“The essential ingredient of politics is timing,” according to the former very successful Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
The dog-wagging Nationals got in first and forced the more numerous Liberal MPs of their coalition into the abandonment of policies to reduce carbon emissions in Australia to net zero by 2050. It was great timing in the short term for the Nationals, but electorally catastrophic for the Coalition in the medium and long term.
And most likely, excellent timing for Labor.
We know the Nats wagged the Liberal dog because the Opposition spokesperson on energy and emissions, Dan Tehan, said publicly before the Nats’ decision that he would need to take until March 2026 to complete his inquiry into emissions policy.
So, we now know that the Liberals were goaded by the Nats’ into abandoning carbon reduction and made the decision on their own admission without the full facts.
Not that Tehan’s inquiry, even if it were allowed its full term, would have come up with anything but pro-fossil recommendations. It was almost comical that Dan Tehan would single-handedly defy all Australia’s and the world’s reputable economists and scientists to discover some “facts” upon which to base his pre-determined fossil-friendly conclusion – like some Mission Impossible movie.
There was no need for a Coalition inquiry. The facts are in. Climate aside, renewables are the cheapest form of electricity generation.
So, the race is on: will Labor’s policy of boosting renewables result in demonstrable reductions in power bills before a fossil-fuel-funded Coalition campaign of lies, disinformation, and donations dupe enough voters into believing that electing the Coalition will in the long-term reduce their power bills.
The truth is that new Coalition policy has nothing to do with lowering electricity prices. It is based upon allowing the fossil industry to profit from burning coal and gas for as long as possible, even indefinitely. It is based on attracting direct donations from the fossil industry and the likes of Gina Reinhardt; garnering large amounts of money into pro-fossil social-media propaganda; and feeding the pseudo-journalism of the Murdoch media scare fodder – all in a bid to get re-elected.
Timing is essential.
So, Labor had better think clearly and act quickly.
The quicker the Government can convince households with solar to add batteries the better. The battery subsidy scheme ticks the boxes. Free power generated in the middle of the day is sent to the battery to be used at night. That is better than drawing from the grid at night which costs 30 cents a kilowatt.
At present, solar produces too much electricity in the middle of the day. The Government’s free three-hour midday power window is a smart way to change habits. People love a freebie. The policy will encourage them to change their habits so washing machines, dishwashers, swimming pool pumps, hot water and the like are set for the time when power is free. Their bills will go down. And so will everyone else’s as the grid load is made more even.
The scheme should be Australia-wide and permanent. The battery subsidy should apply to people without solar panels so they can charge a battery when power is free and use it instead of expensive peak-hour grid rates. Indeed, people should be allowed to access super to buy batteries and ease costs in their retirement.
How is this to be paid for? In the face of an onslaught of anti-Labor fossil industry lies and disinformation, Labor should cut its losses. Why appease a dog which is going to bite you anyway? The Government should redirect the $15 billion-a-year fossil subsidies to boost the subsidies for household and industry batteries.
Timing is critical because the antidote to lies, misinformation, and propaganda is lived experience and word of mouth. People whose bills go down because of solar, batteries and the free-power scheme will tell others. I don’t get power bills; they pay me.
So, watch out for the big lies manufactured by the fossil industry and spread through fossil-funded social media and Murdoch media.
Cost. Renewables are not causing higher bills. Renewables are causing lower wholesale prices which are not being passed on by greedy electricity retailers and privatised, profit-driven grid owners. The government should instruct the regulator to set prices monthly, not yearly, and to rein in the retailers. Inflation, interest, and international factors have also driven up prices, as they have throughout the economy.
Farmers. Farmers are not against renewables. They use solar to replace diesel to power water pumps. Some get paid to house wind farms and solar arrays (which also collect condensation run-off which in turn promotes grass growth for sheep). True, other farmers get jealous, and their ire is hyped up by the fossil industry in social media and the media generally.
Wind turbines do not disturb marine life. In fact, marine life grows more abundantly on their undersea foundations.
Petrol car batteries catch fire fairly often. Explosions of electric-car batteries are extremely rare. It is a non-issue.
Nuclear is just a delaying tactic to burn more fossil fuels at a profit for longer.
If carbon capture ever succeeds it should be to take carbon permanently out of the atmosphere, not as an excuse to put it back in.
Australia does make a difference globally and dealing with global heating is not some woke lefty cause, but a national security issue. For example, former Chief of the Defence Vice Admiral Chris Barrie wrote, “Cascading climate impacts will result in political instability and greater national insecurity, and fuel regional and international conflict. . . . Woodside’s offshore gas Scarborough Project in WA is estimated to produce 876 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases over project life, resulting in an estimated additional 516,000 people globally exposed to unprecedented heat and 356,000 left outside the human climate niche, leading to significant mortality.”
If the timing is right people will wake up to the propaganda. We may not have a viable alternative government, and Labor will get away with some unsavoury things while the Liberals squabble themselves to electoral oblivion, but it will be a price worth paying.
Crispin Hull
This article first appeared in The Canberra Times and other Australian media on 18 November 2025.