Russell Broadbent here, your Federal Member for Monash

The rush to renewables and net zero is foolish at best.

It is not informed by logic, and it is not in the best interest of the Australian people, or our independence.

We are blessed with world-class quality and quantity of coal and gas right here in Australia. It’s our natural advantage.

And we made use of that advantage for a long time – in fact, it served us very well. Australia used to be a manufacturing powerhouse because of its abundance in natural resources, but what’s changed?

These days, we are locking away our coal and gas. Closing coal-fired power stations, one after the other, and banning further gas developments in Victoria.

Not only do we lock away our coal and gas, but we give it to foreign companies - basically for free! Barely any company tax or royalties are paid. Australians will ultimately get no benefit from the natural resources that we own. That certainly doesn’t pass the pub test.

Our natural wealth can be compared with that in Qatar. But there’s one key difference - they put their people first. How do I know this? Because you barely pay tax as a citizen in Qatar!

Putting Australians first is the only metric by which good government should be measured. Our government are failing in this because of their desperation for global conformity, instead of assessing what is really in the best interests of all Australians.

That’s Justice I as see it.

Russell Broadbent here, your Federal Member for Monash.

Recently, the Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Bowen, said that the climate debate is settled, and that their science can’t be questioned.

This should be a huge red flag to Australians, we know better than letting Governments be the single source of truth.

An obsession over carbon emissions alone, is not going to improve our stewardship of the Earth.

In fact, Australia is completely insignificant as a carbon emitter compared to global counterparts like China.

Because of Australia’s abundance of nature and sparse population, we actually sequester 5 times as much carbon dioxide as we emit, according to Professor Ian Plimer.

Why isn’t this recognised? Because it doesn’t fit the narrative.

The science is propaganda if it can’t put to the test or up for debate. Therefore, all options should be on the table when addressing serious issues that affect our nation’s future.

That’s Justice as I see it.

Russell Broadbent here, Member for Monash.

Regional communities across Australia rely on backpackers for tourism, local economies and labour.

We have the most attractive Working Holiday Maker visa program in the world, with more than 200,000 people coming to Australia under this program each year.

But there are whispers that the government might scrap incentives for backpackers to make the trek to our regions, who are desperate for workers.

The 88-day regional work incentive in the Working Holiday Maker visa program, which has already been removed for British backpackers, might also be cut for other nationalities under proposed migration reforms.

Our farmers are rightly worried that they will face severe workforce shortages if this incentive is binned.

A recent report commissioned by the NFF estimates if just 20,000 visa holders no longer ventured out of the cities, it would cost regional communities $203 million per year and more than 1000 jobs.

For the horticulture sector alone, the absence of this workforce would cost $6.3 billion and 127,000 jobs along the supply chain.

The numbers paint a dire picture.

This Labor Government talks a big game about supporting regional Australia.

But I think they need to be reminded that our food doesn’t come from Coles or Woolies – it comes from our farmers.

Farmers feed the nation – it is our government’s job to support them.

And that means getting backpacker workers out of our cities and into Aussie farms.

That’s justice as I see it.

Russell Broadbent here, your member for Monash.

You read a lot in the papers these days about our quest to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Every day, there is yet another puff piece about how clean, economically viable and ‘ready to go’ renewable energy is – and with the newly funded Future Made in Australia Fund, this rhetoric is only going to continue.

But there is a fatal flaw in this narrative.

Many of these articles fail to talk about the FULL extent of the environmental impacts of renewable energy projects.  

In fact, the Environment Department itself are only required to consider the environmental impacts of renewable energy projects on a case-by-case basis – not overall.

But they are more than happy to draw attention to the so-called ‘big picture’ impact of rising carbon dioxide levels in our environment.  

Seems like a double standard to me.

It has become clear that our city dwellers haven’t stepped outside of their apartments to consider just how much of our flora and fauna will be gutted to make room for the renewable energy infrastructure they support.

