Russell Broadbent here, Federal Member for Monash.
The Albanese Government claims to be delivering a ‘cheap and reliable’ renewables plan. But this is clearly not the case, the numbers don’t lie. Let’s have a look what energy retailers are saying.
In AGL’s annual report, the Generation cost of coal-fired power was almost 3 times cheaper than renewables. And when considering the Fuel cost, coal was still 56% cheaper than renewables.
Let me be clear - the more that renewables force themselves into the energy grid, the more that Australians will be paying as both consumers, and as taxpayers.
Between intermittent wind towers and solar panels, ‘green’ compliance costs, taxpayer funded subsidies and higher electricity bills, it is certain the renewable energy transition is not in the best interest of our nation. Australian households are paying 20% more for their electricity than they did 2 years ago, and it is a shame because this supply shock on dispatchable, baseload electricity was imposed by the Australian Governments, on Australians.
Only coal can supply the industrial standard of cheap energy that DRIVES Australia. So when the Liberals or Labor are promising cheaper energy, they better be promising to keep our coal fired power stations open.
That’s justice as I see it.
The Great Debate in Perth was a unique opportunity to thank everyday Australians for challenging the status quo and changing the narrative. Let the hunter become the hunted.
Live version of the debate can be viewed here: https://youtube.com/live/QLd7CsEiksc
Graham (Hoody) Hood: 0:00
Julian Gillespie: 13:47
Senator Malcolm Roberts: 33:21
Professor Ian Brighthope: 58:31
Panel Discussion: 1:26:23
Graham (Hoody) Hood: 2:20:19
Dr Kevin McKernan: 2:29:07
Russell Broadbent: 2:50:05
Maryanne Demasi: 3:18:25
Professor Gigi Foster: 3:33:18
Katie Ashby-Koppens: 3:55:05
Panel Discussion: 4:09:35
Russell Broadbent here, your independent Member for Monash.
It’s the final parliamentary sitting week of 2024 – so I thought it would be timely to reflect on the past 12 months.
It’s been a big year – full of unexpected, unprecedented and unusual events.
But we’ve also seen people come together and rise in the face of adversity to regain hope, control and belonging.
The people spoke out – screamed out – against the heinous mis and dis information bill - which was rightly binned by the government at the beginning of this week.
Back in June 2023 when I first heard about the possibility of it being introduced, I wrote to Peter Dutton and all of my parliamentary colleagues in this house to express my utter dismay.
Any nation that allows its government to become the arbiter of truth, or shut down questioning and debate, is doomed.
I always have and always will oppose any threat to the freedoms of Australians.
Talking of freedoms, I was very pleased to hear the Treasurer had listened to our campaign on cash, with the Government guaranteeing cash for trade in essential services.
This is non-negotiable in times of emergency, especially in regional areas.
After all, cash is king when your cards are cactus.
Another win for regional communities is the government’s intention to incentivise the banking industry to keep branches open in rural areas.
Whilst these wins are all worth celebrating, I fear there is a dark storm brewing over this nation.
Neither the Labor Party nor Liberal Party have put forward a convincing case as to how they will address the most pressing issue for every Australian – the cost of living.
Australians are paying more for energy, more for housing, and more at the checkout. Inflation has not improved. The economy is in dire straits.
Then there’s the reckless Net Zero agenda, which will send our nation broke and into blackout.
Australia must go back to the cheapest energy system available, and that is the one we have in our own backyard – coal for baseload power, and gas for peaking.
What happened to common sense?
Most disappointingly is the Prime Minister’s decision not to hold a Royal Commission into the Covid response. This is an affront to the Australian people, as is the closure of the covid vaccine compensation scheme.
I continue to hear harrowing stories from vaccine injured Australians every day who feel betrayed and abandoned by this government.
Just this afternoon, I heard that firefighters in Victoria are still unable to work due to covid vaccine mandates.
This is outrageous.
These brave men and women of service to our community are on edge, and I know several are on suicide watch.
How can this possibly be?
As I reflect on this year, I’m seeing the real-time impacts of distress, doubt and disappointment felt by hardworking and exhausted Australians.
But I say to anyone listening: after darkness, light always comes. Australians are resilient and I know that by coming together we will overcome times of trial and tribulation.
I notice the heat is on Minister Bowen in the papers this morning.
