The Pub Test: The real state of the Australian economy

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My local watering hole, the Telegraph Hotel, Gunning NSW, 20 December 2024

Nobody has been this broke in generations

Labor’s machine is out in force this Christmas in a vain attempt to recover the electoral ground that is collapsing under its feet. My feed on X is replete with comments telling me how John Howard and Peter Costello taxed us more than Jimbo and then mostly squandered it. Peter Garrett is tweeting anti-nuclear sentiment, leftist think tanks are spruiking how good the economy is, and other lefties are blaming everything else on the RBA.

It’s a complete rot-fest of lies. Nobody has been this broke in generations. Just ask anyone at the pub.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall wrote:

And finally, Michael de Percy says that ‘nobody has been this broke in generations’. If you watch the modest Christmas shoppers, I think he’s right. ‘I made a joke(?) about how I am almost completely skint because all my spare cash is going to Albo. One of my neighbours replied grimly, ‘And if not him, one of his mates.’

My latest in The Spectator Australia, The Pub Test: The real state of the Australian economy.

We need a Plan B for our future energy needs

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Nuclear is a necessary part of our energy Plan B

We need a Plan B for our future energy needs
Dr Michael de Percy, a respected political scientist and political commentator, recently delivered an insightful presentation to the Crookwell Rotary Club and their invited guests. The topic of discussion was nuclear energy, a subject that has become increasingly pertinent in global and local energy debates. As a resident of Gunning in the Upper Lachlan Shire, Dr de Percy provided a unique perspective on the potential role of nuclear power in addressing energy security and climate challenges. His talk was well received, sparking engaging conversations among attendees about the future of energy production in Australia. A brief extract of his presentation follows.

Networked infrastructure like roads, telecommunications networks, and energy grids are peculiar beasts.

In Australia, vast distances mean the cost of deploying infrastructure often outweighs the market’s ability to make a decent return on investment.

For much of Australia’s history, government has owned and operated transport, telecommunications, and energy systems to ensure these important services were delivered to citizens.

To keep costs down, governments adopted a market dominance and cost recovery model. This model prevented alternative systems from developing so the private sector wasn’t competing with the government.

The approach enabled relatively sound transport, telecommunications, and energy systems to operate during the last century. But technological convergence has created problems for Australia when it comes to cross-platform competition in services such as rail, communications, and energy. 

Once a particular technology is selected by government, resources are committed, and institutions are established to support the original policy decision.

History proves that time and again Australian policymakers have made decisions that seemed logical at the time, only to create major headaches in the future once technologies evolved.

These decisions often neglected the political issues that arose over the long time periods associated with the deployment of infrastructure.

Wireless telegraphy, FM radio, Australia’s rail network, the National Broadband Network, and more recently, renewables energy systems, are cases in point.

Nuclear energy is emerging as another technology that Australia has neglected. All indications internationally suggest that we will not achieve our emissions reduction targets nor provide sufficient energy for our future needs without nuclear.

The challenges to nuclear energy in Australia are inherently political. Labor’s antinuclear narrative stems from the role of the McClelland Royal Commission into British Nuclear Testing (which was designed to ignore Labor’s postwar role in allowing the nuclear tests) and reinforced by the Howard Government’s prohibition of nuclear in 1998 to enable the new OPAL reactor at Lucas Heights.

However, the absence of a Plan B for Australia's energy needs, and the results of renewables-only strategies internationally, mean that Australia’s energy future is particularly bleak.

The current renewables-only policy is failing rapidly, costing more, taking longer, facing community opposition, and it is unlikely to meet our future energy needs.

Following Australia’s historical pattern of infrastructure deployment, we have committed ourselves to one path that will have future ramifications.

Ignoring nuclear at this stage means we have no Plan B, and once we’ve blown our dough on the current policy, there will be hard times ahead to fix yet another infrastructure problem of our own making.

My article in the Upper Lachlan Gazette, Issue 171, 18 December 2024



A Very Arabian Christmas: Stolen cars, flying princesses, and the Russian Mafia

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Desert Mosque. South of the Dead Sea along the King's Highway, Jordan, 2009. 

Part 2 of A very Arabian Christmas continues to do for Speccie Christmas articles what Die Hard did for Christmas movies. It was all downhill from here. You can read Part 1 here.

Years after getting married in Jordan, I had the opportunity to spend a sabbatical there. The plan was to stay at my in-laws and work with a university in Amman. I have some longtime friends and colleagues there, and I have nothing but fond memories of Jordan. But in the midst of a less than cordial relationship, rather than claim aggrieved status here, I will try to make the most of a rough patch that included stolen cars, flying princesses, and late-night wreck dives in the Red Sea during a storm with the Russian mafia added for good measure.

