Originally published by Rita Panahi of Herald Sun
07.04.2026
One day our descendants will look back at this period of time and marvel at the mass hysteria and lunacy that saw some nations inflict severe economic harm on their own populations.
And, I fear Australia will serve as a particularly stark example of the madness that sees cheap, reliable forms of energy abandoned for intermittent renewable energy.
A country blessed with every natural resource should have the cheapest energy in the world together with a thriving manufacturing sector.
And yet Australia has some of the highest energy costs, and an ever-increasing number of people who cannot afford to properly heat their home in winter nor cool it in summer.
Figures from the Australian Energy Regulator show Australian households are being plunged into energy poverty with a surge in the number of customers in arrears on their gas and electricity bills.
Those on hardship programs have seen a 23 per cent jump in arrears, with many owing thousands in unpaid energy bills.
More than 6000 customers have had their electricity supply disconnected in one quarter. What a monumental failure of successive governments.
The current malaise cannot be blamed on the Anthony Albanese government alone; both Labor and Coalition governments at state and federal level bear responsibility for sacrificing our energy security to appease the green gods.
In Victoria the Liberals teamed up with the Labor government to change our state’s constitution to limit gas exploration, banning fracking and coal seam gas.
We’ve seen market manipulation in the form of billions of taxpayer funds subsidising the renewable sector, together with a glut of red, green and black tape, to encourage the transition to Net Zero.
All the while we’ve seen prices skyrocket while the likes of renewables zealot and Energy Minister Chris Bowen continue to chant the mantra that “renewables are the cheapest form of energy”.
China, which continues to commission new coal plants on a weekly basis, is the biggest beneficiary of Australia’s renewable energy fervour.
Almost all solar panels installed locally come from China, which is also the leading supplier of wind turbines to Australia.
With the natural resources beneath our feet and off our shores, Australia should be energy independent, like the US, but instead of being insulated from global forces, we are uniquely exposed.
Offshoring critical supplies is a risky game and the war against the Iranian regime has laid bare Australia’s fuel vulnerability.
After closing refineries in Victoria, Western Australia, NSW, Queensland and South Australia over the past 25 years, we are left with just two refineries in operation.
Australian Energy Producers CEO Samantha McCulloch is among those calling for an increase in production.
“This has to be the wake-up call. We’ve spent years demonising the fuels that we rely on, now we should be focused on how do we get some of these fuels out of the ground,” she said.
It’s a sentiment shared by National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Irvine who has urged Australia not to waste this crisis.
“Australia is far too exposed in areas like fuel, in energy and in supply chains, and if we only focus on short-term fixes to get through today, we miss an incredible opportunity to strengthen our economy for the better and to be more prepared for the next shock,” he said.
But the NAB boss could not resist advocating for “decarbonisation”.
“We have low-cost natural gas, and we need more natural gas in our energy mix for the foreseeable future. It’s actually a critical component of decarbonisation.
“We also have oil in Australia, and this crisis might have us reconsider some of our policy positions around wanting to be more independent,” he said.
“This world is not going to get more stable. It’s going to continue to be volatile.
“And in a volatile world, Australia needs to really build out sovereign capability.”
A man who has long warned of the dangers of Australia’s energy policy is Page Research Centre CEO Gerard Holland.
“We have all the resources – the oil, the coal, the gas – we need to get that flowing,” he said.
In a report published last week called All At Sea: Fuel, War, And Australia’s Achilles’ Heel, Holland warned that “Australia is critically exposed to geopolitical risk due to our overwhelming dependence on imported liquid fuels”.
He also warns that a war in Asia could cut off our energy supply overnight.
We need leaders willing to tackle this issue seriously rather than a Prime Minister who indulges in a pointless, self-serving address to the nation while doing nothing consequential to protect the country’s fuel supply from further global disruptions.
