Rebel numbers swell: Carbon emissions poised to bring Turnbull down a second time

An imminent train wreck that has been coming a long time…

Supporters of an overthrow of the Australian PM are phoning in, numbers are being tallied:

by Simon Benson, Dennis Shanahan, Joe Kelly, The Australian

The leadership crisis engulfing Malcolm Turnbull has deepened, with cabinet ministers privately accusing the Prime Minister of cobbling together his plan to cap retail power prices in a last-minute bid to save his leadership.

The Australian is aware that a number of MPs called Home ­Affairs Minister and leading Queensland conservative Peter Dutton at the weekend to pledge support should he seek to challenge Mr Turnbull.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott told a Tasman­ian Young Liberals meeting at the weekend he was looking forward to serving under a “Dutton government”.

Even PM’s allies ask: what use is he to us?

Simon Benson, National Affairs Editor, The Australian, says the word is that the challenge is “inevitable”.

Malcolm Turnbull is in full capitulation mode. In the face of a possible and increasingly likely challenge, he has buckled to rebel MPs, and in the process surrendered the future of his leadership to the demands of a few.

It’s not the demands of a few, it’s the preference of about 4.8 million voters. Let’s do a plebescite?

A defining moment has arrived for a decision between two competing ideas. Does the Liberal Party return to the conservative values that have provided the ballast for its most successful periods in government, aligned with a centre-right orthodoxy, or does it continue with the moderate, centrist experiment? At the heart of it are two interpretations of the Menzies era. Turnbull has argued that the founder of the modern Liberal Party was a moderate. Conservatives violently disagree. They are forced to this crossroad largely through human folly.

What centrist? Since when was mass taxation to change the weather a centrist experiment? Since when did centrists control almost every aspect of the market, supply, demand, the product, the price, and call it “free”?

Four prime ministers look set to be taken down in their first term. The real problem is that the nation is bullied into not discussing big ideas, like the plan to stop storms with our electricity generators (and there are other sacred cows too). Politicians are trying to foist a fantasy plan on the masses. The masses are not happy.

Get your popcorn. The ABC and Fairfax (or what’s left of it) will be slapped by reality again.

The ABC tonight has the insipid: “Turnbull plans more energy policy changes amid internal pressure

While The Australian was talking to key players, the ABC are quoting twitter and interviewing the opposition and the Greens.

Along with that non-event, at the top of the ABC-politics page is the classic Lara Tingle Analysis “Abbott’s Influence waning within Coalition”.

ABC Media, politics page.

9.8 out of 10 based on 79 ratings

261 comments to Rebel numbers swell: Carbon emissions poised to bring Turnbull down a second time

  • #
    Komrade Kuma

    While I have little time for Abbott, M.T. Rumball has so totally stuffed up this NEG thing as to be incomprehensible.

    How the heck could you stuff up a fix to an obvious and fundamental problem which he had himself characterised with the ‘despatchable power’ tag. ‘Renewables’, even if they are cheap ( debatable to say the least given the subsidies they seem to need) are technically unfit for purpose without proper storage capacity and being constrained from being little more than market disruptors that eat away at the viability of the backbone of the system? Are they so cheap once they have paid for that storage.

    Why TF did he add in ‘Paris Targets’ into that mix? It ‘renewables’ are so cheap then a well ordered market will facilitate them and deliver the targets.

    M.T. Rumball is still a merchant wanker at heart it seems and understands there is no real money for his neighbours in a well run market, its in and ‘incentivised’ system of interlocking agencies with kpi leveraged fees that delivers the $$$BUCKS to the people that matter.

    It will look ugly beyond belief and give that grub Shorten a free kick he surely does not deserve but MT got his gig by appearing like some sort of smooth operator. He is an arrogant dill just a different kind of arrogant dill to Abbott, Gillard or Rudd.

    1725

    • #
      Kinky Keith

      Even after the first line, you were on target for all the rest so was going to give a greenie.

      Then the real message in the last line.

      None of us are perfect, We are all flawed; yes, even Abbott.

      Trouble for Trumble is that most Australians can see that Tony Abbott is coming from the right place and has our best interests at heart.

      Any prime minister who plants trees as Australia’s contribution to the CO2 dilemma is giving the middle finger to the U.N.IPCCCCC and the Paris thing, and earns my support.

      Sorry.

      444 T

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      • #
        Komrade Kuma

        KK, I get your point, and a lot of people here would go with that, you like Abbott and up to a point I agree with your appraisal of him. His performance in Aboriginal Affairs and stuff like the tree planting let alone his his take down of KRudd & Dillard to get back to government are all big pluses. Unfortunately his Sir Prince Phillip moment illustrated to me that his talents while good are very narrow banded and once outside that band he was at best ‘at sea’ or at worst just hopeless. He destroyed any broader credibility he might have had with such a gormless ‘Capains Pick’, heck it was a Captains Nose Pick with Eating the Boogie thrown in. He only just survived that moment of ill judgement bacause it was clear there was no clear alternative but M.T. Rumball and no one was ready for that given his series of dumb calls (ute gate, Copenhagen kumbaya and such and then ratf&%ked by the Greens – v. bad look).

        That his ‘genius’ gruppenfuhrer/mob boss office headkicker did not kill it dead says plenty about her. He may have well flashed his willy out from his red speedos it was so stupid imo. As PM he is PM for the country not just his side of politics let alone the ‘conservative’ parts of it. Abbott might be a battlefield hero but that does not make him a good leader in ‘civilian life’.

        Abbott’s great weakness on climate madness is not so much his calling it out as fraudulent crap, that is precicely what it is, but him not having a more sophisticated, forensic cross examination approach to it because, like it or not, he is up against the msm monster feeding off the alarmist headlines plus big academia plus big green plus big alternative energy plus the big end of town now ‘bitch slapped’into eco compliance. Whether you like it or not the real world requires a serious and public cross examination of the whole fraudulent scam. Sites like this or WattsUp are fine but basically a private get together.

        Calling a RC or some other non parliamentary commission of enquiry say into the temperature record might have been a start or a public examination of the true cost structure of ‘renewables’ vs coal/gas including the issue of ‘despatchability’. But he didn’t, he just shouted at the monster and gave the impression that was his only weapon.

        If you are going to argue the case against big green just calling it out as a fraud is not going to do it away from places like this and just gives the eco loons the option to call you a knuckle dragging ‘denier’, i.e. reducing it to a shouting match. A shouting match with the array of self interests listed above is a surefire way to lose the argument imo. Good cross examination asks the killer question politely. Watch the two QC’s flensing the banks and AMP etc at the RC. That is how to do it. Meek, mild, polite until the scalpel is at the throat at which point they can cut deep or simply let the witness answer the question while the beads of sweat roll down their face with the camera’s zoomed in. Abbott appears to want to swing an axe like some Viking berserker (in red speedo’s) and gets regarded accordingly.

        Anyway M.T. has ‘ratf&$ked’ himself, again, over the NEG and Dutton is looking the best option according to the media (for what that is worth).

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        • #
          Kinky Keith

          I like your idea of a Royal Commission.

          It should be entitled;

          “A Royal Commission to Establish the Veracity of the claim that Human Origin CO2 is capable of elevating atmospheric temperature.

          Conditions Applying:
          Every university in Australia is required to provide two expert scientists to discuss and outline the mechanisms by which CO2 can heat the air. Experts would be from the disciplines of Physics and Chemistry.

          Signed

          Malcolm L Turnbull. PM.
          ____________________________
          Such a Royal Commission would establish conclusively that CO2 does not and cannot selectively “heat” the atmosphere.

          Even IF there was such a mechanism it is rendered irrelevant by quantitative facts.

          The major players in the Greenhouse Fantasy are;
          Atmospheric water and Natural Origin CO2 which individually and collectively dwarf any potential input from the much maligned Human Origin CO2.

          I think that such an inquiry would drive a dagger through the heart of the CAGW Myth.

          The pure science of gases needs to be examined.

          444 T

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          • #
            Ian George

            I’m waiting for some politicians/any politician to put the BoM’s temp record ACORN to the test.
            Question:-
            * all the adjustments, homogenisations and shading that have lead to a distortion to the temp record;
            * the practice of allowing one second recording of AWS and then comparing it to pre-AWS recording is wrong (especially since they adjusted the temps of Stevenson Screens compared to Glaisher Stands);
            * using the 1961-1990 averages as a longterm average for the majority of sites which distorts the true overall average for those sites;
            * the sometimes total disconnect in temps between the AWAP temps and ACORN temps for a particular site.

            For example, check the adjustments to the temps since ACORN.
            Notice all all temp adjustments prior to 1970 are down but after 1990 they’re up.
            http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/acorn-sat/images/temperature-trends.png

            Just one poli, please.

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            • #
              Ian George

              For example, today Casino had a max temp at 2:18pm of 20.8C.
              At 2:10pm it was 19.5C – at 2:20pm it was 19.9C. So the temp rose 1.3C in 8 mins and dropped 0.9C in 2 mins.
              What mercury-in-glass thermometer would have picked that spike up?

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          • #
            Graeme#4

            I don’t believe that a polite commission will achieve anything. To counter the aggressive attitudes of GetUp and the greens, we too have to be aggressive in what we say. The general public doesn’t understand the science that’s discussed here, so tell them about the impacts to them, the elderly and their hip pockets that are being caused by this adherence to a false doctrine. Keep the message simple and back it up with facts when challenged. But we need to be out there where it matters.

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            • #
              Bobl

              Been trying to say that for a while, this has moved past science into seance, this is a gaian religion trying to impose it’s belief system on society. It’s succeeding, but we need to recognize that environmentalism is a religion and apply the separation of state and religion doctrine to refuse to legislate the errant beliefs. Plastic bags are a case in point.

              Causing the death of grannies though a decision to heat or eat is the moral question here, is a millionth of a degree reduced greenhouse heating in a hundred years worth the premature death of even one granny or one baby this winter through unaffordable energy prices. Is making zero difference to oceanic plastic worth grannies struggling with armfuls of loose groceries for want of a 1/10th cent plastic bag. This religion is evil, it worships a fake idol, and that’s why they can justify the excess winter deaths. The idol isn’t a humanistic god watching the flock it’s a mere object the “earth” looking out for everything except people. Evil is too soft a word.

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              • #
                OriginalSteve

                Speaking of pointless gestures……freezing pay rises vs millions squirted against the wall funding scientifically unprovable man made climate nonsense…..yes , and now they can also start paying the taxpayer back too….set up a payments plan…might take them a few years….but its a start….

                http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-20/new-zealand-pm-jacinda-ardern-costs-herself-13000-pay-rise/10143712

                “Ms Ardern said the formula currently used by the Remuneration Authority — which the independent body had no control over — was “not acceptable”.

                “Now, this move doesn’t save a lot of money in the scheme of things, but it does send, we believe, a strong signal about what our government values, what we stand for, and our determination of course to make sure that the economy is working for everyone,” she said.”

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              • #
                OriginalSteve

                Bobl…the best method is – mockery of the gaian religion.

                Once you can show scientifically it doesnt stack up, the whole belief structure falls apart.

                Then if you want to really get people ticked off against the New Ager Occultists who drive this evil mess, you just tell the punters how much their standard of living is going to fall.

                If you get a chance, don’t forget to mention that Nazism and the Gaian mafia have a lot in common in terms of beliefs and approach to getting things done. The New Agers like Blavatsky et al were happy to offer resisters a “benevolent death” if they didn’t accept the New Age “Christ”/”Matreia”. People need to know of the black heart that drives this stuff. Its very real.

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              • #
                Komrade Kuma

                Pretty much agree with you there OS but the brutal reality is that, like most well organised religions, the apparatchiks are expert propagandists and fear mongers. Bob Brown is a classic but so are the Islamists and hillbilly Christians. They sow fear and then link salvation to their ideology. The problem is that if you are reacting it is like trying to do counterinsurgency – it requires skill, patience and ruthlessness. Making tactical mistakes or emotive reactions is the worst thing you can do. That is how the Yanks stuffed up Iraq and that is the basis for my lack of support for Abbott.

                If you are gonna take these lying, conniving, BS peddling eco scum on you have better skewer them because otherwise they just squeal denier, denier etc to an audience that is already on edge.

                Tried to talk to me 19 yo daughter about the horse manure stuff on ABC 7:30 about the sniffle, sniffle poor dying GBR.. pointless – the reef is in danger in her mind bacause she has be frightened by the propaganda and in that state of mind the facts are not that interesting. Its the same as the lynch mod mentality.. once their dander is up guilt or innocence of the target is of little interest – their righteous passion must be assuaged…

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              • #
                Bobl

                Not sure whether you’ll read this Kuma but ask the 19 YO if it’s better that the reef has a few harmless bleaching events every now and again, or her gran or baby niece (if she has one) dies from the cold next week

                Perspective, is the trick here. We can reduce CO2 by planting trees which is harmless, or we can do it by making electricity too expensive to use for grannies and young families, you choose, which is better? Point out how evil it is to address GBR problems by putting grannies and babies at risk.

                20

          • #
            Komrade Kuma

            You need to add in the effect of CO2 ‘greening’ the planet’s biosphere and ) at least in the land biosphere) stashing away energy at around 30 to 40 megajoules per kG of dry biomass ( i.e. hydrocarbons) and simultaneously shunting 2.23 kilojoulse per kG of water evaporotranspirated as part fo the process, taking energy as the laatent heat of vaporisation ‘upstairs’ until it is shed when the vapour forms droplets => clouds => rain/snow/hail The latter ccomes back to the surface while the energy is radiated into space.

            HM ‘heat’ is actually left to drive global warming? Is it possible we actually get global cooling which is hidden due to the masive influence of ‘heat islands’ from the vast increase in bitument and concrete generally and of course the consequent heat pollution affecting thermometer readings.

            And then there is the self servig fraud….

            20

      • #
        Peter C

        444 T

        You have been signing off with 444T, KK.

        I am not smart enough to figure it out.

        50

      • #
        Old44

        Even Bob Hawke with his billion trees?
        Well a billion after the 600 million that were selfsown and the 350 million that were planted by state governments.
        Marvellous what you can do with political statistics.

