The ability to laugh is a wonderful gift particularly when faced with the incoherent ramblings of the unprincipled political left. Such is their level of absurdity that they shouldn’t be taken seriously. Unfortunately they are and if you couldn’t laugh you’d probably cry.
Every week there is a plethora of contradictions in their policy agenda that doesn’t seem to trouble the ideologues.
Consider for example the rabid cheerleaders for renewable energy. The profiteers from these taxpayer-funded boondoggles insist that renewable energy ‘stacks up’, is economically viable and the cheapest form of power generation.
Events this week in South Australia suggest that isn’t quite the truth but why let fact get in the way of a PC fairytale.
You will know that my home state of South Australia has been the human petri dish for the ‘wind and solar will save us’ brigade. As the state blew up its economic advantage provided by cheap coal fired power in favour of ‘free’ power, our electricity prices skyrocketed. They are now among the highest in the world and we need diesel fuel generators on standby to keep the state’s lights on.
None of those inconvenient truths dissuaded the advocates who announced ever bigger and better schemes to save the planet. Despite the claims of economic superiority, every single scheme depended on taxpayer funding to be even remotely competitive.
Even with those subsidies, in many cases the commerciality just doesn’t pass muster.
This week saw the collapse of a $650 million solar project in Port Augusta because it couldn’t raise the money it needed. Already in receipt of $110 million from taxpayers, the proponents want even more of your money to get it off the ground. Put bluntly, it’s such a bad investment that private financiers won’t back it but somehow taxpayers are expected to stump up even more.
It is a single case that makes a mockery of the claims of renewable energy zealots.
Unfortunately, these jokers are making fools of successive governments who then lay waste to our way of life and thousands of jobs.
The Port Augusta community are reeling from the state government decision to blow up the local power station in a tribute to the global warming gods. Whilst it was done under a Labor administration it was a decision cheered on by the Liberals who were too scared to speak against the zeitgeist.
The new SA Liberal government is even subsidising home batteries (which are still not financially viable even after the subsidy) whilst the Coalition condemn Federal Labor’s plans to do the same.
We have seen the supposed defenders of the coal industry prop up wave after wave of silly projects designed to shut down our second highest export earner. Wave power, solar power, batteries, wind farms, Snowy 2.0, light bulb schemes….I could go on and on about how your money has been squandered pursuing a Greens’ dream.
As common sense and simple economics have been discarded, the cost is borne by all of us. If you doubt that, just have a look at your next electricity bill. The dread with which you open it is a product of government decisions taken with your money.
We can’t afford that approach any more. We desperately need a return to common sense and practical and fiscally prudent decision making. That’s the role I see for the Australian Conservatives.
Cory Bernardi is the author of seven books and has been a member of the Australian rowing team, a publican, an investment portfolio manager and spent nearly 14 years as an Australian Senator.
