“It’s a good time to lobby,” said the head of one industry group yesterday to Business Spectator‘s Giles Parkinson.

Why?

Because Wong and co, bereft of an ETS, are throwing open their doors to “lobbyists and special interest groups in a last-minute attempt to cobble together a credible climate change policy to take to a snap election,” that’s why.

Government officials have been calling for ideas from specialists in the banking community, renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors, as well as NGOs and various industry groups, as it seeks to put forward a package of “direct action” measures to reduce emissions.

Of course, as Parkinson points out, the government has been told over and over again by just about anyone who knows anything that whatever “direct action” initiatives that might be put in place, its impact will be much reduced, and more expensive, without a carbon price.

Gillard “opened the door” to the mining industry. So now’s her chance to further prove what a good listener she is, and to whom she listens to.

Because there’s no shortage of people yelling.

This morning’s Australian Financial Review suggests that the government is considering an interim carbon price,  an energy efficiency target scheme and emissions performance standards for new power stations.

Watch this space to see which lobbyists win out on this one…

***

Today in top stories we’ve got the scoop on federal and state government energy ministers accused of gagging unfavourable reports on energy policy, and we’ve blown the Paul the Octopus story wide open.

Plus, in the last couple of months we’ve exposed staff cuts to the SBS subtitling unit, revealed 125 new detectives were in limbo at the hands of the NSW government, controversial changes to free range egg production in Australia, the botched software upgrade in Western Australian hospitals delivering false x-ray results, broke news on Belinda Neal sounding out an independent run, exposed the cosmetics king who resigned in disgrace, reported on the News Limited spelling bee rip-off, the Murdoch columnist spruiking his own clients, and brought you illuminating leaked memos from the Minerals Council of Australia, ABC News and regional newspaper publisher APN.

Where’d we get all of this? From you. All of the stories in this list were generated by information from our readers.We’re serious about chasing your tips. So get leaking, people.

E-mail us at boss@crikey.com.au. Call us (1800 985 502). Fax us (03 8623 9975). Or use the online form that anonymously dispatches your tip while encrypting sender details.

We love it when you leak, and not just because we’re nosey — we think the public has a genuine right to be on the drip too.