When TMR is not busy being a private lawyer, relishing sledge on a basketball court or tending to his fruit trees, he can be found cooking up culinary delights – such as his ridiculously tasty chicken and prawn curry laksa (using plenty of goodies from the yard such as coriander, Vietnamese mint, Thai chilli, Kaffir lime leaves and Tahitian lime juice).

Regrettably, TMR made the mistake last night of attempting to consume his laksa while resident ‘conservatives’ Peta Credlin and Cory Bernardi attempted to debate the parlous state of Australia’s energy market with resident economic imbecile leftist Nicholas Reece on Sky’s Paul Murray Live.

By now, you may be aware of the small matters of:

• the Liddell coal-fired power station in New South Wales and how its private owners (AGL) want to close it down as soon as possible – largely because AGL believes that it will be more ‘profitable’ to be like Elon Musk and shamelessly rent-seek from the government focus more of its energies on ‘renewable’ power; and

• federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg’s attempt yesterday to wrap a steaming pile of dung in foil  convince the public that their energy bills were going to magically go down before the end of this year – because he’d given the big bad power companies a good talking to.

Unbelievably, TMR actually heard someone looking and sounding exactly like Cory Bernardi saying words to the effect that:

• there were too many energy retailers in the market ‘gaming the system’; and

• the government should consider taking all these players and speculators ‘out’ and becoming the only purchaser in the market – so that we could then watch them all scramble to lower household energy prices.

One can only speculate whether this idea will make it to Bernardi’s ‘weekly dose of common sense‘.

Shortly after, someone looking and sounding exactly like Peta Credlin said that it may be necessary for the government to ‘step in’ and sort things out (when it comes to the AGL and Liddell situation).

After composing himself from what must have been quite a shock, resident leftist Reece had little option but to:

• applaud Bernardi and Credlin for admitting that the free market has failed (TMR: FMFD);

• speculate that they must have had a recent moment of enlightenment; and

• suggest that they should come and join the Labor Party – so that they could continue to work on getting the government to intervene in more things that ‘put people first’.

Excuse me?

What just happened here?

(Hang on a minute while I go and rewind the recording and double check…)

(…)

(…)

(…)

(FMD…)

No Cory, that’s a bad Cory.

No Peta, that’s a bad Peta.

Here’s a tip: if what you’re suggesting satisfies the WWJWD criteria (what would Jay Weatherill do), then whatever it is you’re suggesting is wrong.

Seriously wrong.

In the worst possible way.

Contrary to the views of Bernardi, Credlin and Reece, the correct answer to this government created energy debacle (and my word is it government created) isn’t for the Federal Government to double down, get more ‘involved’ and try to beat Jay Weatherill (and Daniel Andrews) at the game of ‘what’s the most outrageous and hilarious way we can grind the economy to a halt and wreck people’s everyday lives’. (Yes you want to read this link and, yes, you’ll need a sedative).

PS: if you’re wondering why the Federal Government’s current energy policy – along with Credlin, Bernardi and Reece’s above thoughts – seem harrowingly familiar, you’ve got very good reason:

Weatherill’s ‘six point plan’ includes:

BUILDING a State Government-owned, fast start gas-fired power station that can come on when the market does not provide enough energy to keep the lights on [TMR: don’t ever forget that this was all ‘the market’s fault’!]. It is expected to cost about $360 million. No site has yet been selected. It would be 250MW, enough to deliver close to 10 percent of SA’S peak demand.

SUPPORTING construction of Australia’s biggest battery as part of a $150 million spend on a new renewable technology fund.

ENCOURAGE the construction of a new privately-owned power station using a Government bulk buy power contract.

INCENTIVISE the extraction of more gas for use in SA power stations, through a taxpayer-backed exploration fund. [TMR: gas isn’t something that you buy off the shelf. At best, the final product might start flowing from this in about 5-10 years].

GIVING the SA energy minister powers to over-ride other regulators and force power stations to fire up in times of need. [TMR: sounds very democratic].

CREATING an “energy security target”, which requires retailers to buy 36 percent of their power from baseload sources in SA.

The only reason AGL is even considering the possibility that wind ‘farms’, solar ‘farms’ and batteries may be more ‘profitable’ is because they are all heavily subsidised by the government (in the name of global communism and Marxismsaving the world from ‘climate change’). Without these subsidies, which have artificially and massively distorted our nation’s energy market, nobody in their right minds would even think about:

• generating wind or solar energy – because it’s too expensive and unreliable at the moment; or

• building the world’s largest battery – which is barely capable of storing enough energy to power an Adele concert (for about the same price as a gas station which is capable of generating enough energy to power 5-10% of a whole state).

(PS: don’t you love it how wind and solar plants are called ‘farms’ and not ‘power plants’? Sounds wholesome doesn’t it?)

But don’t just take my word for it – go and have a look at the insane amount of coal fired power plants being built by China and India.

Or perhaps you’d prefer the ‘research’ of Australia’s favourite left-wing idiotthink tank, the Grattan Institute:

One consequence of these changes must be recognised. Whatever mix of wind, solar and gas power begins to replace our coal-dominated supply sector will cost more. Without a carbon price, electricity is generated from existing sources at less than A$50 per megawatt-hour, while wind, solar and gas all cost at least more than A$80 per megawatt-hour.

Australia’s energy market isn’t an example of a free market failing. It’s an example of a market failing because it wasn’t allowed to be free in the first place.

If you over-fertilise a fruit tree, it will die.

The only answer to the nation’s energy problem is to remove all handouts and arbitrary taxes given to or imposed on energy providers – whether coal, wind, solar or otherwise. Unless and until this is done, our problems will only continue to worsen.