JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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Statistics
Would “Verity” lie to you?
Every time , it seems.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360937839/ready-feel-4-richer-month-planet-burns-why-importing-lng-isnt-answer
80
NZ has significant coal reserves. It could use those for electricity generation. Perhaps it should build an additional coal power station in addition to Huntly.
As with Australia, there is no reason except political ones why NZ should be short of energy.
340
The whole diatribe was the usual amalgam of lies, damn lies , and statistics that one has come to expect from a Podium Of Truth ,like “Verity”.
There is very little milk powder made in N.Z. in winter when most of the cows are dry.
There is barely enough milk to warrant starting up one of the huge dryers.
And “ Verity” accidentally fails to mention that the coal -fired power houses in the dairy factories , producing electricity and steam , were once a useful standby for the grid, running on N.Z.coal.
She lies.
The dairy factories have experimented , somewhat unwillingly, with steam production by electrolysis. And an electric milk tanker.
Little is heard of this tanker since the departure of Jacinda and her Public Interest Journalism Fund.
261
Yet again, the very real difference between “resources” and “reserves” is ignored. Doing that is not clever.
NZ’s coal resources are relatively significant in relation to the country’s population size, but a large section of those resources are tectonically distorted, geologically faulted. This can and does make economic mining of that resources subset very difficult, removing the “reserves” category tag.
Coal qualities are generally high to very high in relation to either thermal or coking uses (depending on the actual deposit), so the reserves subset can be modified if the geological exploration can produce reliable mapping. That’s not so easy.
Without doxxing myself, I’ve had considerable experience of these facts.
140
Yip Huntly is still in use, and its owners Gensis Energy (majority-owned by NZ Gov 51%) is set to continue to operate until at least 2035 but given NZ zero target by 2030 has committed to using coal “… only in abnormal market conditions”. This means only its Rankine units ( 1 2 and 4) which are coal/gas-fired will remain (past 2030) as backup power during dry years. Also, on the understanding that if coal use ends as planned (2030) then these units will transition (trans are human rights) to biomass or totally natural gas fired.
And with NZs diminishing reserves where will Rankine get its secure supply of LNG from? Obviously the $2.7b import plan (over 15 years) because a new $1b LNG import terminal (probably sited at Port Taranaki ie not even confirmed yet) is planned to be operational by 2027 or early 2028.
So, we have the prospects of $1bn to be spent by 2028 on a new port, the mothballing of the coal part of Huntly by 2030, costs (?) to convert the parts of Huntly being kept to biomass/full LNG so it can sit as backup power during dry years causing low hydro supply.
And why not just bite the bullet and go nuclear you ask given all this expense counts for nothing when, like NZ’s own supply the international LNG supply dries up? Well according to AI replacing Huntly’s 953 MW (nameplate REPEAT nameplate) capacity would “likely cost between $3b-$6b”.
And (AI) what exactly does Huntly’s nameplate consist of:
– 3 × 250 MW coal-and-gas steam turbine units (750 MW)
– 1 × 403 MW combined-cycle gas turbine (Unit 5)
– 1 × 50 MW open-cycle gas turbine (Unit 6)
However, one 250 MW unit is permanently retired, and another was placed in long-term storage, reducing the original 1,000 MW steam capacity. The total of 953 MW is achievable when all remaining units operate at full load.
Ahhh New Zealand where no-one gets the wool pulled over their eyes…
80
Stop traumatising yerself with her Tav!stock twaddle, Mr F Braun: Miss Verity lives in La La Land thanks to her ignorance of yoof (although her profile pic exhibits a heavy carbon footprint what with all that makeup & hair-product & laptop emissions, ie. plastic!).
She’s a modern city girl – she doesn’t know it’s SNOWING on Mt Hutt, inland from Christchurch, right now: freezing snowy bleak windswept whiteout, and on the Kaikoura further north, and possibly on the hills behind you? February?
COLDEST SUMMER EVAAAH!
230
Not sure that the likes of FB are the targets of the “traumatising” mendacity and duplicity of this “Verity” shill.
Events in la la land seem not to penetrate down here in Te Wi.
61
Many commenters there have a similar IQ to our Verity, true believers.
00
Would be interesting to know the average solar CF for Australia’s East Island. Betting that it’s lower than the mainland’s CF average of 17%.
20
On the other hand , our windmills wear out at an alarming rate.The word from Vesta is that they did not realise just how windy it was here, near the Manawatu Gorge.
50
Using the Clear Air act to ban gases from a tailpipe which do not come from a tailpipe! So the Obama Endangerment declaration was not just wrong, it was fraud. And Obama as a lawyer knew it. But didn’t care. The reckless disregard for the law in the Obama/Biden administrations was pervasive. Rule by executive order, not congress. And President Biden did not sign them and often did not know about them. The President was not impotent but irrelevant.
