Rick Grounds
@rgrounds16.bsky.social
Australian, born 1954, Naarm. Left of centre. Pro renewables. Support rights of First Nations peoples. Anti zealots. Politics is only part of the solution but hoping for much stronger efforts on climate change and social justice by Albanese Gov't this term
Pinned
Rick Grounds
@rgrounds16.bsky.social
· Dec 16
🧵Since I entered my 8th decade, the number of 'hot' topics to which I devote effort by my brain or heart has shrunk. My priority is to find and share information & opinions about how Australia can reduce its direct carbon emissions, especially when generating and consuming power. I'm not an expert
“The least-cost, lowest-impact pathway is an energy system dominated by renewables and firmed by battery storage, gas and pumped hydro”
"bipartisan support for climate targets including net zero is important for investors to know that policies will remain stable"
www.theage.com.au/business/the...
"bipartisan support for climate targets including net zero is important for investors to know that policies will remain stable"
www.theage.com.au/business/the...
Energy giants back net zero as Coalition reignites climate war
Australia’s major power companies have reinforced support for net zero and a renewable-dominated grid, insisting it will be the cheapest option for consumers.
www.theage.com.au
November 16, 2025 at 11:50 PM
“The least-cost, lowest-impact pathway is an energy system dominated by renewables and firmed by battery storage, gas and pumped hydro”
"bipartisan support for climate targets including net zero is important for investors to know that policies will remain stable"
www.theage.com.au/business/the...
"bipartisan support for climate targets including net zero is important for investors to know that policies will remain stable"
www.theage.com.au/business/the...
Squatter, the very Australian game
board game enthusiasts of bluesky, what are your top 10 board games of all time
November 15, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Squatter, the very Australian game
I wonder what Barnaby Joyce and all the other foes of wind farms would have said about all these poles and wires. Ugly? Or very useful, so get over it?
@chrisbowenmp.bsky.social @adammorton.bsky.social @readfearn.bsky.social
@chrisbowenmp.bsky.social @adammorton.bsky.social @readfearn.bsky.social
November 15, 2025 at 12:44 AM
I wonder what Barnaby Joyce and all the other foes of wind farms would have said about all these poles and wires. Ugly? Or very useful, so get over it?
@chrisbowenmp.bsky.social @adammorton.bsky.social @readfearn.bsky.social
@chrisbowenmp.bsky.social @adammorton.bsky.social @readfearn.bsky.social
"The timing is exquisite
"Just as the Liberal party walked away from a firm net zero emissions target, a new International Energy Agency report told the world that a more ambitious clean energy transition means lower household power bills."
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
"Just as the Liberal party walked away from a firm net zero emissions target, a new International Energy Agency report told the world that a more ambitious clean energy transition means lower household power bills."
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
The Coalition claims pursuing net zero will increase power bills – but in the real world the opposite is true
The International Energy Agency, once known for an anti-renewables bias, now says a more ambitious transition will lower prices
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:35 AM
"The timing is exquisite
"Just as the Liberal party walked away from a firm net zero emissions target, a new International Energy Agency report told the world that a more ambitious clean energy transition means lower household power bills."
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
"Just as the Liberal party walked away from a firm net zero emissions target, a new International Energy Agency report told the world that a more ambitious clean energy transition means lower household power bills."
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Recommended campaign slogan for the Coalition at the 2028 federal election:
"LITTLE CARE, ZERO RESPONSIBILITY"
"LITTLE CARE, ZERO RESPONSIBILITY"
November 13, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Recommended campaign slogan for the Coalition at the 2028 federal election:
"LITTLE CARE, ZERO RESPONSIBILITY"
"LITTLE CARE, ZERO RESPONSIBILITY"
and wilfully ignoring the growing costs of damage caused by climate change, especially but not only in rural and regional electorates the Coalition still clings to
like romeo, the liberal party has taken its own political life after believing a fatal lie — that net zero policies have driven up power prices.
a once-serious party undone by reckless ignorance.
a once-serious party undone by reckless ignorance.
