Australian Politics
LNP commits to keep coal fired power stations open ‘indefinitely’
David Crisafulli will keep Queensland’s coal fired power stations open “indefinitely” if he is elected to ensure energy remains “reliable and affordable” during the transition to renewables.
The Liberal National Party leader has committed to net zero emissions by 2050, but is yet to release a detailed plan on how that would be achieved.
Speaking in Mackay on Thursday, Mr Crisafulli said Queensland had the youngest fleet of coal-fired power plants in the country and he would keep them maintained and operational.
“We will continue to ensure that they operate whilst they are needed to form part of the mix of affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity,” he said.
“There is no way the vast majority of thinking Queenslanders would want us to shut off baseload power before the capacity of the next generation of energy has been developed.”
Asked if that meant they would run indefinitely, Mr Crisafulli said: “Well, I guess the answer to that is yes”.
“We need the baseload power that comes from those coal-fired power generators, we need that there,“ he said.
“We also need to have a vision to make sure that we are part of a transition to renewable energy, but it’s got to be done in a way that makes sure that Queenslanders can continue to afford their bills whilst we work towards the future.”
Mr Crisafulli’s LNP voted to support Labor’s legislated plan to cut 75 per cent of emissions by 2035, but has not set a renewable energy target.
Labor is relying on the proposed Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro project, near Mackay, to enable it to shut down the state’s five coal-fired power stations and reach its target of 80 per cent renewable energy by 2035.
The project is still being subjected to financial, engineering and environmental investigations and is yet to get government approvals or substantive funding.
Initial estimates put the project at $12bn but that figure is expected to balloon after more detailed financial modelling is complete.
Mr Crisafulli has backed Labor’s other Borumba pumped-hydro station, near Gympie, but has rubbished Pioneer-Burdekin as a “hoax”.
He has pledged to fund Borumba and partner with the private sector to build smaller pumped-hydro projects.
On Thursday he refused to say how many pumped hydro plans would be built if the LNP won government, when or where they would be built and the estimated cost to taxpayers.
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China to drop ban on Aussie lobsters following Anthony Albanese meeting
China’s ban on Australian lobsters will be dropped by the end of the year, the last major sanction on Aussie produce to be dumped in the wake of the trade war ignited during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emerged from meetings with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Laos on Thursday to announce the ban on the $700 million industry would be ended in the coming months.
The ban on lobsters was the last major trade hurdle remaining with China, following the dropping of restrictions on other Aussie produce like barley and wine, with Mr Albanese saying the trade impediments added up to $20 billion in value.
“I’m pleased to announce that Premier Li and I have agreed on a timetable to resume full lobster trade by the end of this year,” Mr Albanese said following their meetings, adding the ban would be dropped in time for Chinese New Year.
China banned lobsters as part of a trade war arising with Australia during the Covid pandemic in 2020 after then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an inquiry into the virus’ origins.
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English backpacker shocked to find Aussies don't like being called 'champ'
An English backpacker has found himself befuddled by various aspects of Aussie culture after moving Down Under, from our sense of humour to our obsession with early morning exercise. Most recently, he has put our aversion to a seemingly inoffensive word in his smartphone's spotlight, putting a video out on TikTok asking others to explain what is so offensive about it.
Speaking through hair so floppy it would put a storage disk to shame, the backpacker named Kyle said: "if you call [Australians] "champ" they're going to want to punch you in the face."
"Australians: explain it to me in the comments because I found out but I didn't exactly get the reason why and it's very interesting," he added.
Australians were quick to explain that, over here, calling someone a "champ" or "boss" is generally considered over-familiar at best, and patronising and condescending at worst.
"Champ is passive aggressive to Aussies," one social media user said, while another added: "Champ is like belittling; it’s patronising like buddy."
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Trotsky-ite Greens and the common good
As Australia approaches its next federal election, a bipartisan agreement between Labor and the Coalition is essential to ensure political stability, economic growth, and the safeguarding of Australia’s national interest.
Historically, despite mutual antipathy, these two major parties have worked together in times of national crisis, such as when the Hawke Labor government liberalised both trade and the financial markets leading to a long period of strong economic growth.
Governing from the centre is where both parties function most effectively. However, the growing influence of the extreme left has pulled Labor toward ever more extreme positions. The Coalition now has an opportunity to counter this trend and support Labor in finding a balance that serves the national interest while Labor can end the pernicious influence of the Greens.
The primary threat which should lead to this agreement is the influence of the Greens, who advocate for a range of extreme economic and environmental policies while encouraging intimidating protests and stoking antisemitism. While the Greens position themselves as defenders of social justice and environmental protection, a closer look reveals that their radical agenda contradicts these goals.
Today’s Greens have drifted from their roots, embracing an ideology that rejects compromise and tolerates no dissent. This kind of rigid idealism is reminiscent of sectarian movements that thrive on hostility toward those holding differing views. The Greens have become a secular religion with an unhealthy cult of the leader who wants to destroy Australia to remake it in his image.
While the Greens’ policies are pernicious, dangerous, and extreme, they have managed to attract support from many well-meaning yet naïve Australians that find solace in the superficial slogans of the party just as many Australians have been conned by financial scams.
