ACtion Magazine - January/February 2013 - (Page 14)

Under the Southern Cross Ken Newton, CEO. VASA don’t remember promising that I wouldn’t talk about refrigerant again this year. I’m certainly not going to mention HFO-1234yf. By the time this is published, the goalposts would have moved yet again, with DuPont and Honeywell versus Daimler and Volkswagen still on the field, kicking their 1234yf around. Down here in the South Pacific, we are a long way from the debate about the flammability of HFO-1234yf, but even so, we have to take an interest Refrigerant becomes a political football because whatever Europe does, we follow. There’s a much bigger game being played in Australia right now and yes, it’s still about refrigerant. I have reported previously that the industry is reeling over the Oz carbon tax, which has effectively forced up the price of R-134a to the sort of level which is forcing the priceconscious techos to look for alternative refrigerants. Oh, look. Here’s one called HC. You only need a third of a normal charge of gas in the average family car, and it doesn’t harm the environment because it’s got no global warming potential. Won’t the tree-huggers be delighted? Explosive? No. Not unless you accidentally put a match to it. Blah, blah, blah. You’ve heard it all before and I’m getting a little bored with flammable refrigerants, especially now in light of the Daimler tests on that other refrigerant I wasn’t going to mention. I’m getting off the track. Forgive me. Out of the blue, the shadow minister for Climate Action and Environment, Greg Hunt, sees political mileage in warning Australian motorists against using a highly flammable refrigerant in their vehicles thanks to the carbon tax and the rising price of R-134a. VASA is one of the first networks approached by Hunt’s minders and they are impressed with the background information we are able to provide. With next year being federal election year, the opposition is looking for kites to fly and this one looks like a beauty. Mr. Hunt steps up the pressure on his government counterparts, asking them why they haven’t foreseen the risks of “tempting people to swap to other gasses which are highly explosive but are a fraction of the cost”. “This issue is extremely serious and warrants urgent attention. The Government must immediately act and raise awareness of the risk hydrocarbon poses. It is another example of how the Government doesn’t think through the unintended consequences of their policies and are putting people’s lives at risk,” Mr. Hunt told the world. Then the unthinkable happened. The Government’s Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Water, Senator Don Farrell, was caught flatfooted in a radio debate with Mr. Hunt. The interviewer put it to Mr. Farrell, “Don, you’d be aware of this hydrocarbon risk. What’s your response?” What’s he going to say? He had little choice but to pick up the gauntlet and run with it. “We take this very seriously and have been engaged with the industry right from the start about this,” said Mr. Farrell. That was a bit of a fib, because few in the industry had even heard of Mr. Farrell till now. Then he gets carried away with the moment, “We are concerned to make sure that there is no negative or safety issues that relate to these gasses. There’s plenty of state regulation in place and we are trying to move that to national regulation to make it even tougher. We’re talking about a national code of practice, an Australian standard that provides national occupational health and safety licensing. That’s what we want.” Big talk Mr. Farrell. Now let’s see the action. I can only hope it happens in my working lifetime so that I can report it to you. It’s the consultation with industry, you know. It all takes time. ❆ I Reader Reply No. 6 14 ACTION • January / February 2013 http://www.nostalgicairparts.com http://www.jeepair.com http://www.macsw.org/MACS/Publications/ACtion_Reader_Reply/MACS/Publications/ACTION/ACtion_Reader_Reply.aspx?hkey=ac24bddb-c045-442a-813c-cbf05f88ac4d

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - January/February 2013

ACtion Magazine - January/February 2013
Table of Contents
Outlook
In Bin
Expansion Valve
Technically RELAY-ted
Under The Southern Cross
Leonard’s Law
MACS Letter to Europe
News & Updates
“if I Ever Build a Shop…”
Valves: Oils, Refrigerants – What to Use?
2012 Pioneer Award Honorees
Virtual View
Association News
New Products & Services
Last Watch

ACtion Magazine - January/February 2013

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