        00

    • #
      Jonesy

      Abbott is many things but arrogant is not one of them. This trainwreck started years ago when Turnbull branch staked to gain a seat…he didnt even have the conviction of service or even a basic argument to win preselection in a blue ribbon Liberal seat. He should have stayed begging for an ALP senate seat…suits Turnbull to a T…unrepresentative swill!

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    • #
      Geoffrey Williams

      Kuma, you’ve certainly upset some people on this site, but I do not think that you deserve nine red noses! Much of what you say is correct, but your comments on storage are off the money. With a continuous system of power generation storage is an unnecessary expense. Also please don’t criticise Tony Abbot at this time, he is one of the people who is totally against the NEG and he is someone with reat honesty and courage.
      Keep trying you’re nearly there.
      Regards GeoffW

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      • #
        Annie

        I lost interest in the komrade’s comments because I find the language he uses about Tony Abbott completely unacceptable. For me it renders his comments ones not to bother with and they seem out of kilter with the general tone of Jo’s blog. Annie

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        • #
          Annie

          For the record, I like Tony Abbott, he is the only PM recently to have decency and leadership. I daresay he has made his mistakes and doubtless will learn from them. Who among us all hasn’t made mistakes that we cringe over in retrospect. Please don’t keep making such obnoxious comments about him Komrade K.

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        • #
          James Murphy

          There are tiny pearls of wisdom in the text, but I find it hard to take someone seriously when they resort to tawdry name calling like ‘Dillard’ instead of ‘Gillard’. It’s like being in primary school again.

          I also have to admit, that given the way the media relentlessly attacked (and attacks) Abbott, such commentary makes me wonder how much of the hatred is as a result of this, and how much is as a result of at least a modicum of independent thought.

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          • #
            clivehoskin

            The”Leftards”are scared stiff of Abbott,Just like they are scared stiff of President Trump.”You know your over the target when the flack is thick.”

            10

      • #
        yarpos

        Ive got to say the Abbott fan club intensity here is lost on me. He has never struck me as particularly fabulous in comparison to the pack and for a leadership role seems to have difficulty communicating his message. Not anti really, but on the other had dont yearn for a return either.

        22

    • #
      Geoff

      He added the Paris targets so he could move on to be leader of the UN. Just like Rudd, Gillard, Bishop, Lucy.

      The real news here is that EVERY time a major change in government spending is announced, just before the announcement share trades happen that benefit certain relatives.

      Lucy needs to get grilled by the ASX.

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      • #
        Sceptical Sam

        The real news here is that EVERY time a major change in government spending is announced, just before the announcement share trades happen that benefit certain relatives.

        Now that is interesting Geoff.

        Have you a few examples of the market leading the decision, that you might share with us?

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        • #
          Geoff

          Yes. Better to send them to the appropriate authority. The problem is how do you stop someone discussing cabinet business with their spouse? Is it legal? Probably. If Lucy wants to be PM, then get elected.

          40

          • #
            Sceptical Sam

            No. It is not legal to expose Cabinet deliberations with anybody who does not carry Cabinet-in-Confidence clearance.

            Even pillows are supposed to be made of semi-permeable membranes.

            But name the companies for us Geoff. I’d like to have a look at their price action on the charts. Go on. Just three?

            30

    • #
      Bobl

      Komrade,
      Close but no banana. Storage doesn’t make renewables better, it makes them worse. Let me explain. Let’s say you have a battery backed solar panel, so instead of the panel, mounts, and an inverter you now have panel, battery charger , battery , inverter, mounting hardware and a battery shed. You have roughly tripled the amount of hardware, you’ve doubled the number of points of failure and you’ve introduced a battery charging and energy recovery loss into your system.

      So, tripling the hardware triples the CO2 debt at commissioning. IE by they time your solar panel is installed and running a certain amount of CO2 has been released though manufacturing and constructing all the bits. Also any CO2 saving is reduced about 20% by the charging and energy recovery loses introduced by the battery storage system. Battery backed solar never pays down the CO2 debt with CO2 savings and battery backed solar therefore emits more CO2 than using grid (Coal) fired electricity!

      The second issue is that storage systems don’t create energy, they just smear it over your toast. A 200W solar panel gives you about 1kWh a day. You can take that without batteries as about 170Watts over 6 hours or you can (with a battery) take it as 40watts over 24 hours. If I want to get 200Watts over that 24 hour period then I need 5 x 200 watt panels to charge batteries enough to give me 200watts every hour over 24 hours and that’s on a good bright day. Introduce even light cloud and you are going to need 10×200 Watt panels to put enough charge in your battery and 1kWh battery capacity to get just 200watts on average. This is called overbuild.

      Now given the overbuild increases the CO2 debt even more and makes saving CO2 even more unlikely then tell me, exactly what is the point of installing the unreliable tech anyway.

      Wouldn’t you be better off just using the Coal fired energy to power your house, instead of using the coal fired energy to make overbuild quantities of solar panels, batteries, chargers and inverters, capable of 2kW which you then use to provide just 200W to your house?

      This is the math, don’t get me wrong, solar is useful in certain applications, microgrids in particular where in combination with a diesel generator they can reduce fuel costs. But let’s not kid ourselves, it’s the diesel generator that provides the reliability.

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  • #
    TdeF

    Yes an interesting time ahead with Turnbull’s approach to policy representing the Australian game of two up. That’s what happens when you are trying to please your friends in Labor, the Greens and the ABC and Goldmann Sachs while trying to hang onto your job. However the inexplicable and even close to criminal gift of $444Million to Lucy’s rich business friends is possibly more erratic than even his energy policies, if you can call them that. Even quiet philanthropist Michael Myer has said it is past absurd and “shocking and almost mind-blowing”

    As for the ABC/SMH Fairfax reporting, their desperation to avoid the return of the hated Abbott, Abbott, Abbott is reaching fever pitch. Peter Dutton though does not appear to have enemies. Then the idea yesterday of Abbott for Foreign Minister has tremendous merit, despite the feeling that clearly and in justice Abbott should not have lost the job in the first place in a coup by his ministers. The ‘bed wetters’ who did this are all gone now.

    Abbott would be a tremendous Foreign Minister, extraordinarily well qualified and famously prophetic in Europe. His Masters in Oxford in International Politics and degrees in law and economics mean he is incredibly well qualified and justifiably respected.

    He would bring necessary order to DFAT, an organization which has plainly lost its way as career public servants have no direction and even contradictory directions with respect to the US and China and Russia, the world’s superpowers.

    Bishop seems a UN party girl and Malcolm has no interest and absolutely no idea. Rudd was a Chinese speaking man of the world as a former diplomatic assistant compared to the hapless duo of Bishop and Turnbull trying to buy respect with our cash. Then our position on embattled Israel has been close to disgraceful. It may be a theocracy like every other government in the Middle East, but at least it is a real democracy and very deserving of support. It was created by the United Nations in 1948 over the strong objections of the United States. Now the US is its only defender.

    For Australia, our billions directed at the ratbaggery of the puppet show at the UN and the IPCC would be better spent picking winners and making friends in the Pacific and taking clear positions on North Korea, Iran and China. Being an obvious enemy of Donald Trump and friend of the EU/UN is simply insane for an island nation in the South Pacific. Buying so called ‘carbon credits’ from the EU is farcical for the world’s biggest coal exporter.

    So we all hope for an end to the random tyranny of Turnbull’s Liberals and even Abbott supports Dutton. Menzies saw himself as a more Liberal conservative but never as a modern ‘progressive’ which means dedicated socialist with money. That was more self aggrandisement from a faux Prime Minister whose ego dwarfs his real knowledge of politics except perhaps for that of his great uncle, George Lansbury leader of the British Labor party who managed famously to be on the wrong side of history every time.

    That $444million gift, Snowy II, the NEG,even the NBN and the absurd submarines could be stopped, saving us billions. Repeal the RET and get rid of the National energy bodies and laws. It’s obvious they are the problem. No more shallow but very rich Prime Ministers.

    A fun week ahead.

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    • #

      “That $444million gift, Snowy II, the NEG,even the NBN and the absurd submarines could be stopped, saving us billions. Repeal the RET and get rid of the National energy bodies and laws.”

      Yep, all that. No point otherwise.

      A new leader will need to be thick-skinned and find ways around the media. He will have few friends beyond a supportive public, who will have to be reached in new ways. I’d suggest some abrupt replies, cold stares and hints of terror for the ABC.

      The banksters and carpetbaggers of Big Green will howl. It’s no fun inventing money unless you can tell the mugs where and how to shovel it.

      The submarine deal was likely a NATO way of paying off the French MIC for steering clear of Russia (and dumping those Russia-bound chopper carriers into the bargain bin for Egypt), so it won’t just be the French and South Australians who are unhappy. But the deal is a colossal absurdity we can in no way afford. The French groups involved are also notorious around the world for…I won’t say more.

      Yes, a new leader with serious reform intentions will be up against it. It will be a dice roll with few chances. But it’s better than no dice. Shorten has cynicism written all over his moosh, it would show through a paper bag over his head. Once he gets his shot it’s all over. So we roll the dice now.

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      • #
        Sceptical Sam

        The French groups involved are also notorious around the world for…I won’t say more.

        Well, I will:

        Backsheesh?

        50

      • #
        yarpos

        “A new leader will need to be thick-skinned and find ways around the media. He will have few friends beyond a supportive public, who will have to be reached in new ways. I’d suggest some abrupt replies, cold stares and hints of terror for the ABC.”

        Sounds eerily familiar, let me think, where have we seen this recently?

        40

      • #
        clivehoskin

        Who-ever takes over WHEN “Malcolm the Magnificent”gets the boot,had better jump on the ABC,as his first step.They MUST be made to comply with the PEOPLES WISH’S.NO EXCEPTION….

        20

  • #
    Sweet Old Bob

    Need more posters here to also post on WUWT about this .
    Seems there’s some interest there … get the word out as much as possible !

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  • #
    Yonniestone

    Dump Turnbull but don’t let him have his way with leaving climate traps that are near impossible to overturn or agreements that legally lock the country into globalist rubbish.

    Problem is if by some miracle Dutton manages to snatch a national victory the public won’t realise how close to disaster they came and wouldn’t have learnt anything come next election, they have a choice reeducation the fast or slow way.

    The LNP should adopt the practice of decimation or at least paddling out.

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    • #
      glen Michel

      Dutton is the best choice in my opinion.If he wins the leadership he should address the nation and lay down the realities in a succinct and forthright manner. Then he has to keep it up. Keep it on message so we dumb plebs can understand it. Turnbull and his minions OUT!

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      • #
        angry

        Where does Dutton stand on the Global Warming SCAM ???

        We don’t want yet another zealot.

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        • #
          glen Michel

          Hopefully on side angry.I’ll call him OK – just a hunch.

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          • #
            Bobl

            Your hunch is wrong, Dutton is a political coward, back in the day when it looked like Dutton would lose his seat in my electorate of Dickson after a redistribution. Dutton tried to abandon the seat for a safer one if I recall correctly Howard refused to let him. He also doesn’t answer his mail.

            That tells me all I need to know about Dutton. Bring on Abbott.

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    • #
      James Murphy

      Dutton might get up as leader until the election (seems to be the only real option), but the media campaign against him is almost as strong as it was (and is) against Abbott. Dutton is portrayed as an inhumane bully, and, while the more extreme left would never vote Liberal, their irrational screeching (such as referring to him as a a racist, a fascist, and a murderer) has an inevitable impact.

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      • #
        glen Michel

        The Left will certainly go after him. He will need traction and I think that he has the temperament to appeal to many.All hypothetical as they say.If he succeeds I will suggest he builds a new Circus Maximus.5 days of entertainment and free bread and beer for the citizenry.

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  • #
    graham dunton

    This Heartland Institute podcast, will very likely be of interest to you, during this ongoing Federal leadership debate.
    Graham
    The Heartland Daily Podcast
    Climate, Energy, and Environment Policy Changes Under President Donald Trump (Guest: Joe Bast)
    https://soundcloud.com/user-694711047/climate-energy-and-environment-policy-changes-under-president-donald-trump-guest-joe-bast

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  • #
    Mark M

    Many think Tony Abbott is the answer, and, does seem to be the only person remaining to lead.

    This twitter exchange bears scrutiny.

    Abbott:
    Emissions targets that made sense three years ago when all countries were supposed to be in Paris and we didn’t need policy change and wouldn’t face economic dislocation do not make sense now.

    https://twitter.com/TonyAbbottMHR/status/1031018339856830466

    Malcolm Roberts:

    No Tony, emissions target have never made any sense. Economically or scientifically.

    You once said carbon taxes were “socialism masquerading as environmentalism”?

    You will be no better than Turnbull if you don’t have the courage to call BS on the failed AGW hypothesis.

    https://twitter.com/MRobertsQLD/status/1031038171730010112

    For moi, there-in is the money-shot.

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    • #
      Mark M

      bears = bares : )

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      • #
        TdeF

        Tony Abbott and even John Howard did accept the prevailing wisdom that there was a problem. Neither are scientists. Nor is Trump. As science oriented people on this blog, we know better but a lot of non science people, not unreasonably, believed the UN’s IPCC.

        However as in the podcast, all have since realised the alleged benefits of carbon dioxide abatement are not worth the massive cost. Besides, the effect on growth of carbon dioxide levels despite $1.5Trillion a year remains absolutely zero while temperatures have not increased significantly in twenty years now. There is simply no argument now that China, India, Russia and the US are out of any Paris commitments.

        Remember too that Abbott could meet our obligations simply by growing trees, his much applauded and useful direct action. In stopping Direct Action immediately and implementing Green policy and devastating power supplies, Turnbull has directly done the damage. As Abbott said at the time, since when did the Liberal party adopt textbook Green policy?

        352

      • #
        Kinky Keith

        bears is good.

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  • #
    TdeF

    Thanks. Quite informative, especially on the amazing role of Donald Trump undoing the massive economic damage done by Barack Obama who saw promotion of man made Global Warming as his core legacy. As in Australia, crippling fossil fuel power and in particular coal mining and use has been devastating.

