a company with a tax haven structure): 

“EnergyAustralia, the power generator and retailer run by Catherine 

Tanna, paid just $69 million in tax on nearly $8 billion of income in 

one recent year.” 

Prior to that, Tanna was Managing Director of Queensland Gas 

Company which became the BG Group before it was acquired by 

Royal Dutch Shell. Tanna has form on shying away from tax. In this 

story, gas industry whistleblower Simone Marsh details how Tanna, 

then chief executive of BG Group promised BG would pay more 

than a billion dollars in tax after 2014. It does not appear to have 

paid any. 

In 2019, Tanna announced that EnergyAustralia would be investing 

$80 million to expand the Mt Pipe coal-fired power station near 

Lithgow in NSW to “…help make sure the plant is around for 

another quarter century.” 

Showing form also on emissions, she opposed the Victorian 

Government’s draft emissions reduction targets as these would 

result in the closure of the EnergyAustralia-owned Yallourn coalfired 

power station. 

James Fazzino, a member of the Manufacturing Working Group 

and formerly Managing Director and CEO of Incitec Pivot Ltd, is on 

the Board of APA, an energy infrastructure company which owns 

and operates the largest interconnected gas transmission network 

across Australia. 

76


In its report, 350 Australia has revealed that “APA group is seeking 

to build a Western Slopes Pipeline connecting Santos’ controversial 

Narrabri gas project to the Moomba Sydney Pipeline, and a 

separate pipeline connecting the Moomba Sydney Pipeline to Port 

Kembla — currently being assessed by the NSW Government. 

Membership of Manufacturing Australia consists of Tomago 

Aluminium Company, which has long advocated for the extension of 

the life of the Liddell coal-fired power station and Incitec Pivot, one 

of Australia’s largest consumers of gas (Fazzino’s former employer). 

Other high energy users include BlueScope Steel, Cement Australia 

and Capral. 

Fazzino holds 31,751 shares in APA Group which have a market 

value of $348.625 as of May 4, 2020. 

Launch of Fossil Fuel Watch 

350 Australia’s “Fossil Fuel Watch” website launched today, contains 

background information of each member of NCCC, including links 

to the fossil fuel industry, and an interactive list of all concessions 

being sought under cover of COVID-19 in the form of financial 

support and changes to regulations (especially environmental). The 

website is a first step in a national campaign is to deliver greater 

transparency to the Government’s pandemic response to “ensure 

Australia emerges as a more just society through the COVID-19 

recovery”. 

77


A call for transparency and conflict of interest register 

Together with the launch of Fossil Fuel Watch, 350 Australia is 

calling for three crucial measures to ensure Australians can have 

faith in the NCCC: 

(1) a transparent conflict of interest register, 

(2) fairer representation of the Australian community; and 

(3) full transparency of operations of the NCCC and its 

recommendations to government. 

As Lucy Manne says: 

“Australians deserve better than to be fed a short-sighted progas 

agenda, while they are trying to get through a global 

pandemic.” 

Source: 

https://www.michaelwest.com.au/covert-19-government-stacks-covidcommission-with-oil-and-gas-mates-cosy-deals-follow/ 

78



Angus Taylor Revamps Australian Renewable Energy Agency 

(ARENA) Board as Funds Dwindle to $70 Million 

Reported by Peter Hannam – The Sydney Morning Herald 

on July 27, 2020 

The future of Australia's main federal body supporting clean 

energy research is in doubt after Energy Minister Angus Taylor 

replaced much of its board and its funds dwindle to less than 

$70 million. 

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), which has 

funnelled some $2.5 billion into solar, wind and other clean energy 

technology since 2012, will likely approve more projects when its 

board next meets. Those projects would reduce the $70 million 

balance further with no indication when or whether the Morrison 

government will replenish it. 

An ARENA spokeswoman said, "it is expected that ARENA’s funds 

will be fully committed by the end of 2020". 

ANGUS TAYLOR LAST WEEK ANNOUNCED A MAJOR 

OVERHAUL TO REMOVE ALL MEMBERS WITH MORE THAN 

TWO YEARS' EXPERIENCE. 

ARENA's new chair is Justin Punch, an energy and climate 

investor and long-standing friend of Angus Taylor's. He replaces 

Martijn Wilder, a leading renewable energy lawyer who had served 

two two-year stints and was eligible for a third. 

Angus Taylor also appointed for a two-year board stint John 

Hirjee, who previously served him as a senior political adviser. 

Mr Hirjee is an executive director at ANZ covering resources, energy 

and infrastructure. 

79


Also up for two years is economist Anna Matysek, co-founder 

and associate of BAEconomics, a consultancy that opposed the 

2020 renewable energy target and last year published a report 

critical of Labor's climate policies. 

"The new appointees to the board have strong skills in energy 

market analytics, strategic planning and investment which will assist 

in ensuring the most innovative and effective projects are backed by 

ARENA," Angus Taylor said 

The Herald sought comment from Mr Taylor about ARENA's funding 

beyond the present mandate that runs to 2022, and whether the 

appointments would shift the agency's emphasis. 

80


Richie Merzian, a researcher at The Australian Institute and former 

government climate negotiator, said the appointments smacked 

of "cronyism", noting Mr Hirjee's role as a Liberal Party staffer 

and BAEconomics had provided consulting on various 

government projects, including Mr Taylor's Liquid Fuel Security 

Review. 

"There's a good chance [the government] will change ARENA's 

mandate," Mr Merzian said, adding he expects to see ARENA move 

into carbon capture and storage and also so-called blue hydrogen 

developed from fossil fuels. 

Greens leader Adam Bandt said his party and Labor had set up 

ARENA during the Gillard years and Angus Taylor's strategy 

appears "to let the organisation run out of money ... while 

silencing the board in the meantime". 

"I hope these appointees are zealous advocates to the renewables 

cause in their new roles," Mr Bandt said 

Mark Butler, Labor's climate and energy spokesman, said Labor had 

fought for ARENA's "independence, integrity and funding against 

numerous attacks from the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government, 

and we’ll continue to do so". 

"Angus Taylor, Prime Minister Morrison, and his entire government 

prefer to engage in new coal and nuclear power boondoggles 

rather than accepting Anthony Albanese’s call for a bipartisan 

energy policy to finally give industry some policy certainty and 

deliver the jobs and investment Australia desperately needs," Mr 

Butler said. 

Source: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/angus- 

taylor-revamps-arena-board-as-funds-dwindle-to-70-million-20200726- 

p55fji.html 

81



Coalition Quietly Adds Fossil Fuel Industry Leaders to Emissions 

Reduction Panel 

By Adam Morton, Environment Editor for Guardian Australia 

on 23 January 2021 

Critics ask if some appointees to the Emissions Reduction 

Assurance Committee have a potential conflict of interest 

Bill Hare, the chief executive and senior scientist with Climate 

Analytics, said it appeared the government had appointed 

“mostly people concerned with the status quo” rather than 

aiming for a rapid shift towards zero emissions. 

