biodiesel shipment hailed

Hewson hails biodiesel shipment Font Size: Decrease Increase Print Page: Print Ashleigh Wilson | August 03, 2007

FORMER Liberal leader John Hewson described the Howard Government's approach to renewable fuels as "scaremongering" yesterday as the nation's first shipment of biodiesel was loaded on a freighter for export.

Speaking in Darwin, where 8.8million litres of biodiesel were being prepared for export, Dr Hewson, chairman of Natural Fuel, said there was an inevitability about the development of biofuels that could not be ignored.

He once again criticised the Prime Minister's environmental credentials, saying business groups and governments struggled to understand the potential for renewable fuels.

"This is the first export from Australia, but it's a potential export industry for Australia," he said.

"I quite often hear the Government, Mr Howard, saying we don't want to rush into adjusting to climate change because it might cost us jobs. I don't agree with that at all. I just think the potential in terms of new technologies and the development of new industries is phenomenal.

"There's a lot of scaremongering that goes on, and unfortunately that does carry some currency with people who are easily frightened. But cold hard analysis in the light of day will see that biofuels have got a part to play."

The loading of biodiesel on to the Chemstar Venus freighter at Darwin's East Arm Port, set for markets in Asia and the US, marked the nation's first export of the little-known green fuel.

Natural Fuels -- a joint venture between Natural Fuel and investment bank Bab & Brown -- hopes to produce 122,500 metric tonnes of biodiesel in Darwin each year while importing palm oil from Malaysia for processing.

While the majority of biodiesel produced will still be sold domestically, Dr Hewson said the capacity of the Darwin plant existed to double its size and increase the number of exports.

The Darwin plant, Australia's biggest, forms part of the company's plan to build production facilities in Singapore and the US as the well-developed Malaysian biofuels industry expands.

Dr Hewson said the company was positioning itself to become one of the world's leading biodiesel companies, with debate continuing about renewable fuels. "There's an inevitability about the development of biofuels," he said. "It's an idea whose time has come. Although there's been a lot of resistance even from the traditional oil refinery businesses and so on, they're all starting to look at biofuels now."