Earlier in the week, sound, fury and internal Liberal Party squabbling ensued when Scott Morrison parachuted the former Labor National President, Warren Mundine, into the seat of Gilmore on the NSW south coast, dispensing with the locally preselected Grant Schultz, son of the late former Liberal MP for Hume, Alby Schulz.
The PM pronounced Warren Mundine a good bloke. I know Warren and I can attest to that. He has ancestral ties to the region in Gilmore and in normal circumstances he would be seen as an excellent candidate for the hyper-marginal seat.
The local Liberals were said to be furious. Schultz took his bat and ball and declared he would run as an independent, rendering a triangular contest into an electoral parallelogram. The Speaker of the NSW parliament and Liberal MP for the South Coast, Shelley Hancock, described the move as “one of the darkest days of the Liberal Party.”
Before we knew it, Libs state and federal spent the next three days shrieking angrily at one another from the parapets.
The commonsense response from one’s opponents at these times is to let questions from reporters go through to the keeper in an effort to pretend that one is above it all.
But three days ago, Bill Shorten couldn’t help himself, saying, “The Liberal Party replaced a woman (Ann Sudmalis, who is retiring) with a man (Mundine) who wants to put nuclear reactors in Australia, including Jervis Bay.”
Similar remarks were made by Shorten’s deputy, Tanya Plibersek and other senior Labor MPs.
The problem is Mundine has said no such thing. The story seems to have gained some credence following an interview Mundine did with ABC Illawarra some time ago.
So, let’s go to the third umpire in the form of the transcript of that interview:
ABC journalist: You’re a fan of nuclear power, if we want to talk about energy policy. Jervis Bay is famously a part of Australia which — sorry — Jervis Bay once upon a time was touted as a potential area for a nuclear power plant, in fact, there’s a cement slab still sitting there which is where they were going to put it. Do you think that’s a reasonable idea?
Mundine: As you know, I’m a strong supporter of nuclear power, not because I’m a supporter like I follow a football club – it’s the science. I just was a keynote address speaker at the Australian Geo-science Convention in Adelaide just a month ago where you had a thousand of Australia’s top scientists, and geologists, and we had several hundred overseas scientists sitting at that conference, and not one person at that conference spoke against the use of nuclear power. In fact they said if Australia is going to be an economic growth, an economic power going into the future, you cannot have 100% renewables, you have to have a nuclear power within that mix.
Journalist: Okay, I understand that it’s about the science, but would Jervis Bay be a good place to put it considering its Commonwealth land, and if not, perhaps Port Kembla?
Mundine: Oh, there’s a number of places you could put this, and you know, until you actually sit down and actually look at the research and review of certain areas and that, then you can make a proper decision on where these things could go.
I sought comment from Mundine two days ago and he confirmed he has “never made mention of a nuclear power plant in Jervis Bay.”
This is how a political verbal works. Drop a dubious and unsupported remark into the political conversation at an early stage and let it float into the consciousness. Never mention it again because by then the allegation would need hard evidence of which there is none. By that time, however, the mischief will be gormlessly spread around on social media and elsewhere, often at the urging of anonymous party apparatchiks.
Before you know it, the verbal becomes regarded as fact to the point where it consumes the candidate and obliges him or her to make multiple denials that in the context of our politics today are regarded with cynicism by voters.
For those curious about the politico-legal status of Australia’s tiniest territory, Jervis Bay is a most unusual construct. The roughly 70-square kilometre land mass was gifted by the NSW s government to the feds in 1915 as part of its land allocation which makes up the ACT today, in order to provide the otherwise fledgling landlocked federalès with their very own port and harbour views.
The several hundred residents of Jervis Bay vote in the ACT seat of Jenner, not Gilmore. But three kilometres away is the township of Vincentia then Huskisson, and the major popular centres of Nowra and Kiama.
None of this should matter as the construction of a nuclear reactor in Jervis Bay or anywhere else is not Liberal Party policy but the verballing of Mundine contains just a snifter of circumstantial evidence which helps perpetuate the lie.
