QED

She’ll Be Blight, Mate

In vintage Australia an attitude of mind prevails, encapsulated by the saying “She’ll be right, mate.” It’s a consoling, optimistic epithet. It gives rise to a species of presentism which collapses the future into today’s benign circumstances.  For example, China might be building its military assets, swallowing territory in the South China Sea, extending its reach more broadly, banning various Australian exports and expressing considerable annoyance with us for not kow-towing to Beijing. Never mind, clunky submarines are on order. She’ll be right, mate.

Unfortunately, the history of mankind is replete with circumstances one day which turn out very badly the next. What to do? Preparation is prudent. And ‘off-the-shelf’ US nuclear subs might be a better way to go. At the same time, it would be wearing and counterproductive to allow an uncertain future to put an enveloping air of gloom and doom over the present. Perspective combats paranoia.

Perspective is front and centre when it comes to defending the realm. Not so much where wymyn are concerned. In that case the Prime Minister leads the charge at jumping at shadows. Hyped-up, make-believe claims of sexism and misogyny cause him to shed tears of personal anguish. Be consoled, PM.

Unfortunate things go on in this fallen world. You and your government are not responsible for young women around Parliament House getting sozzled, for allegations of sexual assault, or for gay staffers filming themselves cavorting and masturbating on the desks of female members of parliament.

It’s all unedifying and terribly tawdry but such things go on everywhere, always have, always will. It ain’t like a Chinese nuclear sub cruising our territorial waters. Might be time then to lose a bit of perspective.

Perspective was defenestrated entirely when COVID hit. It’s still hard to grasp how a virus with so little lethality shut down the world. Total deaths in England, when averaged across 2019 and 2020, were exactly the same as the yearly average for the previous ten years..

It will be interesting once the dust has settled to see exactly how many people died worldwide who would otherwise have lived another six months or so. And to see objective assessments of the effectiveness of the shutdowns. Though I dare say such information will be suppressed if governmental and medical authorities and the shutdown-cheering mainstream media have their way.

That would be a pity. Because a sober assessment of the past sixteen months might have a chance of reinstituting some perspective. As sure as eggs, another double-mutant viral strain is, as we speak, itching to hatch from a laboratory or bat-like creature and infect someone at a Chinese wet market. And then, here we go again.

If COVID takes the cake when it comes to hysteria, climate-change alarmism is not far behind. Of course, we see this at its most costly in the form of useless wind turbines and solar farms. Wind and solar do not provide dispatchable power, therefore — no if or buts — they are useless.  Currently they provide three percent of the world’s energy and have caused blackouts in South Australia, in California, and in Europe and probably elsewhere. Now imagine their heightened capacity to cause blackouts (when the sun don’t shine and the wind don’t blow) if they were relied upon to provide twice as much energy; three times as much. Mind boggling.

Personally, I find the response of central bankers to climate change most intriguing. Level-headed men and women one would think. They have a mundane role. However much it is embellished setting interest rates is mostly all there is to it. Anyone could do it; particularly as they tend to follow each other up or down.

To add colour to their working lives maybe, the Reserve Bank explained a little while ago that it would incorporate climate change into setting monetary policy; though there was no indication as to how this might be done. No programmatic specificity as it were.

Recently Randal Quarles, chairman of the Financial Stability Board (an international body based in Switzerland, set up after a G20 meeting in London in 2009), said that his board would be putting together a roadmap to guide bankers in how to deal with climate change. An unnamed senior banker was quoted in my newspaper saying that “the road map amounted to the FSB’s most significant intervention in combatting the effects of catastrophic climate change.” Do you see how perspective is easily lost?

Let me tell you about the trick of banking. The only trick. Make sure those to whom you lend money can and will pay it back, with interest. Banks are practised at this except during recessions, when lots of otherwise viable businesses go down the tubes.

They don’t need a roadmap to tell them to ramp up lending to renewable energy carpetbaggers supported by government subsidies or not to lend on security of an uninsured property on a crumbling coastline or to stop lending to coal power stations thrown under the bus by subsidies to their renewable-energy competitors. They can work it out.