ANGUS TAYLOR, SAID COMMITTEE MEMBERS WERE “CHOSEN 

FOR THEIR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE AS REQUIRED BY 

RELEVANT LEGISLATION”. 

The Morrison government has quietly appointed fossil fuel industry 

leaders and a controversial economist to a committee responsible 

for ensuring the integrity of projects that get climate funding. 

Critics have raised concerns about whether some appointees to 

the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee may have a potential 

conflict of interest that could leave its decisions open to legal 

challenge. 

The overhaul of the committee follows the government indicating it 

plans to expand the industries that can access its $2.5 billion 

emissions reduction fund, including opening it to carbon capture 

and storage (CCS) projects by oil and gas companies. 

82


The new chair of the committee is David Byers, a former senior 

executive at the Minerals Council of Australia, BHP and the 

Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, who 

now runs CO2CRC, an industry and government-funded CCS 

research body. He replaced Prof Andrew Macintosh, an 

environmental law and policy scholar at the Australian National 

University, who resigned last year. 

Byers is joined by the economist Dr Brian Fisher, a former head of 

the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics who 

has authored reports warning of the economic impact of emissions 

reduction targets and been accused of overestimating the cost of 

combating climate change. 

Other recent appointees include Allison Hortle, a petroleum 

hydrogeologist and research group leader in CSIRO’s oil, gas and 

fuels program, and Margie Thomson, an agricultural economist and 

chief executive of the Cement Industry Federation. 

A spokesperson for the emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, 

said committee members were “chosen for their skills and 

experience as required by relevant legislation”. 

Bill Hare, the chief executive and senior scientist with Climate 

Analytics, said it appeared the government had appointed 

“mostly people concerned with the status quo” rather than 

aiming for a rapid shift towards zero emissions. 

He said he was concerned the government planned to allow fossil 

fuel companies to receive climate funding for merely reducing 

emissions below inflated estimates of what their CO2 output 

otherwise might be. 

“It really reflects the way in which the government has put fossil fuel 

interests in front of anything else,” Hare said. 

83


How the emissions reduction fund is changing 

The committee’s role is to assess whether methods used to earn 

carbon credits meet offset integrity standards – effectively, that they 

represent real and new emissions cuts that would not have 

happened anyway. 

Companies that generate credits bid to sell them to the government 

via the emissions reduction fund for about $16 per tonne of CO2. 

Most credits have been earned by restoring or protecting 

vegetation. Some other methods – paying to burn methane emitted 

at landfill sites and particularly helping mining companies build 

fossil fuel plants – have proven contentious. 

The push to allow CCS projects, which involve capturing emissions 

before they are released into the atmosphere and injecting them 

underground, is strongly backed by the oil and gas industry. Santos 

has said a decision on whether to go ahead with a $1.7bn CCS 

project at its Moomba gas plant in South Australia hinges on 

qualifying for carbon credit revenue. 

Rod Campbell, a research director with progressive thinktank 

the Australia Institute, said he believed some of the new 

appointments should not have been made. 

He said in his view Byers had “a clear conflict of interest” as he was 

paid to run a “CCS lobby group” and the committee would play a 

role in deciding whether CCS received climate funding. 

Carbon credits legislation says Emissions Reduction Assurance 

Committee members are prohibited from engaging “in any paid 

employment that conflicts or may conflict with the proper 

performance of his or her duties”. 

84


“The wording of the Act is very clear,” Campbell said. “It is 

completely inappropriate for someone in that position to be 

overseeing integrity standards. This isn’t carbon capture, its industry 

capture.” 

Taylor’s spokesperson did not directly respond to questions as 

to whether the appointments could lead to potential conflicts 

of interest. 

The emissions reduction fund has so far operated with limited 

success in reducing national emissions. The government has paid 

$740 million for emissions cuts and signed contracts for another 

$1.66 billion. Despite this, national emissions had dipped only 

slightly since the Coalition was elected in 2013 prior to the Covid-19 

shutdown. 

GOVERNMENT DATA SHOWS THE SMALL REDUCTION WAS 

OVERWHELMINGLY DUE TO THE RISE OF SOLAR AND WIND 

ENERGY, WHICH ARE NOT SUPPORTED THROUGH THE FUND. 

Source: 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/23/coalitionquietly-adds-fossil-fuel-industry-leaders-to-emissions-reduction-panel 

85


COALITION REFUSAL TO EMBRACE A 2050 NET ZERO 

EMISSIONS TARGET IS “ABSOLUTELY” AT ODDS WITH THE 

PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT 

86





Kyoto Credits: as Australia cooks, the Coalition cooks the books 

by Sandi Keane | Energy & Environment, Government | Michael West 

Media on December 17, 2019 

As Australia cooks under forecast record temperatures, the Coalition 

is still trying to cook the books by claiming carry-over Kyoto credits 

to mask its abject failure on climate action. 

Scandal-magnet, Angus Taylor, and the elusive Melissa Price have 

returned ingloriously from COP25 in Madrid with nothing to show 

but a Fossil of the Day award and the festering sore which is 

Australia’s global reputation courtesy of successive Coalition 

governments since John Howard. 

87


Along with the US, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, Australia brazenly killed 

off the 1.5ºC target and claimed loopholes to protect vested 

interests. The urgent need for a fair, binding target as well as a 

carbon market is now stalled till next year’s COP26 along with 

Australia’s controversial claim for carry-over Kyoto credits. 

Australia ranks a global last on climate policy 

Australia now ranks last, globally, on climate policy according to 

three think tanks. The NewClimate Institute, the Climate Action 

Network, and Germanwatch assessed the actions of 57 nations 

across the categories of emissions, renewable energy, energy use, 

and policy. The report, the 2020 Climate Change Performance Index, 

ranks Australia as the sixth-worst performer in all four 

categories, making it the worst overall in all 57 countries. 

“AUSTRALIA AS THE SIXTH-WORST PERFORMER IN ALL FOUR 

CATEGORIES, MAKING IT THE WORST OVERALL IN ALL 57 

COUNTRIES.” 

Australia has ranked in the Top 20 polluters for several years now. In 

this latest chart, we are 15th, producing more CO2 emissions than 

UK, France and Italy with far higher populations. 

Source: 

https://www.michaelwest.com.au/kyoto-credits-as-australia-cooks-thecoalition-cooks-the-books/ 

88





Angus Taylor’s Energy Projects push 

By Mike Seccombe … The Saturday Paper’s national correspondent 

April 2020 

It is a federal government program for which there appears to exist 

no constitutional or legislative authority, which has no established 

guidelines for assessing projects and an opaque process for 

allocating millions of taxpayer dollars. 