Apparently, NSW has suffered through a scorching heat wave. A heat wave where Dubbo reached 30.6, Sydney reached 32.9, Coffs Harbour a whopping 28.9, and Ballina 28.1.
Since when was a 30-degree day in Sydney a heat wave?
The NSW Energy Minister said it’s very rare that we’d have five days of heat wave in November, and that’s what’s caused the crunch.
Well, I remember plenty of hot spells in November. And if you ask ChatGPT, a five-day heat wave in NSW is not rare!
To top it off, the NSW Premier asked residents to avoid using energy intensive household appliances between 3pm and 8pm, all to help the grid.
Are we heading down the path of energy blackouts, like we’ve seen across Europe?
Are we in danger of resembling a ‘third world country’ this summer?
Does this not prove that renewable energy is not reliable energy?
When we had coal power, we weren’t told to stop loading the dishwasher, stop washing the clothes, and please close your blinds and windows and doors, just to conserve energy.
Andrew Bolt was spot on today when he said it’s ‘infuriating that under this minister, Australians now pay $450 a year more for their electricity, yet can’t even count on the power staying on.
We are shooting ourselves in the foot by not pressing our natural advantage in coal and gas.
As Simon Benson says in The Australian today, making coal the villain of climate change but also the cause of power shortages is extraordinary…
Extraordinarily stupid, dangerous and unprecedented.
Renewable energy is not reliable!
We need to harness our strengths and resources, capitalise on clever technology and rescue this nation from this reckless renewable agenda.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak on aged care once again, after many, many times. I support the member for Barker's remarks in full, in total, absolutely. Personally, I don't have a problem with where the Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill is headed, and the coalition have already announced that they will be letting this bill go through on the voices. Having said that, I have a major problem with the implementation of the bill and the processes we've come to, to this point.
The last thing Prime Minister John Howard said to me before his government was defeated and he was defeated was, 'Russell, don't come and ask me for more money for aged care,' because the exponential increase of moneys put into aged care from the time I was first elected in 1990 until this time has been astronomical. So every government has had to increase the funds it outlaid on aged care. But I would put this to you: the implementation has always been the problem, and it is a problem today.
John and Betty came into my office. He's now in his 90s and is living at home with his wife. All he wants is his lawn mowed, nothing else. He has a package, but the package can't be implemented because the agency that has the package hasn't got the staff to do it. We found out recently with another inquiry we had that the agency that is charged with the responsibility of delivering the package has 88 people on its waiting list to get their lawns mowed or their gutters cleaned or whatever it is; there are 88 people just for lawns. It may not seem like a big thing to get your lawn cut, and, yes, his son comes in sometimes and does it, but there are other times John would like the place looking nice. We as a government have outlaid funds for them to do that, which was the old HACC, the Home and Community Care, program. That program has been transferred into private hands, and the private people are in it for profit; therefore, there are less funds for the end users.
I'm disappointed that I asked for a meeting with just an advisor to the minister at the start of this session, and nobody has come back to me from the minister's office. My question is this: if the provider is allocated that particular individual as a client of theirs, are they paid an administrative fee for the 88 people on their books who are not receiving the benefit? If someone has been given an aged-care package which has been agreed to by the government, the government thinks it's done the right thing; it has put the packages out there for the people—'Look what we've delivered'—yet the end user is not getting the service that the government believes it has provided.
This is not my only request of providers. I've actually had them in my office, and they've said: 'Everything's fine. We're getting around to it. We'll get there. We'll do it when we get the staff'. One provider said, 'But we don't really provide into your area,' but they have the responsibility for our area, for Gippsland. They don't have the people in Gippsland to do the jobs that need doing for the people that live there, in my area. But the government believes that they've provided the packages. The government's done the right thing; it's provided the package. But where's the connection with the government response? One of the things I spoke to former prime minister Scott Morrison about was the number of people that have been taken out of the department that used to provide a direct service for troubleshooting in aged care. They're no longer there. A member of parliament like me gets an 1800 number to ring, or they're told to ring the minister's office, or they get a ministerial response, which can take ages. These people need the help now, not in the future sometime when someone gets around to it.