But this is where perspective is lost. It’s not up to central banks or banks to decide which industries will thrive and which won’t. They are simply journeymen; there to grease the wheels. Ideally, market forces determine which businesses thrive and which don’t. These days, unfortunately, governments have a big say too by regulating, taxing and subsidising.  Central bank and banks have no say; or should have no say. Their buy-in into climate change is without foundation.

Perspective is becoming a rarity. I suppose its scarcity has moved in sync with common sense. And, I suspect, with average IQ.

17 thoughts on “She’ll Be Blight, Mate

  • Harry Lee says:

    Fella oughta know that:
    There is Australian legislation that prohibits the use of nuclear energy -and that includes nuke subs- by Australian entities beyond some narrow-range medical applications.
    No supplier of nuke anything -eg the USA, France, the UK- will even talk “nukes for Australia” until the anti-nuke legislation is revoked.
    There is no sign that the somnolent Australian populace is anywhere near ready to ask the ALP-Green-Lib anti-nuke alliance to “pretty please stop these naive/evil superstitions about the badness of nuclear energy and the fantasy that human-produced carbon dioxide causes climate change.

  • Harry Lee says:

    Fella oughta know that:
    The French subs will not be clunky.
    Very much the contrary.
    Look up contemporary non-nuke propulsion systems and the superiority of non-nuke subs for the kinds of tasks likely required of Australian subs.
    And make efforts to comprehend the nature of effective innovation that is engaged in by the French Naval Group, and of which most design/engineering(/manufacturing enterprises outside of Australia is capable.
    Sure, the new subs will not be in service for a very long time.
    But that seems to be OK by the Canberra consensus.
    Possibly it is OK by the Canberra consensus because enough people in the RAN, in the ADF generally, in Defence, in DFAT, and in the political parties do understand that the last thing China wants is a shooting war.
    China must import and export vast quantities of everything, and a shooting war would make that impossible.
    And its exports include CCP agents that are fast infiltrating all Australian bodies that make decisions about prices and quantities of imports and exports that affect China’s ability to feed and control its peoples.
    China needs the rest of the world more than the rest of the world needs China.
    And the top CCP people know that.
    More Australians should know it too.
    The CCP/Chinese infiltration here is vast, and the ALP favours China over the USA as our preferred senior partner.

  • Elizabeth Beare says:

    Oh dear. Money will often follow money, until the music stops.

    I wonder when that will happen with climate alarmism and subsidies to ineffective energy systems.

  • Elizabeth Beare says:

    No worries though. She’ll be right, mate. 🙂

  • Harry Lee says:

    This is significant:
    Big Money/Big Biz is now moving into full alliance with the anti-empirical/Left/woke-ist/Big Statist forces in the ALP, Greens, public services, education systems, in the legal system, and in the mainstream news/opinion media.
    When Big Money/Big Biz went into alliance with the Big Statists in Germany in the early 1930s, there were bad consequences for hundreds of millions of people.
    And today, this form of alliance, which is anti-human-flourishing in the extreme, is further enabled by Big Tech.
    Must see the Big Picture eh.

  • ianl says:

    Elizabeth

    The SA demand for power is about 1.3-1.4 GW (see https://reneweconomy.com.au/nem-watch/). This is below the output of even the limping-along Liddell generator. It is at subsistence level now, and Whyalla is in deep trouble since Greensill along with Gupta fell over.

    The Reserve Bank funds this hollowness by simply adding another column in a spreadsheet (see: Excel Drop-down Menus) and typing numbers into it.

    The total power demand across Australia has dropped by over 16% in the last three years, irrespective of how it is generated. Although COVID has pushed this, the drop started over 18 months before March 2020.

    The answer to your question is here now, and has been for quite some time. Most will not believe this despite the simple facts of measurement, simply because they do not wish to believe it.