The Greens’ environmental policies are a case in point. They champion renewable energy sources like wind power with no regard for the financial or ecological costs. Pushing for a rapid transition to renewable energy, the Greens overlook the consequences on the environment, energy security, and economic stability. Their policies would force the shutdown of traditional energy sources without a clear plan for mitigating the impact on communities and industries reliant on these sectors.
This single-minded pursuit of emissions reduction sacrifices pragmatic solutions for idealistic goals, endangering Australia’s future energy reliability and affordability.
The cost of renewables increases exponentially – that is more than proportionately – in two dimensions: the higher the percentage of wind and solar in the total energy supply and secondly in how quickly the objective is to move to 100 per cent renewables. The Greens’ energy policy would lead to unreliable and expensive electricity, with frequent outages like in Pakistan where rich families have a large diesel-electric generator. Better a gradual transition that considers costs, technological feasibility, and environmental impacts.
It goes to the dualism and Manichaeism embraced by the Greens which sees everything as good or bad – wind and solar are always good; coal and gas are bad. Yet this is a typical Greens fantasy, a form of lexicographic preferencing. Everything has costs and benefits and there are always tradeoffs.
In agriculture, the Greens’ opposition to genetically modified crops and their endorsement of organic farming demonstrates a similar disconnect from practical realities. By rejecting advancements in agricultural technology, they risk lowering productivity and increasing resource usage. The world’s population demands a sustainable, secure food supply, which cannot be met through inefficient practices that prioritise ideology over outcomes, such as the theories of Trofim Lysenko – the Soviet agronomist – whose theories, based on Lamarckism, accorded with Soviet ideology and led to famines killing millions in the USSR and then China.
The Greens’ economic policies present a further challenge. Their tax and industrial relations policies are likely to harm Australia’s economy by driving up costs, reducing quality, and driving efficient workers abroad. Their signature housing proposal – capping rents – is so ludicrous to defy sense since has been tried and failed before. Such a policy generally leads to reduced housing availability and poorer conditions for tenants. This would harm low-income Australians while benefiting those who already possess wealth, further exacerbating economic inequality.
The Greens’ proposal to override the Reserve Bank is economic vandalism at its worst. It would at a stroke reduce the potency and credibility of monetary policy, and result in higher inflation and then higher interest rates.
Moreover, their approach to fiscal policy could lead to economic stagnation and reduced living standards. By increasing taxes and expanding government intervention in the market, the Greens’ policies risk deterring investment, stifling innovation, and pushing businesses to relocate overseas. Young Australians, in particular, would feel the effects, as they face rising housing costs, limited job opportunities, and declining access to quality goods and services. For the first time in decades, Australia’s living standards are poised to decline, a prospect made more troubling by the fact that many young people support the Greens without understanding the potential consequences.
The Greens’ impact on national security is another significant concern. They have consistently advocated for reducing defence spending and dismantling key security alliances, such as Australia’s involvement in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing partnership. In a world of increasing geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, such policies would leave Australia vulnerable. National security requires robust defence capabilities and strong international alliances. The Greens’ policies, which favour isolationism and a weakened military, could compromise Australia’s ability to respond to global security threats and protect its national interests.
But it is the Greens’ stance on Israel and Palestine which is most troubling and here they are an enormity. The Greens have alarmingly stoked antisemitism and encouraged aggression toward Jews and Israel. By aligning with extremist views, the Greens have alienated communities within Australia and fostered divisive sentiments. The Greens’ rhetoric has encouraged polarisation and exclusion, and have damaged Australia’s multicultural society, giving succour to extremism which longs for the destruction of the only democratic country in the Middle East and the only country which gives freedoms to women and LGBTIQ people. It is beyond bizarre; it is madness. And yet the dualism that has been embraced by the Greens which divides everything into victims and oppressors has led the party inexorably to this sorry state. We should have acted earlier – their advocacy of the insidious BDS movement was a clear sign.
Sadly the Greens are having an ever more pernicious influence on the body politic and Labor in particular, which is seeing threats in a number of its inner-city seats. As a result, Labor has been trying to play both sides, especially when it comes to antisemitism where it has failed to provide strong and clear leadership which has in turn led to a disturbing increase in hatred of our Jewish citizens to a degree not seen in Australia before.
In short, the Greens are having an influence well beyond their small voting share.
The solution lies in a bipartisan agreement between Labor and the Coalition, which would allow the party that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives to govern without fear of blocked supply or no-confidence motions. Such an agreement would foster long-term policy-making, enabling Australia to tackle pressing issues in the economy, national security, and the environment with the confidence that their agenda will not be derailed by political instability. By reducing the influence of minor parties like the Greens, this agreement would restore governance to a stable, predictable footing that serves the national interest.
https://www.spectator.com.au/2024/10/common-ground-for-the-common-good/
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http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
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https://westpsychol.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH -- new site)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com (TONGUE-TIED)
https://immigwatch.blogspot.com (IMMIGRATION WATCH)
https://john-ray.blogspot.com/ (FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC -- revived)
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Evelyn Rae, a conservative Australian political commentator
Margo Robbie -- a beautiful australian
My son Joe at ANU
One of the happiest pictures ever -- Cleo Smith, aged 4
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