The Government’s Coal Fraud Must End

As Australia is in the grip of a record-breaking heat wave, LNP Minister Scott Morrison and Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce thought it would be hilarious to bring a lump of coal into Parliament and wave it around as if it were the answer to climate change and the scorching temperatures outside.

Malcolm Turnbull, who once declared the he wouldn’t lead a party that wasn’t committed to action on climate change as much as he was, has yet again capitulated to the right wing climate change denialists within his own ranks as he joined in the hysterics.

When  you consider that the “rest of the world” is waking up to the dire consequences of climate change, and taking action to reduce dependence on coal consumption for energy, Australia faces a grim future when our elected representatives continue to spruik the lie that coal has a long term future in an increasingly renewable energy focused world.

In fact, even the government’s traditional ally over at The Australian has come out swinging with Alan Kohler slamming the government’s position – “the great coal hoax.”

“Coal is by far the most expensive fuel for generating electricity, full stop — if the cost of dealing with climate change is taken into account,” says Kohler.

“Scientists have clearly detailed what those costs are, so they can’t be ignored. Emissions trading is merely a way to use market forces to price energy according to the true cost of the fuel used to generate it.”

“Now that we know the true cost, failing to price coal properly — continuing to pretend it’s cheap — would be like a restaurant pricing its menu to recover only the cost of the food, without accounting for overheads and wages — a short trip to bankruptcy.”

“In fact the price of solar energy is now falling so rapidly it won’t be long before even the unadjusted price of coal is higher than solar. The Coalition, meanwhile, is clinging to the idea that we need to build more coal mines.”

The reality is that we continue to be lied to by LNP government, whose opinions are dictated by the vested interests of their corporate donors in the mining industry.

Australia is burning under record-breaking temperatures with the trend set to continue into the years ahead.  This so-called government’s response is to carry on like a bunch of immature school kids; brandishing lumps of coal as trophies, denying the science and slamming anyone who disagrees with their coal-focused obsession as “coal-phobic.”

At what point do we decide enough is enough?

At what point do we claim self-defence…?