Did you know that the majority of residents in and around Tarong & Callide (Qld), Liddell & Mount Piper (NSW), Port Augusta (SA) and Low Yang (Vic) are supportive of having nuclear power plants built in their midst? No, neither did I.

 

In June 2024 Leader of the Opposition & Liberal MP for Dickson Peter Dutton - the politician with 30 nicknames implying he is either a fascist dictator or a root vegetable (or both) - flanked by both the Leader of the Nationals & the Morrison lookalike spokesperson on Climate Change and Energy, announced that if he won federal government in 2025 he would establish a nuclear power industry in Australia.

The initial seven nuclear power plants would be sited at retiring coal-fired power stations in:

Tarong in Queensland, north-west of Brisbane

Callide in Queensland, west of Gladstone

Liddell in NSW, in the Hunter Valley

Mount Piper in NSW, near Lithgow

Port Augusta in SA

Loy Yang in Victoria, in the Latrobe Valley (rarer than a dodo bird, SMR reactor only)

Muja in WA, near Collie (ditto another dodo).

Then, in the months that followed, when hard questions began to be repeatedly asked Dutton went quiet on the subject. Leaving most of heifer's dust shovelling to be done by fellow Queenslander, the Nationals Leader & MP for Maranoa David Littleproud.

A task he is obviously not performing well......

The Noisy Elephant

@TheNoisyTrunk

#DavidLittleproud said, on #ABC 2/09/2024 Afternoon Briefing*, these exact words:

"Well, on all seven locations, the majority of people living in these locations that we're proposing for 'nuclear' power plants to take over from transition from coal-fired power stations support this"

We have a question, @D_LittleproudMP YES, THIS IS A QUESTION TO YOU David and it WILL be followed up.

WHERE is it documented that a MAJORITY of people in the 7 locations SUPPORT "this" (The transition to nuclear power).

1/. WHO polled this

2/. WHEN was it polled

and

3/. WHERE can we view the polling methodology.

We ask because #GregJennett didn't ask, and he SHOULD have, and secondly it needs to be verified given it is such a big claim and goes against the official polls.

Please reply to this post so that all can see rather than us having to go down a more formal approach and then republish stating such.

#NuclearPower

*https://iview.abc.net.au/video/NU2422C156S00

#DavidLittleproud said, on #ABC 2/09/2024 Afternoon Briefing*, these exact words:

"Well, on all seven locations, the majority of people living in these locations that we're proposing for 'nuclear' power plants to take over from transition from coal-fired power stations support… pic.twitter.com/AFbZRAquzO

— The Noisy Elephant (@TheNoisyTrunk) September 2, 2024

So the Coalition appears to believe that a homegrown nuclear power policy will get it over the line at the 2025 general election? Despite the fact that it will take too long reaching operational status, costs up to 85 billion to build & once all 7 reactors are up and running will need many billions of megalitres of water annually to function

 

On Wednesday, 19 June 2024 the Leader of the Coalition Opposition & Liberal MP for Dickson Peter Dutton (Qld) held a joint press conference with Leader of the National Party & MP for Maranoa David Littleproud (Qld), Liberal MP for Farrer Sussan Ley (NSW), Liberal MP for Hume Angus Taylor (NSW) and Liberal MP for Fairfax Ted O'Brien (Qld).

These representatives of their parties have sat in the Australian Parliament for approximately the last 22, 7, 22,10 and 7 years respectively.

From that Wednesday press conference an est. 10,047 word transcript was produced which alleges to outline a Coalition policy on nuclear power as part of Australia's energy mix, with 7 nuclear power plants to be constructed in the vicinities of Tarong and Callide in Queensland, Blackmans Creek and Mount Piper in NSW, Traralgon in Victoria, Collie in Western Australia and Port Augusta in South Australia.

All 7 of these projected sites according to Dutton & Co are to be compulsorily acquired from the existing owners on behalf of the Commonwealth and it is anticipated that the nuclear build will begin sometime in the next 10 years (before 2035) and the first two nuclear power plants will be complete in the next 11 to 12 years (2035-37) with the remaining five being completed by sometime in the 2040s.

When it comes to the projected cost of the build no estimation is given other than "it will be a big bill, there’s no question about that".