  • en passant says:

    Harry.
    Your insights are most enlightening and reassuring:
    COMMENT IN CAPITALS FOR EASE OF FINDING THEM
    “The French subs will not be clunky. Very much the contrary. Look up contemporary non-nuke propulsion systems and the superiority of non-nuke subs for the kinds of tasks likely required of Australian subs.
    WHAT ARE THESE ‘KINDS OF TASKS’? A LIST, PLEASE, AND THE WEAPONS REQUIRED TO CARRY OUT THESE TASKS
    And make efforts to comprehend the nature of effective innovation that is engaged in by the French Naval Group, and of which most design/engineering(/manufacturing enterprises outside of Australia is capable. EXPLAIN HOW NAVAL GROUP CAME OUT OF LEFT FIED AND REPLACED JAPAN, SWEDEN OR GERMANY AS THE CHOICE WHEN THEY HAD NO DESIGN FOR A CONVENTIONAL SUBMARINE. WHAT EXACTLY DID THEY SELL THE WIZARDS OF OZ? WE COULD HAVE HAD THE FIRST SORYU IN 2024 FOR $2.RBN, OR ONCE UPON A TIME IN 2034 FOR $7BN, BUT I AM SURE YOU CAN EASILY SWAT AWAY THIS TRIVIAL ISSUE.
    Sure, the new subs will not be in service for a very long time. $10 SAYS THEY WILL NEVAAA BE BUILT.
    But that seems to be OK by the Canberra consensus. AS I DON’T GENERALLY ACCEPT MYTHICAL GROUPTHINK, PLEASE NAME THEM.
    Possibly it is OK by the Canberra consensus because enough people in the RAN, in the ADF generally, in Defence, in DFAT, and in the political parties do understand that the last thing China wants is a shooting war. ANOTHER $10 SAYS CHINA WILL BE INVOLVED IN A WAR (WITH ALL WHO RESIST THEM) FOR THE SOUTH CHINA SEA BY 2025.
    BY THAT TIME OF COURSE SEA LEVELS WILL HAVE FLOODED SYDNEY, THE ARCTIC WILL BE ICE-FREE AND THE CO2 LEVELS WILL BE DOWN TO 100ppm AND THE GREAT RESET WILL HAVE USHERED IN KUMBAYAH …

  • March says:

    We are screwed.

  • Harry Lee says:

    en passant: I might give you full answers, but you would need to ask your questions without scoffing, or being demanding, or by pretending you are superior to me and that I’m here to do yer bidding. Chuckle.
    Meanwhile:
    1. Subs’ tasks and weapons: Look ’em up yourself. And as you do that, remember that with modern/ever-evolving non-nuke propulsion systems and with shorter, slimmer hulls, these non-nuke subs are quieter, can operate in shallow waters, and are generally more maneuverable than nuke subs. (Think littoral engagements, and perhaps dropping off and picking up special forces.)
    2. Naval Group was always on the scene. There is something bigger going on with France. Possibly to do with French capital/management of most military manufactures in Australia -Alstrom group, and its various relatives. But might go beyond this factor. On face of it, the Soryu would have been smart way to go, and Soryu could easily have extended the operational range which was cited by Canberra for the no-go.
    Groupthink: You would be well-served to become aware of the various groupthinks all around you, and esp those of which you are a member.
    Shooting War: Save yer tenner. Only by a series of errors on both sides would there be a shooting war. Your comprehension of China and its actions would be assisted by considering all that is required for China to feed its peoples, keep ’em pre-occupied, and thereby under control.
    A shooting war would cut off imports of food and fossil fuels and most of what it needs to keep itself going. And without exports of manufactured trash, it would lose the cash that it needs to pay for its imports.
    And en passant, did you know that the Japanese navy could/would wipe-out the Chinese navy, as needed?
    Yes, and a good chuckle to go with your final sentence -the groupthink idiocy re the climate thing is hard upon us.

  • Wayne says:

    Re the submarine saga I was always disappointed at the decision not to go with the Japanese. Not only would it have cemented our military ties to them but they also live in our neighborhood and confront the same threats as we do. And weren’t they much cheaper and would have been available sooner?

    Surely it was an easier problem to extend the range of their subs vs converting a nuclear sub into a diesel sub.

