Countless flaws in the nation’s energy policy numbers game

Is there no one in federal Labor ranks who has the courage to pull up stumps on the all-renewables energy plan (“Albo v Plutonium Pete: energy politics a numbers game”, 3/1)?

Anthony Albanese is dragging the whole of Australia down the path of a country-sized sunk cost fallacy. How many of us still believe Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s claims that are based on reports restricted by the limits imposed on the CSIRO and Australian Energy Market Operator?

Together, the Prime Minister, Jim Chalmers and Bowen have sunk our hard-earned taxes into disposable wind turbines and disposable solar panel wastelands.

These projects have sunk the eagle population, sunk the koala population, sunk the pristine mountain tops of Queensland, sunk the fertile farming lands across rural Australia, and sunk the businesses and mums and dads struggling to pay their electricity bills.

The farms are shrinking, and business owners and mums and dads are scared and tired.

Joanne Foreman, Mansfield, Qld

What happens to all the batteries and solar panels when they need to be replaced?

I think most of it will end up in landfill. We converted to gas 40 years ago and haven’t had to replace anything yet. So far, our governments have spent billions of dollars subsidising renewables over the past 20-25 years, and all we have ended up with is a lot of debt and a lot of farmers angry about the intrusions on their land. Plus we are still relying on gas and coal-fired power to keep the lights on.

Glenys Clift, Toowoomba, Qld

It is strange that while there is often the complaint that politicians do not formulate forward-looking policies but, rather, ones for the short term with a view to a forthcoming election, the opposition to nuclear power is based on its contribution to the grid being “too far ahead”.

Given we produce only about 1 per cent of global emissions, “too far ahead” is surely a minor issue?

Ifor Beacham, Tingalpa, Qld

Hard work not enough

My grandchildren ask me, “How do you make money?” I reply, you work hard, and then say it’s not making money that is so hard, it’s keeping it that’s difficult.

This also applies to governments. We have a profligate government. Some of us do work hard and are quite productive. Our miners, agriculturalists and educationists leap to mind.

But all the money we earn that pays the taxes for the non-productive governing side of our economy can never be enough for Labor. Pointless subsidies will not stop inflation from increasing and interest rates will remain high in a valiant last-ditch effort by the Res­erve Bank to save us from the government’s profligacy and the ravages of untrammelled inflation.

Alexander Haege, Tamarama, NSW

Election mantras

Hoping for an election based on facts is wishful thinking (“Not another Seinfeld election”, 3/1).

Much of the voting populace accepts weird mantras that have been drilled into them at school. Otherwise we would be serious about defence, be alarmed by government debt and question a tumultuous and expensive rush to renewables to replace our cheap and reliable electricity supply set-up.

Add the significant proportion of the community that likes benefiting from other people’s money and won’t want that to change. The timeframes involved for serious improvement in our situation are decades, not a single term of government.

While recent elections worldwide suggest that a reality check is being achieved, here in lotus land we cannot expect grasping reality to happen soon. A shock will be needed and it won’t be pleasant.

Ken Dredge, Camp Hill, Qld

PM’s resolutions

Anthony Albanese may have settled on his resolutions for 2025:

1. Win the Nobel Prize in Literature for my magnum opus, Fighting Tories, volumes 1 to 16.

2. Sign Jim up to do an Economics 101 course, although perhaps a bit late, and get Treasury to explain the economics of the cost of living to me (no point asking Jim). Surely everyone gets an income from the government, I always have, so what’s their problem?

3. Read about the six miracles of socialism.

4. Get Penny to find Israel on a map and learn at least a little of its history so she can teach me.

5. Convince my friend President Xi to send Chris and Tanya on a mission to Mars, using renewable energy-powered rockets, to set up the first hot air farm (very exciting).

6. Drawing on my great work here in Oz, achieve everlasting peace in the Middle East by reconciling Jews, Christians and Muslims.

7. Find my voice.

Time to get cracking.

Brian Barker, Bulimba, Qld