Good comparison, with 'Captain' Albanese at the wheel of the sinking ship, Australia. "Incompetent imbecile" suits Albanese to a tee: the perfect no-hoper to finish off what the previous twat, Morrison started, sinking Australia for good. The only thing I would disagree with is that the dopey population is finally noticing. It is not.

Agree with most of this, save the assertion that current coal and gas prices are cheaper than renewables. Only nuclear is currently cheaper and the cheapest of all is MSR thorium! Uranium fuelled SMRs will see the energy baron retaining their iron grip on our short and curlies. Whereas, we could grow a home-grown nuclear power industry via MSR thorium. Uranium is as rare as platinum and as expensive. Needs enrichment and enormous pressure to be viable.

SMRs reduce the disaster when that pressure breaks something and the super-hot water/coolant immediately decomposes to explosive hot hydrogen and oxygen.

Thorium is as common as lead and needs no enrichment. MSR technology operates in unpressurised ambient air pressure and liquid salt is the coolant.

In the event of a power failure the system shuts down autonomously and the reactor drains by itself into purpose-built drainage tanks where no reaction is possible.

Furthermore, with onsite reprocessing the fuel can be almost completely burnt, and power generated for up to 100 years on a few kilograms of metal thorium. Which is four times more abundant than uranium.

There were a couple of bugs in MSR technology, but they have since been ironed out!
Alan B.

So what's the answer to our massive problem?
Use coal and gas as fast as we can, and suddenly all will be well?
The truth is we have no option but to go in a 'clean' direction.
I think any problem is really the other way round.
When I look at the US of A, I seriously wonder how that country stays afloat.
My impression is that the social system there is one event away from collapse.
I rather think they envy our prospects.
The wiser ones seem to want to come and live here.
Unfortunately, our prospects are tied loosely to those of the USA.
So if they sink, they are likely to take us with them.
Then one, or more, of our northern neighbours, will flood in.
And the prospect of a 'voice' will be but a distant memory.
Drowned out in a flood of foreign sounds.

We are sinking because of the prohibitive cost of energy and for no other reason. As long as we're tied/welded at the hip, to coal and gas this situation can only worsen.

Here's the thing, nuclear energy is carbon free energy, and we need to transition ASAP if only to refloat the ship of state. Only the most moribund morons would pin us to coal and gas.

And we may have up to 40% of the world's reserves of thorium (clean green energy). So much so that we can never run out of it.

If anyone can say, when things return to normal prices go down. Never seen it in my lifetime as the foreign energy Barons will charge whatever the market will bare.

Even where they bankrupt the nation and turn us into another banana republic.
Alan B.

Australia sits stably in the middle of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate, hence has no realistic chance of sinking any time soon.

Stupid article! The ship's not sinking at all.

Anti-environmentalists have a far more cult like mentality than environmentalists.

You may not like the health and safety rules we have now, but there are good reasons why we have them. Preventing disasters is worth the red tape.

Australia's a big country with a small population, so OF COURSE we have more national park and conservation zone per person - there'd be something very wrong if we didn't.

Having more efficient ports is more important than having more of them. I don't know the details of the Queensland legislation, but I do know that state is in quite a special position; with the Great Barrier Reef on much of its coastline, the need for caution is genuine.

Small, highly populated countries and Indian states are not relevant comparators regarding port spacing. Why haven't you compared us to Canada or the USA?

Our dependence on fossil fuels left us vulnerable to skyrocketing prices at the start of the Ukraine war. Switching to renewables makes economic sense as well as environmental sense, though higher interest rates diminish the economic advantage.

So, looking at why you think the ship is sinking:
• Global commodity prices jumped. We've hit a storm, but the ship can easily withstand storms. Slowing the ship may not be an ideal response, but prices are stabilising and the ship remains upright.
(tbc)