However the CSIRO GenCost 2023-24 report calculates a 7 large-scale power plant build as costing up to $85 billion in today's dollars, with the first nuclear power plant completed at est. cost of up to $17 billion. While a small scale SMR nuclear power plant (as yet commercially unrealised) has a tentative est. build of somewhere between $5.1 and $9.3 billion. A total cost for 7 small scale plants being between est. $ 35.7 to $65.1 billion in today's dollars.

The Australian Energy Council, peak industry body for electricity and downstream natural gas businesses operating in the competitive wholesale and retail energy markets, is not critical of CSIRO's timetables and costings.

The CSIRO GenCost 2023-24 final report also indicates an estimate of total build years to completion for 7 large-scale nuclear power plants as 40.6 years - with a most optimistic completion date in 2064-2065 if construction commenced immediately. While the report also states estimated total build years to completion for 7 small-scale nuclear power plants is 30.6 years - with a most optimistic completion date in 2054-2055 if construction commenced immediately.

In the joint press release transcript it states: "we’ve looked at water" as part of the basis of making the announcement of Coalition intentions to build those seven nuclear power plants if elected to govern in 2025.

However that brief mention did not qualify or quantify nuclear power production water needs, which according to a nuclear power-neutral Smart Water Magazine quote:

one nuclear reactor requires between 1,514L and 2,725L litres of water per MWh. It equates to billions of gallons of water per year, and all this water requires filtering somehow.

This would see Queensland & New South Wales required to each find an additional est. 27,786 megalitres of water per annum and Victoria, South Australia & West Australia each required to find an additional est. 13,893 megalitres per annum.

To put that into some perspective two nuclear power plants operating for one year in NSW would require the equivalent of 557 years of Clarence River average water discharge into the sea.

Further, in the joint press release, this quartet of Coalition politician also appear to be asserting that an Australian nuclear power industry will supply "cheaper" electricity.

The Australian Energy Council states:

Australian retail household electricity prices in the National Electricity Market (NEM) are the lowest they have been for eight years, and on an international comparison are the 10th lowest of the 38 OECD countries. The average cost per unit of electricity has fallen to 27 cents/kWh according to the most recent Australian Competition and Consumer National Electricity Market (NEM) data. When compared against other countries using a purchasing power exchange rate, Australian average prices per kilowatt-hour are equivalent to 17.6 US cents (c/kWh), well below the OECD average cost of 24.2 US c/kWh and less than many European countries.

World Nuclear Association graph, 30.04.24. Click on image to enlarge

According to the World Nuclear Association in 2024 there are nuclear power reactors operating in 32 countries plus Taiwan.

Looking at the graph of 58 countries above, 5 of the 15 countries with the highest household electricity prices were countries with nuclear power in the mix.

The Czech Republic operating 6 nuclear reactors has the second highest household electricity price, Belgium operating 5 nuclear reactors the 7th highest, Spain with 7 nuclear reactors the 10th highest, Slovenia sharing 1 nuclear reactor the 12th highest and the United Kingdom operating 9 nuclear reactors the 14th highest.

The full transcript of the 17 June 2024 joint press release can be read at:

https://www.peterdutton.com.au/leader-of-the-opposition-transcript-joint-press-conference-with-the-hon-david-littleproud-mp-the-hon-sussan-ley-mp-the-hon-angus-taylor-mp-and-mr-ted-obrien-mp-sydney/

Cartoons of the Week

Matt Golding

 

Cathy Wilcox

In June 2023 Liberal-Nationals Coalition & Liberal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton still failing to breakthrough with the national electorate?

 

At the Saturday, 18 May 2019 Australian federal general election 15.8 million electors turned out to vote, with the vote result giving 77 seats in the House of Representatives to the Liberal-Nationals Coalition, 68 seats to the Labor Party and 6 seats to minor parties/independents.

Three years later the federal general election saw 15.4 million electors vote, with the vote result sending the Labor Party into government in the House of Representatives with 77 seats, the Liberal-Nationals Coalition forming the Opposition with 58 seats and minor parties/independents holding 16 seats.

