Former Prime Minister Abbott's renewable worries are certainly justified and need to be said [1]. Australia's pathetic "energy leadership" will cause hypothermia, increased respiratory diseases and higher death rates among the aged in southeastern Australia from June to September this year.

The latest threat to southeastern Australia's electricity supplies is the closure soon of Victoria's Hazelwood Power Station [2]. Via major electricity cable extensions the renewable junky, South Australia, is also dependent on Hazelwood.

Hazelwood supplies up to 25% of Victoria's base load electricity and more than 5% of Australia's total energy demand [3].

Hazelwood is definitely closing by the end of THIS MONTH - 31 MARCH 2017. Multi-state blackouts won't be immediate but will impact 2 months later, in June 2017.

June will see very cold, still nights:

- with longer nights there is less solar generating daylight, and

- cold still air means windpower won't work

- dropping temperatures means more strain on the closure depleted base load power.

- prices for all baseload electricity as well as home oil and gase will jump by 30% over 18 months.

Under these conditions there will be greater "load shedding" ie. short term planned blackouts, especially during the coldest nights:

- starting with the renewable junkies of South Australia

- then the halfway coverted junkies of Victoria

- SA, Vic and Tasmania will need rely on the baseload power stations of Liberal NSW to feed them some power, but at unsustainably high prices.

As I've said after Hazelwood's closure there definitely won't be enough power to run heaters in the homes of poor, vulnerable and old. These people cannot afford sufficient insulation or afford sharply increasing energy prices.

Praise be Labor and Coalition politicians for talking but not acting at the Federal and State levels. Solutions lie further to the Right and certaing not to the Left (populated Renewable Junky Greens and other environmental extremists).

[1] http://tonyabbott.com.au/2017/02/transcript-hon-tony-abbott-mp-remarks-launch-making-australia-right-mlc-building-miller-street-sydney/

[2] http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/mining/hazelwood-power-station-to-close-in-march-2017/news-story/12941ae68e41c0a4d05d5824bf1b3e3a

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazelwood_Power_Station

Pete

The answer to the energy crisis is nuclear energy and all generation and distribution back in public hands.

It's time that massively overpriced energy (gold plated) distribution ceased being the personal ATM of cash strapped government, or foreign investors only concerned with maximised price gouged profits!?

And Mr Abbott had a chance to introduce when he had the power to do so, but as per usual for Mr No, whimped all the courageous decisions and remained true to his opposition leader's prime ethous!

Oppose for opposition's sake and to hell with what's best for Australia and Australians?

The last time we had bipartisan politics and policies, a much more pragmatic Labor was still, a workers party and even more pragmatic libs, semi retired and usually successful in their own right.

With both groups able to actually put the country first and save partisan politics mainly for the election contest.

And because that was so, we here in this place experienced a period of unprecedented postwar prosperity, the like of which not seen before or since!

But still possible with the right policy mix and courageous and far less timid leadership, more concerned with the country and less concerned with cronies and personal privilege and profit!

Those who don't like going in a far better more equitable and fair direction, perfectly free to leave and start or join another party!

It should be get with the agreed program or get out! We don't need spoilers or incompetents from the past engaged in a destructive power struggle they can never ever win!
Alan B.

I don't know where you are Pete, but as a Queenslander I am very glad the ratbag left, are slitting their own throats down south. Fortunately this act of suicide by the southerners will help stop our ratbags inflicting the same foolery up here.

Once the stuff hits the fan along the southern coast, & the lights go out continually, it is doubtful even these fools will continue this folly. They do plan to follow their southern cousins, if they get the chance.

I can only assume their leaders are assured of nice fat contracts by those who benefited from this government folly, when they leave politics. Surely even they are not so stupid as to believe more windmills is a constructive policy.

Hi Hasbeen

Yes I'm unfortunately south of the border among the Loony Left Lemmings who fail to look over the renewable cliff before leaping. Here they go http://youtu.be/AOOs8MaR1YM .

Their well earned ends will indeed act as cautionary tales for would-be renewable nutters up north.

Prime Minister Harbourside Mansion won't know or care about the old dying among plummeting temperatures and soaring electricity and gas bills. I expect Malcolm, with his banker mates, will get richer on stock exchange energy futures when he retires from politics later this year.

If I don't install a petrol generator - like you've earlier suggested:

I'll buy a cute little house on the praire, make it look pretty an all - not blow it to smithereens - but place 25 solar panels on the roof and a big Lithium-ion battery down below. I'll then disconnect myself from the world, if not my Internet and relative sanity.

Pete

"What I do see, in this short-lived fracas, is the media picking on someone they love to hate. I’m not one of his great admirers, but he is intelligent and thoughtful. He ought to be allowed to say what he thinks without his automatically attracting the ‘naughty boy’ label by doing so"

Agreed. It was disappointing that the ABC's political editor was so frivolous (and predictable where there ABC is concerned). There has been a lot of that from the ABC. Tabloid. Sensationalist. Playing the man.

Time to get some savings from cutting the duplicated services of the ABC and SBS.

Pete my experience with my remote controlled planes will not be good news for your plans.

I use the very best Lithium polymer batteries in them. Some of those, which have been only used 2 or 3 times, & carefully held on "storage" charge between uses have refused to charge one or more cells at no more than 18 months of age.

I suggest you make that a diesel generator, & use car batteries. The hot shot stuff is not all that great when you have no reason to save weight.

Not so sure that the greenies & elites, in their inner city high-rise blocks will respond too gently to loss of power either. Perhaps the best thing I can think of is those windmill lovers having to descend & then climb 20 or 30 flights of steps to go scavenge for a meal, when their fridge & cooking gear is not working. I am not too happy when a battery costing over $85 has worked for less than 20 minutes.

It was most noticeable up here the lack of greenie noise when Beattie was going to damn the Mary river, near Gympie. The threat of their comfort being disturbed by no water changed their response to damn building pretty damn [like it] quickly.

Nothing converts a greeny to a disbeliever so quickly as a minor inconvenience experienced personally.