It’s not sports rorts. It’s something called the Underwriting New 

Generation Investment (UNGI) program and it’s the baby of the 

federal Energy minister, Angus Taylor. 

… as the attention of the nation’s media and populace has been 

focused on the Covid-19 crisis, it moved a couple of steps forward. 

One step was the signing of a memorandum of understanding 

(MOU) between the Commonwealth and New South Wales 

governments. But buried in the various attached schedules to 

the agreement are measures designed to prop up coal-fired 

electricity generators and weaken environmental protections. 

Schedule F is particularly interesting, promising Commonwealth 

support through UNGI for three power generation projects in the 

state – one of them the very old, very dirty Vales Point coal power 

station owned by Delta Energy, whose chairman is Trevor St Baker, 

one of the country’s most generous political donors, mostly to the 

Liberals and Nationals. 

Source:https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2020/04/11 

/angus-taylors-energy-projects-push/15865272009679 

89


LATEST GOVERNMENT RORT SUPPORTING RELIABLE 

ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM MUST BE 

INVESTIGATED BY SENATE 

Coalition Hands Out $4 Million To Pursue New Coal Generator 

In Queensland 

Giles Parkinson for Clean Energy and Review Analysis 

on 8 February 2020 

The Australian Coalition government has announced a new 

$4 million grant to pursue a new 1GW coal fired generator in north 

Queensland in one of the first acts of the new pro-coal resources 

minister Keith Pitt. 

A joint announcement from Pitt, National leader Michael 

McCormack, ENERGY MINISTER ANGUS TAYLOR and Queensland 

MP and assistant minister for norther Australia Michelle Landry says 

the $4 million will be given to Shine Energy to conduct a feasibility 

study for a proposed 1GW HELE coal plant at Collinsville in 

Queensland. 

A further $2 million will be allocated to a pre-feasibility study 

for a rival project, a 1.5GW pumped hydro-electric plant proposed 

by Renewable Energy Partners which is to be developed in 

conjunction with the proposed Urannah Water Scheme, and located 

between Collinsville, Proserpine and Mackay 

90


The funds are being allocated through the $10 million 

“Supporting Reliable Energy Infrastructure program.” It is not 

clear whether this is part of, or additional to, the $10 million 

announced to study different generation options, including coal 

fired generation, that was announced as part of the Underwriting 

New generation Investment program in the lead up to last year’s 

election. 

The announcement of the $4 million grant to pursue the study into 

a new coal generator in Collinsville comes after leading National 

Party and LNP figures, including Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan, 

argued for coal generators to be built around the country. 

It also appears to make a nonsense of mainstream media 

commentary that prime minister Scott Morrison was quietly 

backing away from coal generation, and it follows his deal with 

the NSW government last week that swapped support for new 

transmission investment for a state government commitment to 

guarantee a coal supply to the Mt Piper coal plant in NSW to ensure 

it ran for another two decades. 

There has been a major campaign from local fossil fuel and LNP 

interests in support of a new coal generator in Queensland, 

even though the case – on one environmental or economic basis – 

is weak, and the market operator predicts no supply shortfall for the 

state for the next decade. 

Renewable Energy Partners said there is potential for the pumped 

hydro scheme to be co-located with 1,300MW of solar PV capacity 

and 500MW of wind generation and become the “battery of the 

north.” 

Source: 

https://reneweconomy.com.au/coalition-hands-out-4-million-to-pursuenew-coal-generator-in-queensland-62362/ 

91





Federal government refuses FOI request for coal plant 

feasibility findings 

Michael Mazengarb for Clean Energy and Review Analysis 

on 10 March 2020 

The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources has 

refused to release “phase one” findings of feasibility studies into 

proposals for new Queensland power stations, including a proposal 

for a new coal-fired power station, saying the documents’ release 

was not in the public interest. 

RenewEconomy sought the release of the feasibility study findings 

through a Freedom of Information request lodged with the 

department, requesting the findings of studies funded under the 

Morrison government’s Supporting Reliable Energy Infrastructure 

program. 

The Morrison government has allocated up to $10 million of 

taxpayer funding to support the completion of “detailed evaluation 

and feasibility of projects in Central and North Queensland under 

the Underwriting New Generation Investments program”, including 

a proposed new coal-fired power station in the town of Collinsville. 

92


The department gave three reasons for denying the release of 

modelling of new coal-fired generators in Northern Queensland, 

saying that the findings had been provided to the department “in 

confidence” and their release would amount to a breach of 

confidence. 

The department also said that the release of the findings would 

“reveal deliberative processes involved in the functions of the 

agency” and would prejudice the effectiveness of procedures of the 

department. 

Each of the reasons cited allow for the department to refuse the 

release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act, 

provided that they outweigh a public interest test. The department 

concluded that there was insufficient public interest in the release of 

the documents. 

Source: 

https://reneweconomy.com.au/federal-government-refuses-foi-requestfor-coal-plant-feasibility-findings-58556/ 

93





Links between Shine Energy and multinational mining giant, 

Glencore. 

By Mirage on July 31, 2020 

Coalition’s flagrant pork barrelling and use of funding programs as 

an election slush fund. 

Senator Larissa Waters will call the Senate to vote on an inquiry into 

the Coalition’s rorting of government grants, which will include the 

Shine Energy’s controversially won federal funding to investigate a 

coal-fired power station at Collinsville, QLD. 

Waters said the inquiry has never been so important, following 

reports today showing links between Shine Energy and 

multinational mining giant, Glencore. 

“The Coalition is out of control. Another week, another article 

exposing their systematic and strategic misuse of public funds to 

buy election outcomes,” Senator Waters, Greens Leader in the 

Senate, said. 

Shine Energy had no relevant experience and no past projects. They 

have a clear connection to Glencore, a mining magnate that would 

directly benefit from the power station’s construction and has been 

lobbying the government to support the coal industry. 

“We support calls for an auditor general investigation into how an 

inexperienced company secured $3.3M for a feasibility study, 

especially if supported by a wealthy multinational mining 

corporation. 

94


“We’ve seen grants awarded with no criteria, grants that ignored the 

criteria but were in marginal seats, and now grants with criteria 

drafted specifically to suit a pre-selected project after the funding 

decision has been made.” 

Senator Waters, who is the Greens spokesperson for Democracy, 

said today’s revelations vindicate the Greens’ ten years of calls for a 

federal corruption watchdog. 

“It’s been almost a year since the Senate passed my bill for a 

federal ICAC with teeth. But the Morrison government is 

refusing to call the bill to a vote in the House of 

Representatives. 

“I ASK THE COALITION: WHY ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF PUBLIC 

SCRUTINY?” 