In 1969, the Gorton government sought expressions of interest for the construction of a 600 MWe heavy water reactor at Jervis Bay. When Gorton lost the prime ministership to Bill McMahon in 1970, the proposal ran out of steam, so to speak, after a cost analysis undertaken by Treasury showed a new coal fire power station at another location was going to be about a quarter of the price. In the meantime, some preparatory work was done, a few trees were chopped down and some concrete poured which the locals now use as a boat ramp at Murray’s Beach.
Local media outlets have been rustling up the far-fetched story of a nuclear reactor being knocked up in Jervis Bay ever since, and they trot it out on quiet news days every couple of years.
The media may, to some extent, be complicit but Shorten and Labor have attempted to paint Mundine not just as an outsider in Gilmore but a man who has recklessly given the thumbs up to a potential Three Mile Island, Fukushima or God forbid, a Chernobyl in Gilmorian backyards.
But I caught you, Bill, and this verbal is not going to get up.
This article was published in The Australian on 25 January 2019.
Re the KAK TV kerfuffle, it now appears the two white female “moronic, ignoramus” who were initially responsible have now caused a few black female intelligent, brainiacs to buy into the brouhaha.
This virtue signalling has got to stop.
In the last 20yrs the Germans who are apparently the world leaders in renewable energy have spent trillions of euro’s and achieved the following;
They have doubled the price of domestic power.
They have seriously destabilized the grid.
At last report they have not reduced CO2 emissions since 2009.
Hmmm. I wonder if Julie Bishop is hanging around to be leader of the opposition?
It’s not over yet for ScoMo, Boadicea, the 1st Newspoll of the year bounced in the Governments favour and now the big guns are ready to fire and highlight what a huge mistake it would be for Australia to have Shorten as PM. Cheers
how could I care less?? I couldn’t
Whoops!
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/renewable-energy-comes-at-a-cost-for-inefficient-states/news-story/47cde53132bc5955dae2c1d8997d694b
Lots of gaps in this one, too. What created the brown outs last week was the failure of ageing coal fired power plants in Gippsland. That didn’t rate a mention in the piece. The problem is there is little investment in the sector and when it comes, it steers well clear of either new coal fired power plants or refits of old ones. That’s not a political statement. It’s just reality. Big investors who want decent returns on capital are passing on coal. The other pertinent point is the Morrison Govt has no energy policy beyond a few motherhood statements and piecemeal pieces of legislation on energy pricing. There is no policy on emissions reduction coming from Canberra with the exception of the ERF which has cost taxpayers $2.28 billion and counting (straight in the pockets of the big emitters) and the money at least on budget projections is running out.
Victoria closed Hazelwood early due to ideology. Hazelwood would have prevented last weeks debacle. My point is there is no fat in the system and dare I say it the government needs to intervene to prevent the ‘planned maintenance’ which are occurring t exactly the right time……for the companies that is.
wat?
The Private owners of Hazelwood closed it down because it was unreliable and uneconomic to keep running it. The government had nothing to do with closing down the Privately owned plants. The way you exclude the truth from every comment you may be Stuart Robert.
Why was it uneconomical?
First all the subsidies to the renewable crowd because they could not compete on price.,
Then first preference for supply must go to the renewables.
After that, take it from the existing generators where economies dictate that they keep running 24 hrs a day and they had their whole economic basis destroyed.
Once uneconomic, maintenance costs are cut and unreliability sets in.
Do you understand cause and effect Dismayed?
Well, who would invest in a coal fired power station when it might take twenty years to get a return and you might face a government that wants to close it, or to mandate the use of other technologies instead?
gee, that looks a lot like politics to me.
But none of those factors exists in Australia now and still no investment.
Jack, am I missing something?
are you saying that there is no present risk of some new state or federal government in the short or medium term closing off coal or mandating other technologies?
it sure looks like such a risk exists to me, and I am told by investment banker types that they believe it does.
How would we know? The Coalition doesn’t have an energy policy nor a pollution emissions reduction policy and hasn’t for five years going on six. Funnily enough they do have an advertisement which runs frequently on television promoting a policy that hasn’t existed since Malcolm Turnbull got rolled. There is no investor certainty because there is no national policy framework and hasn’t been since the days of the carbon tax. Investors are steering clear of coal for that reason and a lot of others, the main one being that coal fired power is old, low tech, requires substantial infrastructure spending and fails under high use as it did in Sydney yesterday and Melbourne and Adelaide last week.