    I am reminded of the allies approach in the Second World War re tanks. They produced good enough in vast quantities vs the Nazis preoccupation with the biggest and the best but in low volumes.

    I am with the view that we are pressed for time and do not have the luxury of waiting for what remains to be seen is the ‘best’.

  • ianl says:

    And we see, without any surprise at all, that the Feds are going to bail out Whayalla Steelworks (SA) and (NSW) Tahmoor Colliery (both part of Gupta’s collapsed empire) by having the Reserve add yet another column to its’ spreadsheet and fill this in with more big dollar numbers. Tahmoor mines the Bulli seam and as such produces reasonable quality coking coal, so finding a buyer for it is not an issue. Whyalla Steel not a viable proposition when there is no reliable power.

    Subsistence level, third-world status, for SA to be sure. Already there. Ho hum.

  • en passant says:

    Harry,
    “…or by pretending you are superior to me and that I’m here to do yer bidding. Chuckle.” I AM MORE THAN SUPERIOR TO YOU WHEN IT COMES TO SUBMARINES AND MILTARY MATTERS. CHUCKLE …
    ‘..Subs’ tasks and weapons: Look ’em up yourself.’ OF COURSE I LOOKED THEM UP AND I AM NOT IMPRESSED. IF THEY ARE USED IN THE SCS THEY ARE ON A ONE WAY JOURNEY TO BEING A WAR GRAVE. WHERE EXACTLY DO YOU SEE THEM LANDING WHITE SECIAL FORCES MEN IN SOUTH EAST ASIA – AND WHAT DO YOU ENVISION THEIR MISSION TO BE?
    ‘… On face of it, the Soryu would have been smart way to go’ AGREED AS AN INTERIM MEASURE, BUT MANNED SUBMARINES ARE A 2030’S+ DEATH TRAP.
    ‘… groupthinks all around you, and esp those of which you are a member.’ NAME THE GROUPTHINK YOU THINK I BELONG TO AS I AM UNAWARE OF IT.
    ‘Shooting War: Save yer tenner’ THE BET STANDS, LEE KWAN YEW
    ‘And en passant, did you know that the Japanese navy could/would wipe-out the Chinese navy, as needed?’ NEW INFORMATION! I WAS UNAWARE OF THAT! I GUESS THEY ARE JUST WASTING MONEY BY ORDERING 31 NEW SHIPS TO BE DILVERED IN 5-8 YEARS.
    ‘Yes, and a good chuckle to go with your final sentence -the groupthink idiocy re the climate thing is hard upon us.’ BELIEVE IT OR NOT, SOME PEOPLE EVEN BELIEVE COVID IS A REAL PANDEMIC!
    On 19th April 2021 +1,556 died globally with (but attributed to Covid) from a world population approaching 7,800,000,000, a daily death rate of 0.000019948%.

    ON 19th APRIL OZ RECORDED 1 DEATH (OF A PNG NATIONAL IN QLD) FROM A POPULATION OF 25,,735,000 (BRINGING THE TOTAL TO 910 IN 410 DAYS SINCE THE PANIC WAS MADE MANDATORY) AND 18 NEW CASES (ALL FROM INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLERS). STATISTICALY A DEATH RATE OF 0.000003885% OF THE OZ POPULATION AND 0.0000072% OF NEW CASES. THE GLOBAL DEATH RATE WAS EQUAL TO 2.15 THE DAILY DEATHS IN OZ FROM ALL CAUSES.
    OZ IS A LUNATIC ASYLUM RUN BY LUNATICS

  • pgang says:

    The West, as a broad society, is now a socialiast entity pretending it is otherwise. The public sheeple-style reaction to the extaordinary administrative over-reach in relation to ‘climate change’ and COVID-19 proves this.
    People aren’t interested in human dignity anymore – they want everything to be sorted out for them, and for every decision to be communalised. Dignity only exists in so far as an idividual is aligned with the current social diktat. Socialist ‘equality’ (the destruction of the individual and ultimately of humankind), assumes that we must all be aligned with groupthink. That is why people get so angry over the most mundane things, such as people not aligning with ‘social distancing’ rules.
    When seen through the lens of sociliasm, which is ultimately just the full realisation of philosohpical idealism (one-ness), everything makes perfect sense. So I would argue that perspective depends on how you look at a problem. For our socialist society the perspective is correct.