Judith Sloan put it perfectly in a comment for the Australian last year, saying that: ‘It is slowly dawning on more people that destroying the environment to save the environment doesn’t really make any sense.’

She also says that: ‘for every megawatt hour produced, wind needs seven times more land than coal-fired power plants, and ten times more land than gas power plants.’

What does that mean for our farmers and country dwellers? Who will be forced to give up their land for the government’s net-zero agenda?

A double standard indeed.

That’s justice as I see it.

Russell Broadbent here, your Member for Monash.

Hot on the heels of my call yesterday urging the vax injured to contact mainstream media outlets with their stories, Olivia called my office to share her story.

Olivia is ineligible for the covid compensation scheme and asked me to share her story in the hope that other vax-injured people will also stand up and speak out to the media.

In early 2022, like every other Victorian government public servant, Olivia was mandated to take the COVID-19 booster vaccine in order to keep the job she loved. She said she’d never been sick in her life, but within five 5 minutes of getting jabbed Olivia suffered a severe adverse reaction that has left her chronically ill.

Two and half years down the track, she still experiences debilitating symptoms daily, and was hospitalised just two weeks ago due to ongoing complications from her condition.

She’s had to fight for months to get on WorkCover, as her employer denied her injury was due to the vaccine – battling against this bureaucratic bungling whilst on death’s door.

Whilst WorkCover has since agreed to pay her a measly sum that barely covers her expenses, it can be taken away at any time. She’s barely making ends meet and relies on her partner for income and day to day care and support.

And even though Olivia has been declared permanently incapacitated by her three doctors, she’s not eligible for the Vaccine Injury Claims Scheme, despite the life-altering effects of the mandated vaccination!

Adding to her distress, Olivia has been repeatedly gaslit by other doctors and hospital staff, who’ve have downplayed or outright denied the severity of her symptoms – one labelling her a hypochondriac on the hospital discharge sheet.  

I’ve been listening to stories like Olivia’s for three years and enough is enough.

This is not the country I know and I’m at a complete loss as to why the government remains blind and deaf to their pleas for help.

That’s justice as I see it.

Russell Broadbent here, Member for Monash.

Covid-19 vaccine injuries have taken a toll on thousands of Australians and their families – and many are still suffering and struggling with the impacts.

Over the weekend, the Daily Mail reported on two women who’ve suffered horrific vaccine injuries.

It’s clear from the comments online, that there’s a growing groundswell of vax-injured Australians that are rightly fed up with being ignored and abandoned.

The covid compensation scheme was supposed to be a quick and easy-to-access safety net – because the government acknowledged that there were risks – they just didn’t advertise it, no doubt convinced by the safe and effective mantra.

I’m not sure why the mainstream media are now suddenly prepared to right the wrongs…and give the vax-injured a voice, but as people around me know - timing’s everything.

So, today, with the compensation scheme set to cease next Monday, I urge anyone who’s been injured by the vaccines, to call and email your local Members of Parliament and flood mainstream media with your stories.  

You can email the Daily Mail directly at Tips@DailyMail.com

Australians trusted the government to protect them with a so-called ‘safe and effective’ vaccine, and help them if anything went wrong.  But that’s not what’s happening. 

I’ve said it before and I will say it again – the cruel and callous treatment of our vaccine injured has all the hallmarks of the robodebt tragedies. 

Vax injured Australians deserve better.

And that’s justice as I see it.

Russell Broadbent here, your Federal Member for Monash.

Air New Zealand has achieved first place in quitting the race to 2030 carbon emissions targets.

What this achievement shows is that they are the first in the airline industry to acknowledge a very obvious reality:

With today’s technology, there is no path to meet net zero without significant compromise.

For our country, that compromise would mean ruining what is left of the manufacturing industry.

And for our airlines, the compromise could come in many forms, but I imagine we’d feel it in the cost of airfares, regardless.