Twelve months into the Albanese Government’s three-year term and there is a 10 point projected gap in TPP votes in its favour in the 4 June 2023 Newspoll. While there is a 27 point gap in Albanese’s favour when it comes to which leader is seen as better prime minister material.

The Coalition in June 2023 under Dutton is 8 points lower than the Coalition under Morrison in August 2019 (the first poll after the 2019 federal election) and, at 45 points, 2 points lower under Dutton than where the Coalition was placed on election day 2022. On the Newspoll continuum over the last twelve months Peter Dutton as party leader has never guided the Opposition to a poll score higher than 46 points.

Newspoll, 4 June 2023:

FEDERAL PRIMARY VOTE (FP)

Labor ALP — 38 (no change)

Coalition Lib/NP — 34 (no change)

Greens — 12 (+1)

One Nation — 6 (-1)

FEDERAL TWO-PARTY PREFERENTIAL VOTE (TPP)

Labor ALP — 55 (no change)

Coalition Lib/NP — 45 (no change)

BETTER PRIME MINISTER

Anthony Albanese — 55 (-1)

Peter Dutton — 28 (-1)

SUPPORT FOR THE INDIGENOUS & TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER VOICE TO PARLIAMENT REFERENDUM

YES — 46%

NO — 43%

UNDECIDED — 11%

Sources:

The Australian newspaper, Newspoll, 4 June 2023

Twitter @GhostWhoVotes, 4 June 2023

Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), 2019, 2022.

Where to from here? A perspective on the Liberal and National Coalition

The Echo, 18 May 2023, excerpts from “A case for a Lib-Nats reformation” by Catherine Cusack:

Catherine Cusack is a former Liberal NSW MLC 

Photo Tree Faerie

Trump Fatigue Syndrome (TFS) has been defined by   American Professor, John Rennie Short, as ‘a depressing sense of watching the same drama over and over again. And just like being stuck in a movie theatre watching a badly scripted and poorly produced B movie, it begins with feelings of exhaustion, then panic, with the realisation that it may never end.’ 

So I audibly groaned when a friend sent me one of Donald Trump’s latest pearlers……

The Washington Post speculated his claim that some children are ‘deservedly’ unloved by their parents, is a ‘dog whistle’ to older conservative white Americans. It resonates with those who fear increasing diversity in America, and blame the younger generation of voters for caring about climate change and voting for Democrats, like Barrack Obama and Joe Biden.

Whatever the logic, it is clear a toxic and rampant Trump is back and the hijacked Republican Party can’t control or stop him.

Being found to be a ‘sexual abuser’ only seems to have energised his base. Trump’s angry brand –denying facts, deriding minorities and bullying opponents – is likely to invade at least the next 18 months of newsfeeds, through to the November 2024 presidential election.

Emboldened fringe right wing groups

The impact in Australia has been to embolden fringe right wing groups, including neo-Nazis and evangelical Christians who, for years, have backed minor religious parties like Fred Nile’s old ‘Call to Australia’ Party. That strategy has been replaced with a clandestine USA tactic of infiltrating the major conservative parties.

For example, here in the federal seat of Richmond, where we were looking for local leadership after the floods, the Nationals selected a Pentecostal Christian candidate whose stated mission was to ‘bring God’s Kingdom to politics’.

The past week has seen extraordinary disarray and increasingly selfish behaviour derailing conservative politics. In Victoria, a religious right Liberals MP, Moira Deeming, was expelled from the Parliamentary wing of the Liberal Party after threatening to sue her own leader.

In Tasmania, two right wing Liberals resigned, putting the last Liberal government into minority, because they disagreed with a decision to fund an AFL stadium.

And here in NSW, Nationals MLC, Ben Franklin, betrayed his parliamentary colleagues, who wanted to keep pressure on Labor in the hung Upper House. In order to reduce the number of LNP votes, Labor offered Ben the highly paid, prestigious office of Upper House presidency.

By accepting, Mr Franklin has rendered the entire Liberals-National coalition irrelevant in opposition for four years.

The moral decay of conservative politics

Instead of learning from multiple election defeats, the moral decay of conservative politics in Australia seems to be accelerating.