And in classic flip, Trump is accused of Imperial rule when Obama and Biden were completely out of control of Congress. Like Australia’s dictator, Anthony Albanese. Or for that matter Scott Morrison who signed Australia up to Net Zero without a word to anyone, the permission of parliament or being part of his election campaign. As Adam Bandt said, ‘tell people what they want to hear and when you get power, do what you like.’ It is the new way of ruling, like Turnbull’s $444 million gift to his wife and her friends without explanation. Never to be mentioned.
Most if not all of Australia’s many carbon laws and taxes are likely illegal and would be overturned by the High Court of Australia. As would Paul Keating’s law which has given 52% of Australian land to Aborigines and 3,000 Torres Strait Islanders as if the legal principle of Terra Nullius was overturned by the High Court, which was not true. But somehow people think governments can just walk around the Constitution which limits their powers. It’s no more true in Australia than in America. Lawmakers just ignore the Constitution.
20
AI is da bomb:-
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2026-02-14/bill-and-hillary-go-washington
20
Fun money flap in Wyoming
https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/02/12/house-forms-investigative-committee-to-see-if-checks-passed-were-bribes-misconduct/
GOP activist hands out election campaign checks to lawmakers on the House floor. Picture taken. Furor follows.
41
It doesn’t say how much the checks/cheques were for.
But unbelievably brazen although the only surprising thing was it was out in the open, not the fact it was done.
And if for an election campaign, shouldn’t the money go into a special account?
21
Baksheesh has always been a “special” account.
It does not get “counted”.
50
Due to former self-censorship of social media until TRUMP warned social media not to censor conservative opinions, and in Australia, prohibition of under 16’s accessing social media, confused teenagers have not had (or in Australia continue to not have) access to opinions against “gender transition”.
Thus, they only receive the standard Leftist propaganda that these mutilating and sterilising hormonal treatments and surgeries are desirable and will supposedly change their gender and make them functional in that gender.
In the US there is a teenager that regrets her gender “transition” and she has been severely criticised by transgender advocates for being a “hateful” person for merely sharing her story and also recognising the impossibility of changing gender.
Fortunately people are now starting to sue medical “professionals” for these frankensurgeries. That doesn’t restore their broken abd sterilised bodies but it might discourage the medical profession away from this butchery.
Hopefully transgender surgery on children will go the way of the prefrontal lobotomy.
BCP discusses:
https://youtu.be/wYw64jWZo9s
240
Does transgender surgery require a prefrontal lobotomy?
111
Mr. 3: From my pov, it is required for the doctor and parent.
20
Whoopee! Endangerment finding has been removed. According to the President of America, removing rules which have basis in fact, no basis in law. It was the way the Obama administration introduced over $1.3Trillion in costs, taxes, restrictions without an Act of Congress. They perverted the Clean Air act and ruled by Presidential decree, bypassing Congress. It was King Obama. But it has now been undone.
As I pointed out yesterday, in Australia our appallingly ignorant parliamentarians took another route. Only a handful in Parliament understand science anyway, so Canberra wrote and rammed through wrong laws quoting our non mandatory OBLIGATION to Kyoto. There is no such obligation. And as President Trump says, no basis in science or legal fact. Unelected Canberra Administrators did the same thing for their friends and made one up, getting idiot MPs to sign up to every UN fantasy as if the UN was an elected and agreed world government, which it is not. John Howards 2001 law was based on Al Gore’s theory of Global Warming, even though Howard stated recently and publicly that he is ‘agnostic’ on Climate Change. Sir Paul Nurse’s Precautionary Principle would see him struck off a medical register. Proof is needed for punitive laws. This has been an essential concept for a thousand years.
These wrong, illegal laws need to be repealed immediately. The commercial relief would be intense. We would be rich again, allowed to use our own coal!. Fracking, search for more gas, coal seam gas, use shale, power Australia cheaply and reliably. And mothball Snowy II. Build dams and water and gas pipelines with the billions.
As Jeff Kennet said yesterday, the Liberals need to work a deal with the One Nation party and the fundamental things they need to agree are to stop incompatible unskilled economic migration like 3,000 HAMAS from Gaza and ISIS brides and repeal utterly fake UN based anti CO2 laws. These laws all lean on each other.
Instead of writing absurd and often legally wrong laws, a new Conservative government needs to start ripping them up. And never pass science based laws which are not based on actual proven science. Science is not opinion. Engineering is not a guess. Physics is not whatever you want. And CO2 and all the other ‘Greenhouse’ gases are a fraud. The Science is wrecking Australia. And over 66% of Australians know it.
400
A good start for the Liberals would be that no new laws/regulations can be introduced unless ten old ones can be repealed, which is what TRUMP is doing,
But I don’t think the Liberals have that vision.
And One Nation must absolutely not make compromises with the Liberals or they’ll end up like them.
201
One Nation put into political perspective has one House of Representatives MP being former National Party Barnaby Joyce and a small group in the Senate, they are right now a minor party equivalent in size to the Greens. To grow from minor to major in real terms, not polling results over a couple of months recently, is a huge task ahead.
I am not criticising One Nation or founder Pauline Hanson but she/they are far better at making headlines, and headlines and subjects that mostly make sense, but when asked for details they usually fall well short of explaining.
