What are we paying the experts for?
Malcolm Turnbull has categorically refused to even consider an emissions intensity scheme because he wants to keep power prices lower and guarantee power security.
Barry Cassidy appeared on ABC Breakfast and made the following unequivocal statement:
All of the experts say an emissions intensity scheme would put downward pressure on power prices and add to power security. By the experts I mean you have the Chief Scientist, the CSIRO, you’ve got the modelling firms, Jacobs and Frontier. That’s what they say. Malcolm Turnbull says the opposite.
So it’s as simple as this: If you believe the politicians then Malcolm Turnbull has made the right call. If you believe the experts, then this is a fundamental failure in public policy. Now that’s not an opinion, that’s a fact. If you believe the experts, that’s a fact.
And made all the worse because they even refuse to consider the evidence from the experts.
That is the all too familiar pattern for this government.
They ignore the dire warnings from climate scientists and the coral reef experts.
They ignore the advice from all the experts that our overly generous property tax concessions are inflating house prices and skewing investment away from more productive initiatives.
They ignore the advice from human rights and health experts about abuses being inflicted on asylum seekers and seem content to deal with corrupt regimes even after they have been informed of the corruption.
They ignored the advice from Infrastructure Australia about the East-West link in Melbourne which was nowhere on their list of priorities as it had a less-than-parity return.
When education experts, after years of consultation and over 20,000 submissions considered, devised a curriculum that all State education departments agreed to, the government threw it out and gave two men a few months to rewrite it as they saw fit. Likewise with needs-based funding.
They completely ignore our intelligence experts who repeatedly tell them that demonising and marginalising the Muslim community compromises our greatest defence against terror and fosters radicalisation. Cory Bernardi and George Christensen are in fact raising funds for an anti-Islam group to defend a defamation case brought by a halal certifier.
They ignore the social services experts, the business lobby, and the Productivity Commission who all agree about the economic and social benefits of increasing welfare payments.
They ignore all the technology experts who agreed that FttP NBN was the best way to keep us competitive and increase productivity.
They ignore all the investment experts who say that the coal market is in structural decline with billions available for investment in renewable energy.
Barnaby Joyce paid hundreds of thousands for a report on moving a government department to his electorate only to ignore its findings.
They ignored the advice of experts on problem gambling.
They ignored the advice of those who help domestic violence victims, stripping funding and closing refuges and community support services.
They ignore the advice of experts on Indigenous disadvantage about the importance of self-determination to listen to Twiggy Forrest instead.
They ignored the legal advice of our very highly regarded Solicitor-General who obviously knows a lot more about the law than George Brandis.
They ignored the advice of unions that free trade agreements and cutting taxes would not lead to jobs and growth.
They ignored all expert advice about the value of the Safe Schools Programme.
This list could go on forever.
We may as well dissolve all government departments and statutory bodies and stop paying consultants to do modelling. Give the scientists and economists redundancy. No need to waste all that money.
Just ask Cory and George.