    I would add that this is not just about heating and cooling homes. Low cost, plentiful and reliable electricity is fundamental to manufacturing and manufacturing is fundamental to the prosperity of the United States. I wish that was true in Australia, but at Federal and State levels, manufacturing has been shut down and sent overseas, reversing decades of investment after WW2 to make Australia independent as much as possible. The attraction for many was the combination of our mineral resources coupled with our plentiful and cheap coal power. However that is not what the European bankers want. Yes, they do conspire to turn countries into economic basket cases. It makes things cheaper, economic imperialism dressed up as environmentalism.

    The farce is that we are now paying hundreds of millions in secret to the foreign owners of smelters just to employ people at Portland, Port Pirie and Whyalla to cover up the devastation of those industries. Now under the NEG they are being threatened with fines from $1Million to $100million for doing what they are supposed to do. You cannot shut a smelter on a moment’s notice. That’s not possible.

    So they will get the hint and leave, like the car and aircraft, bus and truck manufacturers. If the progressives get their way, we will importing food too once Paris dictates the slaughter of our cattle and wildlife to lower methane levels. Coal is just the start.

    The world is already a much better and safer place with Donald Trump doing what America has always done. Lead the free world. According to the progressives, that leader is Angela Merkel. Let’s see how her legacy of uncontrolled migration of incompatible masses from Europe’s traditional enemies works out. Importing all the problems of the world into Europe means things will get a lot worse before they start to get better in a few generations. Problems are not being solved. They are being imported.

    291

  • #
    Another Ian

    ” Labor commits to 45% emissions reduction & Turnbull wants to do a deal with them
    Monday, 20 August 2018

    It takes exquisitely well developed ineptitude to be losing to this.”

    http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2018/08/labor-commits-to-45-emissions-reduction-turnbull-wants-to-do-a-deal-with-them.html

    130

  • #
    Roy Hogue

    Supporters of an overthrow of the Australian PM are phoning in, numbers are being tallied:

    I’m glad to see that there’s now a chance to have Turnbull removed. But my concern about parliamentary government remains. It was all too easy I think, to engineer Abbott’s removal by some smoke filled backroom deal. And now too easy to remove Turnbull, both without the benefit of an election.

    I expect backroom deals happen here too but at least a president cannot be removed from office with so little a thing as a vote of no confidence. It takes impeachment by the House of Representatives by simple majority and then trial in the Senate with 2/3 majority vote to convict before you can remove him.

    I wonder which of us, United States or Australia has the best deal in today’s world that seemingly is at war with itself over nonexistent problems of various kinds.

    I wish you good fortune and smoother sailing whether Turnbull is removed or not but I think if we had a parliamentary government Donald Trump would be gone by now.

    Some will dislike what I said here and that’s OK with me. Others will carefully think about the issue and reach their conclusions in a reasoned way and probably conclude as I have that there is no perfect form of self government. In the end it all depends on honesty both in the halls of government and the voting booth. We humans fail in both places.

    Again, good luck in getting rid of Malcolm Turnbull.

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    • #
      Kinky Keith

      Good analysis Roy.

      We have had far too many changes of leadership midterm, but
      whichever system we have is unfortunately going to have to deal with the fact that we, the voters, are often misinformed and so never get to understand what is happening.
      For the U.S., Trump was a gamble which seems to have paid off.
      For us it’s still a long way before we turn the corner and face reality.
      Here’s hoping that this is Our starting point.

      444 T

      140

      • #
        ivan

        KK said the voters, are often misinformed and so never get to understand what is happening.

        Is that really surprising when you consider what the young adults are being taught? See https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2018/08/19/tony-thomas-suffer-your-children/

        60

      • #
        Roy Hogue

        KK,

        I’m thinking it’s a good thing Trump remains in the White House. To lose him would lose you one of your best and most steadfast allies in time of trouble. Pence is an unknown and I doubt he would be as willing to fight when he should fight as Trump is.

        Whatever the future brings, I think we’re all more likely to regret it than like it.

        41

        • #
          angry

          MAGA……

          31

        • #
          Annie

          It’s great that Trump is in the White House and cannot be moved. You did, however, have his predecessors who couldn’t be moved either, although it seems they should have been. With a bad president you seem more in trouble. We have had a run of lousy PMs here (as they have in the UK too 🙁 ) and TA is the only one for whom I have had any respect…he certainly should not have been pushed out.

          131

          • #
            Roy Hogue

            Annie,

            You are absolutely right. We, meaning anyone even sightly conservative and sensible wanted Obama out of office. But the voters put him in a second time according to the same rules and the same system that is now such a thorn in the side of Democrats, progressives, RINOs, never Trumpers and everyone else with a complaint.

            And all I have with which to answer you is similar to what Chief Justice Roberts of the Supreme Court said when he wrote his opinion about the Obamacare individual mandate. The people deserve what they vote for. If Obama had been unpopular enough he would have had but one term. So as I said, neither way of doing things is perfect. I just prefer to know when a president will fall and have the chance to listen to his and the other arguments of candidates for president.

            30

            • #
              Roy Hogue

              At the least I can be proud that conservatives were not such sore losers as to have Maxine Waters making constant noise about impeachment.

              20

              • #
                Kinky Keith

                Occasionally, when I go on holidays I get to watch TV and the news and commentary programs like CNN&NNN.
                The hype and sense of constant catastrophism is just crazy.
                With that sort of watch bait constantly there it’s a wonder U.S. citizens can remain sane.
                🙂

                444 T

                20

              • #
                Roy Hogue

                Who said we were sane? 😉

                But it does cause one to wonder where the referee is. There are no rules of the game anymore.

                20

    • #
      PeterS

      I wonder which of us, United States or Australia has the best deal in today’s world that seemingly is at war with itself over nonexistent problems of various kinds.

      Neither is ideal- far from it. Both have their own good and bad points. All us Australians can do is deal with what we have and try to avoid going over the cliff. One issue we both share is very likely to be the last nail in the shared coffin – ever growing national debt, which will explode in our faces at some stage in the future. For the time being we have more immediate issues to keep us busy, such as the energy crisis and immigration explosion both of which Trump is on top of and has moved on. We unfortunately are well behind and have a lot of catch up to do on both points. Whether we can have a new leader who can solve these issues as easily remains to be seen. If the LNP manages to allow Shorten to become PM, I for one would welcome Trump to invade Australia before the Chinese do, at least to keep the better music going for a little longer 🙂

      100

      • #
        OriginalSteve

        Well the russians have offloaded most of their US debt and the chinese are the ones who can hoist the USA on its own economic petard. I suspect a fair chunk of the world are getting sick of the USA throwing its weight around, so if push comes to shove, the BRICS nations will formally refuse to use the US dollar for trade, thus dooming the USD.

        Then China calls in the US debt and its all over….

        32

        • #
          PeterS

          I agree in the end the US is fu….d. and so is the rest of the West. Moves are already afoot to replace the US$ as the world’s reserve currency. When that happens the decline of the US will accelerate. But in the meantime let’s keep the music going as long as possible (for selfish reasons).

          21

  • #
    Kinky Keith

    TdeF and Yonnie.

    Got it all covered there but the rewards for this current upheaval could extend even past the subject of climate change catastrophism to include a cleanup of thinking and attitudes in many other areas.

    Federal, state and local governments and their bureaucracies have been infested with an attitude that has misdirected effort for financial and political gain for too little gain on behalf of taxpayers. Time for change.

    Perhaps this current Churn can give power to a redirection of purpose, as Yonnie said, maybe we need to think “decimation” as a first step.

    Get back to basics: after all, isn’t that what they’re there for?

    KK

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    • #
      PeterS

      Spot on. Another way of looking at it is there is only room for one left leaning, global warming, anti-dam, anti-farmer major party. We need the second major party to be the opposite of the other one to give people a clear and decisive choice. If people really want to follow the policies of the ALP+Greens then so be it. If they want to follow conservative if not centre-right wing policies like what the LNP used to follow then so be it. Turnbull must go or the LNP is dead and gone.

      261

      • #
        angry

        Exactly!

        We don’t want a One Party Country……….

        70

        • #
          PeterS

          A One Nation party would be nice 🙂 Seriously though a coalition of ON, ACP and perhaps one or more others plus the right side of the LNP would be ideal to compete with the ALP+Greens. What’s left of the LNP can join the ALP where they belong.

          20

        • #
          clivehoskin

          I call them the Uni-paty.There isn’t any difference between the two.

          00

    • #
      TdeF

      I would love to see a review of Gonski II, like Snowy II. Surely if Gonski was the right man to design Labor’s education, he cannot be the right man for the Liberals?

      Pyne and now Birmingham have set the Liberal party against the Catholic church who have traditionally educated a large proportion of Australians and Australian voters past and present. Their popular schools are facing ruin under Simon Birmingham’s regime. Catholic parents are now being told from the pulpit to vote Labor.

      Why? This isn’t rocket surgery. Why is Turnbull punishing Catholic education? Why is Turnbull adopting Gillard’s entire approach on education? Why is he destroying the conservative Liberal party or is that the entire answer?

      111

      • #
        OriginalSteve

        Because we are a one party state.

        As I have stated multiple times, we have each “party” with its own different wrapper, but underneath all are globalists in the main parties…

        This is why the same agenda goes forward, no matter who you “vote” for.

        Without the illusion of “choice” the punters in this country would riot….

        70

      • #

        is 20% a large proportion?

        14

  • #
    Another Ian

    “MCCRANN: TURNBULL CANNOT SELL A POLICY THIS DUMB”

    “Terry McCrann says there’s no way Malcolm Turnbull can persuade voters that his NEG will cut both emissions and prices: ”

    https://www.heraldsun.com.au/blogs/andrew-bolt/mccrann-turnbull-cannot-sell-a-policy-this-dumb/news-story/ddf3f0c12f073ce670f1883818d0ebb9

    Hopefully!

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  • #
    Jonesy

    Last night’s Newspoll should be enough of a push…45/55!

    90

    • #
      Sceptical Sam

      Those numbers along with a clear statement of action by Dutton/Abbott that includes the following should do the trick:

      Withdraw from the Paris fiasco;

      Phase out all renewables subsidies;

      Take action to open up land based gas exploration and production;

      Abandon Snowy II;

      Facilitate the development of modern low emission coal fired power stations;

      Hold a Royal Commission into the possible use of nuclear power for Australia;

      Reduce immigration numbers to not more than 100,000 per year;

      Undertake an independent audit of the BoM;

      Re-balance the GST distribution to WA;

      Repeal 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975; and,

      Re-evaluate the adverse impacts of Gonski II.

      444 T

      130

      • #
        glen Michel

        FREE BEER FOR THE MASSES.

        10

      • #
        Mal

        And get rid of the leftist biased GayBC

        70

      • #
        Bobl

        actually, just close down the Commonwealth education dept, that runs no schools, dump the national curriculum and leave education to the states. Save 2Bn right there.

        30

        • #
          Sceptical Sam

          You’re right Bobl. That’s an excellent proposal.

          Prior to Whitlam the C/W had a very light hand in education. The rot started from that point.

          And give the chop to the Environment dept at the same time. That’d be another billion saved I’d guess.

          20

  • #
    PeterS

    It also has to be the last time. In fact Turnbull should be booted out of the Liberal Party to avoid yet another repeat of his treacherous methods of becoming a leader but of course the LNP is spineless and gutless to do what is absolutely necessary to remove the cancer. Hopefully he resigns from politics.

    200

    • #
      el gordo

      I see Turnbull going to the backbench and retiring at the next election, a political non entity returning to the big end of town.

      80

      • #
        PeterS

        I can live with that provided he doesn’t return to his white-anting tactics, which I suspect will tempt him so much he won’t resist. Better he just goes away sooner rather than later. I find it hard to imagine him quietly sitting on the backbench for that long while doing nothing.

        80

        • #
          el gordo

          No his political career is finished, its back to the big end of town where the real money is.

          Rumours swirling around the ABC says Turnbull will give up the big chair by tomorrow night. Hope you are happy, this is all your doing.

          50

          • #
            PeterS

            Good. I wish it was my doing – Turnbull would have been dumped years ago 🙂

            110

            • #
              OriginalSteve

              Turnbull doesnt care…..being PM was just a bit of fun before retirement

              He’s been trashing the country on behalf of his globalist pay-masters with great loyalty….

              50

          • #
            ColA

            Their ABC is only salting everything in sight to drive their own communist agenda!
            That’s the first thing Dutton should do drain their Aunties SWAMP!

            80

            • #
              el gordo

              Before we dismantle the ABC its important they explain to the masses that CO2 doesn’t cause global warming, otherwise they won’t know what to believe.

              The Guardian and Fairfax would reluctantly fall in behind this media Renaissance. We only require balance and the people will decide.

              80

              • #
                ColA

                Not dismantle, you drain a swamp by first removing all the DROSS on top = replace the CEO with Peta Credlin or similar, she would then replace every 2nd person with a conservative and make sure both sides were heard equally!

                41

              • #
                PeterS

                Alternatively the government could split the ABC budget into two and give one half to a new broadcaster biased to the right to promote competition with the ABC left. The audience participation stats would be interesting.

                31

              • #
                el gordo

                You appear to be unaware that the masses have been brainwashed into believing the end of the world is nigh, if we act too soon they will say its a right wing dictatorship who don’t care about the planet.

                We only need to get balance in the ABC newsroom to eliminate propaganda.

                Imagine a Catalyst program that explains coral bleaching is caused by a drop in sea level, which happens during strong El Nino, so it has nothing to do with the build up of CO2 in the atmosphere.

                Patience is required and a steady hand, but in due course the people will clamour for its demolition.

