Australia, a nation blessed with abundant energy resources, is now facing the unthinkable: the possibility of cold showers in the midst of winter.

This dire situation is not the result of an unforeseen natural disaster but a consequence of misguided net zero policies, championed by both sides of politics.

These policies have prioritised climate ideology over affordability and reliability, leading to a sharp decline in Australia's energy security.

Recent warnings from major energy players underscore the severity of the situation. APA Group, the nation’s largest gas pipeline operator, has revealed that the east coast is facing prolonged gas shortages.

As APA’s chief executive Adam Watson put it, “Regulatory and policy impositions are running the very real risk that our governments will achieve an energy market outcome that is the exact opposite of their ambition.”

This failure could lead to “cold showers, higher energy bills and coal generating our electricity for longer.”

Australia, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), now faces the absurd reality of potentially importing expensive gas to meet domestic needs.

This is a direct result of policies that have stymied investment in vital gas infrastructure, leaving the country at the mercy of international markets.

Watson rightly pointed out the irony, stating that “the wrong regulatory and policy approach could lead Australia back to where it started – with LNG imports setting the floor price domestically.”

The blame for this situation lies squarely at the feet of our political leaders. Both Labour and the Coalition have embraced net zero policies without fully considering the practical implications for Australia’s energy security.

Instead of leveraging our abundant natural resources, they have placed their faith in renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which cannot provide the stable and reliable power that a modern economy demands.

As Nick Cater highlighted in The Australian this week, the push towards renewable energy has reached a point of diminishing returns.

Cater describes the Sun Cable AAPowerLink project, a proposal to export solar power from the Northern Territory to Singapore, as a “convoluted, unnecessarily elaborate, and impractical contraption designed to accomplish a mundane task.”

This project, emblematic of the broader renewable energy push, is more fantasy than feasible solution.

Cater also points out that the transition to wind, solar, and hydropower is collapsing under its own absurdity.

In the United States, for example, about one-third of utility-scale wind and solar applications submitted over the past five years were cancelled, and about half of the projects experienced significant delays.

This mirrors the challenges Australia faces, where the speed of renewable energy rollout under Labour’s government is less than a tenth of what is needed to meet its 2030 targets.

The reality is that wind and solar cannot provide a secure energy future for Australia.

The challenges of grid synchronisation, storage, and the intermittency of renewables make them unreliable as a sole energy source.

As Cater succinctly puts it, “There are limits to the renewable energy frontier determined by energy density, the demand for land and the requirement for firming.”

Australia's political leaders must acknowledge this reality and shift their focus towards solutions that prioritise energy security and affordability.

The current path is unsustainable and leaves the nation vulnerable to energy shortages that should be unthinkable in a country so richly endowed with natural resources.

It is time for a recalibration of our energy policies, one that moves beyond climate ideology and embraces the practical needs of a modern, growing economy.