Australia can graduate from a ‘dig it up and ship it out’ quarry to a leader in the global transition to clean energy. Our vast array of minerals-in-high-demand processed with our low-cost clean energy can secure prosperity for generations of Australians.
An excerpt from the 2024 Manning Clark Lecture delivered by Simon Holmes à Court on 10 September 2024, on the topic The Politics of Energy Transition.
For many in the climate movement, the 2019 election was supposed to be the climate election. But it wasn’t to be.
On election night a victorious Scott Morrison stood before the nation and proclaimed “I have always believed in miracles”. Victory was more likely due to a string of Labor missteps and Clive Palmer’s $94m advertising blitz.
In 2022 we finally got the climate election we’d hoped for, and the most fundamental realignment of Australian politics in a generation. As well as losing 10 seats to Labor, the Liberal Party lost six of its most prized seats to the community independents along with another two to the Greens.
The community independents — labelled the “teals” by the media — tapped into the zeitgeist with a commitment to :
- a science based response to climate change
- restoring integrity to politics
- safety and respect for women.
Personally, I have never believed in miracles.
Credit for the success of the independents goes to the tens of thousands of Australians — most of whom were new to politics — who shared the common values, felt the thrill of possibility, worked hard and loved the journey.
They were assisted by Climate 200, the 11,200 person strong crowdfunding group I convened, but helped even more by Howard, Abbott and Morrison whose collective legacy was a vacuum ready to be filled by a hopeful, centrist movement.
Moreover the independents were helped by Zali Steggall and Helen Haines who struck a chord with Australians through the 46th parliament. Without Steggall’s relentless pursuit of action on climate and Haines’ dogged advocacy for a national integrity commission neither climate nor integrity would have been issues on which the last election was fought.
Together the independents have shown us a hint of a new kind of politics.
Unencumbered by the weight of party allegiances, uncompromised by the ugly process of advancement through the ranks, each independent has given their community a genuine voice in Canberra.
The independents take expert, evidence-based advice and put issues on the agenda. They bring new ideas. They hold the government to account, but instead of reflexively opposing everything as the Opposition does, they push the government to be better.
Shortly before he died, Malcolm Fraser was helping a small working group develop a plan for a new political party — I was privileged to attend a few meetings. In his post-parliamentary career he had become friends with Barry Jones. Barry suggested that the new party be called the Courage Party.
The Courage Party never eventuated, but now we have something better I think — true independents with courage.
Instead of doing the easy thing and sticking to careers they loved and excelled in — they did something hard and uncomfortable and answered the call of their communities.
Each connected their community’s imagination with courage, and took it all the way to Parliament House.
This all happened in the context of a changing electoral landscape. For the first time in decades Baby Boomers are no longer dominant.
In 2013 Boomers made up 54% of voters, outnumbering Millennials and Gen Z by 2-to-1. Within one electoral cycle the ratio will be reversed.
Only 52% of the younger cohort reports any party loyalty, compared with 85% of Boomers.
The younger cohort is frustrated — no, angry — that it is no longer realistic to aspire to home ownership, angry to be carrying education debts through life, angry that older generations are leaving them with a damaged planet.
The demographics of 21st century Australia and the consequent fracturing of traditional party support make it more likely than not that the crossbench will grow.
Smart independents, drawing on experts and evidence, beyond the reach of vested interests, are the enlargers we need to ensure the government does its part to secure our superpower future.
The time is now
As I stated earlier, Australia is facing its own Kodak moment.
Kodak was eventually run out of business by the technology it helped invent.
It’d be ironic if Australia, which played a major role in the development of solar photovoltaics, suffered a similar fate. But there’s a very real risk that the punishers and straighteners will have us turn our back on our natural advantages, leading to our own Kodak moment.
Alternatively, with a supermajority of enlargers, we can seize the superpower opportunity, and with it great prosperity.
Australia can graduate from a ‘dig it up and ship it out’ quarry to a leader in the global transition to clean energy. Our vast array of minerals-in-high-demand processed with our low-cost clean energy can secure prosperity for generations of Australians.
An exciting future beckons. The urgency of the transition propels us forward, and with our ingenuity, resources and the new political landscape, we have everything we need to grasp this opportunity.
If we do so, we’ll not only be doing our fair share of securing a safe climate, we’ll be helping others to do theirs while enriching the lives of Australians for generations to come.
If there was ever a time for enlargers, that time is now.