November 13, 2025 at 8:10 AM
and wilfully ignoring the growing costs of damage caused by climate change, especially but not only in rural and regional electorates the Coalition still clings to
Costs of damage caused by climate change, that is
One of the consequences of the timing of this self-destructive, immoral decision, is that the Coalition now has 30 long months to watch the green energy transition continue to prosper and the household, community and economic costs to pile up.
It should be an agonising experience for them
It should be an agonising experience for them
Breaking: ineffectual political grouping does something asinine with zero real world impact.
More in our main bulletin.
More in our main bulletin.
November 13, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Costs of damage caused by climate change, that is
One of the consequences of the timing of this self-destructive, immoral decision, is that the Coalition now has 30 long months to watch the green energy transition continue to prosper and the household, community and economic costs to pile up.
It should be an agonising experience for them
It should be an agonising experience for them
Breaking: ineffectual political grouping does something asinine with zero real world impact.
More in our main bulletin.
More in our main bulletin.
November 13, 2025 at 6:50 AM
One of the consequences of the timing of this self-destructive, immoral decision, is that the Coalition now has 30 long months to watch the green energy transition continue to prosper and the household, community and economic costs to pile up.
It should be an agonising experience for them
It should be an agonising experience for them
Breaking: ineffectual political grouping does something asinine with zero real world impact.
More in our main bulletin.
More in our main bulletin.
November 13, 2025 at 6:49 AM
One of the consequences of the timing of this self-destructive, immoral decision, is that the Coalition now has 30 long months to watch the green energy transition continue to prosper and the household, community and economic costs to pile up.
It should be an agonising experience for them
It should be an agonising experience for them
This is just one small step for Liberal-Man. The giant step will be the selection of a hard-right-winger (male) as leader, with a who's who of the party's conservative wing in the shadow ministry and Senator Jacinta Numpty-Jumpy with a front-row portfolio and keys to the Sky After Dark green room
And yet
Liberals poised to dump net zero target after majority reject policy in marathon five-hour meeting
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Liberals poised to dump net zero target after majority reject policy in marathon five-hour meeting
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Liberals poised to dump net zero target after majority reject policy in marathon five-hour meeting
Senior Liberal sources say 28 speakers wanted to jettison net zero entirely, 17 expressed desire to retain it in some form, while four were on the fence
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:33 AM
This is just one small step for Liberal-Man. The giant step will be the selection of a hard-right-winger (male) as leader, with a who's who of the party's conservative wing in the shadow ministry and Senator Jacinta Numpty-Jumpy with a front-row portfolio and keys to the Sky After Dark green room
"The media" and the rest of your first sentence is a sweeping generalisation Michael. I am surprised that you would use it.
There are many examples to the contrary, starting with The Guardian, The Age and the SMH
There are many examples to the contrary, starting with The Guardian, The Age and the SMH
November 12, 2025 at 4:19 AM
So many ways to have fun with this, of course.
I'm anticipating that the decision of the Liberal Party meeting will be announced by black smoke seeping out of the room to indicate that, as for a papal election, the discussion has been inconclusive
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
I'm anticipating that the decision of the Liberal Party meeting will be announced by black smoke seeping out of the room to indicate that, as for a papal election, the discussion has been inconclusive
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
‘Up in smoke’: Liberal MPs flying to Canberra for net zero meeting forced back to Adelaide
Leah Blyth, Andrew McLachlan and Tony Pasin were on board a QantasLink flight from Adelaide when crew detected smoke in cabin
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:16 AM
So many ways to have fun with this, of course.
I'm anticipating that the decision of the Liberal Party meeting will be announced by black smoke seeping out of the room to indicate that, as for a papal election, the discussion has been inconclusive
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
I'm anticipating that the decision of the Liberal Party meeting will be announced by black smoke seeping out of the room to indicate that, as for a papal election, the discussion has been inconclusive
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
When piss-taking is the recommended antidote
A group of men gathered outside of the NSW Parliament in Sydney yesterday to call for the inclusion of erectile dysfunction medication on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Neo Nazis Rally Outside NSW Parliament Demanding Affordable Erectile Dysfunction Treatment — The Shovel
“It’s time to rise up!” one man shouted over a megaphone before adding, “But it’s very, very difficult, given the price of prescriptions these days!”
theshovel.com.au
November 10, 2025 at 7:59 AM
When piss-taking is the recommended antidote
Although EV sales did NOT soar in the September quarter (hybrids did), the decline in sales of fossil-fuelled cars is encouraging.