Jack, we don’t have coal power in SA any more. Adelaide’s outages last week were indeed heat related but transformers and the like. AEMO even directed SA to run our Govt owned diesel generators to prop up Victoria when private industry old coal infrastructure failed. But the gist of your comments is correct. Cheers, trust you are well.
Cheers, mate.
couldn’t possibly reserve some of the mega shit tonnes of gas and run combined cycle gas turbines for electricity generation?
Smoke, Yep. It would only require about 5% of east coast gas to do as you suggest. Also bringing prices down significantly. In SA the new puppet Liberal government have delayed switching the duel fuel generators, that the ever increasingly looking visionary Weatherill, acquired because they are trying to sell them to a Privately run company who already has Gas peaking units very close to Adelaide. The company obviously is holding out as they were supposed to be on gas for this summer. But then you have some Liberal clowns wanting to subsidise a couple of their very wealthy mates to build regasification plants and import the Gas we have sold to Japan back pushing prices higher with taxpayer money. This stuff just cant be made up. this coalition government are actively for politics and ideology Costing this Nation huge sums of $$$$$
38.3 degrees in Adelaide at 14.00pm. SA is Exporting over 25% more power into the NEM grid than its own demand is utilising. The latest report out this week shows Australia’s newest coal fired power plants break down and go offline just as regularly as the older ones. That included the HELE plant that the coalition caretaker government is trying to subsidise for its wealthy mate Trevor St Baker and underwrite any future carbon costs at Taxpayer expense. as usual razor you are just flat out wrong.
2 more coal fired power stations in NSW in the last 24 hours have gone offline again. Home Solar has kept the peak demand under control again. Lloyd is an IPA stooge. Why does the AEMC continue to delay 5 minute power pricing? Because their board is captive to the coal industry.
Brilliant analysis by Lloyd! This leads to the question regarding stable power and as coal has been intentionally made less cost effective there is only one answer. Nuclear. We have plenty of uranium and are geologically stable. A no brainer.
Razor, I’ve just looked at Graham Lloyd’s tweets. The guy’s a partisan hack and there’s little evidence that he understands much about which he writes, particularly climate change and you have to wonder when he re-tweets Malcolm Roberts to support an enquiry into BOM.
It’s a big call, I know, Razor, but it’s possible that Lloyd knows even less than Ian Plimer about climate science.
Brilliant commentary piece. The lovies will hate it but it’s truth cannot be denied. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/virtue-signalling-a-choice-as-the-innocent-die/news-story/aee0b07cbc39580a876a90f3f36b3f73
It seems to me there is a lot cherry picking going on here, Price included. I watched one woman from News.com.au on SkyNews last night (I can’t think of her name and really it doesn’t matter) offer one statistic in relation to indigenous women being 35 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of domestic violence. This is true to a point (there are massive data gaps in relation to remote and very remote indigenous communities) but she failed to mention the same stats showed indigenous men are 28 times more likely to be hospitalised for any reason compared to the general population. The problem in remote and very remote communities is down to economic and intellectual poverty first with other factors like culture falling a long way back second. At least Price acknowledges lack of education (compounded with the lack of basic health practices and fundamental resources like housing she declines to mention in her very brief piece) as a significant factor.
The original barney started over people protesting in our cities about the date of Australia Day. That has little to do with what Kennelly offered in response but she offered it anyway in a manner that perhaps unintentionally (I’m being kind to her) characterised all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men as sex criminals. Her argument offers nothing by way of solution and merely reinforces stereotypes that for the majority of the male indigenous population in this country do not apply. What Stynes was up to was little better and possibly worse in what amounted to two moronic white women telling indigenous people how to live.
Seriously, does anyone think any good will arise from a heated debate between a pair of ignoramuses on morning television? If you want to be enlightened on this, listen to people like Marcia Langton and Noel Pearson and read what they write.