Source: 

https://www.miragenews.com/latest-government-rort-must-beinvestigated-by-senate/ 

95


POLITICAL STUNT BY ANGUS TAYLOR 

96


OIL OVER WATER: WHAT IS BEHIND ANGUS TAYLOR’S $94 

MILLION US STOCKPILE DEAL? 

By Georgia Wilkins for Crikey on April 29, 2020 

With Australia's precarious fuel reserves suddenly set for a boost, 

questions remain about Angus Taylor's oil deal with the US. 

Angus Taylor’s decision to buy $94 million of oil last week seemed 

to come out of nowhere. The energy minister said it was because 

the price for oil had tanked, making it the perfect time for Australia 

to buy up and restock our dangerously low reserves. 

But the deal — which will see Australian oil stored in America’s 

national stockpile — has been brewing for some time. And despite 

claims that it is part of an effort to improve Australia’s fuel security, 

the oil will sit, unrefined, in reserves on the other side of the world. 

So what’s going on here? 

CRIKEY HAS CONFIRMED THAT THE OIL IS NOT BEING 

PURCHASED FROM THE US GOVERNMENT, BUT FROM THE 

PRIVATE SECTOR, WITH DETAILS CURRENTLY COMMERCIAL IN 

CONFIDENCE. 

The Taylor’s office would not say which company Australia was 

buying the oil from. It was also unable to say when the oil would be 

purchased. 

But questions remain as to why we are storing it in America. 

Some answers no doubt lie in the agreement struck between the 

US and Australia last month. But those details are yet to be made 

public. 

“There are some very valid questions about what is in the fine print, 

but we might not get to see that” Paul Barnes, head of the risk and 

resilience program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) 

said. 

97


“There are also details that the government should address. What 

are we going to do with the oil in a crisis? How do we get it into a 

refined product?” 

Washington might have the answers 

WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN 

NEGOTIATING ACCESS TO AMERICA’S OIL RESERVES SINCE AT 

LEAST 2018. THE LATEST ARRANGEMENT STEMS FROM 

DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND 

PRIME MINISTER SCOTT MORRISON IN WASHINGTON IN 

AUGUST 2018. 

BACK THEN, CRUDE OIL WAS WORTH AROUND $55 A BARREL 

AND NO ONE HAD EVER HEARD OF COVID-19. 

In March, Taylor signed a deal in Washington with the Trump 

administration over access to its strategic reserves. As 

the SMH reported, the visit coincided with oil prices hitting their 

lowest levels since 1991. During the visit, Taylor also travelled to 

Texas to meet with top industry executives there. 

Taylor’s announcement comes at a time when US oil companies are 

desperately trying to get rid of their oil, as a COVID-19-induced 

oversupply threatens to overwhelm their storage capacity. 

Trump had initially wanted the US government to buy the oil 

but a plan was rebuffed by congress. He has instead said the US 

will lease out space in its national reserve to companies 

struggling with a glut. 

98


US Ambassador Arthur B Culvahouse Jr and Energy Minister Angus 

Taylor have signed an energy deal to store fuel in US 

"Newly released details about the so-called ‘Arrangement’ signed 

by Energy Minister Angus Taylor in March show it provides no real 

guarantee that Australia would be able to access strategic oil 

supplies during an international emergency," Senator Patrick said. 

On 23 April Finance Minister Mathias Cormann provided $94 

million in additional funding to enable the Government’s purchase 

of oil stocks and the leasing of storage capacity in the US Strategic 

Petroleum Reserve through a determination known as the Advance 

to the Finance Minister. 

One determination of $91.5 million for purchasing oil was made 

from the Advance which was appropriated by the Parliament in 

the Appropriation Act (No. 6) 2019-2020; and a second 

determination of $2.5 million for leasing storage was made from the 

Advance which was appropriated by the Parliament in 

the Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2019-2020. 

99


Accounting tricks 

Australia does need to increase its strategic fuel reserves. But it’s not 

clear how counting oil on the other side of the world toward our 

reserves helps Australia from a security point of view. 

Australia currently holds just 28 days’ worth of fuel imports, 

well below the 90-day minimum required under international 

agreements. The International Energy Agency has granted 

permission for Australia to count oil held in the US towards its 90- 

day obligation. But experts have questioned this, saying the oil 

would be useless in a crisis, as it would take four weeks for the oil to 

get here and once it did, Australia had no capacity to refine it. 

Tom Swann, a senior researcher at the Australia Institute, which has 

been pushing for a reduction in Australia’s oil consumption, says the 

deal doesn’t help Australia’s fuel security and is a missed 

opportunity to invest in renewable energy. 

“There’s a real opportunity to fix this problem and provide 

employment by building out our electric vehicle capacity,” he said. 

“Instead we’re getting accounting tricks and oil on the other side of 

the world.” 

Source: 

https://www.crikey.com.au/2020/04/29/angus-taylor-oil-deal/ 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/22/australia-tospend-94m-on-crude-oil-stockpile-but-will-store-the-fuel-in-the-us 

https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/neoliberalismhas-made-australias-oil-reserves-a-time-bomb,13916 

https://rex.centrealliance.org.au/media/releases/strategic-oil-reservefarce/ 

100


$61.2 MILLION ENERGY EFFICIENT COMMUNITIES PROGRAM 

- YET TO BE ALLOCATED 

By David Crowe, Chief Political Correspondent for The Sydney 

Morning Herald on May 18, 2020 

A $61.2 million Energy Efficient Communities program is yet to be 

allocated and appears unlikely to accept applications for business 

projects until the middle of this year. 

The government's "climate solutions" package, which helped 

the Coalition in the election contest on the environment, 

included $61.2 million in grants for the ENERGY EFFICIENT 

COMMUNITIES SCHEME, but none of the money has been 

allocated. 

Energy Minister Angus Taylor is yet to oversee any grants from 

the program, with the business stream not expected to take 

applications until the middle of this year. 

The community stream, which is limited to two projects for each 

federal electorate, was opened to applicants on April 2, one year 

after the announcement. 

Source: 

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/federal-government-still-tospend-600m-promised-to-communities-20200518-p54u3q.html 

101


COALITION PARTY DONORS WIN BIG FROM GOVERNMENT 

ROADMAP TO MORE FOSSIL FUEL USE 

By Bernard Keane, Political Editor for Crikey on May 21, 2020 

The government's energy plan involves gas and discredited carbon 

capture and storage — both coincidentally the raison d'être of its 

major donors. 

ENERGY MINISTER ANGUS TAYLOR (IMAGE: AAP/MICK TSIKAS) 

The Coalition’s proposed “technology investment roadmap” will 

retain and expand the role of fossil fuels at the centre of the 

Australian economy, delivering big wins for major Coalition donors 

Santos and Origin Energy. 

