SATURDAY - Aussies accused of spreading climate lies 😱

0:00You're listening to the Ben Fordham Podcast, and now Ben Fordham comments. Well, apparently worrying about your power bill is now part of the climate misinformation debate. That's according to Cameras Climate Change Authority, the federal body chaired by Matt Kean. Its new paper says climate misinformation used to be about denying climate change, but now the focus is shifted to delaying or disrupting climate and energy action. And then comes this. The authority says, common narrative seek to increase uncertainty about climate policies, technologies and solutions by focusing on things like cost of living, energy prices and reliability, jobs, regional impacts, biodiversity and environmental impacts, and whether Australia's action really matters. So that's Cameras List. They're the issues being used as weapons of modern misinformation in the climate wars.

1:00But when you read them again, they sound like typical questions the average person would ask, cost of living. Well, you're rebuilding Australia's energy system, households pay electricity bills, businesses pay for power, energy costs flow through food, farming, transport and manufacturing. So people rightly ask, what's this going to cost me? Someone asking that question isn't a climate skeptic. They're just a customer wanting to compare prices. But according to this report out of Cameras, misinformation narratives focus on cost of living. Then comes energy prices and reliability. Well, that's a fair question to ask, isn't it? Cold plan to retiring. We're building renewables, transmission, storage and backup. So as he's asked, what will the power cost? And will it be there when I need it? That's where reliability comes in. These are two of the most basic questions you ask about an electricity system. Yet energy prices and reliability are on this list too.

2:00Misinformation apparently. Next jobs. Well, of course, jobs are impacted. Close a power station and real people lose work. Workers, contractors, local businesses. The federal government has an entire net zero economy authority that deals with this issue. As it knows, the transition affects jobs and communities. Another issue Cameras sees these misinformation narratives focuses on regional impacts. Well, who's hosting the transition? Regional Australia, transmission lines, windtowers, solar farms, regional communities have had to fund their own fights to push back on what's being forced upon them. So that's real, regional impacts. It's not misinformation. Bio-diversity and environmental impacts. Well, renewable developments use land too. Last time I checked, transmission crosses habitats, projects can have environmental consequences.

3:02So asking about these issues is completely legitimate. And finally, whether Australia's action matters. Well, that's the first question you should ask about anything. Does it work? It changes global. And if they want us to spend billions to rebuild the electricity system and restructure our industries, we're entitled to ask what difference does Australia's action actually make? And remember who chairs this authority, Matt Keane. He's a former New South Wales treasurer. So he knows that cost of living and jobs matter. He's a former energy minister. So he knows prices and reliability matter. And he's a former Environment Minister. So he knows environmental impacts matter too. The list of misinformation topics sound like standard concerns from any discerning customer.