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Speed limit reduced on Maffra-Sale Road Stefan Bradley
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Photo: Contributed
THE Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) has confirmed that a push from locals was the reasoning for a new 80km/h speed limit on a section of the Maffra-Sale Road - on the Sale side of Bundalaguah Primary School. “We introduced a safer speed limit on Sale-Maffra Road in late April in response to feedback from the local community,” a DTP spokesperson said. “With more cars using this section of road and adjoining side roads, this speed limit will make travelling through the area safer for everyone.” A reduced speed limit was introduced along this section of Maffra-Sale Rd on April 24 this year. The safer speed limit was brought in based on feedback from the community, increased traffic volumes and this road’s crash history. The reduction was reviewed and endorsed by key road safety stakeholders including Victoria Police, the local council and Road Safety Victoria. Speed limits are set by teams of road safety specialists who review speed limits against the Department of Transport and Planning’s Speed Zoning Policy and Speed Zoning Technical Guidelines. When assessing speed limit reviews, the department considers the types of road users, the surrounding road environment, crash risk and history, council recommendation, community sentiment, and traffic volume to ensure set speed limits are appropriate. There has been three crashes resulting in injury recorded along this section of road in the past five years.
Hydrogen hype Philip Hopkins
GIPPSLAND politicians have strongly criticised the federal government's emphasis on 'green hydrogen' in the federal budget. Federal Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, said disappointingly, the Japanese government and industry leaders were demonstrating more support for a local-based hydrogen energy sector than our own Prime Minister. "Despite the success of the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) pilot program, which attracted funding from the former Coalition government, the Labor Party is openly hostile to any alternative uses for brown coal," he said. The federal Liberal candidate for Monash, Mary Aldred, welcomed the support for green hydrogen projects. "However, it is just as important that gas and coal hydrogen projects secure ongoing support as well. These projects can produce greater volumes at lower
prices and are low or net zero emissions capable," she said. "Most importantly, they represent real jobs and investment opportunities for our region which is absolutely critical right now. The Latrobe Valley is a national energy and manufacturing capital and I will fight hard to see it continue to provide highly skilled, highly paid jobs into the future.” Mr Chester said brown coal was an incredible natural resource. "We should be open-minded to alternative uses in the future as technology develops. “Producing hydrogen for transport needs can help reduce global emissions, and Japan is taking the HESC project to the next stage," he said. "Instead of supporting this innovative approach, the Prime Minister has buckled to demands from the Greens and turned his back on families looking for energy and job security in the Latrobe Valley," he said.
In a deal with the Greens, Mr Chester said the Albanese government had specifically ruled out coal, gas and native timber projects from receiving any funding support under the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund. "The fund was meant to help diversify regional economies and was designed to attract private investment to make it easier to commercialise innovation and technology, but Labor has ruled out projects involving coal," he said. The federal budget allocated about $8 billion over 10 years from 2024-25 (and an average of $1.2 billion per year from 2034-35 to 2040-41) to support the production of renewable hydrogen. This includes a hydrogen production tax incentive from 2027-28 to 2040-41 to producers of renewable hydrogen to support the growth of a competitive hydrogen industry and Australia’s decarbonisation. This will cost about $6.7 billion over 10 years from 2024-25 (and an average
of $1.1 billion per year from 2034-35 to 2040-41). The hydrogen production tax incentive will provide a $2 incentive per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced for up to 10 years per project, between 2027-28 and 2039-40 for projects that reach final investment decisions by 2030. Backing for the Valley's potential to produce blue hydrogen from brown coal has been increasing. Latrobe City Council has thrown its support behind the HESC project as a driver of future economic growth in the region. A council delegation last year visited the operations in Japan of the companies behind the HESC project. Federation University Churchill had a specialist hydrogen section set up in late 2022 headed by Associate Professor Surbhi Sharma - the leader of Future Fuels and Hydrogen Technologies, one of the four streams of Fed Uni's Centre for New Transition Energy Research. Continued - Page 3
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