A discussion paper for the roadmap, released this morning by 

the scandal-plagued Energy Minister Angus Taylor elevates gas 

to the centre of Australia’s energy strategy, while also 

endorsing discredited carbon capture and storage technology 

and nuclear power. 

102


The paper devotes a section to what it calls “the increasing 

importance of LNG”, where it argues “switching from coal to gas can 

provide ‘quick wins’ for global emissions reductions and has the 

potential to reduce electricity sector emissions by 10%”, echoing 

claims by Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier this year that: “There 

is no credible energy transition plan for an economy like Australia in 

particular that does not involve the greater use of gas as an 

important transition fuel.” 

In fact gas extraction, storage and distribution produces significant 

climate damage via emissions such as methane that are much more 

dangerous than CO2. 

And Morrison’s claim that gas is central to Australia’s “energy 

transition plan” (if such a plan exists) has been repeatedly 

discredited, including by the Australian Energy Market Operator. 

The role of gas in energy generation has been declining — and 

fast — in Australia. 

Taylor’s paper makes much of South Australia’s use of gas, 

but South Australia’s Liberal government has said its use of gas will 

diminish over the next decade as it moves to 100% net renewable 

energy. 

However, gas companies Santos and Origin Energy have given 

more than $1 million and $486,000 respectively to Coalition 

branches over the past decade, and have maintained strong links 

with Coalition governments via exchanges of staff members and 

executives. Despite a flat start to the trading day for the ASX200, 

Santos and Origin both opened strongly in the wake of Taylor’s 

paper. Near noon, Santos was up 3.6% and Origin just 2.2%. 

103


Taylor announced the government was accepting 

most recommendations from a review of its failed emissions 

reduction fund by Grant King, former head of Origin Energy and the 

Business Council of Australia. 

The BCA, of which Origin and a number of global fossil-fuel 

companies are members, has also strongly pushed for policies to 

reverse gas’s declining role in Australian energy production. 

King’s review recommended that carbon capture and storage, which 

has been pushed by Santos, Origin and other fossil-fuel companies, 

be funded as an emissions reduction technology despite requiring 

greater energy production. 

Taylor’s discussion paper also embraces carbon capture and 

storage, not merely in energy generation but as part of the future of 

Australian manufacturing. CCS, Taylor says falsely, “is a proven 

technology”, but then contradicts that elsewhere by noting 

“government will need to make strategic investments in R&D and 

demonstration activities” for it. 

The Australia Institute calculates more than $1.3 billion has been 

spent trying and failing to prove CCS in Australia in the past 17 

years. As Malcolm Turnbull said yesterday, CCS has also proven to 

be highly expensive, much more so than renewables combined with 

storage. 

Taylor also opens the way for nuclear power — a proven technology 

subject to prohibitive delays and cost blowouts that is 

uncommercial in Australia without a carbon price, according to a 

major report commissioned by the Howard government. 

104


Taylor pushed for an inquiry into nuclear power last year and says: 

“Small modular reactors … have potential but require R&D and 

identified deployment pathways.” Small reactors have been pushed 

by the nuclear industry for decades to address the inherent 

problems of larger reactors, but have yet to be proven commercially 

viable. 

The paper also does a U-turn on the Coalition’s demonisation of 

electric vehicles during last year’s election campaign. Taylor led the 

attacks on electric vehicles, including posting a notoriously 

faked Top Gear segment. 

Now his discussion paper says: “In the transport sector, hybrids, 

alternative fuels and electric vehicles present opportunities to 

improve road transport efficiency and reduce emissions.” Indeed 

Taylor now claims electric vehicles are a “key technology”. 

Outside the context of attacking former opposition leader Bill 

Shorten, the Coalition has been relatively neutral, even occasionally 

supportive, of electric vehicles. Its re-embrace reflects the 

government’s need to be doing something about its lack of serious 

climate action. 

But as the central arguments of the paper show, the Coalition’s 

primary agenda is to protect and reward major fossil-fuel donors. 

Source: 

https://www.crikey.com.au/2020/05/21/coalition-donors-win-fromgovernment-energy-plan/ 

105


$16 MILLION COVIDSAFE APP WHICH MANAGED TO 

IDENTIFY A TOTAL OF 17 PEOPLE 

Coronavirus: Government's COVIDSafe app could have cost 

'tens of millions' for zero tracing results 

By Jonathan Kearsley and Luke Cooper for Nine News on July 20, 2020 

New questions have been raised about the federal 

government's COVIDSafe mobile app, which is meant to help trace 

contacts of people who have been infected with coronavirus. 

9News can reveal government spending on the app has cost 

millions more than previously thought and one of the companies 

involved in working on it has links to the Liberal Party and links 

to ANGUS TAYLOR 

Technology company DELV was paid to work on COVIDSafe and 

paid more than $3.8 million to help develop the government's 

coronavirus information app and around $6 million has been paid 

for work also including the COVIDSafe program. 

The Australian government's COVIDSafe app seen on an iPhone 

in Canberra. fedpol Photo: Alex Ellinghausen (Sydney Morning Herald) 

106


DELV's CEO Masseh Haidary is the husband of Liberal Party 

Canberra candidate Mina Zaki and has in a previous role his 

company hosted MP Angus Taylor in the past at business 

events. 

The health department said there is no requirement for Mr Haidary 

or any tender applicant to declare any political interests. 

An additional $64 million has been spent on advertising, but the 

government has not confirmed how much of the promotional 

material landed on the app itself. 

"What we thought was a $2 million dud now looks like it's a $70 

million dud," Labor's Bill Shorten said today. 

While Prime Minister Scott Morrison originally told Australians it 

would offer them protection from COVID-19 cases, the app is yet to 

find a single contact not already picked up by tracers. 

More than 4600 cases have been diagnosed in Victoria since it was 

launched, with the app only being accessed just 325 times for zero 

results. 

In NSW, 586 cases have been identified but the app was used just 

12 times and no cases found solely from its operation. 

One of the app's big issues has been the 15 minutes people need to 

be close to each other for COVIDSafe to register a close contact. 

Source: 

https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-covidsafe-app-couldhave-cost-contact-tracing-millions-in-advertising-government-healthnews/bd69cbbe-ad14-4547-baf9-eb81aead1198 

107


Clean Energy News and Analysis 

“CRAZY”: HOW TAYLOR PLANS TO CO-OPT CLEAN ENERGY 

FINANCE CORPORATION (CEFC FUNDS) INTO UNPROFITABLE 

GAS PROJECTS 

By Michael Mazengarb for Clean Energy News and Analysis 

on 28 August 2020 

Credit: AAP/Lukas Coch 

The Morrison government is set to make a series of generous 

concessions to the gas industry, including propping up failing 

fossil fuel projects that are operating at a loss, by co-opting the 

agency originally created to support investment in clean energy 

projects. 

