Gas prices in Sydney, Australia, are soaring - but they're not hurting everyone evenly. A recent study has found that residents of the western ring of suburbs are spending, on average, three times what their inner-city counterparts are spending on fuel. Insufficient public transit infrastructure gives residents of these suburbs little option but to keep paying, at a cost to other parts of their lives and to the community.

The Brisbane (Australia) City Council's Climate Change and Energy Taskforce report, released on 12 March 2007, included 31 recommendations across eight strategy areas having to do with how this large, coastal, sub-tropical city can face the challenges of climate change and peak oil.

Making roads for people, rather than cars? That's the plan in Darebin, Australia. Darebin Council's new transport plan is the first in Melbourne, Australia to explicitly give priority to trams, pedestrians and cyclists on key roads. Changes in lights, lane arrangements and the like will change the relative attractiveness of the different modes of transport.

Queensland, Australia's Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation talks with Global Public Media's Andi Hazelwood about departmental changes in response to climate and energy challenges, the public release of his government-commissioned report on "Queensland's Vulnerability to Oil Prices," and the importance of relocalisation in the face of oil depletion.

The Australian desert community of Cloncurry plans to be one of the first towns to operate on solar power alone, with a new solar thermal power station that will be paid for by the state of Queensland. The plant will use the heat of the sun to generate energy consistently through nights and cloudy days.

"How real is the threat of peak oil, and how will our state be vulnerable?" These are the questions posed and answered in a new government report issued by the Queensland (Australia) Oil Vulnerability Taskforce. Queensland MP Andrew McNamara, who chaired the committee, shares some of the conclusions of the report.

In May 2005, the Parliament of the Australian state of Queensland created a task force to investigate Queensland's potential vulnerabilities in the event of energy uncertainty due to peak oil. The report concludes that the overwhelming evidence is that world oil production will peak within the next 10 years, and recommends that a prudent risk mitigation approach requires a mix of initiatives such as reduction in consumption of liquid fossil fuels, encouraging the development and use of alternative fuels, technologies and strategies, and preparation for demographic and regional changes, as Queenslanders change travel, work and living habits in response to rising fuel prices.

Solar Cities is an $75 million AUD ($67 million USD) government demonstration project that gets solar panels and smart meters directly into urban homes, schools and businesses. The country's fifth designated Solar City actually involves 13 different municipalities and features two 300-kilowatt solar parks that some participants will have the option to buy into.