Australia has an abundance of natural resources which should mean ‘it’s a no brainer’ for industry to set up shop here.

The problem is that we actually lock up our natural resources so that only a few companies get their benefit - and they just ship it all overseas.

I’m tired of the zero-carbon pipe dream. Common-sense says that an obsession on carbon emissions alone is not going to improve our stewardship of the Earth.

Sustainability means to maintain productivity in the long run.

Let’s support a sustainable Australia by encouraging the use of our natural resources.

That’s Justice as I see it.

Today I wrote to the PM calling for the immediate suspension of COVID-19 vaccines due to DNA contamination. The evidence demands a full and transparent inquiry.

Russell Broadbent here, your Federal Member for Monash.

Time and time again, this government puts ideology ahead of common sense.

Rather than continuing to improve water efficiency and reduce water losses, the Government wants to spend billions and billions of dollars to buy water and take it out supply, essentially shelving it and making the remaining water – more expensive.

For context, the Government has recovered 2.6 gigalitres so far, but their goal is to take 450 gigalitres. That’s 18,000 Olympic swimming pools of water!

It’s a ‘feel good’ action with no tangible impact on the environment, but sure enough it’s at the expense of those providing for our nation.

Common sense says that making water less available for farmers, will not only disadvantage Australian farmers, but it will disadvantage Australia as a whole.

It’s basic economics! Understanding that making water more expensive, it will make final goods like fruit, vegetables and meat – more expensive. Cost of food is already crippling everyday Australians, why make it worse?

We expect better from people making decisions on behalf of our nation.

While others engage with the Novel of Nonsense, I am committed to bringing trust, reason and commonsense.

That’s Justice as I see it.

I can’t stand idly by when Australia’s most vulnerable families are suffering from discrimination under the government’s No Jab No Pay policy.

This policy, designed to protect public health, instead creates new layers of inequity and exclusion, all while allowing those with financial means to side step the very restrictions others are forced to endure.

A simple, yet effective solution, lies in reinstating the option for conscientious objection for parents who choose not to vaccinate their kids. This change would balance public health with respect for individual choice and cultural diversity.

Russell Broadbent here, your Federal Member for Monash.

The Government of the day has chosen ‘Cost of Living’ to be a major theme in its Federal Budget which was handed down in May. Total hypocrisy when you pay attention to the details of our rorted tax system.

Australia is notorious for its taxes on everyday people, with an average 7.6% increase in the last year – that being the largest increase in the world. And this year’s budget confirms that individual income tax is the largest contributor to government revenue by far – with 47% of government revenue coming out of the salaries of individuals.

By contrast, only 20% of our country’s revenue is earned from company tax, many of which are large companies which control and distribute much more wealth than what is held by individuals. Shouldn’t we tax our trade instead of our people, shouldn’t we all enjoy the benefits of living in a resource-rich nation rather than be penalised for it?

As if the taxes on individual incomes weren’t enough – here is a couple more which we all are well familiar with; Stamp Duty, Capital Gains, Land Tax, Council Rates, Luxury Car Tax, Fuel Excise, Alcohol Excise, Superannuation Guarantee, Driver’s License, Boat Registration, Pet Registration, Medicare Levies – and the list goes on, and I reckon it grows longer under this Labor Government in particular.

And I know some of the impediments I listed before are the responsibility of state governments, but those taxes still affect what the Federal Government is doing about all important issues such as Cost of Living and Housing.

I know governments don’t get everything right and that they should be acting in the interests of the people they represent. But they should look for opportunities to monetise strong industries in Australia, which we still have.

Every time you move, the government steals a portion of your wealth, every move you make. Free Australians from the economic prison they are sentenced to. Let’s tax resources, not our people.

That’s justice as I see it.

This week the Government introduced a bill which marks the beginning of the end for free speech and democracy in Australia. I also dropped off my letter to the PM calling for restoration of Conscientious Objector rights.