Andrew Bolt: Greg Combet’s climate crusade now a threat to Australia’s savings

As Greg Combet eyes off the nation’s savings, wondering how to splash them up against the wall to fight global warming, why are the Liberals not ringing the alarm?

Uh oh. Climate crusader Greg Combet is now eyeing off Australia’s savings, wondering how to splash them up against the net zero wall.

Why are the Liberals not ringing the alarm?

Combet was the ACTU boss, and then Climate Change Minister in Julia Gillard’s Labor government, giving us the carbon tax.

This year the Albanese government made him head of the Future Fund, replacing former Liberal Treasurer Peter Costello.

The Future Fund is worth a massive $225bn, and was set up to earn as much money as possible to cover the super the government has to pay out.

Under Costello, it did. It earned on average more than 8 per cent a year for a decade, helped by Costello investing in fossil fuels – coal and gas.

Chair of the Net Zero Economy Authority Greg Combet addresses the National Press Club. Picture: ABC

But now Combet wants to help the government to cut our global warming emissions, saying: “The Australian economy faces an important challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and sourcing opportunities for investment in the energy transition will be a feature of our strategy.”

Pardon? Nowhere in the legislation to create this Future Fund does it say it’s there to fight global warming

Its job is simply to make as much money as legally possible to help keep the government solvent. As the fund itself says, it is “required” by law “to seek to maximise the return earned on the fund over the long term, consistent with international best practice”.

But Combet says he now wants it to help “reduce greenhouse gases”.

So where would he like to invest our billions?

Combet gave a clue in a speech this year to the National Press Club, hailing “green hydrogen, green metals, green manufacturing” as “opportunities”.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has already promised to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on the hydrogen mirage. Picture: Martin Ollman

Let’s take green hydrogen. It’s not an “opportunity” but a money pit.

Big energy companies including Origin, Woodside and climate evangelist Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue have dropped plans to join the government’s new hydrogen hubs, saying green hydrogen is just too expensive to make work.

Just last week the Australian Renewable Energy Agency admitted green hydrogen “does not work today at all, in any circumstances”.

The cost of solar power would have to fall by two thirds before it could make hydrogen from water cheap enough to use.

That’s the danger when you chase dreams rather than dollars.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has already promised to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on the hydrogen mirage.

Greg Combet must be stopped from wasting more.

Originally published as Andrew Bolt: Greg Combet’s climate crusade now a threat to Australia’s savings