I am one of many long time Liberals who have left in recent years, owing to a lurch to the right in policy and the unethical LNP deals, which have handed portfolios, including education, most of environment, Aboriginal Affairs, the Women’s portfolio, and even Sydney Water, to the NSW Nationals – a party so backwards they are still voting against daylight savings and in favour of subsidies to turn koala habitat into woodchips.

In Sydney, thousands of moderate Liberal voters have rejected these policies, turning instead to the Teals as representing their views better than the LNP. In regional NSW, many have turned to the Independents as an alternative to the Nationals.

Electing independent MPs is, in my view, a temporary fix for the problem. What is required is a full-scale reformation of Australian centre right politics – a reformed, or new, party that seeks to return to the patrician values of virtuous politics; cleansing itself of religious extremists and political bigots.

Dissolving the LNP Coalition agreement

Step one on the journey to reform conservative politics has got to be dissolving the LNP Coalition agreement, thus freeing both the Liberals and National Party to be true to their roots, and authentically represent their communities…….

The next year will tell if Australian Liberals have the depth and fortitude to detach from the Nationals, to choose their own path, or whether they are doomed like American Republicans to keep repeating the same Trumpian drama.

In which Liberal & Nationals MPs behaved badly in the Australian House of Representatives over three consecutive days....

 

Presumably at the direction of the Coalition Leader or the manager of Opposition business in the House at approximately 5:40pm on Tuesday 28 March 2023 Liberal and Nationals MPs began leaving the Chamber to avoid participating in one of the votes conducted during the passage of the Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Income Management Reform) Bill 2023.

During this piece of self-indulgent performative politics, Liberal MP for Wannon & former Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan, Liberal MP for Hume & former Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor, Liberal MP for Canning & former Assist. Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie, Liberal-National MP for Wide Bay & former Deputy-Speaker Llew O’Brien, Liberal MP for Flinders Zoe McKenzie, Liberal-National MP Ted O’Brien and, Nationals MP for Nicholls Sam Birrell, demonstrated disrespectful, juvenile, boorish and dangerous behaviour…..

Clips of the incident from yesterday, where Coalition members pushed their way our of the House of Reps after the speaker called for the doors to be locked (with about 6 minutes of inconsequential division time cut from the middle). pic.twitter.com/zfmEB3JRa0

— Michael Mazengarb (@MichaelM_ACT) March 28, 2023

House of Representatives Hansard, Tuesday 28 March 2023 at 5:41pm, excerpt:

The SPEAKER (17:41): Before we go any further, I wish to 

call the Leader of the House, and I want absolute

silence for this.

Mr BURKE (Watson—Minister for Employment and  Workplace Relations, Minister for the Arts and Leader of the House) (17:41): I am not in a position to name individual members of parliament, but we as a House cannot be in a situation—out of respect for the staff who work in this building—where, when you ask people to lock the doors, they have members of parliament physically pushing past them to get out of the room. There are standing orders that are quite specific in terms of people's obligation. Once you say, 'Lock the doors,' at that moment people have to move to the seats and pick a side or do as some members did, quite appropriately, and take the advisers' boxes.

Mr Speaker, regardless of Practice and standing orders, we cannot be in a position, as a House, where people are using their physical size to push past the members of staff after you have said, 'Lock the doors.' It would be

appreciated if you could review the video. It would also be appreciated if the members involved reported directly to you so that you can work out what the appropriate action is.

The SPEAKER (17:42): I shall be taking the issue very seriously. I will report back to the House.

And all seven were forced to publicly apologise on the floor of the House…...

https://youtu.be/q_8SWGJ5A0o?t=114

House of Representatives, Hansard, Wednesday 29 March 2023 at 9:01am, excerpt:

STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER

Parliamentary Standards

The SPEAKER (09:01): Before we proceed with business today, I want to address a very serious and grave incident that occurred during a division yesterday afternoon. I thank the Leader of the House for raising this incident with me at the time. After the bells had been rung, I ordered that the doors be locked. After I gave this order, I am aware that a number of members exited the chamber while one of the attendants was attempting to close and lock the door to the opposition lobby, as directed.

As all members are aware, under standing order 129 after the Speaker orders the doors to be locked no member may enter or leave the chamber until after the division. It does not matter whether the doors have been able to be fully closed, the point at which the order is given from the chair is the point at which no member is allowed to enter or leave the chamber.