108


As reported by RenewEconomy, FEDERAL ENERGY AND 

EMISSIONS REDUCTION MINISTER ANGUS TAYLOR HAS 

FINALLY TABLED PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO LEGISLATION 

ESTABLISHING THE CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION 

(CEFC) THAT WILL ENABLE TO THE AGENCY TO FUND THE 

MORRISON GOVERNMENT’S EMBRACE OF THE GAS INDUSTRY. 

The legislative amendments are designed to establish a $1 billion 

grid reliability fund, which will invest in energy storage, electricity 

generation, transmission or distribution infrastructure as well as 

‘electricity grid stabilisation’ infrastructure. 

What the amendments make clear is that the fund will be opened 

up to gas projects by including them in an expanded definition of 

‘low emissions technology’, including projects that may operate at a 

loss, with the CEFC potentially being used to funnel taxpayer funds 

into unprofitable gas projects, without any requirement that those 

projects ever deliver a financial return to government 

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/ems/r6581 

_ems_aa4238fe-3dd8-48bc-affbd97f40f466b8/upload_pdf/746428.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf 

As stated in the Explanatory Memorandum to the legislation tabled 

by Taylor on Thursday: 

“Regulations may be made to clarify that an activity specified in the 

regulations is an investment related to making a grid reliability fund 

investment for the purposes of this Act. An example could be a 

particular type of revenue floor arrangement which underpins a 

[Grid Reliability Fund] investment but would not generate a return.” 

109


In essence, the CEFC could be directed by the government to topup 

the revenues of a failing gas project, without ever requiring that 

project to deliver a profit. 

“Angus Taylor creating a public fund to hand a billion dollars to the 

offshore shareholders of hand-picked loss-making fossil gas 

companies will put them in unfair competition with batteries and 

renewable energy, which are the cheapest forms of new energy” 

Greenpeace Australia spokesperson Jonathan Moylan said. 

“This plan would be unhinged at the best of times but is even 

crazier at a time when millions of unemployed Australians are 

looking for real and secure work.” 

This is not a concession offered to the CEFC’s investments in 

renewable energy projects, which according to the latest investment 

direction issued by Angus Taylor, are expected to deliver an average 

annual investment return that is the equivalent of 3 to 4 per cent 

above the five–year Australian Government bond rate. 

As it currently stands, this requires the CEFC’s clean energy 

investments to deliver investment returns of more than 7 per cent 

per annum and provides virtually no room for any loss making 

projects. 

110


This has long been the subject of an ideological argument from 

successive Coalition governments, that the CEFC should not be 

investing in loss-making renewable energy projects. 

Yet, it is about to do exactly that in the gas sector. 

The Clean Energy Council described the amendments as a 

‘distraction’, adding that the Morrison government was overlooking 

more pressing concerns in the Australian energy market, with the 

key to cutting costs for energy consumers being the need to unlock 

further investment in network infrastructure. 

“Allowing the CEFC to invest in gas generation is an unnecessary 

distraction and could further undermine investor confidence in new 

renewable energy and the energy sector in Australia. The CEFC 

should continue to focus on clean technologies. The Clean Energy 

Council, therefore, encourages the Australian Parliament not to 

support the proposed change to the ‘low-emission technology’ 

definition which would allow it to support higher emissions 

generation,” the Clean Energy Council said in a statement. 

“The biggest challenges facing our energy system relate to network 

congestion and constraints. We need further investment to build 

and strengthen our electricity system through both poles and wires 

as well as new smart grid supporting technologies that address 

highly technical issues such as system strength.” 

The move to direct taxpayer funds into an unviable gas sector 

was also slammed by progressive think tank The Australia Institute, 

which raised additional concern about an exemption that the Grid 

Reliability Fund will receive from requirements to ensure at least 50 

per cent of its investments are made in renewable energy projects, 

which applies to the wider CEFC. 

“This new legislation shows the Government’s hand by changing 

CEFC from an explicitly profit-making investor of renewable energy 

111


projects for the Australian people, to a potentially loss-making 

underwriter of fossil fuel projects,” said Richie Merzian, Climate & 

Energy Program Director at the Australia Institute. 

“These amendments pave the way for dud taxpayer investments in 

gas power generation and leaves the door wide open to fund other 

non-renewable, climate polluting technologies.” 

“How the Government will justify its amendments that ensure the 

Clean Energy Finance Corporation is no longer obligated to fund at 

least 50% of its projects from renewable energy is beyond me,” 

Merzian added. 

The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) has 

suggested that the move is a clear demonstration of the hold the 

gas industry has over the Morrison government, with a submission 

made by fossil fuel lobby group APPEA to the Finkel Review 

suggesting these exact amendments. 

“Rarely do we see such a blatant demonstration of state capture, in 

this case the redefining of ‘clean energy’ to suit a handful of gas 

companies, to the detriment of the rest of the country,” ACCR 

director of climate and environment Dan Gocher said. 

“Throughout COVID-19, APPEA has been off the leash, engaging in 

what can only be described as predatory lobbying. As members, 

BHP, Origin Energy, Santos and Woodside must be held 

accountable for such appalling and cynical advocacy during a 

pandemic.” 

The legislation is currently before the House of Representatives and 

will be debated in future sitting periods. 

Labor energy and climate spokesperson Mark Butler told 

RenewEconomy that Labor will consider the legislation but was 

mindful of the Coalition government’s motives given its prior 

attempts to abolish the CEFC altogether. 

112


“We will work our way through this Bill,” Butler said. “We are 

conscious the Government has form on trying to abolish and 

undermine the CEFC on a number of occasions over the last seven 

years.” 

“Labor established the CEFC, we have consistently protected the 

integrity of the CEFC as a renewable energy financing body, and we 

will continue to do so.” 

Source: 

https://reneweconomy.com.au/crazy-how-taylor-plans-to-co-opt-cefcfunds-into-unprofitable-gas-projects-65369/ 

About the Author 

Michael Mazengarb 

Michael Mazengarb is a journalist 

with RenewEconomy, based in 

Sydney. Before joining 

RenewEconomy, Michael worked in 

the renewable energy sector for 

more than a decade. 

113


LOCAL DOCTORS SIGN OPEN LETTER AS A VOTE OF NO 

CONFIDENCE IN MINISTER ANGUS TAYLOR 

Posted on November 7, 2020 by The Southcoast Health and 

Sustainability Alliance (SHASA) 

More than 3400 health professionals have written to Prime Minister 

Scott Morrison to express their professional concern with 

Angus Taylor’s failure to fulfil his responsibilities as the 

Minister for Emissions Reduction. 