Finally, ponder why there is a national outcry with every person with working index fingers telling us what they reckon over a dismal little shit fight between a couple of flyweights while only three comments in the paper were made on this:
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/giving-power-to-indigenous-youth/news-story/77a8a2d8ff636ccb047a8c4592dd0c9b
Too many Australians see Aboriginal people by way of stereotype. Of the 548,370 who identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in the recent census only 140,000 live in remote or very remote Australia. 233,100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders now live in the nation’s big cities. That’s about one third of the total indigenous population and that rate of urbanisation is likely to continue for decades.
it occurs to me that the fine bone china plate of indigenous australian culture from time immemorial is broken into several chunks.. and fancy 21st century super glue of urbanite goodwill and glad handing will not create an effective repair.
I struggle, remembering each region spawned separate language groups and those languages are critical when preserving the local indigenous culture.
that line of thought just overwhelms me. it is such a massive undertaking.
we’re busting a gut trying to keep the noongar language going over here but Im worried we’re failing.
Marcia Langton had something to say about the high incidence of indigenous domestic abuse/violence about 2 years ago on the ABC’s Q&A.
theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-are-indigenous-women-34-80-times-more-likel…
The sad truth is in many urban areas ATSI people are still over represented in the criminal justice system and health system but under represented in higher education. We need to change this and I have actually worked with Professor Langton to try and address this in NQ a couple of years ago. She is a great lady and has a wealth of knowledge and an excellent network to draw from.
I agree the current farce on Studio 10 is a sideshow but Styne’s stance is typical of what a lot on the left do. They sit in the city and put their head in the sand to the reality of what is occurring. Our first Australians in remote areas are impoverished, in poor health and are not educatively equiped to deal with the modern world. They are without opportunity. They are used by birth the left environmentalists and the right for nefarious means.
I think we are saying the same thing here JTI, I probably just have a less optimistic view than yourself. Seeing the rates of pre-teen children with STD’s in indigenous communities will do that to you.
Very good points you have raised here JTI. Too many people are chipping in on this argument between KAK and Yumi Stynes as though this is the real issue….it’s not. Maybe this was a bit of a set up to get the show higher ratings…although I suspect even that wouldn’t save this show. Jacinta Price is intelligent and well spoken, but does not speak for most Aboriginal women, particularly in Central Australia.
I’ve worked in Aboriginal education (alongside Marcia Langton for a short time) and they are getting there, slowly I admit, but it’s happening. We do not need urban based white women, particularly people like KAK, sprouting uninformed, unintelligent views about this topic….all she is doing is trying to stay relevant. Yumi Stynes I know nothing about but she really did nothing but call KAK out….something that has never seemed to happen before….
I agree that nuclear should be one of the options to be considered in making the transition away from coal-fired power stations. I also think it’s poor form to verbal Warren Mundine on energy, but it’s hardly the worst example we’ll see in what’s sure to be a bitter election campaign.
I think the rot, in terms of Parliamentary manners going south, started when Tony Abbott became opposition leader and has continued unabated ever since. I sincerely hope that the next Parliament is the “kinder, gentler polity” that was promised, and never delivered, by Abbott. We desperately need some real statesmen in Parliament.
I’m hoping for an ad campaign comparing a future Shorten Labor govt and Venezuela, and ideally finishing with a mushroom cloud, TO. They could chuck in a bit of Conrad too for good measure.
And a rebuttal in regard your comment re Abbott, what rot! Have you forgotten Keating:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-12/the-collected-insults-of-paul-keating/5071412
That was, obviously, courtesy of the abc who deplore that sort of stuff if done by Abbott and celebrate it if done by Keating. And then there is Latham:
the-colourful-quotes-of-mark-latham-20031202-gdwuu6
So no, TO I don’t agree that Abbott was what started it.
Some gems in that Keating link, Milton (the Latham link didn’t work) – much cleverer than the stuff we get in Parliament nowadays (including from Abbott).
Abbott also lowered the tone of Parliament by trashing Parliamentary traditions, such as allowing pairs for Parliamentary voting. He reminds me a bit of Trump, in that he’s never really tried to embrace the views those who didn’t vote for him.
I think our democratic system is broken to the point of ‘numb’ by well-earned distrust, self-interest and serial hardcore ineptness on all sides but these Libs have taken Australian politics into pond scum territory all by themselves.
Everyone wants an end to the grubbiness & point scoring so people have actually tuned out since the most recent squabble for the big chair.
They treat us like fools yet they expect our vote. It’s just bullshit.