                31

              • #
                yarpos

                The masses dont watch the ABC

                30

  • #
    PeterS

    The party really must be very careful as to who they elect as the new leader of the LNP. I have some doubts as to whether Dutton is the right man for the job. He could be but we need more information as to what changes he will make to various policies, with the energy policy the key. The last thing we need is someone who is a watered down version of Turnbull. If that did happen we might as well give up and wait for the crash and burn. We need a leader to turn the LNP a complete 180 around away from the same general direction the ALP+Greens are taking. I believe there are a number of candidates who could easily fit in that role. Craig Kelly would be one of them.

    150

    • #
      el gordo

      ‘… someone who is a watered down version of Turnbull.’

      That won’t happen, but does he have the bottle to pull out of Paris and throw out the RET?

      I think he wants the Coalition to win the next election and will do whatever it takes, because its the will of the people.

      61

      • #
        PeterS

        I hope not. The will of the people is mixed, uncertain and ever changing. We need to break the current alignment of the two major parties to give the people a distinctive choice. That will require a new leader who will promise the withdraw from the Paris Agreement, scrap the RET schemes and renewables subsidises to create a real level playing field (not the fake one that Turnbull is trying to implement with his ALP-reviewed NEG) and cut our immigration rate significantly. If the will of the people prefers the ALP+Greens then it’s really no worse than the current situation given they will win the next election anyway if Turnbull stays. If the will of the people is to move away from the ALP+Greens madness and economic suicide then LNP under a new leader with said new policies will win the next election comfortably. It’s now up to the Liberal Party to make the change or be thrown out.

        90

        • #
          el gordo

          Peter we have six months to convince the electorate that CO2 doesn’t cause gorebull worming, how hard could it be?

          10

          • #
            PeterS

            Dead easy. If they keep listening to Cory they should eventually get with the program. It started a long time ago….
            https://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2017/feb/07/how-cory-bernardi-was-inspired-to-push-climate-denial-from-us-conservative-groups

            40

            • #
              RickWill

              I did not realise there were such vocal and sensible views that far back. No wonder Bernardi resigned the libs once Turnbull got the top spot. He would have been highly conflicted to offer support for Turnbull.

              Maybe if the LNP dump Turnbull Bernadi will come back to the Party. Preselection of Malcolm Roberts to the LNP would be a definite sign of positive change – unlikely though.

              80

              • #
                PeterS

                Yes Cory saw the light on the climate change scam way early. It was one of many reasons he left the party – he saw the train crash coming. He probably didn’t realise though it would take so long for the train to start coming off the rails. Apparently it still has a long way to go if LNP politicians chicken out and let Turnbull stay as their leader. Meanwhile the rest of the world is building more and more coal fired power stations and thumbing their noses at the Paris Agreement.

                100

              • #
                el gordo

                After the coup Cory could return to the fold and get a junior Ministry.

                The other thing is that Michael McCormack is going to get rolled, so that Barnaby can come back as deputy leader of the Coalition and head of the Nats.

                50

    • #
      Ian1946

      I believe that Peter Dutton would be a good choice, he has never been a lawyer or a banker and has real world experience from the his time in the Queensland Police.

      However, unless he is willing to do do a wholesale sacking of the lefties on the front bench getting rid of Bishop, Morrison, Frydenburg, Paine and Pyne etc we would be no better off as the architects of Turnbull’s policies would still be in a position of power.

      Abbott in foreign affairs, Hastie in defence, and Craig Kelly in energy would be a good start as all 3 have a good understanding of these areas and would drain the swamp.

      203

      • #
        yarpos

        being linked with the QLD Police has not always been the greatest reference

        hopefully that has changed in the current era

        20

        • #
          Annie

          That was very true some years back, I know from personal aquaintance of someone who was badly affected by what he went through with them. I trust things are now much improved.

          10

    • #
      beowulf

      I don’t mind Dutton, he’s a genuine sort of bloke I’m sure, but at a time when we need a firebrand PM to put a torch to the belly of Labor and the Greens, there’s poor old Dutton with the demeanour and charisma of an undertaker. Does he ever smile? Does he ever get passionate about anything? Do we know what his real beliefs are on global warming and renewables? Is he a luke-warmer?

      I know it’s him or Abbott, both decent blokes, but neither inspires me. Will they inspire the masses who believe in climate change to see the coal-fired light?

      31

  • #
    BoyfromTottenham

    All these comments raise the question – whither LNP policy if so many of the current ones are misguided? Good policy development is a slow process. The LNP, if they defenestrate Turnbull, will need to demonstrate pretty quickly that they have sensible new policies, and must then put them into effect. Should they simply resurrect previously abandoned policies, or take the time to properly develop new ones, and risk criticism for appearing to do nothing? A tough call by whoever who takes the reins. I don’t envy them.

    60

    • #
      PeterS

      I believe the election can be held around about a year from now so they have plenty of time to define then sell the new policies to the people. The problem of course is the Senate. After the right policies are clearly spelled out all the LNP has to do is call an election and let the people decide if the Senate blocks any of them. That’s as close to a real democracy in action as we can get.

      40

    • #
      angry

      Policies Required………

      No More m u s l i m immigration
      No more pandering to the global warming SCAM, abolish the RET and start building coal power stations, no more wind/solar allowed, stop allowing private companies to own our electricity grid (electricity is an essential service)

      That would be a great start !

      71

      • #
        PeterS

        The icing on the cake would be no more ABC, or as I suggested before cut their budget by half and use the other half to promote a competing conservative/right-wing public broadcaster.

        31

        • #
          clivehoskin

          I say,keep the ABC.But only if they are told in NO UNCERTAIN terms,that they adhere to their original charter,and ANY deviation will be instant sacking….

          00

  • #
    BoyfromTottenham

    By the way I am still waiting for someone to tell us why no politician wants to say “scrap the RET” in public. Is it fear of being sued, or something else? As I understand it, it is not a tax, or a government subsidy, so why the reluctance?

    170

    • #
      el gordo

      ‘Is it fear of being sued, or something else?’

      No its just politically incorrect, the grandchildren and planet need saving from dirty coal. The climate wars should be front and centre in the run up to the next election and the Coalition would win in a landslide, with the new broom sweeping out the green/left trash which litters parliament.

      60

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      BoyfromTottenham:

      The other way would be to keep the RET as “the target” but do nothing to enforce it as many countries are doing with their ‘feelgood’ pronouncements. Eliminate the subsidies. There will be squeals from the trough but this can be countered by turning the claims of the Greens against them as in “Renewables are cheap” etc. and pointing out that AGL had tripled their profits.
      Getting rid of the subsidies has 2 effects
      1. It gives a reduction in electricity bills in time for the Federal election next year.
      2. It prevents wind farms from undercutting coal, as their ‘cost to make’ is double that, but the subsidy has always allowed them to bid low and collect later. With the renewables not getting ‘rivers of gold’ the objection to new coal fired stations will disappear.

      With a bit of window dressing e.g. re-introducing tree planting, insisting that new HELE coal stations “have to guarantee lower emissions” and squeezing the current electricity suppliers, grid owners etc. “Look what the Royal Commission turned up about banks overcharging – perhaps we should have a RC into electricity”. The public might start to think of the Libeals as “on their side” not just money grabbing bast***s.

      100

  • #
    TdeF

    In the Australian this morning, there is now a second group who want Turnbull gone. The Nationals are angry about the total lack of consultation, a private meeting between Turnbull and Morrison and Frydenberg to hammer out energy changes and then the changes announced on Facebook? So much for cabinet solidarity and the great communicator. This is an autocrat out of control.

    (An earlier report that Frydenberg was not there appears to have changed)

    170

  • #
    TedM

    “the ABC are quoting twitter and interviewing the opposition and the Greens.”

    How bloody typical of the ABC the Atheist Bolshevik Conspiritors

    Always Bag Conservatives

    80

    • #
      el gordo

      Aunty is calling the ginger group ‘knuckle draggers’ and the PM is unscrambling NEG.

      31

    • #
      angry

      ABC……

      Aljazeera Broadcasting Corporation

      Australian Bullshit Commission

      Australian Brainwashing Commission

      Allah Before Christians

      Always Broadcasting Crap

      Australian Brainwashing Collective

      20

  • #
    NB

    TdeF says: The world is already a much better and safer place with Donald Trump doing what America has always done. Lead the free world.
    Roy Hogue says: my concern about parliamentary government remains. … at least a president cannot be removed from office with so little a thing as a vote of no confidence

    Thought provoking.

    51

    • #
      PeterS

      Yes their system of impeaching a US President is a better way. The people decide who wins the Presidency not the the party in secret as is the case here. However, Turnbull must go to try and avoid Shorten becoming our next PM, which would be a disaster.

      71

    • #
      TdeF

      This assassination of a popularly elected Prime Minister had never happened with the Liberals before. Sure Gorton was removed at a party meeting but he voted against himself. Rudd and Abbott both won landslide elections and were removed by preplanned backroom politics. Labor was understandably different because they were run by the Unions committee and the ‘faceless men’ but they are openly a Union run Labor party.

      Abbott’s removal was not justifiable then or in hindsight. This was a first for the Liberals who by stealth and treachery by Abbott’s ministers put an ineffectual Labor leader in Abbott’s chair. To do this they scared the newly elected ‘bedwetters’ that they would lose their seats when in fact they all lost their seats because of their betrayal. Clearly voters preferred Abbott.

      So is the system broken? No. Turnbull will discover that he has had his chance, his three years of fame and power. He has adopted Green energy policies, Labor education policies, Labor alliances and massive National debt exceeding China’s external debt (Australian this morning) but somehow expects to be retained as leader of a Conservative party?

      The question is only whether Australia’s deplorables will get another chance of breaking free of the EU/UN economic subjugation of this country. Much damage has been done, none by Carbon Dioxide to the Great Barrier Reef. That is absurd.

      170

    • #
      Roy Hogue

      Thought provoking.

      Exactly what I intended.

      20

  • #
    TdeF

    In all the debate on the war on Carbon Dioxide, called Man Made Global Warming, Global warming and Climate Change and with all the tens of trillions of dollars spent and promised, has anyone checked to see how well it is working?

    The ONLY objective of the RET and the NEG and Carbon Credits and carbon offsets and the shutting of coal fired power stations and all the trillions including 350,000 giant windmills is to reduce world CO2. So how’s that going?

    Surely any half serious government should assess? It’s not as if people are not suffering but whether if they suffer much more things will be better?

    There is no sign in the Turnbull government or any government that the international war on carbon dioxide is anything but a fantasy because no one cares about the result. See if you can spot the windmills.

    120

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      TdeF:

      Yes. Talk of a Commission into the whole Global Warming scheme would leave the ABC hysterical more hysterical than usual.
      And while on that perhaps query why the ABC doesn’t obey its charter (as endorsed by 5 revious Labor PMs). Talk of a neutral umpire for all media?

      131

      • #
        OriginalSteve

        Maybe a royal commission/Nuremberg type trial would be a good thing…the Australian Bolshevik Collective would be dragged into it and could possibly be charged with distribution of political propaganda that undermines a countries well being….

        Bring back Sen Joe McCarthy…..

        40

    • #
      Roy Hogue

      TdeF,

      Why would anyone check to see if a grand scheme is working? If it doesn’t work blame it all on the other guy and keep complaining. In a few microseconds everyone will forget that anyone asked the question and you can go right on making more laws, inventing more schemes and doing business as usual and no one will be the wiser.

      10

  • #
    pat

    can’t access any of the following, apart from:

    Courier Mail-11 hours ago
    For the second time in past year, coal exports have been hampered by issues at the port. The wait time for ships at Dalrymple Bay is now about three weeks and the mining industry said the delays showed what was at stake for…

    from Press Reader: The Courier-Mail: 2018-08-20 – COAL BOOM CAR PARK
    The wait time for ships at Dalrymple Bay is now about three weeks and the mining industry said the delays showed what was at stake for Queensland…

    19 Aug: Daily Telegraph: Costly traffic snarl as coal ships queue off Queensland coast
    About 40 ships are sitting off the coast of Mackay as booming demand for coal combines with the Aurizon issue and maintenance at the site to create a multi-million-dollar traffic snarl…
    https://amp.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/costly-traffic-snarl-as-coal-ships-queue-off-queensland-coast/news-story/0aa191bb04ca61fdfb3eac519c176395

    14 Aug: Argus Media: DBCT coal vessel waiting times back to a month long
    The situation has alarmed some buyers in Asia as it is similar to the DBCT congestion that drove prices higher late last year, although there is some optimism that the vessel queues will shorten soon.
    “It looks like a very serious situation, but if we see the queues start to decline from here then I guess we have nothing to worry about,” an Indian buyer said…

    16 Aug: Argus Media: Indonesian coal trades emerge ahead of holiday
    Trade in the Indonesian thermal coal market was brisk today, supported by Chinese and Indian requirements ahead of a public holiday in the country tomorrow…

    20

    • #
      RickWill

      The demurrage on a typical bulk coal carrier is around $30,000/day. So with 40 ships in a queue the daily bill is around USD1.2M.

      Remember the NEG modelling had the price of thermal coal halving over the next 3 years to give the major saving!

      The only way to get lower electricity prices is to:
      1. Remove both the SRET and LRET transfer payments.
      2. Give electricity scheduling priority to coal ahead of grid scale intermittents and gas.
      3. Unbuffered rooftop solar has to be limited to the capacity of the available hydro stations.

      50

  • #
    toorightmate

    When Pyne tells Libs that Turnbull is our best hope, you know you really have got a gigantic problem.

    160

    • #
      PeterS

      Perhaps he means Turnbull is there best hope to destroy the LNP and allow their real leader Shorten to be PM.

      100

      • #
        TdeF

        Perhaps he means Turnbull as a Labor PM, which he is currently. All Turnbull has to do is agree. He does not even have to change parties or policies or politics. Or friends like Pyne or Bishop or Morrison.

        60

        • #
          PeterS

          In that case the conservative and centre-right polies can leave to join an ACP+ON alliance/coalition. That ought to create a group as large as what’s left of the LNP if not larger. Of course the next logical step is for the Turnbull and what’s left of the LNP is join with the ALP+Greens where they belong.

          40

        • #
          toorightmate

          Turnbull has shown us all that he is the best person to be leader – OF THE GREENS.

