At least CJ admits to knowing little about economics. Luckily
he and the Greens have nothing to do with the Federal treasury,
or we would soon be back to grass skirts and banana leaves for
clothing :)

Fact is that Australia is still running a huge current account
deficit and to pay our bills, we need mining, or its back to
banana republic status for us.

Yes, digging holes in the ground is not so good for the
immediate environment, but CJ and the Greens all want internet
access and the other mod cons that go along with modern living.
I have yet to see Bob Brown cycling back to Tassie each weekend.

The thing is, how many actual % of the continent are in a state
of being dug up? I gather its actually a very tiny fraction.

I guess the Qld Govt could always cut back on staff. How essential
are botanists to their budget? :)

Energy research is now global, so I can't see that pouring taxpayers
funds into it, is going to solve anything. Just recently a small
US company developed a new technique for releasing shale gas,
the financial world is in hot debate, for it means that the US
suddenly will have an abundance of gas and not need to import.

Ausra, which is a US based thermal energy company based on Australian
technology, has just been sold to the French.

Venture capital is alive and well in the energy business, so I can't
see how peeing taxpayers money against the proverbial wall, will
do better.

Best that they keep a few pennies in the kitty, so that they can still
afford to pay Ludwig :)