In the world of political irrelevancy, there are few people climbing higher, harder, and faster than New South Wales Shadow Health Minister, Matt Kean. The guy who did a lot of vapid grinning while dangling off the end of an EV charging cable during his earlier years, has publicly turned his back on the only technology – nuclear energy – that can achieve his climate goals. Mr Kean (frequently Freudian-slipped to ‘Green’), withdrew from the Coalition for Conservation because he was ‘increasingly concerned with the direction’ of the group after they started taking nuclear energy seriously. He made sure to post this news to Twitter, scratching around for a bit of relevancy in the desert of Opposition. We will give the Shadow Minister his two minutes of fame, if only because the response from the Coalition for Conservation was so entertaining. Nuclear energy, Mr Kean might be interested to learn, is by far the cleaner technology. The habitats of threatened species are currently being put at risk, not from the climate, but from climate change technology which arrives wielding an axe. Below you can see some of these terrible rare earth open-cut mining practices in my recent interview with Spectator Australia writer Michael de Percy.

Are electric vehicles ? actually 'green'? I have my doubts…

"Destroying the environment to save the environment is 'kind of okay' [in the world of #NetZero]. Killing koalas is okay if it's for wind turbines but not for a coal mine."@SpectatorOz columnist Michael de Percy… pic.twitter.com/swbS4OTONa

— Alexandra Marshall (@ellymelly) April 5, 2024

For those who wish to conserve the environment, nuclear is the superior technology. In defiance of the rest of the world, including our Pacific partners and Western allies, Mr Kean has said that there is ‘no feasible pathway’ for nuclear energy to ‘play any material role in helping Australia replace our coal-fired power stations in line with climate science’. Well, no… Not with an outdated Cold War-era attitude like that. Conservatives and true environmentalists refuse to shut up about nuclear. The more they whisper, the more they talk, the more they look to other nations, the more obvious it becomes that we are being held back by thinkers like Mr Kean. Australians hate living in the shadow of renewable energy, and the harder ideologues push, the greener nuclear looks. Nuclear promises an Australian-owned and operated source of eternal baseload power with a tiny footprint and next to zero emissions. It can be installed straight on top of old coal-fired power stations. Mr Kean’s rambling letter makes for nauseating reading.

I have had concerns about the direction of @CforConserv for some time, but in recent months it’s become very clear the group’s values are not conservative and it has little interest in conservation. Here is my resignation letter from the organisation pic.twitter.com/KARhcAa3Om

— The Hon. Matt Kean (@Matt_KeanMP) April 4, 2024

How can someone talk about protecting the environment, and argue in favour of technology which cuts down forests and farmland? How can someone make a statement about protecting the whales, while endorsing offshore wind farms which have been linked to whale deaths and the destruction of the seabed? How can someone lament damage to marine parks and ignore deep sea rare earth mining that is feared to collapse ocean ecosystems? How can someone make statements about responsible economics and affordable transition when renewable energy is costing $110 trillion for the global 2050 transition – almost all of which will have to be replaced at a similar cost within 20 years?

‘It has become clear in recent times that the Coalition for Conservation has increasingly focused on nuclear power in the electricity system. In particular, I was concerned to read an article in the Canberra Times advocating nuclear power stations as an alternative to building new large-scale transmission lines.’

Yes, Mr Kean, because no one wants large-scale transmission lines running through their farm or draped over previously pristine country areas. The spiderwebs of virtue are, as the kids say, f-ugly. If your home was in the path of these monstrosities, you’d understand. A member of the public phoning into Ben Fordham Live referred to Mr Kean as a ‘backstabber’ for challenging the Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on nuclear. In truth, Mr Kean is irrelevant. He’s the bloke poking holes in the renewable life raft while the Teals tear off bits of duct tape and the Greens desperately try to bucket out the rising tide. Mr Kean was apparently irrelevant to the Coalition for Conservation as well. ‘We have spoken to the CEO of the Coalition for Conservation, Cristina Talacko [who also writes for the Spectator Australia]. She says there is nothing for Matt Kean to resign from. He doesn’t even have a position within the group. He was only an ambassador. Cristina said Matt Kean never spoke to her, or the board, about resigning. She says, she has never had a conversation with him about nuclear power.’ It is part of a wider issue where ‘green groups’ are funded by pro-renewable energy entities who pull funding when they start talking about nuclear. When Mr Dutton takes nuclear to the next election, he will win. If Mr Dutton wins an election on nuclear power, renewable energy will collapse taking plenty of political careers and bank balances along with it. Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said it best. ‘Why would anyone listen to Matt Kean on energy policy? He was a complete failure as Energy Minister.’