Daniel Cotterill

1 May 2024 Gippsland Skies Offshore Wind awarded Feasibility Licence for 2.5 GW offshore wind development off the coast of Victoria, Australia Gippsland Skies Offshore Wind (“Gippsland Skies”), a consortium of Australian and international companies, comprising Mainstream Renewable Power, Reventus Power, AGL Energy and DIRECT Infrastructure has been granted a feasibility licence by the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, for a fixed bottom 2.5 GW offshore wind project off the Gippsland region of Victoria. The feasibility licence was awarded following a highly competitive merit-based selection process, and it is expected to be one of Australia’s first offshore wind projects [...]

Living through the next war By Daniel Cotterill Have you considered what it will be like to live through the next war? The one where China tries to take Taiwan. That war might be two years away, could be 10 – but it is coming. If you thought the havoc wrought by COVID-19 was grim, best strap-in tightly for this. Expect massive disruption of trade. Nothing that we currently import from China will arrive. Phones, computers, televisions, coffee machines, batteries, cars, caravans – you name it; it’s not coming. No fuel Toilet paper may be available but fuel not so [...]

How much will the next war cost us? By Daniel Cotterill When Australia went to war in 1914 the Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, promised Britain our support “to the last man and the last shilling” – and he meant it! Over 300,000 Australian soldiers saw active service during World War One. When it ended 60,000 of them were dead. Debt and Taxes Australia spent more than 350 million pounds on that war, with the money coming from increased local taxes and loans from Britain. The federal government introduced income tax and amassed a debt of almost 100 million pounds. The [...]

Things can go wrong in even the best led and well managed enterprises, and when they do it often results in a serious issue generating negative publicity. There is only one chance to effectively manage such an issue from the outset, and grasping that opportunity requires detailed preparation. Successful issues management is based on calm, clear and consistent communication of a pre agreed position right from the start. A business simply must have an issues management plan that identifies potential problems, determines various positions and actions that can be taken, then establishes the process to agree and communicate the best [...]

PM safe but Aussie soldiers not By Daniel Cotterill The Australian Prime Minister is driven to many official engagements in a late model BMW armoured limousine that costs over $500,000, yet the best vehicle we have to drive Australian soldiers into battle is the M113 armoured personnel carrier acquired in 1964. The most popular new car in Australia in 1964 was the EH Holden, but technology has moved on a lot since then. Don’t get me wrong, the EH Holden is a great old car – but the operative word there is ‘old’. Old not bold The M113 was designed [...]

Many people around the world are excited about the prospect of self-driving cars. Understandably so when the potential benefits such as increased safety, enhanced mobility more efficient use of resources are considered. While the upside is likely to be good, there are plenty of potential problems. Lots of attention has focussed on ethical issues - will the car protect its passengers or pedestrians if it comes to the crunch? Others have concerns with legal liability in the event of a crash while a human is not directly in control. Worthy as those issues are, they both pale in comparison with [...]

Australia’s automotive industry has experienced several big changes in the past few years. The closure of car manufacturing plants by Ford, Holden and Toyota has drawn the curtain on what was a central part of this country’s proud manufacturing heritage. But significant as those events have been, they pale in comparison to the seismic shifts facing the car business in coming years. Autonomous vehicles, driverless cars, call them what you will, are going to affect every aspect of the car industry – and they will have profound implications for society more broadly. Predictions vary as to when and how driverless [...]