Doing a job on Labor’s climate change numbers

Bravo Jennie George for calling out Anthony Albanese’s misuse of the multiplier effect in the projection of a jobs bonanza under Labor’s climate action plan (“ALP jobs pledge under fire”, 6/12). However, it is disappointing to find retiring Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon and his sidekick Meryl Swanson endorsing Labor’s 43 per cent emissions reduction plan, while still professing concern for workers’ livelihoods. As George explains, the multiplier effect of new jobs is one-third of that in Albanese’s modelling, but we have to also remember the multiplier effect of jobs lost in industrial regions. Even the direct jobs are a mirage, as they result only in the initial installation of wind and solar technology.

As for the fantasy of Australia becoming a “renewables superpower”, one already exists. It is China, exporting renewables technology to a naive West, while continuing to build hundreds of coal-fired power stations itself. As the nation sleepwalks towards another election, this cruel myth of jobs, peddled by the one-time workers party, must be exposed for the hoax that it is.

John Morrissey, Hawthorn, Vic

Jennie George highlights Labor’s distinction between direct and indirect jobs in its climate pledge but in doing so misses the point.

First, without more emissions reduction and decarbonisation, as the Treasurer and the Reserve Bank of Australia have pointed out, the whole economy will be at risk. Second, the last decade has seen the nature of jobs in this country swing from secure full-time work to more part-time and less-secure casual work, and very insecure jobs in the gig-economy. Indirect jobs are not insecure or somehow lesser, they are merely in spin-off industries.

At least Labor’s modelling was done by the independent company RepuTex while the government’s was done internally by its own Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. Why hasn’t George questioned that modelling?

Ray Peck, Hawthorn, Vic

Labor, once the party of the worker, is now the party of the inner city elite. It takes Jennie George, who led workers in an era when they were represented by leaders like Bob Hawke, to point out the rubbery figures used to justify Labor’s current plan to woo inner city voters and greens on climate change.

When will Labor learn that agriculture, mining and steelmaking jobs are real, permanent and productive occupations which facilitate growth, wealth and employment? Their policies point clearly to Labor’s greening tendencies, a pie-in-the-sky utopia where no one gets their hands dirty but warm fuzzy feelings and impractical, wasteful, unsightly and unreliable renewables are the plan for the future.

Labor has lost its way and Australian workers and country people despair.

Robin Southey, Port Fairy, Vic

If we want to project into 2022 and beyond under a Labor government, there are several things we can look forward to (“Labor favourite to win in a tighter race”, 6/12). Overall, it will be a tectonic lurch to the far left, using the US Democrats as the working model. There will be a greater emphasis on expensive and unrealistic climate goals and the Davos, World Economic Forum-inspired, build back better, great infrastructure reset, again like the US.

There will be none of the sensible, Labor hard heads like Joel Fitzgibbon or Jennie George to act as a counter conscience. And under the lobbying and guidance of Labor elders like Kevin Rudd and Bob Carr, there will be a closer geopolitical shift towards China and its Belt and Road Initiative, causing irreparable damage to our ANZUS commitments.

Like the US Democrats, a Labor government, knowing their polices will be toxic to the electorate, will hit the platform running with an unanticipated legislative shock and awe that the people didn’t anticipate or see coming in an endeavour to cement them in place before 2025. We can’t say we weren’t warned.

Jim Ball, Narrabeen, NSW

We don’t need to create jobs. We need to create value. We need business to invest in long-run strategies above their cost of capital.

Labor’s Powering Australia climate and energy policy will result in permanent misallocations of capital and production, lower real wages and higher energy and consumer prices.

Victor Diskordia, McKellar, ACT