Mixed Greens: Swing voters want carbon price to stay – poll

Only one in five undecided Australian voters support the Abbott-led federal opposition’s plan to repeal the government’s carbon pricing scheme, according to new national polling released on Tuesday. The survey, commissioned by environmental group WWF and conducted by AMR research, shows only 19 per cent of the 20 per cent of respondents who nominated themselves as undecided voters want the carbon price repealed – a result that suggests abolishing the carbon tax may not be a deciding factor for those voters yet to make up their minds who to vote for on September 14.

The Australian reports that the poll also showed that while 42 per cent of voters want the carbon pricing regime repealed, when given a message suggesting it would make renewable energy cheaper, that number falls to 35 per cent. The poll also showed that, when given this positive message, the number of voters who thought carbon pricing should be given a chance to work rose from 39 per cent to 45 per cent. Of Labor voters, 76 per cent think the carbon price should be given a chance; and 77 per cent of Greens voters. But 65 per cent of Liberal voters want the carbon price repealed, reports The Australian.

In other news…

An Australian-inspired international design challenge has led to the successful creation of a workable solar-powered wheelchair. The idea was one of three shortlisted and put to inventors across the globe, as part of the inaugural 2012 World Cerebral Palsy Day “Change My World In 1 Minute” campaign – a campaign spearheaded by Australia’s Cerebral Palsy Alliance. The winning design for the solar-powered wheelchair – created by a team from the University of Virginia – was inspired by retractable roofs on convertible cars and uses lightweight, durable materials and highly efficient solar cells. It has an additional 40 per cent range over battery usage and can run more than one kilometre per hour indefinitely without consuming any battery charge. It is operated by a single switch and also includes added extras like USB power outlets. The winning team will use the $20,000 prize money to refine and ship the wheelchair to Turkey for use by the man with cerebral palsy who originally submitted the idea.

LG Electronics Australia has announced a new strategic partnership with leading Australian-based solar power distributor, SolarJuice, to deliver premium solar panels in Australia starting late May. SolarJuice will distribute LG’s 250W to 260W Black Mono-X Modules, and later in the year LG’s 290W and 300W NeON high-efficiency and lightweight panels, which weigh just 17.3kg.

India is said to have plans to auction four solar thermal power projects with a combined 120MW of capacity, according to an un-sourced report in the Hindu Business Line. The report said the government-run Solar Energy Corp would call for bids in a year, with projects eligible for 10.2 billion rupees ($US183 million) of government grants.