Net Zero is no Silver Bullet

The war in Iran is only a couple of weeks in, and it has already exposed a brutal truth. Australia is not ready for a serious global shock to energy supplies. Our fuel security is a joke. Our farms, our freight, our power and our daily lives all depend on long, fragile, foreign supply chains.

Net zero is not just bad economics. It is also a direct threat to our national security. We are shutting down cheaper baseload productions, blocking new refineries and betting our future on overseas fuel and imported “green” technology.

At a time of increasing global instability, this is nonsensical.

What happens if this war escalates and Australia’s access to foreign petroleum is cut or throttled? We will look back on today’s expensive, low-quality fuel as the good days. We would face petrol rationing, empty supermarkets shelves, widespread farming collapse and rolling blackouts.

Net zero ideology has blinded our leaders to basic reality. Even IF Australia were to meet these targets, our emissions impact would be negligible in comparison to the outputs of China and India. We need to look at the overall facts and what it will require to actually meet these targets.

Australia needs reliable, affordable, sovereign energy. That means investment in baseload generation, rebuilding refining capacity and treating fuel security as a core defence issue. It means managing our environment with care, without sacrificing our nation’s safety and prosperity.

Net Zero is no silver bullet.

Our duty is clear. We must protect Australian families, workers and farmers. We must secure our own energy. And we must put the national interest and national security ahead of elite applause in Canberra and Davos.