Tony Mahar is a seriously good operator, widely respected across the ag sector, but one suspects the government is hoping he’ll morph into their Lord Hee-Haw—a smooth-talking apologist who can help them roll out their 40 turbines a month, and thousands of kilometres of power lines across picturesque rural farmland by 2030.
Now, if you read between the lines of the government’s carefully crafted media statement on the appointment of the new Energy infrastructure Commissioner you’ll notice something glaringly absent: any mention of cost. It’s all “optimal delivery” and “social benefits,” as if there are only winners and no losers.
Not that Tony will be needed in the likes of Bondi, Brighton, and Byron Bay, as there are no losers there, but there will be plenty of losers across the Golden Plains of Victoria and the Central Highlands of Queensland, not to mention hundreds of country towns.
The government must be worried as the bush is in revolt and the government’s secret polling must have them worried. Hence the roll out of the conservative version of Henry Kissinger to calm the locals.
And then there’s this obsession with “combatting misinformation”. Funny how the government pulls that card when the facts don’t suit their narrative. Apparently, farmers just aren’t getting the memo that the massive power line in their front paddock will magically bring the rain and cool the summers.
It’s straight out of Lord Kitchener’s playbook—“You” need to step up and make the supreme sacrifice for your country. Only this time, it’s for the climate, (and the government) so by bringing someone with Tony’s CV onto the government payroll they are no doubt hoping he will help roll out climate conscription in the bush.
Meanwhile, those with beachfront views get to avoid the draft and carry on as usual, leaving the all too familiar history to repeat itself of rural and regional Australia carrying an unfair share of the country’s quota.
The only problem for the government is, given how Tony recently took on the government with the “Keep the Sheep” campaign, I’m betting he’s more wolf than sheep, just like those other appointments Albanese got so wrong.
Look at the Reserve Bank and Productivity Commission chairs, both of whom have recently bit the hand that fed them by calling out the harsh truths of the government’s economic blunders.
Let’s hope Tony remembers that the country needs “Him” to remain his own man in his new role.
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