Summary
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
Search continues for woman trapped after Sydney townhouse explosion
Queensland government announces $500m for early childhood programs
Coalition questions use of drones to monitor released detainees
Thank you for spending part of your day with us - we will be back tomorrow to do out all again.
Until then - Cait
Updated
National Party MP Barnaby Joyce has labelled the government’s 82% renewable energy by 2030 target as “bat shit mad” and “totally crazy”.
Speaking at a conference hosted by an anti-renewable group, National Rational Energy Network, the former deputy prime minister slammed the expansion of “swindle factories” (wind farms) across regional Australia.
“They call them renewable, there’s nothing renewable about them,” he told a room of a few hundred people.
“What do you think is the biggest threat, honestly? Is it climate change or the Chinese communist party? … It’s the Chinese communist party,” Joyce said.
The meeting, held at Dee Why RSL on Sydney’s northern beaches, united a menagerie of groups staunchly opposed to renewable energy developments in their backyard, climate denialists including Senator Malcom Roberts and Craig Kelly and pro-nuclear lobby groups.
It was sponsored by right-wing think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, which has previously claimed one-third of Australia’s agricultural land would “have to be sacrificed” for renewable energy to meet the country’s emissions targets.
One of the chief concerns raised by landowners that attended the event was a lack of consultation and available information about nearby renewable energy developments – a criticism acknowledged by Australia’s former energy infrastructure commissioner.
“Do it (the energy transition) by not running over the top of other people, just do it in a way that’s kind, a way that’s honest, a way that’s transparent,” Joyce said.
Updated