Very astute & concise summary of Oz-politics circa 2019 Bella. Well done.
If dead cats can do it, so can the Coalition.
These fires are relentless. I cannot see the Derwent from my lounge window. Change in wind from northerly to southerly has sent the smoke from the Huon valley fires up our way today. Tomorrow is forecast to be another horror day as the wind turns around again and temps soar.
60 more interstate fireys arriving to help and, as fatigue threatens some who have been working so hard for 3 weeks straight, there is talk of flying in help from the USA and Europe.
Early each morning the fleet of 5 helicopters flies out overhead returning around 8.30pm in the evening. The large aircraft go back and forth
We need rain….
I just heard a radio interview with someone from the TFS saying with some exasperation toward the interviewer who suggested Tassie needed more choppers, that “helicopters don’t put out fires, Firies do.
Must be bloody terrible not to have all the assistance they need on the ground right now. Keep safe Boa. Walk the streets not the bush. 🚒
The Bell has rung, Mr. Insider and the Whirling Dervish, aka ex ousted PM Tony Abbott has come out fighting as he defends his Warringah legacy and prepares for the Zali Steggall challenge.
Zali is Pro Climate Change and has engaged Professor Tim Flannery to be in her “corner” for the “bout” which will leave either Tony or Zali bruised and battered, possibly both.
Let’s have a clean fight, no gouging, hitting below the belt or spitting and may the best Man/Woman win!
https://tinyurl.com/yajfuxtq
Tim Flannery, seriously? She obviously does know how to go downhill fast.
Here’s an article for youse:
https://www.theage.com.au/national/why-tony-abbott-will-win-warringah-20190129-p50uar.html
So, according to the link, Abbott says “transport” is the biggest issue in Warringah??? Seriously??? Just how freaking stupid is this guy??? 😨😨
What would be the biggest issue for Warringah, Bella? I don’t know the area, though I’ve heard of a few manly fairies, and Steggall’s campaign headlines seem to be about climate change. Better transport, in any electorate, would save people time, provide better access, free up the roads, be better for business, plus reduce emissions. Act locally, think globally. That’s my man Abbott in a nutshell.
Climate Change Milton.
Who cares how fast you get around the burbs if the planet is stuffed?
What is it about ‘extreme weather events’ that people can’t (won’t) take in? 🌏
Providing public transport reduces the reliance on cars therefore reducing emissions, Bella. Isn’t that desirable? I’d prefer our politicians, at all levels, focus on transport, public transport; I’ve long argued the case. I believe it to be better bang for the rate/tax payers buck than, say, boycotting Israel or conceptual art.
Actually it is Bella.
There are 250,000 people living on the Northern beaches and there are only 3 ways out.
Spit Bridge which winds up to Military Road and through Mosman and is pretty well a parking lot except for really off peak times.
Mona Vale Road that goes down through St Ives and is a parking lot in peak hours,
Warringah Rd across Roseville Bridge – once again a parking lot..
There are no train services.
A new bus service has been introduced and is proving to be successful.
In the main, it is a dormitory area that keeps getting people added to it without much infrastructure additions and it is a total pia to go anywhere.
Gotta be a tough gig living on the beaches of Sydney…🚘 ….but perhaps the cash would be better spent on more pressing problems than Sydney’s endless gridlock & overcrowding.
That’s just normal everywhere for Sydney.
Even a washed-up exPM like Abbott must’ve heard by now what his opponents feel is the main issue that voters there want action on.
The gridlock is getting worse daily Bella.
Canberra wants big Australia and Sydney cops half the intake but never gets any money from Canberra to build infra-structure,
In fact our GST money goes off to propping up the life style of Adelaide and Tassie.
By the way, what are the main issues as you see it?
I have been in the area for over 30 years and probably have been to the beach a dozen times – too hard to find parking :).
I believe you. I’m sure it is gridlocked Jack, most of our overcrowded city roads are carparks even outside of peak times.
My point is this.
We won’t be worrying about traffic if we don’t get started on mitigating the very real threat of climate change.
Any statements coming from Morrison about meeting our Paris targets are blatantly untrue yet the lies continue so we need a new government who will prioritise this urgent issue.
I don’t know about you but I want my son & his family to have a good life in a clean environment.
Maybe it is?