Well done, Barnaby Joyce of The Nationals.Let's hope Scomo takes...

Well done, Barnaby Joyce of The Nationals.

Let's hope Scomo takes this all in and acts as Mr Joyce suggests:

(from 'The Australian' online):

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Australia would be reduced to a “very poor people in the South Pacific” without the contribution of coal mines to the national economy, after the Nationals set out its list of demands for the 2050 net zero target.

Appearing on the ABC, Mr Joyce rejected claims the Nationals were “grandstanding”, saying the party is only ensuring all the plans and modelling are correct.

Mr Joyce said the party’s “need to deliberate for over a week” showed there was a divergent range of views.

“You have to understand this is a process that can go for decades. We want to set in place the mechanisms so that there’s a clear observation of this and the deal is not done, not by a long shot.”

Mr Joyce said Australians could not ignore the benefits of coal mining to the economy and that the Nationals would not be rushed into hasty decisions.

“If we don’t have coal mines continuing we don’t have money for such things as the ABC, hospitals and roads. People might not like coal mines but by gosh when they see the royalties from them and the tax revenues from the companies that operate them …”

“Remember, ‘Everything will be A-OK in the UK’? Now they've got a six-fold increase in energy prices and an inability for people to keep themselves warm as they go into winter … If we get it wrong, the UK crisis will be our crisis.”

He added: “Every time they get an NDIS supplement or a drug or a pension, are you going to be a fan of the resource industry … because without that we would all be very poor people in the South Pacific … Any sort of noble rage against the minerals industry is really screaming to be poorer.”