Somewhat to my surprise, Kevin Rudd didn't make it through a full term as Australian Prime Minister, being replaced yesterday by deputy Julia Gillard.

YouTube has some video of Rudd's reaction to his downfall.

If only he'd managed to get the CPRS through the Senate...

Reuters reports that PM Rudd has announced that Australia is to build a 1GW solar power plant as part of efforts to achieve the new 20% mandatory renewable energy target - Australia to build world's largest solar energy plant: PM. More at Bloomberg.

Australia plans to build the world's largest solar power station with an output of 1000 megawatts in a A$1.4 billion (US$1.05 billion) investment, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Sunday.

The plant would have three times the generating capacity of the current biggest solar-powered electricity plant, which is in California, Rudd said during a tour of a power station.

Tender details will be announced later in the year, and successful bidders will be named in the first half of 2010. Rudd said the project was aimed at exploiting the country's ample sunshine, which he called "Australia's biggest natural resource."

It was also aimed at helping the country become a leader in renewable, clean energy, he said. "The government plans to invest with industry in the biggest solar generation plant in the world, three times the size of the world's current biggest, which is in California," Rudd said.

"Why are we doing this? We are doing it in order to support a clean energy future for Australia, we're doing it to boost economic activity now and we're doing it also to provide jobs and much needed opportunities for business as well."

The project should eventually lead to a network of solar-powered stations across the country, Rudd said, with locations chosen to fit in with the existing electricity grid and ensure good access to sunshine.

"We don't want to be clean energy followers worldwide, we want to be clean energy leaders worldwide." Rudd said.

Reuters report that PM Kevin Rudd is still showing some spine over introducing carbon trading by 2010, ignoring frenzied wailing from the fossil fuel industry - Market chaos won't slow carbon scheme: Australia PM.

Australia's plans to launch a carbon emissions trading scheme within two years will not be derailed by the global financial crisis, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Tuesday.

Australia's second-largest oil and gas producer, Woodside Petroleum Ltd, this week told Rudd's center-left Labor government that global market volatility and bank credit paralysis should put emissions trading on hold.

Rudd said the worst international financial crisis since the 1930s did not eclipse the danger of climate change, expected to have a greater impact on Australia's $1 trillion coal and energy reliant economy than almost any other developed nation.

"On emissions trading, our ambition remains 2010," Rudd told journalists while unveiling a A$10.4 billion ($7.3 billion) emergency stimulus package to protect Australia against any global recession. Part of the government's thinking is the calls from business for consistency and predictability in the future. Climate change is not going to go away," Rudd said.

Kevin Rudd has taken the unusual, but I think admirable (and seemingly popular), step of convening a national summit to map out Australia's long term future and is looking for ideas on a range of issues that will be impacted by peak oil (particularly population, sustainability, climate change and water and security and international relations).

A website will soon be established allowing all Australians to make submissions on each of the policy areas, so I thought I'd open it up for suggestions - what would (or will) you propose in a submission ?

My top 5 suggestions :

* increase the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) to 30%
* introduce a carbon tax, starting off a low base and increasing until coal fired power has a similar cost to wind or concentrated solar power today
* increase fuel efficiency standards for vehicles
* rebuild / expand the national rail system for freight haulage
* modernise and expand public transport systems in major cities

KEVIN RUDD will ask 1000 of the "best and brightest brains" to map out a strategy for Australia's long-term future in areas ranging from the economy and the environment to the arts and health.

The Prime Minister said yesterday a two-day Australia 2020 summit in Parliament House in April would bring together talented people from outside government to look beyond the usual short-term focus of politics and policymaking. The aim would be to come up with policies to help meet challenges Australia faced over the next decade and beyond. "For too long Australian policymaking has been focused on short-term outcomes dictated by the electoral cycle," Mr Rudd said. "If Australia is to effectively confront the challenges of the future, we need to develop an agreed national direction that looks at the next 10 years and beyond." ...

The Government has identified 10 areas it will ask the summit to tackle. These are: directions for the economy; infrastructure; environmental issues including population, sustainability, climate change and water; rural Australia; national health strategy; strengthening communities; indigenous Australia; the arts; the future of government; and Australia's security and international relations.

Mr Rudd said Australia's three-year electoral cycle meant policymaking usually focused too much on the short term. He wanted to generate a focus on the longer term and to bring people from outside politics and government into national planning and policy formulation. "Government, irrespective of its political persuasion, does not have a monopoly on policy wisdom," he said. "To thrive and prosper in the future we need to draw on the range of talents, ideas and energy from across the Australian community."

The summit will be asked to produce policy options. The Government will announce by the end of the year which ones it accepts.