John Hewson appointed as chair of Bioenergy Australia

The Bioenergy Australia board appointed Dr John Hewson as a Director and on 9 January 2019 has elected Dr John Hewson as new Chair, replacing outgoing chair Clean Energy Finance Corporations Chief Investment Officer Paul McCartney whose term as chair concluded.

Dr John Hewson is one of Australia’s most experienced economists, financial experts and company directors. He is also a former politician and was Leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1990 to 1994.

 “Dr Hewson’s commitment to and passion for renewable energy, his in-depth understanding and connection to the bioenergy sector and his commitment to driving opportunities for innovation and growth for Australia position him as a fantastic leader for Bioenergy Australia in 2019.

Dr Hewson is widely respected on both sides of the political agenda and his reputation and approach will be a fantastic asset to the organisation and the industry.

It is a pivotal time for the development of a Bio economy for Australia, and I would like to thank the outgoing Chair Paul McCartney who, along with the Board has driven significant change and innovation for the organisation and has been critical in repositioning the organisation for the future” states Shahana McKenzie, CEO, Bioenergy Australia.

The findings in a report recently published by KPMG, Bioenergy State of the Nation Report, have outlined that Australia is mostly ignoring an energy investment opportunity of as much as $5 billion in urban, agricultural and forest waste that would stimulate regional economies, improve fuel security and reduce emissions.

 “An overlooked and very important consequence of the “climate wars” of the last couple of decades has been the lack of policy of governments to develop a comprehensive National Waste and Bio-Energy Strategy.

This is particularly hard to understand and accept given our national addiction to the barbaric environmental practice of land filling, the lack of a fuel security strategy, the failure of both State and Federal governments to design and implement effective regional policies, and the availability of a host of proven and commercial technology solutions. Short-term politics has again served to only squander significant growth and employment opportunities”.

 “I look forward to supporting Bioenergy Australia’s efforts to educate and advocate for change in the bioenergy space to get more projects off the ground and the political support to drive national policies to support investment, employment and growth” states Dr Hewson, Chair, Bioenergy Australia.

The Bioenergy Australia Board is now made up of John Hewson (Chair), Heather Bone (Deputy Chair), Paul McCartney, Paul Hetherington, Amy Philbrook, Ian O’Hara, and Bernadette McCabe.