The most serious aspect of this incident is that members physically pushed their way past the attendant to get out of the chamber, resulting in the attendant getting hit in the doorframe and hurting their arm. I am particularly disgusted by this behaviour, and I will not tolerate it. For a staff member of this place to be treated in this way when they are simply doing their job is disrespectful and a very serious matter.

I have spoken to the parliamentary staff who were involved or who observed the incident and have reviewed a written report from them. I want to make it clear that I am committed to ensuring that this building and this chamber are safe and respectful places of work for all. No staff member should be hurt in the course of doing their work in service of this House. We all know that members are busy. However, I am sure we would all agree that no member's time is worth more than a staff member's safety.

In light of this issue and other recent issues raised with me, I will be writing to all members with a review to reinforce this and to ensure that members are in no doubt as to their obligations to treat this chamber and parliamentary staff with respect.

The Australian people expect members to maintain the highest of standards in terms of conduct and behaviour. We have been reminded of this in Set the standard: Report on the independent review into commonwealth parliamentary workplaces. For all members and staff, I remind them that the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, PWSS, supports people affected by serious incidents or misconduct in the parliamentary workplace. This service is available at all hours.

I am now going to give indulgence to members who left the chamber following my order to lock the doors to apologise to the House for their actions.

Mr TEHAN (Wannon) (09:04): Speaker, I left the House as you were saying close the doors, and I apologise for my conduct.

Mr TAYLOR (Hume) (09:04): I apologise to the House, Speaker, for leaving the house after your directions were given.

Mr LLEW O'BRIEN (Wide Bay) (09:04): Mr Speaker, I unreservedly apologise to the House and yourself for leaving after your direction yesterday. I also apologise to the staff, if they were involved in this. Our staff here in the chamber do an incredible job, and one of them is not crowd control. I apologise again for that.

Mr TED O'BRIEN (Fairfax) (09:04): Mr Speaker, I too unreservedly apologise to the House.

Ms McKENZIE (Flinders) (09:05): I apologise to the House, Mr Speaker, for seeking to leave after the Speaker had ordered that the doors be closed. I deeply regret and apologise for any impact caused to the staff member involved.

Mr BIRRELL (Nicholls—Deputy Nationals Whip) (09:05): Mr Speaker, I sought to leave the House after your

order and I unreservedly apologise to you and to the House for that. I have offered an apology to the attendant who was on the door at the time.

Mr HASTIE (Canning) (09:05): Mr Speaker, I also apologise unreservedly to you and to the House for

attempting to leave after the doors were to be locked. I particularly regret any issues with the staff member involved and I apologise to her unreservedly.

It should be noted that only Ms. McKenzie and Messrs. Birrell, L. O’Brien & Hastie offered apologies to the staff. Messrs. Tehan, Taylor & E. O’Brien were markedly less gracious in their apologies.

Let's not bother to go to the office today....

Liberal and Nationals MPs, not content with the performative display on Tuesday 28th decided to repeat their dummy spit for House of Representative cameras two days later.

This is a view of the House as The Speaker Milton Dick enters at 8:59am on Thursday 30 March 2023. The first item of business for the day was the second reading of the bill "Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023".

View of near empty Opposition benches at 9:02am as the Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus begins his second reading speech at 9:02am.

Another view of the House during the Attorney-General's second reading speech showing the Government benches on the near and far right of the image. The near left being sparsely populated Opposition benches (Liberals & Nationals) and far left Independents & minor parties benches. 

View of the House showing Labor, the cross benches and the visitors gallery clapping as the bill was listed as read and mostly silent members of the Opposition immediately leaving the Chamber at 9:21am.

It would appear that the Liberal MPs who did the right thing and were in their seats for the entire second reading process were predominately Opposition backbenchers:

Member for Longman

Member for Monash

Member for Sturt

Member for Forde

Member for Fisher.

They were in the company of three other Liberal MPs - one I took to be the Member for Bradfield, another the Member for Berowra and the third I could not identify.

One could be excused for suspecting that the handful of other Liberal and Nationals MPs who were in the Chamber by the end of the bill's second reading might have belatedly turned up just to avoid any accusation of non-attendance.