Powerlines
by People. Power. Politics. Passion.
The Renewable Energy Clash: Are Regional Communities Bearing the…
About this podcast
Powerlines is about power, politics and passions. Join us as we explore the forces that drive our economy and the ideas that define our time.
Life begins with energy. Without it, nothing grows.
In human affairs, energy is the economy. Without cheap, reliable energy, nothing functions.
Our economy is not a set of numbers. It is a moral project—a living network of human exchange: people trading, building, and solving problems together.
Politics should keep this body alive, fair, and free. It should encourage individuals, families, and businesses to advance the common good.
We believe our society has succeeded because it stands on the firm foundations of our inherited Western democratic tradition.
We believe those foundations are under assault—from within and without.
Powerlines exists to defend the best of our heritage and to promote its renewal. We are pro-human, pro-family, and pro-business. We deal in real-world problems and seek real-world solutions.
We believe in free speech and the power of ideas. We aim to entertain and provoke—but never patronise.
We will present news and views as honestly and accurately as we can.
Our voice is Australian. Our canvas is the world.
www.powerlines.au
Episodes
The newest 20 of 33 episodes
- The Renewable Energy Clash: Are Regional Communities Bearing the Cost of Australia’s Green Transition? · 20 minAustralia’s renewable energy transition is becoming increasingly difficult to separate from the communities expected to host it. In this News24 discussion, the debate turns to…
- The Energy Transition's Hidden Cost Transfer Nobody Talks About · 51 minEnergy policy is being sold as a simple transition, but the reality is a messy fight over costs, fairness, and who gets left holding the bill. Ben Beattie sits down with Gavin…
- What nobody's telling you about renewables and prices · 42 minThere’s a lot of talk about renewables being cheap and reliable, but much of what’s presented is misleading, especially when it comes to Australia’s energy policies and the costs…
- Why Australian Gas Security Depends on Supporting Local Victorian Basins · 29 minMost Australians don’t realise how close Australia is to a genuine energy security challenge and how some of the policies being proposed today could make it worse. In this…
- The Great Energy Gamble · 59 minFrom billion-dollar battery subsidies and COP spending to transmission lines carving through regional communities, Aidan Morrison, Chris Uhlmann and Ben Beattie unpack the forces…
- The Hidden Cost of Australia’s Renewable Push: Connecting Nothing and Paying Big · 44 minThe Energy Transition Debate: Unpacking Australia's Renewable Energy Policy The Current State of Energy Policy in Australia The past few months have been pivotal for the energy…
- Energy Shock Meets Policy Confusion · 1 h 6 minThe Australian Energy Producers conference in South Australia last week came as the world grapples with its biggest energy shock in decades, while at home the oil and gas…
- We Were Warned · 2 minIn 2017, I left the ABC and walked down the corridor in Parliament House to begin again as political editor for Nine News. This was the first story I filed for Nine. At the time…
- Living in a Material World · 3 minThe Gulf war has exposed two hard truths: military force still shapes the world, and hydrocarbons still power it. Coal, oil and gas remain the foundation of modern life, embedded…
- Eyes in the Sky, Death on the Ground · 37 minDr Oleksandra Molloy is not a soldier. But war has defined her work, reshaped her life, and heightened her fears for the West. A native of Kyiv, now based at the University of…
- China Arms for Conflict. Australia Arms for Optics. · 55 minCanberra warns that our region faces the gravest military threat since World War II. But defence spending suggests it doesn’t believe it. Peter Jennings, director of Strategic…
- Energy is Power · 31 minJoe Hockey says it is time for governments to get out of the way of energy producers to allow industry to drive Australian productivity and help keep the nation wealthy. Speaking…
- The D.I.Y. Gas Crisis · 32 minAustralia’s competitive edge has long been its vast natural resources and access to cheap, abundant energy. But Samantha McCulloch, Chief Executive of Australian Energy…
- Temperance preachers · 1 h 0 minFrom a ringside seat in Australian government departments, David Pearl watched the nation lurch from rational economic policymaking into what he calls “a moral panic.” Pearl’s…
- Firehose of Falsehood · 51 minWe tend to think of conflict between states as something that arrives with a bang: bombs falling, missiles fired, ships sinking, or borders breached. Today, it might come as a…
- The Echidna Needs to Swim · 45 minJennifer Parker’s assessment of Australia’s strategic vulnerability is brutally simple: to defeat us, you don’t need to set foot on our soil; just cut our sea-based supply lines…
- How to Lose a Country in Two Elections · 41 minLabor’s victory in Australia’s federal election is still being counted, both in scale and its place in history. With the party set to command more than 90 seats in the 150-member…
- COVID Zero, Truth Zero · 43 minThe Albanese government’s failure to hold a Royal Commission into Australia’s response to COVID-19 will leave a historic stain on its record. We lost the opportunity to shine a…
- Undermining Australia · 35 minIt takes more than 25 minerals to build the phone in your pocket, but few ever pause to wonder how it’s made. It is true of so much of modern life. Our largely urban society is…
- Volodymyr Zelensky · 12 minIn late October 2023, while filming the documentary Forged in Fire, I sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Our director/producer/cameraman, Michael Fardell, had…