When you have been given a package and that's been given to a provider to deliver, I want to know whether—I say again—that provider is getting an administrative payment for that package when they are actually not delivering the service. That's my message today. How can we as parliamentarians be responsible for government outlays, which the government has outlaid in good faith, right across this nation, so people can still live in their homes? Direct aged care in the home could save the government millions. Those people could still live at home and operate because we could make every service we have available to them, which would make their lives in old age better than they otherwise would be. But if those providers are receiving a benefit from government without providing the service, that has to stop, and it has to stop today. If, after a reasonable period—say, a month—they've been unable to provide the service, that package has to be withdrawn and given to another provider who will deliver the service. I don't think that's unreasonable. You can't keep someone's package in your hands if you are receiving a benefit—and I'm guessing they are, for the package—and not deliver the service. That's my point today.
I know that every member of this House cares about older Australians, none more so than myself. I started volunteering and fundraising for an aged-care facility, and we called the program 'A cry from the heart'. We raised the money and built an aged-care centre that's connected to our hospital. It's not new for me. It's been ongoing. I won't give up. I will continue. Thank you very much.
The Misinformation Bill is dead thanks to collective and tireless efforts of Australians, and a few of their representatives in this parliament.
From the moment it first appeared in 2023, I slammed this Bill, writing to the leader of the opposition to express my strongest objections.
This legislation was and always has been offensive to democracy.
What made the government think they could be the purveyors of truth?
Just look at the Covid track record.
We were told 15 days to slow the spread – instead we had two years of border closures and harsh lockdowns.
We were told masks weren’t effective, then they were, then you only had to wear them standing up, but not sitting down…. madness!
We were also told “If you take the vaccine, you won’t get covid and you won’t infect other people.”
More Lies!
Emails show Australian experts knew the shots didn’t stop infection or transmission. Yet the vaccines were mandated anyway!
The Australian Department of Home Affairs censored 4000 social media posts under the guise of ‘misinformation’? Posts that turned out to be true!
Australia’s Covid Inquiry showed trust in government institutions has been decimated. Why? Because the government was the largest purveyor of misinformation over the past 4 years…and the people know it!
The people have spoken, and the MAD bill is dead!
Today we celebrate. But let’s not rest. The Social Media Bill is set to bring about Digital ID by stealth.
The Government says ‘Don’t worry, it’s voluntary’ but this government will try to make it impossible without one.
They do so at their peril. The people have spoken.
Today, my Question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water.
Minister, how much Australian land mass will be affected by the governments approach to achieve Net Zero?
Gutting massive amounts of flora and fauna and replacing it with a steel jungle is illogical.
As Economist Judith Sloan once said “Destroying the environment to save the environment just doesn’t make any sense.”
Speaker
I’ll be delivering these petitions to the Petitions Committee today.
To every Australian who’s standing up and speaking out against this government’s unprecedented and unparalleled intrusion into our private lives, I say THANK YOU!
Hold the line and keep up the pressure! Government over-reach is in plain sight for all to see.
This Bill should send a chill down the spine of every Australian - in my decades of service to this Parliament I’ve never known such outrageous legislation which I believe is both unconstitutional and breaches our human rights.
It’s simple maths – This MAD Bill, plus the social media ban for children under 16, plus digital identity requirements equals tyrannical state sanctioned surveillance and censorship.
Make no mistake, this is an election issue. Australians know these Bills are an insidious assault on our nation’s way of life, sneakily presented under the guise of keeping us safe.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
They are dangerous. They are a violation of our privacy, and they are an ominous sign for what could be in store for the people of this nation.
It was a pleasure to catch up with Katie-Ashby Koppens again yesterday to talk about the proposed Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 and all the work that the Aligned Council of Australia is doing to combat the Misinformation and Disinformation Bill.
Australia would be the first country in the world to impose a minimum age for social media, the government need to let parents be parents and not get involved.
An absolute honour to meet Michael Shellenberger today.
The Australian Institute of Public Affairs brought Michael to Australia to raise the alarm about the unprecedented rise of “dangerous weapons of censorship” such as the mis and disinformation bills which are being rolled out right across the western world.
Today, the Billboard Battalion marched on the front lawns of Parliament House with one message - we must all fight against this MAD Bill!
Is it too much to ask for us to maintain freedom of thought, worship, speech, and association?
This Bill undermines everything that defines us as a democracy and must be defeated in the Senate.
Hi, welcome to Russell’s question time, the question time that we have when we’re not getting questions in the Parliament.
Today my question is for the Minister for Climate Change and Energy.
Minister, where is the evidence that the current uptake of renewables is improving outcomes in emissions and the environment?
It’s as simple as that.
