Minerals Council of Australia’s Victorian division is urging the State Government to rethink proposed fee hikes that would lift exploration licence charges by 40 per cent and work plan fees by 400 per cent. The council argues the changes, tied to exploration licences and renewals, would deter greenfields drilling and early-stage geoscience in a state already seen as high-cost and regulatory-heavy. For explorers, the move could shift budgets interstate, delay drilling campaigns, and reduce appetite for deep or technically complex targets.

Former National Infrastructure Commission for Wales chair David Clubb, who led the body for more than four years, has stepped down, warning that long-term planning is being constrained by tight devolved budgets and fragmented responsibilities between Cardiff Bay, Westminster and local authorities. He points to stalled decisions on major transport corridors, grid reinforcement for new onshore wind and solar, and flood defence upgrades for low-lying coastal communities as critical pinch points. For engineers, he signals that robust business cases, whole-life carbon data and climate-resilient design will be central to securing funding in Wales over the next decade.

Publication of the UK government’s revised Social Value Model (PPN 026) marks a reset for infrastructure procurement by tightening how social, environmental and economic outcomes are evaluated in public works tenders. The update is expected to reshape bid strategies on major frameworks such as the £30bn-plus Construction Playbook pipeline, with more prescriptive metrics on local employment, skills, carbon reduction and SME participation. Contractors and consultants will need more robust data capture and reporting systems to evidence social value delivery across design, construction and asset operation phases.