“We are health professionals and organisations bearing witness to 

the harm Mr Taylor’s failure to reduce emissions is causing to the 

health of Australians,” the letter reads. 

“We are also united by our concern about the climate crisis and the 

impact it is having on the safety and wellbeing of Australians and 

our neighbours. Public health is inextricably linked to climate health. 

Climate damage is here now — and it is killing people.” 

The letter says Minister Taylor is failing in his ministerial duties by: 

• allocating public money to gas and other polluting fossil fuel 

projects while overseeing a 50% decline in large-scale 

renewables investment from a record high in 2018-19; 

• failing to reduce Australia’s emissions in line with our 

international obligations; and 

• not committing Australia to a 2050 net zero emissions target. 

Fiona Armstrong, Executive Director of the Australian Climate and 

Health Alliance, said: 

“Climate change is a health emergency. It means more bushfires, 

more dangerous heatwaves, the spread of tropical diseases, and an 

increase in heat-related illnesses and deaths. We urge our political 

leaders to commit to urgent climate action by reducing greenhouse 

gas emissions in line with what the science demands.” 

114


Kelly O’Shanassy, the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian 

Conservation Foundation, which co-ordinated the letter, said: 

“As Australia moves into another summer this is a crucial time for 

our government to show it is serious about climate change. At the 

moment, Australia is a global leader in per capita climate pollution. 

We urge Prime Minister Morrison to immediately replace Angus 

Taylor with a minister who is committed to the job of rapidly cutting 

emissions.” 

Eurobodalla doctor, Michelle Hamrosi, who helped promote the 

letter campaign said: “We are black summer bushfire survivors. We 

choked through the smoke all late spring and summer and 

evacuated our homes, often multiple times. Our businesses and 

lives were disruption, and many destroyed. Our medical centres 

and hospitals were at grave risk of being burnt down during this 

crisis. 33 lives were lost Australia wide and over 400 deaths were 

attributed to the smoke pollution. We know all too well the cost of 

climate inaction.” 

“Now as we prepare for a future of worsening bushfires, floods, 

soaring temperatures and storms, we must address the root cause – 

worsening climate change. And when our government, especially 

the minister whose role it is to help us reduce our emissions, in line 

with the Paris agreement, is actually doing the opposite, he must be 

called out on this. It‘s a kick in the guts to our communities to see 

the direction Angus Taylor and the Morrison Government want to 

take us. We deserve better.” 

“As a doctor on the front line of the bushfire crisis, I’m passionate 

advocate for seeing our country focus on a healthy and green 

recovery post COVID-19 , as are many of the Doctors in the 

Eurobodalla who have also signed this letter. 

115


Climate solutions are solutions for healthier communities, towns 

and cities. Our council must also step up its role in helping us adapt 

and become more resilient in the face of the deepening climate 

crisis.” 

Source: 

https://shasa.com.au/local-doctors-sign-open-letter-as-a-vote-of-noconfidence-in-minister-angus-taylor/ 

116


117


TAKE A BOW ANGUS TAYLOR 

Posted by Tony Burke, Labor MP, Manager of Opposition 

Business since 2013 on November 9, 2020 

118


GREEN BANK SHOULDN’T FUND GAS-FIRED POWER, EX- 

OFFICIALS TELL FEDERAL MPS 

By Adam Morton, Environment Editor for The Guardian 

on 10 November 2020 

Under changes it exempts the fund from an existing 

requirement that every project must deliver a return for 

taxpayers, and gives the energy minister, ANGUS TAYLOR, the 

power to direct the agency to look at investing in particular 

technologies. 

Former senior officers of renewable energy agencies say 

government’s bill would undermine Clean Energy Finance 

Corporation’s independence 

Former leaders of Australia’s renewable energy agencies have called 

on MPs to reject the Morrison government’s changes to the publicly 

owned green bank that would explicitly allow it to fund fossil fuel 

projects. 

Under the changes, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) 

would take responsibility for a long-promised $1 billion “grid 

reliability fund” to underwrite new electricity generation, including 

fossil fuel power plants that run on gas. 

The government’s plan, scheduled to be debated in parliament and 

pitched as part of its “gas-led recovery” from Covid-19, would 

explicitly allow the CEFC to use the fund to support gas-fired power 

on the grounds it would “support the achievement of low emission 

energy in Australia” by backing up variable solar and wind 

generation. 

Five former senior officers of the CEFC and the Australian 

Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) have written to MPs 

recommending they vote against the bill in its current form. 

119


They said the CEFC could already invest in projects that improved 

grid reliability, including energy storage, new transmission links and 

“dispatchable” power generation that can be called on whenever 

needed, citing recent investments in battery storage. 

“We do not support changes to the CEFC’s legislation that 

undermine its independence, low-emissions remit, commitment to 

profitability or its avoidance of fossil fuels as part of a clear 

commitment to assist in the reduction of Australia’s climate 

emissions,” the letter said. 

The CEFC was created in 2012 under a deal between Labor, the 

Greens and independents with a mandate to invest in renewable 

energy, low-emissions technology and energy-efficiency projects 

that would deliver a return. 

If the changes are passed, the CEFC could use the grid reliability 

fund to support six renewable energy and five gas 

projects shortlisted by the government early last year. 

The government also listed a coal project – an upgrade to the Vales 

Point plant in New South Wales – as part of the underwriting 

program. It has ruled out backing that through the CEFC, but the 

plant’s owner, Delta Electricity, received a grant of up to 

$8.7 million in the federal budget last month. 

Source: 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/10/green-bankshouldnt-fund-gas-fired-power-ex-officials-tell-federal-mps 

120


AUSTRALIA WILL NOT BE GIVEN SPEAKING SLOT AT CLIMATE 

SUMMIT 

By Katharine Murphy, Political Editor and Daniel Hurst, Political 

Reporter for Guardian Australia on 10 December 2020 

Australian PM ‘not troubled’ by snub after organisers criticised the 

country’s lack of ambition on climate change action 

Scott Morrison has signalled Australia will not be granted a 

speaking slot at a climate ambition summit, despite telling 

parliament a week ago he would attend to “correct mistruths” about 

the government’s heavily criticised record on emissions reduction. 

The organisers have made it clear countries will have to offer up 

substantial commitments to make contributions at the event, and 

Australia’s prime minister declared on Thursday he would not be 

changing domestic policy “to get to a speaking slot at some 

international summit” 

Australia’s proposal to rely on those credits has long attracted 

international concern, including from Europe, and has been 

denounced by the Australian Labor party as an “accounting trick”. 

Some Coalition MPs have been agitating for government to 

continue to bank the credits, arguing Australia is entitled to do so. 