Encouraging but a long way to go
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Encouraging but a long way to go
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
EV and hybrid sales soar in Australia as internal combustion cars fall below 70% market share for first time
Data from peak motoring body shows battery-electric vehicles accounted for 9.7% of new cars sold in September quarter, the highest proportion on record
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Although EV sales did NOT soar in the September quarter (hybrids did), the decline in sales of fossil-fuelled cars is encouraging.
Encouraging but a long way to go
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Encouraging but a long way to go
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
🧵
5. The Liberals, bereft of numbers, talent and young blood at all levels, now face the reality that most voters don't know, let alone care, what they stand for.
6. Meanwhile, the party is riven by division between the temptations of populism and a hankering for the old certainties of Menzies et al
5. The Liberals, bereft of numbers, talent and young blood at all levels, now face the reality that most voters don't know, let alone care, what they stand for.
6. Meanwhile, the party is riven by division between the temptations of populism and a hankering for the old certainties of Menzies et al
🧵
3. Morrison's turpitude regarding issues that actually mattered to voters opened the door for independents to land telling blows in Sydney and Melbourne
4. Dutton and co chose culture wars, scare campaigns and an implausible energy policy that further alienated women and metropolitan voters
mtf
3. Morrison's turpitude regarding issues that actually mattered to voters opened the door for independents to land telling blows in Sydney and Melbourne
4. Dutton and co chose culture wars, scare campaigns and an implausible energy policy that further alienated women and metropolitan voters
mtf
🧵 Why do I say "impossible"? Let me count the ways
1. Since 2004, their only policies of note were Work Choices 👎, turning back the boats (popular) and 'killing the carbon tax' (short-term +ve but terrible long-term consequences)
2. Morrison years paralysed their capacity for moral leadership
mtf
1. Since 2004, their only policies of note were Work Choices 👎, turning back the boats (popular) and 'killing the carbon tax' (short-term +ve but terrible long-term consequences)
2. Morrison years paralysed their capacity for moral leadership
mtf
November 9, 2025 at 8:56 AM
🧵
5. The Liberals, bereft of numbers, talent and young blood at all levels, now face the reality that most voters don't know, let alone care, what they stand for.
6. Meanwhile, the party is riven by division between the temptations of populism and a hankering for the old certainties of Menzies et al
5. The Liberals, bereft of numbers, talent and young blood at all levels, now face the reality that most voters don't know, let alone care, what they stand for.
6. Meanwhile, the party is riven by division between the temptations of populism and a hankering for the old certainties of Menzies et al
🧵
3. Morrison's turpitude regarding issues that actually mattered to voters opened the door for independents to land telling blows in Sydney and Melbourne
4. Dutton and co chose culture wars, scare campaigns and an implausible energy policy that further alienated women and metropolitan voters
mtf
3. Morrison's turpitude regarding issues that actually mattered to voters opened the door for independents to land telling blows in Sydney and Melbourne
4. Dutton and co chose culture wars, scare campaigns and an implausible energy policy that further alienated women and metropolitan voters
mtf
🧵 Why do I say "impossible"? Let me count the ways
1. Since 2004, their only policies of note were Work Choices 👎, turning back the boats (popular) and 'killing the carbon tax' (short-term +ve but terrible long-term consequences)
2. Morrison years paralysed their capacity for moral leadership
mtf
1. Since 2004, their only policies of note were Work Choices 👎, turning back the boats (popular) and 'killing the carbon tax' (short-term +ve but terrible long-term consequences)
2. Morrison years paralysed their capacity for moral leadership
mtf
If the paywall's between you and this well-constructed profile story, you aint missing much.
It confirms that Sussan Ley is a decent, hard-working politician but provides no evidence that she will be able to rebuild her party's standing. An impossible mission imo
www.theage.com.au/national/i-w...
It confirms that Sussan Ley is a decent, hard-working politician but provides no evidence that she will be able to rebuild her party's standing. An impossible mission imo
www.theage.com.au/national/i-w...
