Senator Penny Wong experienced a rather embarrassing exchange with One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts.

The Foreign Minister was asked to account for the Labor government’s obvious hypocrisy and double standard regarding China and its use of Australian coal versus the self-imposed deindustrialisation of Australia thanks to Net Zero targets and an obsession with renewable technology.

When Australia burns coal, it is written up as a climate catastrophe by Labor, the Greens, and Teals. When China burns our coal, the criticism is nowhere to be seen.

Australians are starting to wonder why coal undergoes some sort of magical carbon-washing after it leaves our shores.

One Nation approached Labor for a direct comment on China and received evasive answers.

Rising from his seat, Senator Roberts said:

‘A recent study shows that every 12 days, China produces Australia’s yearly carbon dioxide output. Each year, China increases its carbon dioxide output. China has 66 coal-fired power [stations] to every one of Australia’s, and it is building more. Australians have been asked to sacrifice our living standards, power bills, and manufacturing on the altar of Net Zero. Minister [Wong], what have you threatened to levy on China if they don’t do the same thing your government is asking Australia to do? Stop using our coal? Or are the climate dictates turning your government into hypocrites on the world stage?’

For the most part, Senator Wong avoided the thrust of the question, steering clear of offering any sort of explanation for Labor’s coddling of China’s extensive use of coal.

‘About our commitments to reduce emissions … we are making commitments as a country because we recognise the economic imperative of transforming our economy,’ said Wong. ‘In the context where so much of the global economy is doing the same thing.’

She added:

‘I appreciate Senator, you and I just simply will not agree on this because what we see is the imperative to transform our economy. To take advantage of the opportunity renewable energy brings. We see what is happening across the world and we want to ensure that Australia has the opportunity to continue to be a prosperous and strong nation in that context. So, we simply have a different view on why it is as a country that we should not turn our back on climate change and we should not turn our back on renewable energy. And frankly, we should not turn our back on facts. And the facts are that the world is moving. The facts are that coal-fired power is declining in this country.’

Senator Wong goes on to list the coal-fired plants closing in Australia but, interestingly, does not list 1,195 coal-fired plants operating in China, mention that the construction of new plants has reached a 10-year high, or that China is responsible for more than half of all global coal-fired power use.

Senator Roberts followed with:

‘If the Prime Minister’s friends in communist China can use Australia’s coal and you won’t tell them off, why can’t Australia use coal here? Are you too scared of communist China to hold them accountable?’

We put a similar question to Speccie Facebook followers.

Senator Wong began her defence by returning to Australia’s decision to close coal-fired power plants.

Pointing out that coal began closing down (due to old age) under the watch of the Coalition is an interesting comment on the failure of both major parties to protect baseload energy, but does not address the question the Senator was asked about China.

Senator Roberts allows her to go on for a while before issuing a ‘relevance’ call. Senator Wong continues:

‘I’m making the point that whatever you might think, and I disagree with a great deal of what you say, but whatever you think about why you support coal, the market is not supporting coal.’

Which is an odd thing to say, because everyone knows the domestic market is strongly constrained by government Net Zero policy and heavily influenced by public money.

Nuclear is the easy proof of this. Around the world, investment in nuclear is growing but Australia’s energy market has no nuclear presence – not because of market forces – but because of a government ban.

To call it a ‘market’ is generous of Senator Wong.

The point being made by Senator Roberts is that the market in China is favouring coal and that President Xi has acted in direct contradiction to the promises his dictatorship has made to the United Nations and other international climate authorities.

This deceptive behaviour has not been criticised by the Labor government, who were putting out messaging all last week that the Coalition’s decision to drop Net Zero targets – not emissions reduction policy – could somehow tarnish Australia’s standing on the world stage. A seemingly baseless accusation.

Australia is one of the most environmentally friendly nations on the planet. China has one of the worst pollution problems the world has ever seen. Why is the government talking down Australia? Where did this phantom belief come from that we need bits of paper from the UN to validate our environmental credentials?

China is quite literally raping the waters of Antarctica, pouring concrete over coral reef atolls, and allowing raw waste to pour directly into the ocean. The CCP are environmental butchers and human rights abusers. But sure, Australia’s reputation is in peril.

On BlueSky, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said, ‘These days, [the Liberal Party] cater to the extremists in their party and Coalition.’

Really? Does Bowen have the nerve to call Xi Jinping an ‘extremist’ for opening up a new industrial age of coal-fired power in China? What about the Belt and Road project’s enormous oil pipelines?

Perhaps Bowen could show some consistency in his attitude toward climate change and put out a scathing post about China and its reliance on fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spent more time in a plane than most Australians will in their entire life. Does his sprawling carbon footprint make him a climate denier?

Senator Roberts rose again:

‘Communist China began and resumed construction of 98 gigawatts of coal power last year alone. Many of these will use Australian coal. That is one and a half times Australia’s entire national electricity market capacity in one year. Why is your government destroying our cheap coal generation to satisfy foreign dictates from the United Nations, World Economic Forum, and Paris Agreement while China does the opposite?’

Senator Wong replied, ‘Well Senator, once again, I disagree with everything you just put to me in that question. What I would respond to specifically is the point about the why. You see, we are not doing this because other people are telling us to do it. We are doing it because we believe it is the right thing for the country. It is the right thing for future generations. The right thing for our economy.’

This once again avoids the question she was asked specifically about China. Senator Wong then pivots to praise Andrew Bragg, who did not retire to the backbench despite earlier threats.

‘In amidst all of the interviews that were done recently by the Coalition in the last sort of 72 hours, Senator Bragg made an important point when he was talking about Net Zero and the policy debate inside the Coalition. He said, what I am saying the debate is over in terms of the economic debate around the world. It’s over, capital markets have made their mind up.’

Labor would have us believe that Australia’s energy policy is held to ransom by the opinion other countries might have even though these rules do not apply to anyone else.

Do we call this, misinformation and disinformation?