Policy on Energy
Most of Australia's energy over the next fifty years is going to come from nuclear fusion, in which “heavy water” is used as fuel and is converted to helium. At present, there are several dozen nuclear fusion research reactors around the world, even in such insignificant countries as Portugal and Sweden. If we are elected to run a State Government, we will build a nuclear fusion research reactor at one of the universities in the State.
Australia is the Saudi Arabia of uranium. If we are elected to run the Commonwealth Government, we will set up nuclear power stations at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Safety concerns are exaggerated, and numerous cities in Britain have had nuclear power stations for years without any problems. Australian warships should be nuclear powered.
For many years, the price of petrol in Australia has been around twice the price in the United States. This is not due to taxes. It is not due to shipping costs, since Australia is closer to the Persian Gulf than the United States. It is not due to the Australian market being too small for economies of scale. As we see it, the only explanation is that we are being ripped off by the oil companies. If we are elected to run the government of one of the larger States or the Commonwealth, we will build an oil refinery as a state-owned enterprise to compete with the oil companies.
In recent years, many households have installed air-conditioners. This has led to an increase in peak-hour use of electricity, and a need for more power stations. If air-conditioners used off-peak power, this would just as good, power bills would be a lot less, and we would need fewer power stations. As a State government, we would insist that all new air-conditioners run on off-peak power, unless there is some exceptional reason to run one in peak hours.
Many households have installed solar cells and inverters, which generate electricity during the day. These systems, however, only last for 25 years or until they break down. They are a tremendous source of visual pollution in suburbs. If society ever deteriorated to the point where solar cells would be the only source of electricity, the home owners would probably be kicked out of their houses anyway. Solar water heating, on the other hand, makes more sense. It lasts the life of the house. It is plumbing, so there is not much that can go wrong. Roofs of houses get hot, so it would be silly not to use the heat.
As a State Government, we will only allow new solar panels in remote areas which have no reliable electricity supply. We will however allow roof tiles which have a solar cell embedded in the tile, so as not to spoil the appearance of the house. We will only allow new solar water heaters with glass panels in remote areas. We will however allow corrugated steel panels fitted with copper tubing on one side of the panel to allow the panel to be used for solar water heating without spoiling the appearance of the house.
The Rudd Labor Government banned electric water heaters in new houses. This policy was designed to discourage the introduction of nuclear power, which in turn is based on sucking up to pedophile priests, who oppose nuclear power out of bigotry. As an Australian Government we will cancel this policy.
As a State Government we will insist that new houses have a cupboard where an electric water heater can be installed. This cupboard must have the necessary plumbing and electrical connections. Ideally we would insist that houses have an electric water heater connected to off-peak power. If households want to turn their electric water heaters off, and use gas water heating, that is up to them.
The Rudd Labor Government ran a scheme to improve the energy efficiency of houses. This was known as the “Pink Batts Scheme”. This was abandoned due to a number of installers getting electricuted in houses that had faulty wiring. The scheme was basically sound, and we would reintroduce it, whether we were a State or National Government.
Rather than sending all our coal to China, we should keep some of our coal as a strategic reserve, in case our oil imports are cut off. The coal can then be used to make petrol, diesel and kerosine. At the same time, we do not want to have to pay compensation to mining companies. As an Australian Government, we would ban coal exports unless the coal had already been sold before the ban came in. The coal could only be used for making liquid fuel for use in Australia. We would set up a government mineral exploration section within the CSIRO. We would set up a state-owned enterprise for making liquid fuel from coal. This would be run well below capacity, unless oil imports were cut off.
There are predictions that world energy prices could rise within ten years, and that Australian electricity bills could be five times the current levels. Since Australian electricity comes from Australian resources, there is no need for Australian prices to rise. But if Australian governments continue with “economic rationalism”, our prices will be the same as in other countries. Just because ordinary people in Asian countries are poor, why should Australians be poor? Asians are poor because they have the wrong politicians, and we will be poor too if we continue to vote for the major parties, despite their proven incompetence.