          20

    • #
      MudCrab

      I think when Pyne uses the word ‘our’ what he really means is ‘my’.

      If Turnbull goes down then Pyne is VERY unlikely to keep his flashy front bench spot.

      20

  • #
    PeterS

    Both Turnbull and Shorten are announcing very similar NEG and NEG-like policies with the express aim to reduce power prices. This is getting sillier and sillier. As far as I know at no time in the history of Australian politics have I seen both major parties agreeing on such a single major issue and telling nothing but lies.

    90

    • #
      philthegeek

      Lol! NEG is dead. Nuthin on offer will get through COAG.

      ALP are playing the politics of this well by offering bipartisan support to certain aspects of the NEG that would get it over every hurdle…….except the right wing of the Liberals. 🙂 Lib / Nats are eating themselves.

      60

      • #
        PeterS

        Yes the NEG is dead but when Shorten become PM we’ll have something even worse, all thanks to Turnbull. So he ends up winning on policy even though he won’t be PM. Such is his skill, which he must have learned while at Goldman Sachs. We just need the LNP to grow a collective spine and replace him with a leader who will promise the opposite of what Shorten wants to do – withdraw from the Paris Agreement and scrap all renewables RETs and subsidies, do a good job of selling those promises to the public and hope the people are awake and avoid letting Shorten to become the next PM. It’s all a big call.

        50

      • #
        el gordo

        You are wrong comrade, this is a political Renaissance and the Coalition will come from behind to win in a landslide.

        Its about climate change, don’t you know.

        Dutton has a sharp wit, but he has kept this light under a bushel until he becomes PM. He may go for a full frontal attack, but its better if Bill stays as Opposition leader until Albo eventually takes his place after the election.

        Abbott will make a grand Foreign Affairs Minister, explaining to world leaders that a build up of industrial CO2 won’t cause catastrophe.

        71

        • #
          philthegeek

          I love your brand of trolling humour el gordo.

          Dutton has a sharp wit, but he has kept this light under a bushel until he becomes PM.

          That one is gold. 🙂

          12

          • #
            el gordo

            Admittedly I have only heard him crack one joke, so I’m taking a bit of a punt. It is what it is.

            11

    • #
      angry

      Both policies will INCRESE electricity prices.

      Sick of bloody LYING politicians!

      41

  • #
    pat

    19 Aug: Washington Times: Stephen Moore: ‘Who’s the cleanest of them all’
    (Stephen Moore, a columnist for The Washington Times, is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economic consultant at FreedomWorks)

    GRAPHIC: Paris Accord Flop
    No European countries are meeting their targets for emission reductions agreed to in the Paris Climate Accord
    All but 5 countries aren’t even at 50% of their current targets.

    Take a wild guess what country is reducing its greenhouse gas emissions the most? Canada? Britain? France? India? Germany? Japan? No, no, no, no, no and no.
    The answer to that question is the United States of America. Wow! How can that be? This must be a misprint. Fake news. America never signed the Kyoto Protocol some two decades ago. We never enacted a carbon tax. We don’t have a cap and trade carbon emission program. That evironmental villain Donald Trump pulled America out of the Paris climate accord that was signed by almost the entire rest of the civilized world…

    The major reason for the reduced pollution levels is the shale oil and gas revolution that is transitioning the world to cheap and clean natural gas for electric power generation.
    Meanwhile, as our emissions fell, the pollution levels rose internationally and by a larger amount than in previous years. So much for the rest of the world going green…

    For every ton of reduced pollution the United States emits, China and India produce almost 10 more tons. This means it doesn’t really matter how much America reduces its greenhouse gases because China and India cancel out any and all progress we make.
    Those who think they are helping save the planet by purchasing an electric car, or putting a solar panel on their roof, or trying to shut down coal production in the United States are barking up the wrong tree. If we want to stop greenhouse gases, there is no way to make progress without China and India on board — which they clearly are not…

    Yet, we are being lectured by the sanctimonious Europeans and Asians for not doing our fair share to save the planet. It’s another case study in how the left cares far more about good intentions than actual results. What matters is that you say that you will wash the dishes, not that you actually do it.
    https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/aug/19/the-united-states-didnt-sign-the-paris-climate-acc/

    50

    • #
      Dave in the States

      Moore makes a tactical error or is misguided by going along with the common mislabeling of co2 emissions as a pollutant, and that reduced co2 emissions does anything to “save the planet.” Otherwise a good article.

      00

  • #
    pat

    interspersed with a little pro-RE stuff:

    20 Aug: The Nation Thailand: Surge in coal use scuttling climate change efforts
    By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM
    Energy analysts expect coal consumption in Southeast Asia and India to grow, as demand for the cheapest fuel is driving rapid economic expansion and offering big profits to investors in the electricity sector…
    The Global Coal Exit List, which was released at the UN Climate Summit in Bonn, Germany, last year, revealed that more than 770 companies were still actively engaged in coal-related business, that 225 firms were planning to expand coal mining and that 282 were planning new coal-fired power stations…

    This revival in the coal industry has also been mentioned in leading energy-monitoring reports since 2017. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that coal production last year had risen by 3.1 per cent, while coal consumption in the energy sector had also increased, by 1 per cent.
    According to the IEA’s 2018 coal overview, higher production has been noticed in all major coal-producing countries except Germany and Poland, while global trade in coal in 2017 rose by 3.3 per cent from the year earlier…

    The IEA said the growth in the coal industry could be blamed on the policy reversal in the United States and greater demand for coal in China and India. These largest coal consumers have both increased their demand for cheap fuel to produce power…

    Improved efficiency with new technology
    Parneix pointed out that GE’s ultra-supercritical combustion technology allows more electricity to be generated using smaller amounts of coal.
    Higher profits is another reason encouraging the continued use of coal, since it is the cheapest fuel option for power generation and can boast the highest profits from sales of power, Malaysia’s Tenaga Nasional Berhad Janamanjung managing director Shamsul Ahmad said.
    He said he believes coal will remain a major fuel for electricity generation in Southeast Asia mainly because the region is geographically close to major coal exporters such as Australia and Indonesia. Shamsul has 30 years’ experience in the energy industry and has spent many years at the largest coal-fired power plant in Southeast Asia – the 4,180MW Manjung facility in Perak.
    “Coal will remain a cheap source of energy for many decades because the world still has plenty of coal reserves left. Also, our society is driven by profit,” he said…
    http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30352490

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    • #
      Dave in the States

      Just as Tony from Oz has said would begin to happen. Economics trump environmentalist religious doctrine.

      00

  • #
    pat

    19 Aug: EconomicTimesIndia: Coal India expects 367 MT output from 115 projects by March 2019
    The PSU accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic production.
    There are 115 coal projects under implementation and the expected contribution from these by March 2019 is 367 MT, Coal India said in a report.

    CIL also said it has 65 new projects on the anvil with a “targeted capacity of 247.66 MT per year” out of which 27 are approved.
    It said efforts are on to augment investment in logistics and infrastructure for coal offtake adding that Operator Independent Truck Dispatch Systems are installed in 11 large opencast projects in 4 subsidiaries besides road and rail projects.

    The PSU has lined up Rs 9,500 crore as capital expenditure for 2018-19.
    CIL has planned robust investment in various other projects like ***Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP),…acquiring coking coal assets in Australia and Canada, coal gasification, during 2018-19…

    The company contributed 84 per cent to India’s total coal production in 2016-17.
    The dry fuel accounts for 56 per cent of India’s primary energy consumption.
    The PSU operates 369 mines via eight subsidiaries…
    https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/indl-goods/svs/metals-mining/coal-india-expects-367-mt-output-from-115-projects-by-march-2019/articleshow/65459590.cms

    ***Wikipedia: Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP)
    Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) are a series of ambitious power stations planned by the Government of India.[1] This would entail the creation of an additional capacity of at least 100,000 MW by 2022. Ultra Mega Power projects, each with a capacity of 4000 MW or above, are being developed with the aim of bridging this gap
    The Ministry of Power, in association with the Central Electricity Authority and Power Finance Corporation Ltd., has launched an initiative for the development of coal-based UMPP’s in India.

    Based on supercritical technology, 16,000 MW of capacity has been contracted through the competitive bidding process for UMPPs. The average tariff for these projects is in the range of ₹2-3 per kWh which is much lower than the recent cost plus tariffs. The first UMPP, developed by Tata Power at Mundra, Gujarat has been commissioned and contributes 4,000 MW in power to the Western grid…

    List of proposed UMPPs…DETAILS

    Operational costs
    The project is being developed with the intention of providing power to consumers at minimum cost. Because of the huge size of these power plants, the cost of the electricity would be lower due to the economies of scale…
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_Mega_Power_Projects

    10

  • #
    Another Ian

    Ray Hadley has just relayed Sky News with Turnbull with yet another plan.

    Sounded a bit “Baghdad Bob-ish”. No US tanks visible.

    But the Qld NLP president has apparently said no penalty for backing Dutton

    40

  • #
    angry

    https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2016/07/headhunts-malcolm-turnbull/

    Brendan Nelson at a meeting after he had defeated Turnbull for the leadership of the Liberal Party in 2007. Nelson, a doctor, was not impressed:

    “[Turnbull] has a narcissistic personality disorder. He says the most appalling things and can’t understand why people get upset.”

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  • #
    pat

    all this is known to the FakeNewsMSM:

    16 Aug: Heartland Institute: Bonner R. Cohen: U.S. Oil, Natural Gas Output Break Records
    Solidifying America’s role as a global energy superpower, U.S. crude oil and natural gas production set new records in March, data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show.
    EIA reported U.S. crude oil production rose by 225,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10.47 million bpd in March, a new record. Texas remained the nation’s top oil producer, pumping out 4.2 million bpd, also a new record. North Dakota retained its position as the nation’s second largest oil producer, with an output of 1.2 million bpd from the Bakken shale formation…

    U.S. crude oil production topped 10 million bpd in late 2017 for the first time since the 1970s, overtaking Saudi Arabia’s production. Russia clung to its position as the world’s leading oil producer at slightly under 11 million bpd.
    The United States exported $19.9 billion of oil and other fuels in June, a record amount, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The energy exports helped narrow the nation’s trade deficit, the department reported…
    Natural gas production in the lower 48 states also rose, to an all-time high of 88.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in March, breaking the previous record of 87.7 bcfd set in February…

    Those who predicted the United States would soon face domestic oil and gas shortages because production and reserves had allegedly peaked couldn’t have been more mistaken, says Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
    “Ten years ago, we were besieged with apocalyptic scarcity forecasts and, as a result, adopted many ill-advised policies like the Renewable Fuel Standard,” said Jordan McGillis, a policy analyst at the Institute for Energy Research. “Entrepreneurs in the market responded by utilizing technologies in new places and in new ways, not only to avert an energy disaster but to bring about an energy renaissance.
    “The important lesson to take from this unprecedented production is never to underestimate the creativity of human beings who are left free to seek a profit,” said McGillis.
    https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/us-oil-natural-gas-output-break-records

    18 Aug: Gulf News: The US has turned into a major oil power again
    Booming production and falling imports shift its role in the business cycle
    By Justin Fox, Bloomberg
    Neither the EIA nor anyone else (that I know of, at least) foresaw a huge increase in US oil production over the past decade, though, so let’s leave the forecasts aside. What has already happened is momentous enough…

    2 Aug: EurasiaReview: Todd Royal: The Future Is Incredible For US Oil Production – Analysis
    (Todd Royal, M.P.P. is the Managing Partner for Energy development, Oil & Gas, and Renewables for Ascendance Strategies, a global threat assessment and political consulting firm that is based in Los Angeles, California)

    HSBC predicted in a recent report that Texas is set to outpace Iran and Iraq in oil production. Furthermore, HSBC stated the Permian Basin in West Texas and the Eagle Ford are likely to produce 5.6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2019…
    This news means the United States should surpass Russia and Saudi Arabia in 2019 as the number one oil producer in the world based on Texas’ output. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects US production to reach 12 million bpd by late 2019…

    There are three reasons why US oil production is skyrocketing. Number one is demand is rising. OPEC has recently forecast that global oil demand should, “surpass 100 million barrels per day next year.”…

    Second, US federal tax policies are favorable towards exploration and production (E&P), which will assist with production increases. President Trump’s America First Energy Plan states:
    “That we (the US) have vast untapped domestic energy reserves. We must take advantage of the estimated $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil and natural gas reserves, especially those on federal lands.”…

    The third and biggest reason is use of technology where the US is making their greatest gains towards increased production. Since the 2014 crash shale companies have slashed costs, but also employed automation and cutting edge technologies like robotics, sensors and smart phone to keep drilling. The oil and gas industry is undergoing a modernization push…

    This was on display in June at the Unify Conference, “an industry forum on digital technology put on by Baker Hughes,” in Houston Texas. At this conference technology companies like ***Google and Microsoft pitched energy executives to purchase cloud and artificial intelligence deals. Darryl Willis of Google who presented at Unify said, “Energy companies have reams of data but only use 5% of it, a serious problem in the digital economy.”

    Silicon Valley believes they can manage data better than E&P firms. Chevron signed a seven-year deal with Microsoft to, “capture and store the terabytes of data Chevron generates around the globe,“ said Bill Braun Chevron’s chief information officer. Other firms use the cloud to, “find more oil and predicting needed maintenance on equipment before it breaks down.”

