the Expenditure Review Committee is considering a pre-budget submission on “The Million Jobs Plan” for a green recovery from climate think tank Beyond Zero Emissions, a consortium backed by heavyweight investors including tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, former Origin Energy and Macquarie Bank chair Kevin McCann and First State Super chief executive Deanne Stewart. Independent modelling by economist Chris Murphy suggests that the plan would boost private investment by an average of $25 billion annually over the next three years, generate 124,000 jobs next year, add 1–2 per cent to GDP, and lift real wages by one per cent in 2022–23. Launched in June, the Beyond Zero Emissions plan is a cracker – it’s the culmination of a decade’s work – and the pre-budget submission proposes that the government fast-track 15 priority projects, including transmission lines to link renewable energy zones to the grid, the massive Star of the South offshore wind-farm proposal off the Gippsland coast, the Walcha solar and storage project in NSW, and the Central Queensland Power Project in Gladstone.
— Paddy Manning, The Monthly Today, Sept 17th “A million jobs “
