For many years Australian policy has been moving backwards in the pursuit of cheap, reliable energy. The policy has now taken a further turn away from lowering costs, towards a focus on reducing carbon dioxide emissions and thereby raising costs.

As with other parts of the globe, carbon dioxide is emitted from various sources and the vast majority is re-absorbed in the plants, the soil, and the water resources. Simply because we have just about the lowest population and lowest levels of emissions per hectare in the world, Australia is a natural net sink for emissions.

This has been amply demonstrated by many, including Ian Plimer and even the CSIRO. Preferring self-flagellation, Australian politicians have refused to use this analytical framework to justify higher and less costly carbon dioxide emissions. Instead, intent on abiding by the spirit of international agreements founded upon a distortion of scientific theory, they have imposed costs by acquiescing in emission standards that exclude benefits available from the natural geography of Australia.

That version of Net Zero emissions requires forcing the reductions of emissions at their source or building upon the emission sinks that nature provides. This forecloses any possibility of Australia returning to the low-cost energy supply system that prevailed a quarter of a century ago before low-cost hydrocarbon energy was demonised. Without restoring the ability to use low-cost coal (and gas), the nation cannot achieve anything approaching satisfactory living standards and faces an eventual threat to its current political existence.

Most people reading these pages would understand why the replacement of low-cost dependable coal and gas by subsidised intermittent wind, solar – the facilities for which with a 15-20-year life are far from renewable – are doing much damage.

Analyses across many countries, notwithstanding assertions that these are the cheapest sources of electricity, demonstrate a strong relationship between a high share of wind and solar and high electricity prices; countries with the lowest share of wind and solar (Russia, Korea, India) have the lowest electricity costs and those with the highest shares (Germany, UK, Spain) have the highest prices.

Moreover, reaching high shares of wind and solar and (non-credibly) hydrogen, entails vast subsidies. To summarise and update previous analyses, for Australia (annualised), subsidies to ‘renewable’ energy at the most recent costs, include:

• Renewables regulatory costs $4.345 billion
• Market management costs $1.66 billion
• Direct Government payments $9.101 billion
• TOTAL $15.106 billion

Many would also hope that economic and political necessity will eventually lead to this being recognised and pre-empted by a restoration of energy policy neutrality.

But the political and economic elites have other views and/or financial incentives to pursue the replacement of coal and gas by wind, solar, and other renewables. Thus, at the most recent Energy Week Conference held in Melbourne, 100 speakers including Ministers, regulators, Energy CEO’s and other dignitaries discussed:

• Navigating the transition (to renewables)
• How Australia can prevent high prices from stalling the transition
• Enabling more rapid decarbonisation with firming technologies
• Cross-sector solutions to the energy transition
• Pathways to upgrading ageing transmission to handle increased renewable generation

There was, of course, a breakfast for ‘women in energy’. Perhaps this was to discuss how, in spite of diversity hires, women are disadvantage because they head only two of the three regulatory bodies and comprise only half of the review panel which Minister Bowen said was ‘to ensure our grid will be stable and there will be enough clean, cheap, reliable renewable generation and storage to power Australia’s needs’. Significantly, nobody was invited to explore how to exit Net Zero to maximise the benefit to the economy!

In the US, Trump is requiring Congress to defer their summer holidays to proceed with the repair process by passing his Big Beautiful Bill. This builds on measures, which the Trump Administration has already put on place by removing barriers to hydrocarbon energy production, with legislative provisions to begin tearing down the subsidies to renewable energy.

Australia’s election took us in the opposite direction. Not only were the ALP/Teal/Green entente resoundingly victorious but in the aftermath, the Liberal/Nationals are moving closer to that position. While the Nationals, in appointing Senators Matt Canavan and Ross Cadell to review the party’s own Net Zero policy, Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley has announced a new ‘Energy and Emissions Reduction’ policy group, reporting to herself and her Deputy, Nationals Leader David Littleproud. Led by the Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan, this includes MPs that are either fond of Net Zero for reasons that are their own, or they hold an ideological desire to shift Australia to a Net Zero policy that is even closer to the ALP position than that which the hapless Peter Dutton took to the election.

Giving clearer air to the government on this issue will accelerate the national shift to higher cost and less reliable wind and solar electricity. This will continue the waste of public resources to the great loss of the economy’s productivity but to the advantage of the subsidy seekers who are promoting Net Zero.