Source: 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/10/eu-tellsaustralia-to-move-on-actual-emissions-cuts-and-not-rely-on-kyotocredits 

121


MORRISON GOVERNMENT SUBSIDISING DIRTY FUEL AMID 

THE CLIMATE CRISIS BEGGARS BELIEF 

Bill Hare, a physicist and climate scientist, is the managing director of 

Climate Analytics for The Guardian on 16 December 2020 

Angus Taylor seems to be wilfully ignoring Australia’s huge 

transport emissions problem 

The announcement this week by energy minister Angus Taylor that 

he’s putting together a major package to prop up oil refineries to 

preserve dirty fuel supplies to one of the dirtiest car fleets on the 

planet simply beggars belief. 

This week we’ve seen king tides and storms hitting Australia’s 

eastern coastline, changing the face of much-loved Aussie beaches, 

which were already feeling the effects of rising sea levels. This time 

last year, the country was on fire. In 2020 our Great Barrier Reef 

was bleached for the third time in five years, the most widespread 

event ever. We just had the warmest spring ever, 2C above average, 

which would have been “virtually impossible” without our 

greenhouse gas emissions. 

We are facing an increased onslaught of climate impacts that will 

just accelerate unchecked without global action on climate to 

rapidly reduce emissions: a recent report showed Australia was the 

G20’s fourth-highest most vulnerable to climate risk. 

The transport sector is the third-largest source of emissions in the 

Australian economy, after electricity and industry. In 2019, transport 

represented 18% of total emissions, an increase of 22% since 2005. 

According to Taylor’s own projections these are set to grow by 6% 

between 2020 and 2030, when they would be close to 21% of 

national emissions. Road transport accounts for the 85% of those 

emissions, and car emissions have grown 25% since 1990. 

122


Australia is one of the few countries in the world with no emissions 

nor fuel-efficiency standards for light duty vehicles. The government 

has given no indication of any intention of introducing them, 

despite five years of deliberations in the ministerial forum on vehicle 

emissions. 

And it gets worse. Australia’s fuel quality is among the worst in 

the OECD, with high sulphur content at levels banned in the EU 

10 years ago. Last year the government allowed this to continue 

to 2027. One consequence, apart from health effects, is that 

many very efficient internal combustion engine vehicles that 

can only run on low-sulphur premium unleaded will not be sold 

in Australia. 

It seems the government is poised to release a federal strategy 

around electric vehicles (EVs). A draft discussion document, which 

was leaked on Tuesday, contains no emissions standards, nor 

targets for EVs (nor any other new support for them), except an 

already-announced co-funding arrangement for charging stations. 

And a two-year electric car trial for the cars that ferry the likes of 

Taylor around. Why a trial is needed for EVs in 2020 is 

incomprehensible. And why an EV strategy should morph into a 

“future fuels strategy” is very hard to explain. 

The resources seemingly earmarked in the leaked draft discussion 

document appear dwarfed by the planned $2.3 billion subsidy to oil 

refineries. 

123


ANGUS TAYLOR SEEMS TO BE WILFULLY IGNORING 

AUSTRALIA’S HUGE TRANSPORT EMISSIONS PROBLEM 

The Australian fleet of 19.2 million vehicles is one of the world’s 

most polluting and least efficient, far behind the US, China, Japan, 

India and the European Union. Their projected improvement means 

Australia will fall even further behind. Nearly 80% of new light-duty 

vehicles sold globally are subject to some kind of emissions or fueleconomy 

standard. 

The International Energy Efficiency 2018 Scorecard for 

transportation rated Australia 20th out of 26 countries, with 

only countries like Turkey and Saudi Arabia rating worse. In the 

absence of any such standards for vehicles in Australia, along with 

modern pollution standards, it’s increasingly likely that Australia will 

become the dumping ground for cars that cannot be sold in other 

markets. 

This is a disgraceful track record of inaction and regressive 

outcomes, one that the minister should not be at all proud of, that 

effectively meets and beats the lowest motor vehicle and fuel 

standards in the OECD, if not the planet. 

It doesn’t have to be like this 

The Climate Action Tracker has modelled a Paris agreement-aligned 

benchmark for Australian transport, which would require Australia 

to increase its share of electric (or emissions-free) vehicles in new 

vehicle sales from less than 1% today for personal cars to 95% in 

2030, reaching 100% in 2035. 

This would translate into roughly 38% EV share in the total fleet in 

2030 and a full decarbonisation of this fleet by mid-century. 

124


But to achieve this, Australia needs stringent new standards for the 

CO2 emissions intensity of new vehicles, a target for EVs, incentives 

to support their uptake – and of course strategies to increase the 

share of public transport. 

EVs would require more electricity, and also when integrated with a 

modern grid providing important grid services. Tapping into the 

vast renewables resources available in Australia and getting the 

country on to a 1.5C Paris agreement compatible pathway would 

not only provide the renewable energy for an EV network, it would 

also provide literally tens of thousands of jobs for Australians, far 

more than the ones Taylor is seeking to protect with his fuel 

package. 

Source: 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/16/themorrison-government-subsidising-dirty-fuel-amid-the-climate-crisisbeggars-belief 

125


AFR READERS SLAM ANGUS TAYLOR OVER ENERGY POLICY 

Hannah Wootton, Reporter for The Financial Review 

on December 20, 2021 

Energy Minister Angus Taylor is the worst at his job of the 

whole Morrison ministry, according to The Australian Financial 

Review's latest reader poll in which respondents showed frustration 

over the government's climate-change policy. 

Poor marks: Angus Taylor. Louie Douvis 

Asked which ministers they thought had done the best or worst job 

in delivering positive outcomes in 2020, 55 per cent said Mr Taylor, 

whose full title includes Minister of Emissions Reduction, did worst. 

Comments submitted by readers revealed that the ranking, the 

worst of any minister, was based on Australia's response to climate 

change, which is less ambitious than other developed countries and 

has seen Mr Taylor advocate for greater investment in gas. 

"It is too polite to call the Morrison government's approach to 

energy policy a disaster," one reader said. "No wonder the states 

have taken matters into their own hands." 

126


Another urged Mr Taylor to focus more on the science of climate 

change to work towards a positive response. 

"It's imperative that our politicians start addressing issues with the 

view to actually resolving them with positive outcomes," they said. 

"For example, when are we going to properly evaluate the science 

of climate change and its impact on Australia and make decisions 

which will achieve outcomes?" 

For one reader, the Morrison government's "climate change denial 

... was sad and un-Australian", while another reader lamented that 

"we have no energy policy". 

Source: 

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/afr-readers-slam-angus-taylorover-energy-policy-20201220-p56p0z 

127


We live under a bully-ocracy. We must Be Quiet and Obey! 

Energy Bully Angus Taylor, 

Prime Bully Boss Morrison, 

Home Affairs Bully Peter Dutton, and 

Attorney General Bully Christian Porter 

128

Angus Taylor Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister

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