  • nfw says:

    At least the PM has proven there is no longer a need for politicians and public servants (remember them, they are all in this together with us while still being paid and accruing their pensions) to travel international or internally. If it’s good enough to swear in a minister of the Crown by video then they can all do everything by video. Yes, it will mean disposing of the RAAF VIP Flight (the pilots will have to garner their hours for their Qantas and Virgin jobs elsewhere), no more business and first class travel and no more allowances for the oh so demanding travel they have (had?) to undertake to attend all those oh so important conferences. They will do that won’t they? After all they are all in this together with we little people are they not?

    We in NSW know the Wuhan Sniffles scam-demic will officially end on 7th July 2021. That is the date the Great Dear Glorious Magnificent Munificent Beatific Economy Destroying Glads has decreed the covers on the pedestrian crossing buttons will be removed. That signals (please pardon the pun) the end of the scam-demic as it means we are no longer able to catch the Wuhan Sniffles from pressing pedestrian crossing buttons. Surely she is glorious, while still being paid by we little people who have seen our lives and dreams destroyed. Praise be to Glads, her public servants and the “experts” everywhere.

  • nfw says:

    I love all the never-been-to-sea in submarine experts. I can tell their “expertness” by the way the armchair black-tubers use the word “sub”. They are BOATS! Subs are: 1. what you pay at the clubhouse each year; 2. an American 30cm (sometimes) long sandwich; and 3. what those senior to sub-lieutenants call them.

  • pgang says:

    nfw, come come. Don’t you know that you’re not allowed to speak of ill of the country’s self-proclaimed loneliest, most emotionally vulnerable woman?
    As for ‘subs’, yes I do enjoy the national hysteria associated with every Australian’s newfound submarinal expertise (a bit like the cries for nucular energy). Apart from the widespread intimate knowledge of their relative capabilities, I think the most lucid argument I’ve heard against them so far is that they are dangerous things to fight in. Well, that’s hard to argue against I guess.
    Filtering through the hype there is one solid issue that seems to be of concern, and that is the extended delivery timetable, which does seem troublesome to the naked eye. As for the cost, who cares. I want my taxes to be spent on weapons. Some of them will be duds. Too bad: spend some more.
    My own experience with military planning ends at fire and motion rehearsals with an SLR. Not exactly high tech stuff. However I do embrace the reflections of Captain Harry Cobby, who advised that no matter how good a military pilot you were or in what piece of kit, you were dead meat if the enemy surprised you in the air. In this context of situational awareness I place the F-35 Lightning II, a weapon that I’m certain would have met the Captain’s approval. I presume that ‘subs’ fall into a similar ethos of tactical planning, with their value extending from their ability to heighten our awareness.

  • Alice Thermopolis says:

    PS: “Central bank and banks have no say; or should have no say. Their buy-in into climate change is without foundation.”

    Note the French connection here. The RBA joined the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) in 2018 “to learn and benefit as much as possible from the expertise of others, to understand and contribute to the discussion around the serious challenge of climate change.”

    Eight central banks and supervisors established the NGFS at the Paris One Planet Summit in December 2017, with the Banque de France playing a lead role. Its mission could have been written by the UN:
    “to strengthen the global response required to meet the goals of the Paris agreement and to enhance the role of the financial system to manage risks and to mobilize capital for green and low-carbon investments in the broader context of environmentally sustainable development.”

    It came with obligations too. “…adhering to the NGFS reflects a political commitment from an institution and also implies the will and capacity to actively contribute to the work.” In other words, kiss goodbye to independent judgment and shun perspectives outside the alarmist paradigm.

    When Mark Carney, a past governor of the Bank of England, became the UN’s Special Envoy on Climate Finance last year, the ducks were all in a row for a jolly good show at COP26 in Glasgow this November.
    The UN/EU “climate controllers” are determined to impose a “carbon” tax on the West, by hook or by crook,

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