Reality is suddenly biting as politicians slowly realise their net zero policies have not been thought through.
After years of demonising gas as a planet-killing fossil fuel, Labor’s Resources Minister Madeleine King is now warning Australia needs more supply.
Shock horror.
And despite our misnamed “energy” minister Chris Bowen continuing to proclaim windmill factories on hilltops and solar farms covering prime agricultural land can replace gas and coal, King is pushing a new gas strategy.
Perhaps global boiling isn’t as big a problem when faced with electricity bills going up and the lights going out.
“We hope to (find a substitute for gas), but we don’t know when that will be possible,” King said.
Perhaps politicians should have thought about that before they began decarbonising the economy.
But it gets worse. She went on to say: “In the meantime, we can’t have wishful thinking without backup”.
No kidding. Someone should tell Bowen.
She’s belled the cat with her use of the word “hope” and her admission net zero is based on “wishful thinking”.
Family First has long called for a proper cost-benefit analysis of net zero, rather than ploughing on in the hope that renewables can replace cheap and reliable coal and gas.
Climate policies pursued by both Liberal and Labor have massively hiked energy prices, driving up the cost of everything.
King’s intervention in the debate this week suggests climate-obsessed politicians are being mugged by reality.
“The five million households across the country that rely on gas for their heating and energy while we transition to electrification, that gas needs to be affordable, and to be affordable you need reliable supply,” King said.
Her comments are ironic given her Labor colleagues in Victoria have banned new gas connections and have banned gas exploration and fracking in a state that contains rich gas reserves.
Doubly ironic was this week’s decision by the ANZ Bank to cease funding gas extraction in Australia.
The self-harm being inflicted by wealthy woke corporates and thoughtless politicians is showing up in the electricity bills and the cost-of-living crisis families in the suburbs are enduring.
The hypocrisy of a political class intent on driving down Australian’s use of its natural resources while happily propping up their red-ink-soaked budgets with record coal and gas export royalties is breathtaking.
The planet is either boiling or it’s not.
Family First is raising a political movement determined to put reality and affordability back into the energy debate.
If carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is creating a climate emergency, Family First believes this can be addressed rationally through technology and zero emissions fuel sources such as nuclear.
Energy policy based on “hope” and “wishful thinking” is hurting families and this must stop.
ACTION: Join the party fighting for affordable and reliable electricity. Join Family First today.