    Inefficient and antiquated ways that kept US oil production lower is now being replaced by complex but diversified approaches to new technologies to stay competitive in an ever-changing global environment…
    https://www.eurasiareview.com/02082018-the-future-is-incredible-for-us-oil-production-analysis/

    27 Jun: CNBC: US oil exports boom to record level, surpassing most OPEC nations
    by Patti Domm
    To put U.S. exports in context, the U.S. was able to export more oil per day last week than most OPEC countries drilled…
    “The fact is we’re loading crude oil for export across the Texas Gulf Coast. The biggest issue that exporters are facing is getting oil from the Permian basin to the Gulf Coast because of the lack of pipeline capacity,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates…

    20

    • #
      pat

      YET ABC America has this lengthy, piece of FakeNews about military vets running as Dems & ***clearly trying to frame the first Dem as someone who could appeal to Trump supporters. includes every CAGW cliché imaginable:

      19 Aug: ABC America: Progressive veterans frame climate change as a national security issue
      By Lee Harris
      ***Self-described “ass-kicking, motorcycle-riding, Texas Democrat” MJ Hegar, a candidate for Texas’ deep-red 31st district, has a novel approach to environmental politics: she doesn’t care if her supporters believe in man-made climate change, but says it’s hard to deny the corrupting effects of petroleum dependence on American foreign policy.
      “Our dependence on foreign oil is just so damaging to our country on so many levels,” Hegar told ABC News in a June interview. “I respect other people’s freedom to be discerning and to make their own decisions. But they can’t deny that the U.S. military pays the price for our dependence on foreign oil – that our diplomacy and foreign policy is complicated by our dependence.”

      Hegar is one of a number of progressive veterans running for Congress who have made climate change action a key part of their platforms.
      “I don’t think another country, or another entity, like OPEC, should be able to have such an impact on our economy,” she said…

      In December, issuing his first major update to U.S. National Security strategy, President Donald Trump omitted climate change from the list of recognized national security threats, reversing the Pentagon consensus to define climate change as a security risk…
      Candidates across the country are pushing back on that notion, by not only stressing environmental concerns like the upsurge in natural disasters, but by describing climate change as a national security threat and foreign policy issue, as well as an arena for potential economic leadership.

      Maura Sullivan, a former U.S. Marine officer in the Iraq War and Department of Veterans Affairs official in the Obama administration, is the Democratic candidate for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District. Sullivan describes her growing worry over numerous environmental threats to national security, from displaced refugees in developing countries, to rising sea levels that could damage billions of dollars of U.S. military equipment…

      In 2014, for instance, the Defense Department’s Quadrennial Review cited “threat multiplier” effects, arguing that the pressures of climate change “will aggravate stressors abroad such as poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, and social tensions – conditions that can enable terrorist activity and other forms of violence.”…
      Like Hegar, Sullivan saw the devastating effects of oil dependency firsthand during her time in the military…

      In Wisconsin, (Democrat) Randy “Ironstache” Bryce is the candidate vying for House Speaker Paul Ryan’s old seat in the 1st Congressional District. If he wins, he would flip the southeastern district blue after two decades of conservative control…
      In addition to creating green jobs that offer workers a higher standard of living, Bryce wants to hold polluters accountable, including by prosecuting Exxon Mobil for the negative health effects of fossil fuels on the public…
      Bryce’s “Green New Deal” stimulus aims to get the U.S. entirely off fossil fuels by 2035 while creating thousands of new jobs in the renewable energy sector…

      Many left-wing environmentalists argue that moderate concessions – from the straw ban to plastic bag taxes and cap-and-trade programs – are short-term remedies that don’t begin to address the scale of the crisis.

      TWEET: 12 Aug: Randy Bryce: Climate change isn’t irreversible, but if we wait any longer, it could be. We need leaders who will stop this crisis. We need to pass the OFF Act, which will transition the US to 100% green energy by 2035, and create new, good paying jobs in the process…

      One recent study from the National Academy of Sciences, dubbed the “Hothouse Earth” report, gained attention for its grim assessment of impending catastrophe…
      Amy McGrath in Kentucky and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey are two more (Democrat) Air Force veterans running for Congress pitching climate change as a key plank in their national security platforms… ETC
      https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/progressive-veterans-frame-climate-change-national-security-issue/story?id=57270111

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      • #
        pat

        progressive left Slate also pushing the same Dem veterans:

        21 Jun: Slate: Can a Viral Campaign Ad Make the Difference in Deep-Red Texas?
        By Josh Voorhees
        When Amy McGrath, a Kentucky Democrat, kicked off her congressional campaign last year with a slickly produced ad about her struggle to become the first female fighter pilot, it was hailed as the best ad of the early midterms cycle and helped vault her to a primary victory last month. Now, a Democrat in Texas may have done her one better.
        MJ Hegar, an Air Force veteran who is running against Republican Rep. John Carter in a dark-red district in central Texas, released a bio ad on Wednesday that tells the story of how her military helicopter was shot down by the Taliban in Afghanistan, and how she later sued the Pentagon to overturn its ban on women serving in ground-combat…

        The ad was all over Twitter on Thursday, and had already earned Hegar more coverage than she might have otherwise expected in such a tough race. The video was made by Cayce McCabe of Putnam Partners, the same firm behind McGrath’s introductory ad…

        Perhaps the most successful bio spot of the cycle belongs to Randy Bryce, the union steel worker running to replace Paul Ryan in Wisconsin, who became a liberal sensation after a two-plus minute campaign ad that introduced voters to Bryce, his mustache, and his mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Bryce turned his viral fame into frequent appearances on MSNBC and fundraising cash, then secured the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and is now the heavy favorite in his primary…

        But there’s some evidence Hegar’s life story could win her fans in the Lone Star State. When Public Policy Polling surveyed the district last November, they found Carter with a 6-point advantage when respondents were given no biographical info about either candidate. After informing respondents of Hegar’s military career, though, the positions were reversed and Hegar led by 2 points.
        https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/mj-hagers-viral-doors-ad-texas-democrat-makes-splash-with-campaign-ad.html

        it’s already been widely reported that Dems are running ex-CIA candidates (Deep State?):

        18 Oct 2017: WaPo: The Daily 202: Ex-CIA officers running for Congress as Democrats
        THE BIG IDEA: The spooks have come in from the cold, and they’re running for Congress
        Each could be well positioned to ride a wave of backlash in the midterms…

        23 Jul: Bloomberg: This Democrat Is Running as the Tough Guy
        In Virginia, an ex-CIA officer flips the narrative on a Trump-friendly Republican incumbent.
        Spanberger is one of a number of Democratic women running for office in November who are political novices with national-security backgrounds. She spent eight years in the Central Intelligence Agency in the U.S. and overseas, returning home four years ago…

        WHAT A TOPSY TURVY POLITICAL WORLD WE LIVE IN.

        30

  • #
    beowulf

    I just love this quote from Turnbull at a press conference on 15/8/18 when he thought he was winning:
    “We have got to bring an end to the years of ideology and idiocy which have been a curse on energy policy for too long.”

    Yes Prime Minister, we certainly do, but not in the way you think.

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    • #
      el gordo

      There is a lot of irony, be careful what you wish for.

      Shorten is now trying to keep a lame duck PM in office until the election, fat chance of that.

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    • #
      PeterS

      More ironic how it’s come full circle. Can the Liberal Party be saved yet again? Interesting details of how Abbott became the opposition leader after defeating Turnbull via a party revolt over Turnbull’s open commitment to an ETS, which ironically he is doing under a different name to try and keep his job. I think the LNP have lost their marbles if they don’t get rid of Turnbull (again). If they don’t get rid of him I hope the LNP as a party is wiped off the political landscape to make room for a new one.
      https://youtu.be/ZoWbpS7TPNs?t=773

      30

    • #
      Robdel

      It is funny, but I thought that we would not get to this point until the lights went out. It seems I was wrong as rising electricity bills appear to be the spark, not power outages.

      20

  • #
    TdeF

    Unbelievable still. This from Graham Richardson..

    “At the time of writing, Coalition MPs still had not seen the draft NEG legislation that the Prime Minister gave Labor last week.”

    ——–

    Remember what Turnbull said when he broke with tradition and upset a sitting Coalition Prime Minister on the basis of 30 Newspolls and lack of consultation

    15 September 2015
    “Mr Turnbull .. promised to run a more consultative style of government and said the Australian prime minister should be the “first amongst equals” and not treated like a President.

    “The culture of our government is going to be one that is thoroughly consultative … a thoroughly traditional consultative cabinet government that ensures we make decisions in a collaborative manner,” he said.

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    • #
      PeterS

      Does it matter? Most of us are hoping and expecting Turnbull’s reign as PM to be terminated very soon.

      30

    • #
      el gordo

      ‘…not treated like a President.’

      As head of the Republican Movement, Turnbull has always hoped he would one day be the first president of the Republic.

      He feels elevated above party politics, totally lost the plot.

      30

  • #
    Dennis

    Malcolm Bligh Turnbull

    Harbourside Mansion

    Sydney Harbour

    December 2009

    [yes he did use the above]

    http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2018/08/from-a-harbourside-mansion-turnbulls-blog-on-energy-abbott.html

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    • #
      PeterS

      After reading that and watching the video below on the history of how Turnbull tried to rail-road his agreement with Rudd over the ETS through his own party, and now watching how the LNP is carrying on dragging their feet to get rid of Turnbull (again) I’m wondering if the LNP actually is worth saving. I can only imagine it is salvageable as long as a significant proportion of the party is booted out of it along with Turnbull. Otherwise it will forever be a dogs breakfast.

      https://youtu.be/ZoWbpS7TPNs?t=773

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      • #
        Dennis

        There is much more to it than parliamentary Liberals.

        Late in the 1990s I was told that Liberal Party HQ had been infiltrated by manipulators, that even Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell was concerned about what was taking place. My informant did not offer any explanation as to the objectives of the manipulators but today, and for some years past, it is clear that the Turnbull Party are the manipulators.

        I read that at the last Liberal Party Conference in 2017 a motion was passed by a healthy majority of delegates to return preselection of candidates to electorate branches. HQ have been choosing their own candidates. Following that motion passing at the Conference HQ have been apparently procrastinating, avoiding making a decision to change, stalling.

        This is different to Labor however, as journalist Max Walsh wrote in The Bulletin Magazine in 2006 the union movement had effectively launched a “corporate-style takeover” of the ALP installing union trained executives into safe Labor seats and pushing out sitting members.

        It has crossed my mind that, given the decades of Turnbull ambition to sink the National Party (then Country Party) and conservative Liberals, and merge Liberal with Labor, that there have been many deals struck on either side. And was the secretive release of the draft NEG legislation to Shorten Labor an indicator? Was the release of this event by Labor significant? Does Shorten fear a Turnbull led merger ending his ambitions?

        I don’t know.

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        • #
          PeterS

          To be honest I always thought the Liberal Party had a bad smell to it going back a long while. That’s why I wouldn’t be sad to see it die and be replaced with a fresh new party. The reality though is it’s unlikely to happen so all we can hope for is the new leader whoever that may be is suitable for the job to save the party and the nation.

          20

    • #
      beowulf

      Mutiny on the Bounty party room floor. Prophetic choice of middle name.

      20

  • #
    pat

    scroll down, vote, and send it on:

    2GB: POLL | Who should lead the Liberal Party?
    https://www.2gb.com/poll-who-should-lead-the-liberal-party/

    at time of posting:

    Abbott 58%
    Dutton 31%
    Turnbull 6%

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  • #
    Louis Hissink

    The problem is all these UN treaties which Australia is party to. If the PM is changed will that alter the political reality vis a vis the UN treaties we have signed?

    As we are also part of the Anglo sphere, and thus a satrap of the Empire, going it alone and rejecting the majority belief might be a rather courageous policy.

    20

    • #
      Dennis

      Australia should follow America’s lead, President Trump’s lead.

      He addressed the UN and told them they must downsize their operations and stop interfering in the internal affairs of member nations.

      60

    • #
      beowulf

      Going it alone?

      I believe a certain Donald Trump has already set the precedent for independent thought and action. Parts of Canada are in open revolt against their dolt Green PM. The UK is pushing back against the conniving May and the unelected tentacles of the EU. NZ is yet to feel the impact of its new Green, Young Socialist idiot leader, but when it does, it will push back too. Now is the right time for Oz to throw off the UN yolk. We are part of a movement.

      50

      • #
        Dennis

        I am gaining confidence by the week that the “movement” is growing stronger.

        The first I heard about a new world order was when ABC Radio here broadcast about it and I obtained a transcript. That was during the 1990s. But few people here wanted to know about it and others scoffed and told me it was extremist nonsense. But I researched and discovered the 1800s UK socialist Fabian Society plans. And that when the UN was formed after WWW2 the leftists realised their ambitions to push forward using the UN and related organisations to influence member nations, and of course treaties to get around constitutional law.

        60

    • #
      PeterS

      The proposed renewable targets by both major parties are impossible to achieve without imploding our economy. So they are just playing games with the people pretending they are going to save the world from global warming, which isn’t actually happening and worse still no other nation is taking the renewable targets seriously any more and instead are embarking various projects to bolster their exiting coal/nuclear power plants and/or build new ones. We are such fools to put up with this nonsense for so long. Only very recently I think people are starting waking up to the con but still have a long way to go before most people are awake to the fact it’s all a con game. Now that Russia, China, India, US and many others are ignoring the Paris Agreement the obvious decision for us is to do likewise. The sooner the new leader of the LNP announces that and the reasons why the better.

      40

    • #
      el gordo

      Louis I don’t see a problem pulling out of Paris, all our other treaties will remain intact and unhindered.

      10

  • #
    pat

    theirABC only gets reaction from media darling, Smolski:

    20 Aug: ABC: NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announces Climate Change Fund money to reduce energy costs
    The NSW Government is taking $72 million from its Climate Change Fund to help some businesses and households reduce their energy costs.
    Premier Gladys Berejiklian today announced that $35 million dollars would be given to about 250 manufacturing businesses to install energy efficient equipment and meters to track their energy use.
    An additional $24.5 million will be directed at low-income renters, so they can obtain energy efficient lighting, heating and hot water systems
    The Government said that it would help low-income renters save up to $400 a year on their energy bills.
    The rest of the money will go to local councils to install LED bulbs in streetlights…

    However, National Conservation Council of NSW CEO Kate Smolski said the Berejiklian Government’s vision was not bold enough to reach its target of zero net emissions by 2050.
    “NSW is on fire and the Government announces it is buying water pistols,” Ms Smolski said…
    “Where is the Premier’s plan to slash emissions from our main sources of pollution in NSW — coal-fired power stations?” she said…
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-20/nsw-government-plan-reduce-energy-costs/10139686

    “professional” CAGW activist:

    LinkedIn: Kate Smolski
    Summary: Professional environmental advocate with over 14 years of experience in grassroots organizing, campaign strategy, media relations, policy and lobbying…
    Campaigns Director
    Nature Conservation Council NSW
    May 2012 – June 2014
    Domestic Policy Director
    US Climate Action Network
    January 2009 – December 2011
    Senior Legislative Coordinator
    Greenpeace, Washington DC
    August 2005 – December 2008
    Regional Conservation Organizer
    Sierra Club
    November 2002 – December 2004
    Field Organizer
    Green Corps
    August 2001 – August 2002
    Education:
    University of Rhode Island
    Bachelor of Science, Wildlife Biology
    1995 – 1999
    Griffith University
    Wildlife Biology, Study Abroad
    1998 – 1998

    00

    • #
      angry

      NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is an Absolute Disgrace, just a FEMALE VERSION OF TURNCOAT !!