November 9, 2025 at 8:40 AM
🧵
3. Morrison's turpitude regarding issues that actually mattered to voters opened the door for independents to land telling blows in Sydney and Melbourne
4. Dutton and co chose culture wars, scare campaigns and an implausible energy policy that further alienated women and metropolitan voters
mtf
3. Morrison's turpitude regarding issues that actually mattered to voters opened the door for independents to land telling blows in Sydney and Melbourne
4. Dutton and co chose culture wars, scare campaigns and an implausible energy policy that further alienated women and metropolitan voters
mtf
🧵 Why do I say "impossible"? Let me count the ways
1. Since 2004, their only policies of note were Work Choices 👎, turning back the boats (popular) and 'killing the carbon tax' (short-term +ve but terrible long-term consequences)
2. Morrison years paralysed their capacity for moral leadership
mtf
1. Since 2004, their only policies of note were Work Choices 👎, turning back the boats (popular) and 'killing the carbon tax' (short-term +ve but terrible long-term consequences)
2. Morrison years paralysed their capacity for moral leadership
mtf
If the paywall's between you and this well-constructed profile story, you aint missing much.
It confirms that Sussan Ley is a decent, hard-working politician but provides no evidence that she will be able to rebuild her party's standing. An impossible mission imo
www.theage.com.au/national/i-w...
It confirms that Sussan Ley is a decent, hard-working politician but provides no evidence that she will be able to rebuild her party's standing. An impossible mission imo
www.theage.com.au/national/i-w...
‘I will be here in three years’: Inside Sussan Ley’s battle to hold on to the hardest job in politics
After the Liberal Party’s worst ever election result, Sussan Ley took on the hardest job in politics as party leader. Six months on, she’s struggling, not only with policy and personality divisions, b...
www.theage.com.au
November 9, 2025 at 7:30 AM
🧵 Why do I say "impossible"? Let me count the ways
1. Since 2004, their only policies of note were Work Choices 👎, turning back the boats (popular) and 'killing the carbon tax' (short-term +ve but terrible long-term consequences)
2. Morrison years paralysed their capacity for moral leadership
mtf
1. Since 2004, their only policies of note were Work Choices 👎, turning back the boats (popular) and 'killing the carbon tax' (short-term +ve but terrible long-term consequences)
2. Morrison years paralysed their capacity for moral leadership
mtf
If the paywall's between you and this well-constructed profile story, you aint missing much.
It confirms that Sussan Ley is a decent, hard-working politician but provides no evidence that she will be able to rebuild her party's standing. An impossible mission imo
www.theage.com.au/national/i-w...
It confirms that Sussan Ley is a decent, hard-working politician but provides no evidence that she will be able to rebuild her party's standing. An impossible mission imo
www.theage.com.au/national/i-w...
‘I will be here in three years’: Inside Sussan Ley’s battle to hold on to the hardest job in politics
After the Liberal Party’s worst ever election result, Sussan Ley took on the hardest job in politics as party leader. Six months on, she’s struggling, not only with policy and personality divisions, b...
www.theage.com.au
November 9, 2025 at 6:38 AM
If the paywall's between you and this well-constructed profile story, you aint missing much.
It confirms that Sussan Ley is a decent, hard-working politician but provides no evidence that she will be able to rebuild her party's standing. An impossible mission imo
www.theage.com.au/national/i-w...
It confirms that Sussan Ley is a decent, hard-working politician but provides no evidence that she will be able to rebuild her party's standing. An impossible mission imo
www.theage.com.au/national/i-w...
