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Metaphors of putting monkeys in charge of the banana plantation come to mind. Forget the inmates running the asylum: that happened decades ago. But the appointment of Matt Kean as the new head of the Climate Change Authority is a new low, even for that benighted taxpayer-funded sinkhole.
Kean is a former NSW politician, who was part of the “moderate Liberal” faction, which means he was a dripping, wet, green loon in a more expensive suit.
Naturally, our climate-deranged PM is a gushing fanboy.
The Prime Minister said Mr Kean was an “outstanding appointment” to chair of the Climate Change Authority.
“Matt Kean is uniquely qualified to lead the Climate Change Authority.”
The Australian
That’s what we call a backhanded compliment. Sadly, it’s true, for all the wrong reasons.
Kean – a vocal proponent of renewables who conveniently is now anti-nuclear – is a career politician whose 13-year tenure in the NSW parliament ended with a whimper.
A survey of the past drivers of this clown car quango shows that it’s always been the preserve of career bureaucrats and troughers. Yet, even by those low standards, it’s also very much an exercise in diminishing returns.
The inaugural chair was Bernie Fraser, a former Reserve Bank governor and Treasury secretary.
Fraser was followed in 2015 by Dr Wendy Craik, a former Productivity Commissioner, National Competition Council president, National Farmers Federation executive director and Murray-Darling Basin Commission chief executive.
Grant King, who was Origin Energy managing director for 16 years, a former Business Council of Australia president and currently chairs HSBC Australia and Sydney Water, will depart as chair in early August.
In other words, the silver-tailed elite class who’ve become solidly demented by climate change alarmism – and committed to shovelling as much taxpayer’s money into their wealthy pals’ wide-open maws as they can get away with.
But there’s climate-demented, and there’s Matt Kean.
Kean, a NSW Liberal Party moderate-faction powerbroker and protege of lobbyist Michael Photios, made his name as one of Australia’s most senior Liberal figures backing renewables and batteries as the future […]
As Energy Minister from 2019 and Treasurer from 2021, Kean fast-tracked renewable energy zones across NSW and announced a 70 per cent emissions reduction target by 2035. As CCA chair, Kean will have major input into the Albanese government’s 3035 target.
Hoo, boy. Australians can hardly wait.
Standing alongside Kean and Anthony Albanese in the Prime Minister’s courtyard on Monday, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed the former Liberal politician was a captain’s pick.
The Australian
Rule of thumb for Australians: if Boofhead is cheering for it, it’s guaranteed to be a really bad idea.
Mr Kean said despite initially looking to move into the private sector, he could not turn down the opportunity of Climate Change Authority chair.
The Australian
In other words, he couldn’t get a job in the real world.
Meanwhile, Peter Dutton appears to be kicking political goals with his plans to turn to nuclear power rather than the weather-dependent* generation.
New research shows many Australians support adding nuclear to the country’s energy mix as the Coalition continues to spruik its plan to build seven plants by 2050.
The Newspoll showed similar results to a recent Resolve poll: far more Australians support nuclear than oppose it. More importantly, there is a significant body of Australians who are undecided but prepared to at least consider nuclear, while waiting for more information.
Which means that Dutton has a job ahead to sell nuclear to undecided voters, but isn’t facing a wall of dug-in opposition.
About 60 per cent of them agreed nuclear power “has a place” in Australia’s energy mix.
“In every location, except Melbourne, there was majority support for an Australian nuclear energy industry,” the Daily Telegraph reported.
Sky News
Melbourne — why should that surprise anyone? These are the people of Australia’s wokest city, who voted for Dictator Dan Andrews more than once.
As far as selling nuclear goes, the Libs are already landing some killer blows. When Labor claimed that it would cost $387 billion to build seven nuclear power stations, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy Ted O’Brien pointed out that even that was a mere fraction of the $7-9 trillion to build an unreliable, weather-dependent energy infrastructure.
Even worse for Labor, its first response, to flood social media with anti-nuclear memes, was widely derided as puerile, childish and unbecoming to a serious discussion on Australia’s energy future.
No wonder Dutton’s finally edged out Albanese as preferred prime minister. He might have a head that only a mother could love, but at least he has a plan and isn’t carrying on like a particularly infantile undergraduate in a middle-aged man’s body.
*I use the term “weather-dependent”, because it’s a more accurate description of so-called “renewable” wind and solar.
