When you ask the hard questions about the path our nation is on with our power grid, you have to get perspective by seeing the whole picture, not just an intense corner that is climate policy.
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So, what is the number one priority of government? It is to defend the nation, as without that what have you got. Secondly, it is to do all that is possible and affordable to raise and maintain the standard of living of its citizens. To defend the nation, you can't just rely on a strong defence force, but you need a strong, broad economy to create the structure that builds, supports and pays for a defence force. You need people to be willing to serve in the defence force and a media that divines what are the threats to our nation, both externally and internally, that impedes this task.
To raise the standard of living, once more, you need a strong, broad economy that provides the opportunities and advancement for its citizens. A nation needs an education sector that surpasses the level of the competition overseas, not just in academia, but also in trades. From this you can build a health sector, social security sector, informed, fair and just government, so many essential services and a culture of service to the community.
Energy, by its very nature, is the rug that an economy stands on; pull that rug out and all else falls.
Transport, manufacturing, processing, agriculture, the domestic requirements of heating, cooling, all the way to being able to afford to run your dishwasher, it requires affordable and reliable power.
It is essential to make our nation as strong as possible as quickly as possible. The rise of a militaristic, totalitarian China, a rogue state of North Korea, an architect of third party terrorism in Iran and Russia actually invading its neighbour, should leave us no doubt about the world your children are going to live in.
Our issues in defence are illustrated in our inability to support our allies with merely one naval ship to keep the access to the Suez Canal unmolested by the actions of adversaries in that region.
Australia relies more on this corridor than many others in the world as it lies on our trade route to Europe and the Middle East. It is not just the lack of a ship, it was also the problem we have finding the full contingent of a crew.
So, what are your priorities in making your nation as strong as possible as quickly as possible? On close examination, do multi-national companies swindling the tax payer with government subsidisation of the construction of intermittent wind factories and solar factories and a cobweb of transmission lines give us any prospect of competing against base load powered China, India, and base load nuclear in Europe? Is your power bill going down? Are you seeing new aluminium smelters opening up in Australia, or are you seeing them close down? Are there new oil refineries opening up, or are they closing down? What items around your house are made in Australia, as even much of your timber is now imported.
To become as powerful as possible as quickly as possible, you need affordable and reliable power, and that is not the story in your power bill.
