Australia to Ban All Plasmas & Some LCDs? (*AU: Ain’t. Gonna. Happen.*)

And it looks like it just might happen, which would spell bad news for the gadget gurus down under. If a revised Australian energy rating guide gets passed, then all current plasma televisions would be banned from sale by 2011. That’s right, all plasmas and even many power-hungry LCDs would be taken off store shelves due to their high energy consumption. But listen to this, it gets worse.

AU: No, it doesn’t get worse. This simply won’t happen. The report goes way too far right now, and the Environment Minister has already stated (late yesterday) that he supports industry initiatives to improve TV power consumption (which are already doing quite well at reducing both general and stand-by consumption). Sorry we missed this story yesterday in all the tech issues, but I’ll have more analysis of why this minor scare from the report is only good news – as well as the nature of such standards, and possible bans, in a time when you can buy green power. -SB

Tim O’Keefe, Australia’s Digital Suppliers Industry Forum coordinator, believes that due to the country’s/continent’s small purchasing power, the energy requirements imposed will not be met by TV manufacturers. Well here’s to hoping that the manufacturers hear the energy-conscious cry of Australia, and produce some more energy-efficient TVs.[ABC via The Raw Feed]