Today, FOI documents confirmed that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was advised that last year’s power blackouts in South Australia were not due to renewable energy failures, but to severe weather conditions that caused unprecedented damage to the network.
Turnbull decided to ignore this advice as it does not align with his commitment to fossil fuels and his party’s entrenched opposition to renewables. Instead, he and his ministers seized the opportunity to politicise the blackouts by blaming the generation mix and the South Australian Labor government, despite having been advised by concerned bureaucrats that in so doing, they were disseminating false information to the Australian people.
Federal Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg claimed that state and federal Labor governments had recklessly committed to ambitious new energy targets, using the SA blackouts as an example of how renewables are allegedly unstable, and allegedly lead to energy insecurity.
These men, along with Barnaby Joyce and other politicians, deliberately misled both parliament and the public, seizing the opportunity to manipulate and obfuscate for their personal and political gain, without any regard for the wellbeing of the country and its citizens. They are traitors.
Turnbull has done an extraordinary backflip from fighting to introduce a carbon price and losing the leadership of his party for his pains, to attacking Labor for “ideological obsession” with renewables at the expense of “energy security.”
However, Turnbull’s commitment to coal and gas does not extend to his personal life. Apparently he is not fully persuaded that coal and gas do indeed provide sufficient energy security. We learned today that the Prime Minister does not seem to be walking his talk, and has installed battery storage in his Point Piper home.
Turnbull also recently upgraded his solar array, to the point where he could almost go off-grid.
As was noted on Twitter, Turnbull is protecting himself and his family from the inconveniences, distresses and dangers of power outages in a NSW market dominated by coal, with renewable technology his policies vehemently oppose.
Turnbull is a hypocrite, as well as a traitor.
In the meantime, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) which is currently considering a $1billion loan to mining giant Adani, has refused a Greenpeace FOI request for dates and locations of upcoming board meetings, on the grounds that it could encourage protesters and media interest if they were made public. This is an acceptable reason for refusing a FOI request? We shall find out. Greenpeace is appealing the refusal.
Coal-fired generators have no future in Australia, writes Ian Verrender, in a piece that is worth a read.
I’m sure Malcolm Turnbull knows there is no future for coal. I’m also sure he doesn’t care.
Turnbull will gamble with the future of the country and its citizens, many of whom suffer through upwards of 47 degree heat-waves without the benefit of battery storage, because Turnbull wants to keep the job he bought himself for $1.7 million.
And we thought we couldn’t do worse than Abbott.
This article was originally published on No Place for Sheep
A classic case of “Do as I say, not as I do.”
The situation is becoming quite serious when a Physicist suggests pumping water onto Arctic sea ice to try and stop it from disappearing.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/12/plan-to-refreeze-arctic-before-ice-goes-for-good-climate-change?utm_content=buffer8b95a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Quote of first sentences:
“Physicist Steven Desch has come up with a novel solution to the problems that now beset the Arctic. He and a team of colleagues from Arizona State University want to replenish the region’s shrinking sea ice – by building 10 million wind-powered pumps over the Arctic ice cap. In winter, these would be used to pump water to the surface of the ice where it would freeze, thickening the cap.
The pumps could add an extra metre of sea ice to the Arctic’s current layer, Desch argues. The current cap rarely exceeds 2-3 metres in thickness and is being eroded constantly as the planet succumbs to climate change.”
The article goes on to explain the hazards of taking no action to try and slow down the rate of sea ice loss.
A Washington Post article gives a picture of what is happening in the Arctic in relation to temperature:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/02/10/its-about-50-degrees-warmer-than-normal-near-the-north-pole/?utm_term=.d95b59cdd974
It is pure folly to open up new coal mines and take no action to minimise carbon emissions.
In a word Turnbull himself bandied around a lot last week, HYPOCRITE !!! If he were genuine he would be legislating subsidies for households to afford battery storage, at present still too expensive for “mums and dads” to afford. Instead he lets Morrison bring in a lump of coal into the house – suitably varnished of course so it didnt shed black muck all over their hands and clothes.
I thought it was illegal to mislead Parliament. I know it’s not illegal for them to lie to us, but I think politicians frown on them being lied to. Let’s hope he gets clobbered for it.
I agree with Jennifer.
“I’m sure Malcolm Turnbull knows there is no future for coal. I’m also sure he doesn’t care.”
Yes, the man gambles away Australia’s future to remain PM. Nothing whatsoever counts more to him, is more important, than his position as PM. He would gladly drive Australia and Australians to the wall, if nothing is left, but he is the driver.
