Story submitted by Mike Jonas
writes Angus Taylor, MP for Hume, New South Wales, Australia.
How refreshing it is to read something written by a politician that shows that they “get it”!
Some of the article follows, but first an explanation: Canberra – also known as the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) – was specially created in the early 20th century to be the capital of Australia, and that is its only reason for existence. The federal government of Australia is housed in Canberra. But Canberra itself is run by the local ACT Legislative Assembly aka the ACT Government. When Angus Taylor refers to “Canberra” or “the ACT” in this article, he is referring to the left-wing-controlled ACT Legislative Assembly, not to Australia’s federal parliament.
Angus Taylor is a member of the Liberal Party, which is the right-of-centre party of Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Angus Taylor entered federal parliament in the 2013 election, representing the electorate of Hume which stretches from the edge of Canberra to the edge of Sydney and is roughly the area of Maryland but with a fraction of the population. Expect to hear much more of Angus Taylor in years to come.
Angus Taylor opens with:
AUSTRALIANS are learning the hard way that moral vanity comes at a high price. After many years of climate policy chaos, we know that most people want some action on climate change but they don’t want to waste money on expensive, inefficient schemes.
He then goes on to criticise the ACT’s “plan to mandate that a dizzying 90 per cent of the ACT’s electricity supply will come from large-scale renewables by 2020” and quotes Bjorn Lomborg to draw a parallel with “the folly of Copenhagen’s plans to be the world’s first CO2-neutral city“.
There’s lots of downright common sense in the article, such as “As old-style industry protection has fallen out of favour, rent-seekers are hungrily eyeing green industry subsidies.“, “today’s huge investment costs are hidden in tomorrow’s electricity bills” and “when the wind blows, ACT-sponsored wind farms will send their electricity into the NSW grid, yet the ACT will demand a reliable and constant supply in return“.
The article in The Australian is paywalled, but is reproduced here.
The only thing that Angus Taylor gets seriously wrong is in his last paragraph “We need efficient, careful and well-timed emission-reduction policies.“. What a pity that he thus spoiled an otherwise excellent article. Maybe when most people don’t “want some action on climate change“, this part of the narrative might change.
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I read this article on a frosty morning in Launceston, Tasmania and as I wandered across to take the espresso pot off the (gas fired) stove and pour myself a coffee it occurred to me that if ‘renewables’ were so readily transitioned to then we could all morph into being plants, such is the degree of transition being fantasised about.
At its most basic we are a species, just like every animal species on the planet, that makes use of plants to do the long, slow, hard yards of trapping the sun’s energy and storing it in a useful form that we can then exploit by eating ( be it directly or indirectly ) or burning.
Maybe such a transition is what the green leftards really aspire to so as to reconcile their moral compass readings with observations as they travel the mobius strip world of their self referenced “morality”.
In that case bon voyage to them all.
I for one, would NOT like to be in Canberra during winter with an unreliable power supply.
Cold winters, often with little breeze, and the sun lacking any punch.
What sort of energy are they thinking of using ?
As a small correction the Liberal Party has moved to the Left over the past few years so that as some recent events have shown now many of its members are slightly left of Center with only a few of its sitting members remaining to be called in any way right of Center. One member Mr Turnbull is more left than others which is why he is the darling of the Left. There is no truly conservative party in Australia any more.
August 11, 2014 at 8:22 am | Jimbo says:
….
Indeed, multinational contractors, the labor unions (in particular), and the like-minded politicians, made a killing.
It’s a ticking time bomb I tell yer-
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/companies/superannuation-and-climate-change-is-a-ticking-time-bomb-that-puts-almost-every-australian-at-risk/story-fnkjk9kt-1227021454513
“Mr Hewson is the chair of the Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP), which produces the Global Climate Investment Index that evaluates how most of the world’s biggest investors are managing the risk of climate change.”
As you were folks, it’s just another well oiled rent seeker.
ACT (Australian Capital Territory) is a territory not a state, and controlled by the ALP, Hume does border it to the North. But I agree that pollution all types can be controlled, and the point that any clean energy or green energy, being very morally right with some, will do no good or change the weather or climate. It would be like throwing a sugar cube into Loch Ness to attempt to make the water sweeter. They are trying to get funding for a solar farm in Moree. It appears it is going ahead but at what cost? When I attended a lecture by Prof Bob Carter in Tamworth some years ago, then it was mentioned. It was going to cost millions to build and the target number of households to receive it was not worth the expense. But the solar companies here, if they have not got a foreign company, must be rubbing their hands.
…just got my yearly electricity bill (Copenhagen) – I have used 3437 kWh in a household of 3 (which is regarded as high in a urban flat) – the payment in $ ,,,, 1530,- ,,,, or 0.44 $ pr. kWh.
How much of this is the fee to the electricity company? (the rest (green) taxes of course)
,,,, 218,-$ ,,,,,
If you wonder why global warming is still hot among politicians in Europe? Don’t….
As I reported this was from NASA who you seem to thing are the angels of the GHE thought police. Some parts of NASA are sane and live in reality.
Uriarra solar farm wears community backlash
John Conroy
Government receives 120 objections to 10MW Canberra outskirts farm.
the link doesnt seem to have copied over..
ClimateSpectator.com
Ironic, considering Canberra has been hovering around record minimums and maximums for most of a week now.
sorry, record lows that is
Col Mosby says ( August 11, 2014 at 8:42 am) “I don’t know why Angus believes solar power to be practical, other than his vague claim that farmers have used it for years.“.
Angus’ full paragraph on this said “The ACT has ignored sensible alternatives. For instance, decentralised solar is economic without, repeat, without subsidies in many rural and remote areas. Farmers know this — many have been using solar for years for a range of purposes.“.
In Australia, “remote” really does mean remote. See http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/australian-cattle-stations.html : “[..] the Australian cattle stations are by far the biggest in the world.
In fact, some Australian stations are bigger than some European countries… Take Anna Creek Station, well known as the biggest Australian cattle station: this station in the Outback of South Australia covers 6,000,000 acres, or 34,000 km2. (Belgium by comparison is just over 30,000 km2, and the biggest American ranch is about 6,000 km2.)“.
Or see http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2005248 : “ the average driveway in a cattle station (ranch) stretches more than 20 miles [30 km] from the front gate to the house!“.
So, in many rural and remote areas, connection to the grid is not an option. Even where it is available, solar power is still likely to be economic for many uses.
Good article in news.com.au. The business adviser to the PM, says, too much money is being spent on schemes to avoid global warming, when it should be spent on what to do if the planet cools. Sensible man, eh.
I support emission standards based on clear evidence of human health effects. For example, the NAAQS standards were pretty solid until they decided to toss CO2 into the mix.
Yet what I find telling is that it is ALWAYS renewables that greens turn to for salvation. Nuclear runs basically carbon free and is just as reliable as coal power. It’s proven technology, and Australia has tons of Uranium. Nope, got to build windmills and solar cells.