      WASTE OF SPACE !

      51

    • #
      Tony K

      Smart meters for business “so they can track their energy use”? Really? More likely so that their business can be shut down automatically when load shedding is required to keep lights on at voters’ residences. People are surprised that the NRA does not give ground on firearms control of any sort in the USA. Kate Smolski perfectly illustrates why. Because there is no giving ground to zealots. Give them a little and it encourages them and they want more…Much more. A little doesn’t appease them. Nothing more than 100% renewable is their goal. Each little concession is regarded as a win.

      10

  • #
    pat

    theirABC is not taking sides? lol:

    20 Aug: ABC: Malcolm Turnbull’s opponents are waging a guerilla war to kill off his leadership
    By political editor Andrew Probyn
    Updated about 2 hours ago
    Six days after triumphantly walking into the Prime Minister’s courtyard ***having navigated his energy policy through the hostilities of his coalition partyroom, Malcolm Turnbull is on the precipice…
    He had got his National Energy Guarantee (NEG) past his colleagues by a healthy margin; for all intents and purposes, his approach on energy policy had been endorsed…

    Mr Turnbull is now the target of full-blown guerrilla warfare.
    The insurgents may have varying endgames, but their first ambition is clear: to kill off Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership…
    This is a horror show that has nothing to do with the presumed trigger point, energy policy.
    Look at what the last few days have taught us on how the rebels respond…
    They rail against the Turnbull-Josh Frydenberg plan to legislate the Paris climate targets, and when the PM capitulates, he is criticised by the same mob for flip-flopping…

    This is a crisis with a familiar pattern.
    Malcolm Turnbull can only hope he is the one to break the decade-plus period that has not seen a sitting PM contest a second election.
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-20/malcolm-turnbull-facing-guerilla-warfare/10139276

    30

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      pat:

      They are also claiming that more renewables will reduce electricity prices. Obviously ABC Greens never think, they just repeat slogans until they fade away.

      10

  • #
    angry

    Malcolm Turnbull is forced into a humiliating backdown on energy policy as pressure mounts on him to quit as Prime Minister – with MPs now in ‘open revolt’ against his leadership

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6076909/Leadership-challenge-against-Malcolm-Turnbull-inevitable-amid-horror-poll.html

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  • #
    Faye Busch

    I prefer Tony Abbott to oust Turnbull and get back what that Incompetent took off him.
    If it was Peter Dutton I wouldn’t mind provided he and Tony worked closely together. Both men have the mongrel in them to fight the idiots.
    Tony has been able for the past three years to step back and formulate what is best for Australia and it isn’t Climate Change and EVERYTHING connected to it. That’ll save billions for starters.
    They should take some lessons from the Trump MAGA policies that are economic gangbusters, for example, to demonstrate just how extraordinary the USA economy is – 450,000 freight haulage trucks are now needed (and on order) to move the huge expansion of goods around the country. That’s how big the economy has grown. The last biggest order a few years ago was 52,000 trucks. They need more people to build them and more drivers to drive them. It’s incredible what’s happening in America.
    Plus I think, President Trump would think Turnbull a lightweight and not to be trusted however, he and Tony Abbott would work well together and be of like mind.
    Knowing that Australia is very important strategically to America, President Trump could welcome Tony Abbott’s prime ministership by granting a beneficial deal denoting a new confidence in Australia.
    The only person holding back Australia is Turnbull.

    162

    • #
      PeterS

      Yes Turnbull is holding back Australia but Shorten if allowed to be PM thanks to Turnbull will complete the task and pull Australia back over the cliff.

      51

    • #
      TdeF

      Agreed. However Tony might be quite happy to leave the workload to Dutton. Foreign Minister is where he would shine and where having a competent in the job would be great for Australia. It’s been a long time. Bob Carr was so upset at not having his pyjamas in first class. He really needed his own jumbo, if only to fit the ego.

      61

  • #
    angry

    LODGE DINNER MAL’S LAST SUPPER

    http://pickeringpost.com/story/lodge-dinner-mal-s-last-supper/8472

    absolutely brillant !!!

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  • #
    • #
      pat

      philthegeek – just went there.
      both Macquarie Network. latest tally:

      6PR: Abbott 38, Turnbull 25, Bishop 17, Dutton 15 – 327 votes

      2GB: Abbott 65, Dutton 29, Turnbull 3 – 6.5K votes

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  • #
  • #
    Dennis

    NEG

    NE

    N

    what next?

    00

  • #
    PeterS

    Julie Bishops just announced on 2GB the states are to be blamed for high power prices and Turnbull’s focus on renewables is not the cause and instead always has been to reduce them. She also says they have been responding for some time to the high prices and unreliability issues. She tells fibs better than Turnbull and Shorten. She also says the rumours of a leadership challenge is not real and they always happen and come to naught. She ends the interview by saying Turnbull will lead them to the next election (to a landslide defeat – my words).

    40

    • #
      Dennis

      Baghdad Bob.

      20

      • #
        PeterS

        “I can say, and I am responsible for what I am saying, that they have started to commit suicide under the walls of Baghdad. We will encourage them to commit more suicides quickly.” – Baghdad Bob

        10

    • #
      angry

      What a useless lying [***snip] this [***snip] bishop is!

      A disgusting, treasonous, back stabber !!

      @!#$@$%!!!

      00

  • #
    Robber

    Perhaps Turncoat Turnbull will turn again?
    If he wants to save his job, drop Paris, drop the RET, drop feed in tariffs, change the AEMO bidding system to eliminate the stupid $14,200 ceiling price and create negotiated term contracts for all generators. Stop ARENA giving handouts to wind/solar projects.
    Reduce the excessive guaranteed profits given to network operators.
    Adopt ACCC recommendations to reduce retail price gouging.
    Bottom line: Quick drop in retail and business electricity prices, before the next election.
    Result: Happy voters, with a real alternative.

    41

    • #
      PeterS

      You are suggesting he is a pragmatist as well as a scheming con artist. The two rarely go together.

      40

    • #
      TdeF

      He will do whatever it takes. Partly this is because others need him there. That includes Pyne, Morrison, Frydenberg, Birmingham and the other conspirators.

      If Andrew Bolt’s information is right, Julie Bishop is already planning her move to Governor General rather than sit out a Shorten government.
      Better salary. Travel. Great house. Parties. Ceremonial role on a great salary. She needs Malcolm in his job long enough to ensure her new job.
      The last thing she wants is backbencher in an Abbott or Dutton opposition on a lousy $197,000 a year salary.

      Morrison will have missed his shot after Turnbull. Again a probable backbencher for most of a decade. No fun.
      Pyne will retire, but it could have been better.
      Frydenberg may never be a minister again.
      Birmingham is history. Who gets advice from Julia’s right hand man, Gonski? Who makes enemies of Catholics across the country?

      No, it will be Malcolm for another eight months no matter what the cost. Time to organize the parachutes.
      Who cares about Carbon Dioxide? Really?

      81

    • #
      angry

      Why would anyone believe a word that turncoat utters ???

      Seriously!

      21

      • #
        TdeF

        He has lost before. He knows how it feels. As Graham Richardson would say, whatever it takes.
        This is a man who stands for nothing.

        He has a retinue who will go down with him so they will make every phone call, pull in every favour. He can lose, but it will be a near thing if Dutton nominates. If he survives, you can be sure of one thing. He will do absolutely nothing for as long as possible. He will feather a few nests, like Bishop for governor general. No one can stop that.

        Then he might resign at the last minute, leaving the mess to his enemies and government to his favourite parties, Labour and the Greens. His demolition of the Liberals and the Nationals will be complete. A Labour destroyer, like his great uncle. Then write his memoirs, enjoy the perks of an Ex Prime Minister. Travel. Look for a job at the UN. Or back to Goldmann Sachs and the land of the long lunch.

        20

        • #

          The thing is – a vote for
          Turnbull is a vote for
          Paris Treaty rule by
          unelected U.N. Bureau-
          crats – a vote for Turnbull
          is a vote for under-the-lap
          carbon-taxing to destroy
          a productive economy by
          too expensive energy.
          A vote for Turnbull is
          a vote for 444 $$$ billion
          unvetted gifting of plebs’
          money to selectorate mates,
          – a line in the sand must
          be drawn. – Turnbull be gone!

          50

    • #
      angry

      Not in his dna………..

      21

  • #
    pat

    17 Aug: Axios: Expert voices: Despite renewables growth, there has never been an energy transition
    by Richard Newell, Daniel Raimi
    (Richard Newell is president and CEO of Resources for the Future. Daniel Raimi is a senior research associate in RFF’s Energy and Climate Program)
    Note: 1800–1900 data shown at 25-year intervals, 1900–1920 & 1930–1970 data shown at 10-year intervals, and 1920–1930 & 1970–2015 data shown at 5-year intervals. Data: Arnulf Grubler (2008), International Energy Agency (2017). Reproduced from charts by Richard Newell and Daniel Raimi.

    Since 2010, the costs of producing electricity from solar photovoltaic systems have decreased by more than 80%. Wind and solar now vie with natural gas to provide new electricity generating capacity. To some, these trends signal the world’s latest energy transition: away from fossil fuels and toward a renewable future.

    The big picture: These historical changes in the energy system, however, have been a matter of addition, not transition. Although the percentage shares of biomass, coal and oil in our energy supply have fallen with the rise of alternatives, their total use continues to grow. The world has never experienced an energy transition, but the challenge of climate change means that, for the first time, one will need to begin.

    Since 1800 biomass consumption has increased by about 275%, and coal use by more than 60% just since 2000…
    By 2040, the International Energy Agency projects that, to reach the climate targets laid out in the Paris Agreement, global coal consumption would need to decline by more than half while oil consumption falls by almost 25%. Natural gas could continue to grow, though more slowly than today. Renewables would need to increase roughly tenfold from today’s levels to provide, together with nuclear, more than 25% of global energy…

    Economists have consistently identified the policies to achieve such a transition: a price on greenhouse gas emissions, coupled with incentives for early-stage research and new technology development, including advanced solar, nuclear and carbon capture technologies.

    Yes, but: While some major emitters are adopting these policies, they are mostly falling short of the goals outlined in Paris, and new investments in fossil fuels continue to more than double those in renewables. Meanwhile, federal policy in the U.S. is moving in the opposite direction. And even with ideal policies, a real energy transition would mean winners and losers, creating substantial challenges for regions reliant on the production, transformation and consumption of fossil fuels…

    The bottom line: To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, renewables and new technologies will need to do more than build atop CO2–intensive fossil fuels — they will need to push out incumbents while at the same time expanding global energy access and reducing the system’s environmental footprint
    https://www.axios.com/despite-renewables-growth-there-has-never-been-energy-transition-e11b0cf5-ce1d-493c-b1ae-e7dbce483473.html

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      pat:

      Expert??? Under PARIS Accord CO2 emissions are slated to go UP by 35%. The most vocal countries Germany (no reduction in emissions in 9 years), UK, France haven’t reduced emissions except by losing industry to third world countries so probably a net INCREASE in CO2 emissions. And watch French emissions rise as they try to replace nuclear with wind mills and OCGTs.
      The only contry with a long term history of REDUCING emissions is the USA which isn’t in the PARIS Accord (although it lost a lot of industry which they are trying to regain) and that by NOT following the politically correct method but by frakking.

      10

    • #
      Dave in the States

      There has not been, nor will there be a transition, because it is economically, technologically and physics, impossible at the present time, and for the foreseeable future. No amount of propaganda or throwing money at it will change that reality. Nor is a transition an imperative.

      00

  • #
    Kim

    >What centrist? Since when was mass taxation to change the weather a centrist experiment? Since when did centrists control almost every aspect of the market, supply, demand, the product, the price, and call it “free”?

    the left constantly try to portray themselves as moderate when in fact they are anything but – they are extreme left. After decades putting up with them the push back has started (2 years ago) in earnest.

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  • #
    pat

    just switched on Sky Australia while waiting for replay of Federer/Djokovic tennis final.

    news ticker saying Joyce is backing Turnbull/NEG.

    guest Kerry-Anne Walsh talks of Turnbull capitulating to the “rump” of the party – apologises for calling them that.

    guest Fiona Scott talks about REBELS being angry with Abbott; says she doesn’t know what ALT-RIGHT (Abbott) wants.

    everyone says nothing will satisfy Abbott, cos it’s not about policy.

    Walsh says Dutton can’t be PM; too hard right. not where the public is. hard right (Abbott) can’t win.

    no-one says well how did Abbott have such a big win in 2013!

    40

  • #
    PeterS

    Craig Kelly now thinks the NEG is getting fixed and the LNP can win the next election with the revised NEG by a landslide. Is he for real?

    20

    • #
      el gordo

      Craig Kelly is leader of the Backbench Energy Committee and thinks the Coalition can win on energy alone.

      I disagree, positions could harden on both sides, leaving us dependent on the swing voters who have been brainwashed on climate change.

      The Coalition needs to fight the Greens and Labor on the science, that is one thing they don’t want and we can pummel them.

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  • #
    Mike Spilligan

    Simply – three wasted years. No progress; only regress.