Sell out mentally challenged against vulnerable single mums and pensioners. What kind of game is this?
Talking about a Fake, Hypocrite, Traitor.
Why not look around Europe for solutions as to how social balance and equity works. It is not rocket science.
Why Australia continues voting for these incompetent, callous fascists is an enigma to me.
Sooo, wait a minute.
Are you seriously suggesting he sets a higher standard to his personal property than the standards he would have us accept ‘in the national interest?
This is the bloke who invented the internetty thingy and gave us FTTN NBN so we could use his internetty thingy. It would be like him investing his own money in France Telecom FTTP NBN and telling the rest of us we should pay more for a lesser product. Please, tell me it isn’t so.
He may even have released a press statements holding up the France Telecom as an example of how we should do it.
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwitksu-xo7SAhULUrwKHXfOAxEQFgg3MAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.malcolmturnbull.com.au%2Fmedia%2Fsacre-bleu-french-fttp-costs-compared-to-australia&usg=AFQjCNHIpPeYQy7u7_6WVR8JkPAqg94aIQ
“Turnbull is a hypocrite, as well as a traitor.”
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwitksu-xo7SAhULUrwKHXfOAxEQFggtMAM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zdnet.com%2Farticle%2Fturnbulls-nbn-french-kiss-is-right-but-so-wrong%2F&usg=AFQjCNHiwJk2ZKYZ1iuYBdVaNpCMZ66Dzw
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwitksu-xo7SAhULUrwKHXfOAxEQFghDMAc&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fnews%2F2014-08-08%2Fbraue-stop-the-fighting-and-start-building-the-nbn%2F5654632&usg=AFQjCNGLR8Guthi87RFd8CVXwOR58CsAxg
From memory, Packer once said “Never stand between Malcolm and a bag of cash.”
I sort of agree with Kronomex “Do as I say, and I will benefit from your stupidity.”
Thank you, Ms Wilson. This git certainly has form. Take care
I had a conversation with my (98 y o ) mother this morning, discussion the fact that Turnbull has installed batteries etc. Her response was ‘ Why don’t we hear about this in the media?’
Balmain is not that far from Point Piper. Coal was once mined in Balmain.
I wonder if there are any coal deposits under Turnbulls mansion that could be mined.
http://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/109307/balmains-own-coal-mine.pdf
Gosh they even had a successful environmental anti-coal lobbyist group in the late 1800’s.
“The hostility of local property owners opposed to the extension of industry to the north shore caused the Government to reject all these sites”
[Why don’t we hear about this in the media?’]
You’d also think they’d be interested in the link removals that Kaye posted about recently. They reported Trump’s White House information removal.
Surely there is an easy to write (low cost) story in there for a journo.
Malcolm Roberts is also a serial anti-environmentalist. For whatever reason, he hates environmentalists. I am an environmentalist. I have been growing and planting trees for 26 years. Could that mean he hates trees as well.
Climate deniers have been accusing climate scientists of being alarmist. The reality is that scientists are a pretty conservative bunch, and the IPCC in particular has been at pains to not appear ‘alarmist’. Suddenly, the worst fears of many scientists are starting to appear: massive blowouts of methane from the tundra, warming in the Arctic to the point that winter sea ice does not form. I lived in Alaska for several years, and the thought that you would see open water off the coast at Barrow in mid-winter was unthinkable. I think it most likely that we have gone past the ‘tipping point’, and our best strategy is to work out how to cope with the inevitable disaster.
With Turnbull it is a matter of ‘do as I say’, not ‘do as I do’.
“And we thought we couldn’t do worse than Abbott”
And now we think we couldn’t do any worse than trumbull.
The last federal election showed just how smart the little aussie voter really is.
It was obvious what the LieNP govt. was doing, and intended continuing to do, and the result ?
They were re-elected … tells you all you need to know.
Turnbull cares about Turnbull; he’s the King of the Castle, and homeless must not dirty King’s streets…’here’s five dollars, there, there’ , with a smile.
Oh, those good olden days when they used have a moat around the Castle, it kept the hoi-polloi out..
Why are political lies not treated like false advertising , than which they are MUCH WORSE, as they impact lives that are given no choice, whereas one can choose to ignore private advertising? There should be big fines to start, then sacking if the lies are repeated or left unrebuked by the PM
IF Turnbull had faith in ‘clean coal’ he would remove his solar and storage.