In the Morning Double Shot newsletter, Terry Barnes wrote:

Today, we give you both part 1 and part 2 of Michael de Percy’s unusual Christmas traveller’s tales in Jordan. Although he may be a cloistered academic, Dr de Percy’s life has certainly been interesting! One crowded hour, and all that…

My latest in The Spectator Australia, A Very Arabian Christmas: Stolen cars, flying princesses, and the Russian Mafia.

A very Arabian Christmas: What the hell was I thinking?

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The Monastery at Petra. I think it is better than the Treasury of Indiana Jones fame [2009 by Author]

Our online editor, Alexandra Marshall, has an excellent piece in the Christmas bumper edition of The Spectator Australia entitled Travels with my Brother. Alexandra’s article reminded me of the rhythm in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. It also made me think back to two Christmases I spent in the Middle East. I mentioned one New Year’s Eve I spent in a Russian Mafia nightclub in Aqaba, and Alexandra thought it sounded like the start of an interesting article. So here is the result: Part 1 of A Very Arabian Christmas that does for Speccie Christmas articles what Die Hard did for Christmas movies. Part 2 is all downhill from here. But read Alexandra’s article first, it’s brilliant!

I was married in Amman. It’s this whole other story that is no doubt entertaining for others but makes me wonder, ‘What the hell was I thinking?’ Let’s just say I wasn’t. But let us also say that ‘third time lucky’ is an evil lie!

Writing in the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

This morning, when posting the articles for the day, I discovered that fellow writer Michael de Percy has crazier holidays than me. He has penned a travel piece worthy of Netflix – A very Arabian Christmas. ‘What the hell was I thinking?’ he asked. No idea, but it’s an entertaining read.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, A very Arabian Christmas: What the hell was I thinking?

What’s happening in Korea?

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Korea's National Assembly, 28 September 2022 [Source: Author]

On December 3, President Yoon declared martial law, with pundits hinting at a return to Korea’s bad old days of military control before it adopted democracy in 1987. The June Uprising forced the military regime to hold elections and introduce democratic reforms. This led to the creation of the Sixth Republic which still exists today.

The simple fact is that Korea’s democracy is not under threat, but working as it should.

Terry Barnes had this to say in the Morning Double Shot newsletter:
Michael de Percy seeks to explain the strange goings-on in South Korea, with the President calling martial law, the parliament voting it down, the President backing down, and the parliament failing to impeach him as it said it would. All we can add is that the president and a few others made some very poor Korea moves. 

My latest in The Spectator Australia, What’s happening in Korea?

Merry Christmas and the final episode of Spectator Australia TV for 2024

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A Merry Christmas with Donald Trump about to become leader of the Free World (aain)

In the final episode of Spectator Australia TV for 2024, I discuss the downfall of the French and Korean presidents, the restoration and reopening of Notre Dame, and a Merry Christmas with Donald Trump about to become leader of the free world (again) on ADH TV with Alexandra Marshall.

In the Unfiltered newsletter, Alexandra Marshall had this to say:

It’s interesting… In my last Spectator TV for the year, which will come out in a few hours, I asked each of our guests what the big political win of 2024 was and the answer was unanimous – Trump. The leader of the free world is not purely a military figure keeping an eye on global peace, they are a spiritual leader for the West. America sets the mood and the rest of our governments can either do an awkward dad dance or get with the groove. Albanese and Starmer will probably throw a tantrum and pull the plug out like that scene in Strictly Ballroom where Barry Fife goes for the cord.

My commentary in the final episode for 2024 is available below:

Dear Mr Dutton, we want something else (with love from Barcelona)

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Photo: Commonwealth of Australia CC BY 3.0 AU


From Barcelona: It’s hard to escape Australian politics when I see examples of inaction all over the Iberian Peninsula. The news media would have you believe that the area is a hotbed for socialist Wokeri but the reality is rather different. That same energy that built up in the US and delivered Donald Trump’s electoral knock-out victory is about to avalanche here. It’s in Australia, too, but pundits want to pussyfoot around instead of getting in the bullring.

Alexandra Marshall had this to say in the Unfiltered newsletter:

The chaos of these censorial bills reached as far as Barcelona. Shaking his head in resignation, Michael de Percy writes, ‘The height of stupidity is to be talking about legalising marijuana while banning social media for under sixteens.’

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Dear Mr Dutton, we want something else (with love from Barcelona).

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