Whether you agree with the author on climate change or not - and I most emphatically do not - you have a problem in that Australia is a flat, dry place. Not many places for Snowy Mountain schemes.
Now a alternative energy network probably does need all that investment to be of any use at all in cutting emissions - wind farms by themselves will be of only slight use in cutting emissions - but we would have to spend a lot in emissions to put that network in place.

"NIMBYism would prevent the Snowy Mountains Scheme from being build today but in hindsight we are grateful it was built."
Why are you grateful the Scheme was built?

@blairbar the Snowy Scheme generates $5bn in additional irrigated agriculture and supplies 3.5% of mainland Australia's electricity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_Mountains_Scheme
How could that easily be replaced? The water couldn't come from bores or desal plants and it would probably take more than a thousand widely separated wind turbines to generate that average power.

With the exception of blairbar’s remarks, all of these comments seem to have missed the point the author is making. That is, 60 years ago the philosophy of government and the Australian people allowed a large government driven project such as the Snowy Mountain Scheme to become a reality. Now, in the face of immense challenges presented by climate change, the Federal Government has resorted to weak market based mechanisms that do not inspire, let alone effectively address the complex, systemic nature of the climate challenge.

Like the snowy scheme, the cost of government investment in renewable infrastructure is of critical importance. But the benefits of such an endeavour also need to be equally considered. Compared with the proposed emissions trading scheme, direct government investment in renewable infrastructure can lay the groundwork necessary for industry to feel confident to invest in renewable energy and plays a key role in making these renewable technologies commercially viable.

Now that human induced climate change is scientific fact, the debate over what to do has focused on setting adequate targets. What we need is action to achieve those targets. And, like the author makes clear, the most effective, inspiring medium-term action lies in nation building government driven investment in renewable energy and associated infrastructure

One reason why the Howard Govt would not have been actively pursuing a major infrastructure program in 2006 is that would not of been anyone to build it.
Major projects in the Pilbara and the Bowen Basin sucked up so many skilled people that we had to import workers on 456 visa's to keep the major cities working.
Private enterprise was building a couple of Snowy scheme equivalents in WA and Qld in the extractive industries.
All that would of happened if the Fed's had opened the public purse would have been a huge inflationary push as public servants tried to feather bed the jobs in a time of a tight employment market.
The time for govt to build these major projects is when there is a shortage of jobs, like now.
With regard to the Snowy Scheme's environmental impact, remember that before it was built there was high country grazing on snow leases.
With the coming of the SMHS the vast bulk of the catchment was converted to national park.
For the cost of the small area that has been disturbed by dams, roads and powerlines there is the benefit of having cattle removed from the rest of the high country.
This is apart from allowing the option of more water for the Murray Darling and opening the high country as a play ground for jaded city dwellers.
A little pain for much gain.
PeterA, there are six recognised global average temperature records of which NASA's GISS is but one and Jim Hansen certainly has his own axe to grind with his GISS temps.
The rest show declining average temp's since 1998.

The Destructive Methods of Mankind

It is incredible how many contributors to Online Opinion appear to believe that mankind cannot do harm to our planet?

The very fact that Nature had grown forests and vegetation to make use of carbon waste, should know that mankind was on the way to destroy the globe ever since the beginning of industrial mechanisation.