    50

    • #
      PeterS

      And the possibility of another three and possibly six more wasted years all thanks to Turnbull. Is it any wonder why we are heading over the cliff? We need a game changer. That can only afforded by a new leader of the LNP with the conviction and strength to promote the right policies. Otherwise, forget it – it’s all over in a matter of a few years.

      20

  • #
    Ceetee

    You Australians would be apoplectic if you saw how the shiteheel media is portraying the state of affairs over there. Hard for me to know. If Abbott came back could he win an election? Btw you in Australia allow free speech. Apparently we here in New Zealand are too immature and insecure given our largely nipple addicted populace. We have elections to nominate new parents to replace our biological parents when they boot us out. Sad but true.

    10

  • #
    pat

    saw mention of “Kerry Schott” in pickeringpost comments being the architect of the NEG, which I have not paid any attention to, so just a start here, as I’m watching the tennis:

    2 May: RenewEconomy: Sophie Vorrath: “No way” anyone will fund new coal plants under NEG, says Schott
    The chair of Australia’s Energy Security Board – and ***one of the chief architects of the federal government’s proposed National Energy Guarantee – has uttered the words that no minister of the Coalition dares to speak: there is no appetite for new coal power in Australia’s energy market.

    Speaking at the 2018 Future Thinking conference, hosted by the Energy Users Association of Australia, Dr Kerry Schott opened her presentation with some slides charting the falling cost of renewables, and with an assurance that no new coal power would be built, NEG or no NEG…

    “I can assure you that, unless there’s a change of technology, there would be absolutely no way that anybody would be financing a new coal-fired generation plant,” Schott said.
    “So, people might want to see them go faster, but they’re going anyway.”

    The comments come as the Tony Abbott-led far-right faction of the Turnbull LNP government – the unfortunately named Monash Forum – intensifies its push for a National Energy Guarantee that guarantees support for coal plants, old and new…

    Wikipedia: Kerry Schott
    She was managing director and CEO of Sydney Water from 2006–2011…
    She is currently chair of Moorebank Intermodal Company Ltd, a Director of NBN Co and a member of the Infrastructure Australia Board…
    Her early career included investment banking for Deutsche Bank and ***Whitlam Turnbull.
    Schott has also had roles as visiting professor at Oxford and Princeton Universities, senior NSW Treasury official, chair of the Environmental Protection Authority, adviser to the Reserve Bank of Australia and Trade Practices Commissioner…
    During her time as CEO of Sydney Water, Schott opposed a proposal by Australian Water Holdings (AWH) for a public-private partnership…

    In 2015, Schott oversaw the sale of the Vales Point Power Station to a company owned by Trevor St Baker and Brian Flannery, for $1 million…

    25 Jul: AFR: The NEG won’t stop the unstoppable march of renewable energy
    by Ben Potter
    The Energy Security Board tells us that the march of renewable energy “cannot be reversed” because it is now “more market driven than policy driven”…

    Backing for the NEG is not universal but it is widespread. Most industry players reckon the ESB – led by Kerry Schott and Clare Savage – has bent over backwards to fashion a policy that dances around the carbon price and still delivers a workable solution that shouldn’t make the highly concentrated electricity market any less competitive…

    Kerry Schott warns time running out for states to sign up to NEG
    The Australian – Aug 9, 2018

    Daniel Andrews is playing shameless politics with the NEG
    The Australian-7 Aug. 2018
    EXPLAINER: What is the NEG and how it would work? …. When Kerry Schott, the architect of the PM’s signature energy blueprint, said …

    who elected her to the ESB, which is not mentioned on her Wikipedia page? she is listed as a “Patron” on the Australian Infrastructure website.

    00

    • #
      Asp

      Could someone please ring Germany, and let them know that “…..the march of renewable energy “cannot be reversed” because it is now “more market driven than policy driven”…. They were on the verge of discovering that it was subsidy driven.

      40

    • #
      pat

      some more detail re Schott, some ironic given the situation re the NEG/Turnbull today:

      Jan 2014: AFR: Anne Hyland: Kerry Schott – heard around the world
      Schott undertook a masters degree in Canada and then a doctorate at Oxford University, before returning to Australia to work as an economist in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet for the Whitlam government.
      She witnessed the dismissal and the discord it created among the public…
      Today, Schott is on the board of the Whitlam Institute, which maintains the archives of former prime minister Gough Whitlam…

      Sydney beckoned and Schott turned to the private sector, landing a job at Whitlam Turnbull & Co in the late ’80s. “It was a very good way for me to learn about investment banking and corporate finance because Malcolm [Turnbull ], Nick [Whitlam ] and Neville Wran were all policy wonks. The first job I worked on was the privatisation of the ANL terminals, which subsequently became Patricks.”…

      Privatisation became an area of expertise for Schott, who later worked on the National Mutual and AMP demutualisations. At Deutsche Bank, her focus began to shift to the privatisation and investment in infrastructure. As part of Deutsche’s Asia Pacific infrastructure team, Schott found herself often on a plane…

      As well, she will wrap up her role of overseeing the privatisation of NSW’s electricity generators this year…
      https://www.afr.com/leadership/careers/kerry-schott–heard-around-the-world-20140620-j06fs

      2014: Ziggy Switkowski appointed chairman of NBN Co
      Malcolm Turnbull announces that the former Telstra chief will chair board overseeing national broadband network
      by Gabrielle Chan
      Kerry Schott and Alison Lansley, both appointed by Labor, were the only two directors to survive the change of government…
      Schott is an economist, a former managing director of Sydney Water and former deputy secretary of the NSW Treasury. She worked for Turnbull at his consultancy Whitlam Turnbull…
      https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/03/ziggy-switkowski-chairman-nbn-co

      10

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      pat:

      Ask if she thinks Dr. Finkel was lying about the costs? Even better take her at her word, eliminate subsidies for renewables as they don’t need them as they are now cheaper, and watch how quickly Australia joins the 62 countries who decided that coal fired is cheaper (and more reliable).

      20

      • #
        toorightmate

        Finkel is pretty smart cookie (so we are told).
        He’ll be a force to be reckoned with after he’s read the chapter on capacity factor. He hasn’t got to that part yet.

        10

  • #
    pat

    Peter Ridd coming up on Sky News Bolt report because ABC is broadcasting 1st of 3 Reef reports tonight:

    20 Aug: ABC: 7.30 Report: Nature’s perfect match is breaking down and the reef is in peril
    By Mark Doman and Stephen Hutcheon
    Watch 7.30 tonight for the first of three special pieces on the state of the reef from reporter Peter Greste and producer Amy Donaldson
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-20/great-barrier-reef-natures-perfect-match-is-breaking-down/10113132

    20

    • #
      Hanrahan

      I’ve got Bolt in my headphones interviewing Kevin Andrews. What a wishy washy pollie! He admitted that policies must change but would not concede that a leadership change is needed for this to happen. He seemed to think that Turnbull can simply start endorsing Abbott policies that he has opposed for years. That was/is Turnbulls greatest failing: A refusal to run on any policy with Tony’s fingerprints on it.

      50

  • #
    pat

    comment in moderation re: “some more detail re Kerry Schott, some ironic given the situation re the NEG/Turnbull today”

    00

  • #
    Hanrahan

    According to Outsider’s News the RBA is touting the possibility that our budget may go into surplus this year on the strength of strong coal prices and exports. I’ll have to type this out. bugger.

    Coal prices have been much stronger than expected, supported by growing demand from power stations in Asia, and the ones are responding by lifting output.

    I think they said that Newcastle has lifted exports to 10.8 mill tonnes. And our dumb pollies in Qld have torpedoed Idani, which could rake in billions. Crazy!!

    30

    • #
      Graeme No.3

      Well, its not as if Queensland would need extra income to pay that increasing debt**. Should be fun when the Greens suddenly ind out that too much debt means that costs (e.g. public service salary costs) have to be reduced.

      Sorry sarc/

      20

  • #
    beowulf

    Now they’re claiming Dutton is ineligible for parliament under S.44 of the Constitution because he is the beneficiary of a family trust that has received a direct subsidy from the government since July for childcare centres the trust owns.

    https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/dutton-refutes-questions-over-eligibility/ar-BBM9R4G?ocid=spartandhp

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      Hanrahan

      That interest has been declared for ages and Peta Credlin says he would abstain from discussion if the topic arose.

      10

  • #
    Geoff Sherrington

    Up above, we have a comment “I don’t see a problem pulling out of Paris, all our other treaties will remain intact and unhindered”.
    Treaties mean different things to different people. I have lived through some of it and have a short story to tell, in the setting of developments in past Australian politics.
    We can go back to Labor’s Gareth Evans. From In 1983-4 he was Attorney-General when Hawke became PM, 1984 to 1988 Minister for Resources and Energy, before starting in Foreign Affairs in 1989 when Bill Hayden became GG.
    From 1983 onwards, Gareth was formally promoting Australian entry into new treaties, be they bilateral or multilateral, inspired by Australia or by others. There was a Canberra document named the Treaty List to keep track on numbers and purpose. For brevity, look at multilateral treaties. How many treaties were there each year? (Note, counts might be wrong because of the way data are presented, but they are indicative).
    There were 9 pre-Federation 1901.
    1901-1922 there were 1.4 per year.
    1923-1940 there were 2.1
    1940-1955 there were 4.9
    1956-1970 there were 6.8
    Then along came Gareth’s influence, plus Gough and Labor generally in there too.
    1971-1985 there were 10.4
    1986-2000 there were 16.1 per year when the heavy hitting was done.
    2001-2015 there we dropped back to 11.9 per year.

    (I was at a meeting about year 2000 where a former Chief Justice of the High Court mused aloud that he thought Australia had a dozen or two such treaties. He was rather horrified to be told that two dozen had been added in the past year. Of course, Judges have to become quite familiar with each treaty that comes before them).

    But numbers tell only part of the story. The nature and intent of the treaty is all important. From the Gareth era we acquired such wonders as, to name but a few,
    1985 – International Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter
    1985 – Constitution of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
    1986 – ILO Convention (No. 150) concerning Labour Administration: Role, Functions and Organisation
    1986 – Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
    1986 – South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty
    1988 – Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
    1989 – Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
    1990 – International Convention against the Taking of Hostages
    1990 – Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region
    1990 – Convention on Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific
    1991 – Convention on the Rights of the Child

    Some of these, you might think, are wanted for common sense and harmony, but when you delve into the content rather than the title, it is easy to lose yourself in the meanderings of the Nanny State and all that is bad about it.

    Some of these, you might think, are simply an eager politician doing his job well, with lots of activity, to represent the wishes of the people. Sadly, you would be wrong, because the vast majority of the people had no idea and still have no idea, about the number and content of these treaties that will bind them into more serfdom the more they are used. Geoff.

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    Hanrahan

    This would usually be posted on Unthreaded but it is stale so I’ll do it here:

    According to Wonderful, a link some kind soul gave us a while back, UK wind generation is at 0.5% and has been there for approx. 12 hours. Elon Musk, where are you when they need you?

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      PeterS

      Elon Mush has his own problems. He faces bankruptcy if he can’t acquire funding and make his company private. The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating.

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    TdeF

    Now suddenly Peter Dutton is being questioned as like Bob Day he may be in breach of the constitution under section 44 because of a family trust interest in a business which receives Commonwealth funds. What incredible timing! Just a coincidence then. How long has anyone known this? If this was known already it is close to blackmail.

    This may backfire on Turnbull. If Dutton is disqualified or even smeared as he is, it only leaves Abbott and forces Abbott to stand. Nothing is sacred in this battle.

    Malcolm and friends are playing every card they have. The problem is that even if Malcolm wins, he is ruined and has no hope of passing any laws. Then this is a kamikaze play as with Dutton out of parliament and Dutton only has a 2% majority, Turnbull and the Black Hand are finished anyway in another byelection to protect a one seat majority.

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      TdeF

      Or perhaps Turnbull can swap sides and be deputy leader in a Shorten government? Really anything is possible with Turnbull. He has no love of the Liberals and certainly none for the Nationals.

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        toorightmate

        TdeF,
        Turnbull crossed sides a long time ago.
        I can’t imagine what went wrong. Those brilliant journos such as Savva, Elizabeth Farrelly and the rest of the Fairfax mob told us that he was going to Australia’s best ever PM.

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          PeterS

          Well their predictions are coming true. Turnbull is the best PM ever – for the ALP to win the next election by a landslide.

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        PeterS

        Turnbull should be tarred and feathered in green and thrown out of the party.

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      toorightmate

      The Liberal catastrophe needs a final solution.

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      • #
        PeterS

        It’s now becoming clear that the only solution is for Abbott to take over provided he can put into practice lessons from Trump on how to handle the MSM. After all Turnbull is now resorting to the some of the polices Abbott has been suggesting so that makes Abbott the best person to sell them to the people. Anyone else I’m afraid will be a no show.

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      Hanrahan

      It has been known for ages. The two centres are held in a trust. Peta Credlin says he would attain from discussion when she was still in the PM’s office.

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        Hanrahan

        Bluddy autocorrect. It’s “refrain” I meant.

        It takes autocorrect to turn a simple typo into something meaningless. 🙁

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    Ian1946

    Pets Credlinon her show proposed that the stick insect could be our second female prime minister because of the labor lite faction. Our worst nightmares.

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    Ian1946

    Pets Credlinon her show proposed that the stick insect could be our second female prime minister because of the labor lite faction. Our worst nightmares.

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      PeterS

      Stick insect – good description. As for being the replacement – not sure. It could work if she agrees will all of Abbott’s ideas and hands him a high profile ministry while throwing out Trunbull and others to the backbench. She has to make a big enough impact by dumping the Paris Agreement, RET schemes and renewables subsidies to gain favour of the conservative voter base. Anything less will be a waste of time for her.

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    Serp

    No, once the narcissist has been top dog the backbench cannot be a next step. Likelihood is he’ll spontaneously combust or is that past peak wishful thinking?

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    michael hart

    So how much is Turnbull’s possible demise actually due to the NEG or related issues?
    On the Pommie side of the globe such things are not debated or even reported on, much less reported on truthfully or accurately.

    00