The Kelly Gang takes on a Muppet Motion

There seems to be a habit among the green-left of asking questions not knowing what answer to expect.

A little while back we reported on the monumental “own goal” scored by Vic Green Greg Barber when his series of Dorothy Dixers ended with Planning Minister Matt Guy confirming that Acciona’s Waubra operation has been operating in breach of its planning consent for 4 years. Barber made the job of rounding up the $80 million worth of RECs the Spanish swindlers have snaffled that little bit easier.

Here’s yet another effort from Labor Hack-Bencher, Laura Smyth. Laura might have learned from her previous effort to make sure all of her colleagues were ready to jump in and hug a turbine with her – when Craig Kelly let fly with a response that was – quite rightly – hailed in London’s The Telegraph as a “glorious speech”.

Why doesn’t everyone love giant fans,
like Greg Combet, Gary Weaven and me?

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But no – Laura popped up this little poser last Monday – apparently expecting it to end in a great big wind turbine love-in.

Monday, 17 June 2013
Ms SMYTH (La Trobe) (20:36): I move:
That this House recognises that:

(1) wind energy is an important and safe source of renewable energy;

(2) wind energy generation will play a crucial role in enabling Australia to meet its existing renewable energy targets;

(3) bipartisan support for Australia’s renewable energy targets is essential to reducing carbon emissions in Australia’s electricity sector; and

(4) any move to diminish or abolish the current legislated renewable energy targets would have serious and detrimental impacts on investment in renewable energy, impede Australia’s ability to reduce carbon emissions by at least 5 per cent below year 2000 levels by 2020, and undermine the move to a clean energy future.

Predictably, Laura went on to spout from the spin sheet given to her by her masters – Pac Hydro and the Clean Energy Council – you know all the usual drivel spouted by hack pseudo-scientists and others on the wind weasel’s payroll. Although, funnily enough she didn’t go anywhere near the economic fraud or power prices.

STT’s a mighty big fan of a mighty big man called Kelly – who – with his fighting style – must surely have some of Ned’s blood running through those veins of his.

If only we’d stayed on the straight and narrow – like young Craig.

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Here’s how one of the modern Kelly Gang deals with a Muppet Motion.

Mr CRAIG KELLY MP

I am very pleased to contribute to this motion moved by the member for La Trobe. From the outset: I would love to see the day that clean renewables can replace fossil fuels. If we can make clean renewables cost-effective they will be taken up worldwide and there would be no need for government subsidies.

But what I am concerned about is wind turbine syndrome. Wind turbine syndrome, or perhaps we should call it wind turbine fever, is something that does exist. It is not just a physical malady. It is an affliction of the mind. Wind turbine fever has serious effects on otherwise normally sane and intelligent people. It causes them to abandon rational thought and logic. It causes them to argue for the spending of billions of dollars without the need of any cost-benefit analysis.

But, most disturbingly, it causes them to develop a callous disregard for the human health and wellbeing of their fellow Australians.

Like infrasound, wind turbine syndrome afflicts different groups in different ways. The first group afflicted is similar to those who suffered from gold rush fever during our colonial days – those who see rivers of gold and large fortunes to be made, or the expansion of their political power, in the wind industry.

The second group afflicted by wind turbine fever are activists who have, no doubt, good intentions but, like religious devotees, they have developed an evangelical belief.

They simply believe in wind turbines and anyone who questions any aspect of that belief or the economics is simply guilty of heresy and labelled a denier. The path we are heading down as a nation will see $17 billion of our limited capital and resources spent building wind turbine farms; so one of the effects we see of wind turbine fever is the inability to acknowledge that wind turbines are a costly and inefficient method of generating electricity which will have the effect of increasing the price of electricity to consumers and businesses.

The problem with wind turbines is that without a government subsidy no-one would build one. We need to take off our ideological blinkers and ask – and I note this was not mentioned by any speaker on the other side – how much will our electricity prices rise?

How much more will consumers and families have to pay to get a return on that $17 billion we are seeing invested in wind turbines in the next seven years?

How much hardship will this cause families who are forced to pay more for their electricity? How many Australian businesses will be forced to abandon Australia and move to countries which do not have such high electricity prices? We must admit that if we go down this track, it is a recipe for retarding economic growth and increasing poverty in our nation.

We must remember that our wealth will never come from subsidising inefficient technologies and that jobs are not created by taxing the rest of the economy to pay for uneconomic green jobs. We also need to consider the opportunity cost of our nation investing $17 billion in wind turbines. No-one will ever know what new products, processes or medical breakthroughs will fail to come into existence, killed before they were born, because of our nation’s diversion of these precious and valuable resources into wind turbines.

Most disturbing of all is the callous disregard for the health and wellbeing of our fellow Australians. We have heard members on the other side simply dismiss these people, saying it is all in their heads. I would like to read a letter I have received from one such constituent:

Last night was the third night with no sleep. Our whole house is shaking and has been all week. The turbines have been roaring consistently since Monday afternoon. It is now Friday and today is worse than all other days. I cannot work in my paddocks under these conditions. I have headaches constantly, with no sleep for three nights. My physical ability is deteriorating rapidly.

These people deserve a study to find out.

Great-Great Uncle Ned would be proud.

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Here’s Craig giving the wind power fraud both barrels at the National Rally. While this Young Kelly has no time for giant fans – STT hears he’s VERY keen to upgrade the dams.

With the ranks of those within the Coalition lining up to can the fans and upgrade the dams growing by the day – STT says that – by now – Ian Macfarlane must feel a lot like Robinson Crusoe. STT says it’s time to cast off Ian – leave that desert island – join the Kelly Gang – and start sticking up for the people that you’re paid to represent. Who knows – there might even be a spot for you on the front bench come September?

You mean I won’t get a front bench spot if I
don’t team up with Young Kelly & his Gang?