Griffith University will explore current Australian energy policies at a one-day symposium event in South Bank today.
Presented by Griffith Business School’s Economic Policy Analysis Program (EPAP), the symposium will bring together researchers and policy-makers from academia, industry and government to evaluate current policies and aims to create more useful discussion for improvement.
Following a welcome from EPAP director Professor Selva Selvanathan, topics to be covered range from how to future-proof the nation’s electricity supply, and the implications of natural gas extraction in Western Australia, to the effectiveness of renewable energy auctions, and the need to re-examine conservation behaviours in OECD countries.
"While Australia is rich in energy resources, Australians continue to pay a higher price for energy due to the intertwined relationship between energy and climate change," Professor Selvanathan said.
"Average Australians think this is not fair, and politicians have now started to hear their cry, especially with a looming federal election, and policy debates are at the forefront of discussion."
Representatives attending the symposium hail from a range of industry bodies and institutions including Griffith University, the University of New South Wales, University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland, Australian National University and Murdoch University.
Also among the Griffith contingent are Professor Emeritus Michael Powell, Economics discipline head Dr Andreas Chai, Griffith Business School Dean (Academic) Professor Fabrizio Carmignani, GBS Dean (Research) Professor Andrew O’Neil, AGL Energy Ltd Chief Economist Mr Tim Nelson, Infigen Energy Executive General Manager Professor Paul Simshauser, energy expert Dr Liam Wagner, Cities Research Institute researcher Mrs Maryam Khoshbakht and Dr Parvinder Kler.
They’ll be joined by visiting experts including Dr Hugh Saddler (Australian National University), Dr Ursula Fuentes-Hutfilter (Murdoch University), Professor Iain MacGill (UNSW), Mr Paul Hyslop (ACIL Allen Consulting), Dr Sabah Abdullah (University of Queensland), Ms Ada Hosein (Murdoch University), Mr Rubayyat Hashmi (University of Southern Queensland) and former Greens senator Mr Andrew Bartlett.
"This symposium will gather high-quality research on most aspects of Australian energy policy to investigate key current issues in the field," Professor Selvanathan said.
"It will bring together researchers and policy-makers from academia, industry and government to critically evaluate current energy policies and aims, in order to create a more useful discussion for improvement in Australian energy policies."
The free Energy policies: Where is Australia Heading? 2018 symposium will be held at the Ship Inn, South Bank, from 9am-5pm.