The lessons of the work Richardson did within the Hawke government on green issues are clearly applicable to climate change, net zero and the energy transition. The crowd has roared loudly on those matters for the past few years. The roar re the EPR Bill is neither loud nor widespread. Just saying
November 8, 2025 at 6:54 AM
The lessons of the work Richardson did within the Hawke government on green issues are clearly applicable to climate change, net zero and the energy transition. The crowd has roared loudly on those matters for the past few years. The roar re the EPR Bill is neither loud nor widespread. Just saying
Reasons to read this from @tommcilroy.bsky.social 👍 ✅
1. Reminds us that what the government does and why matters much more than the Coalition's dramas
2. The real net zero story is how much really hard work the government has to do to reach its minimum target
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
1. Reminds us that what the government does and why matters much more than the Coalition's dramas
2. The real net zero story is how much really hard work the government has to do to reach its minimum target
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Coalition climate dysfunction is all upside for Labor but the words of Keating ‘to run the joint’ ring true | Tom McIlroy
As the Coalition tears itself to shreds, the Albanese government must keep progressing its net zero policies
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Reasons to read this from @tommcilroy.bsky.social 👍 ✅
1. Reminds us that what the government does and why matters much more than the Coalition's dramas
2. The real net zero story is how much really hard work the government has to do to reach its minimum target
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
1. Reminds us that what the government does and why matters much more than the Coalition's dramas
2. The real net zero story is how much really hard work the government has to do to reach its minimum target
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
The 'opportunity' might be there but the zoo residents would have to work cohensively for an extended period without wanting to kill each other, which seems to be the current vibe
Sussan Ley and her zoo have the opportunity to institutionally change Australia more towards the Liberal Party than any leader since Menzies. Break from the Nats, run three cornered contests, and eradicate them off the back of Labor preferences. One shot in the locker - aim carefully.
November 3, 2025 at 8:57 PM
The 'opportunity' might be there but the zoo residents would have to work cohensively for an extended period without wanting to kill each other, which seems to be the current vibe
So, the National's emissions policy, if adopted, would mean that if, say, Vanuatu emits more per capita than Australia does, then Vanuatu's residents should try harder to reduce emissions than we fortunate Australians, the beneficiaries of numerous decades of large-scale emissions.
That just stinks
That just stinks
November 3, 2025 at 7:58 AM
So, the National's emissions policy, if adopted, would mean that if, say, Vanuatu emits more per capita than Australia does, then Vanuatu's residents should try harder to reduce emissions than we fortunate Australians, the beneficiaries of numerous decades of large-scale emissions.
That just stinks
That just stinks
"Asked what would constitute “unacceptable” environmental harm under the laws, Murray Watt said “if someone wanted to mine Uluru, build on the Great Barrier Reef, or drive a species to extinction”.
That's an unserious answer when so much is riding on this issue 😡
www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...
That's an unserious answer when so much is riding on this issue 😡
www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...
With the Coalition self-destructing, there’s little pressure on Labor. It’s starting to show
Apart from foreign affairs, the Albanese government has not really found its second-term footing while an insipid opposition is letting Labor off the hook.
www.theage.com.au
November 3, 2025 at 1:13 AM
"Asked what would constitute “unacceptable” environmental harm under the laws, Murray Watt said “if someone wanted to mine Uluru, build on the Great Barrier Reef, or drive a species to extinction”.
That's an unserious answer when so much is riding on this issue 😡
www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...
That's an unserious answer when so much is riding on this issue 😡
www.theage.com.au/politics/fed...
Simon HaC's razor sharp eulogy:
"Morrison and Dutton abandoned the centre, leaving space for independents to properly represent middle Australia, and now the Nats have taken the whole team out of contention.
The old broad church has been burnt to a cinder – the Coalition as we knew it is dead."
"Morrison and Dutton abandoned the centre, leaving space for independents to properly represent middle Australia, and now the Nats have taken the whole team out of contention.
The old broad church has been burnt to a cinder – the Coalition as we knew it is dead."
November 2, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Simon HaC's razor sharp eulogy:
"Morrison and Dutton abandoned the centre, leaving space for independents to properly represent middle Australia, and now the Nats have taken the whole team out of contention.
The old broad church has been burnt to a cinder – the Coalition as we knew it is dead."
"Morrison and Dutton abandoned the centre, leaving space for independents to properly represent middle Australia, and now the Nats have taken the whole team out of contention.
The old broad church has been burnt to a cinder – the Coalition as we knew it is dead."
Hear, hear!
For those in Australian Labor criticising PM Albanese's exquisite management of the the unstable US President Trump, as a capitulation, should reflect on the words of former PM Gough Whitlam, when dealing with those who would only accept policy purity: ''certainly the impotent are pure''.
October 26, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Hear, hear!