Mission statements are intended to create interest but legislating and repealing legislation requires numbers to succeed.
100
I agree with you Dennis.
My big problem with the Libs is that they are a big reason why we are in the mess we are in at the moment. The anger with the 2 major parties is real. That is reflected in the polls.
It remains to be seen whether that anger is reflected in the ballot box, but one can hope.
Neither of the big 2 deserve to be in power.
200
No doubt about it wal1957 but the only alternative government remains Liberal and National Coalition because One Nation is a minor party.
It now hinges on voter decisions, do we want another Albanese Labor three years from 2028?
20
N.Z. faced this question at the last election.
Everyone wanted Jacinda’s ship of fools gone, and many agreed that the other half of the Uniparty (National) was just as bad, but had to be voted for to get rid of Labour.
Fortunately sufficient were convinced that the answer was to vote for ACT and NZFIRST ,so that National would be forced into a coalition with these two parties.
It then came down to the skill of these two smaller parties in negotiating a coalition agreement that would endure , while hobbling the worst excesses of the woke National party.
NZ First had prior experience of coalition negotiations and achieved the best possible outcome.
What is needed in this current election year is for these two smaller players to gain a greater share of the vote so that the influence of the Uniparty can be diluted.
If the vote for ACT and NZFIRST is big enough it really will not matter who else is the third party- even the Greens could be a part- because they will have so little influence on the coalition agreement, holding so few cards.
60
One Nation is a minor party at the moment. That could change if the public vote in the way the polling suggests.
I voted for the lesser of 2 evils for decades as I am sure a lot of people did.
Not again.
If you want a real change you have to vote for it.
131
With the Australian voting system, compulsory preferential voting, the trickle down of preferences has often resulted in the candidate with the most primary votes [ 1 ] not gaining the electorate seat and another candidate that does not being very popular as indicated by the primary votes cast.
The political parties spend a lot of time and money on printing and distribution of How To Vote leaflets targeting most voters who go for their choice of candidate who often is chosen along preferred party lines and follow the recommended How To Vote preference numbers.
Consider the 2025 election and 2022.
In 2022 Albanese Labor according to the ALP Election Report received the lowest primary vote numbers for Labor since 1934, and in 2025 they received only slightly more than 2022 but ended up with a very substantial majority of MPs. Only eight of them won on primary votes.
The party advisers and psephologists, who studies election trends, plan well in advance of elections using electorate electoral rolls and polling booth results to estimate the numbers needed for each candidate to win, and preference distribution trends.
As voters we are often innocent victims of preferential voting manipulations including different parties and How To Vote preference lists.
This ignores electoral fraud, for example with the system of being marked off the roll at one polling booth manually for Electoral Commission to check that each voter only voted once at one polling booth is almost mission impossible, and the Union Labor saying is “vote early, vote often” meant to be sense of humour.
The tricks used to gain as many votes as possible are many and varied, offer elderly voters a free car ride to a polling booth and use salesmanship during the drive to swing them to your party. Voting for deceased names on electoral rolls remaining to be deleted.
Our only defence is creating our own preferences list, for example, I would vote Liberal or National [ 1 ] and One Nation or other candidate from the conservative sensible right (centre/centre right) [ 2 ] and with Teals Green Labor in that order last on the ballot paper to block preference trickle down unintended candidate succeeding to gain the electorate seat.
20
Someone should register the cock n’ balls party- they’d be getting a lot of preferences from disgruntled voters who feel forced to vote for unviable candidates.
00
I still have the problem with our mandatory preferential voting system in the Reps of how put multiple candidates last.
80
I do too, UK and the Westminster System of Government we have (with some US and Canada systems included) in the UK requires non-compulsory voting and only one vote for one candidate. The US has similar.
I believe that the preferential voting system is out of date and effectively delivers a two party government option.
62
No.
Preferential voting is the best hope of getting rid of the two party government though non compulsory would help some electorates.
Electors need to realise they do not have to follow a party ticket.
Doug
51
Data refutes this Dennis.
24
Gee Aye, I think the preferential system is the better system. So I’d like to see the data you’re referring to. It would make your comment more meaningful too.
To me, preference voting frees voters up to vote for a minor party candidate with the safety net of their vote still counting. Plus it ensures the electorate doesn’t get what it doesn’t want, and usually delivers what it does want.
Here’s an example many readers here can probably appreciate. Adam Bandt (Greens) had the largest primary vote in the seat of Melbourne with 39.46%. Two candidate preferred he got to 46.98%. He wasn’t elected because more people didn’t want him than wanted him.
Plus, I don’t think we can actually judge the accuracy of the primary vote because we have a preferential system and people vote knowing that. I have voted One Nation last election and I would not have if we didn’t have preferences. I would have given my vote to the candidate my preference was going to which changes the primary vote count in a first past the post scenario. I think quite a few would do the same.
It’s important because the minor parties get funding if they reach a certain percentage of primary vote. So even though I’m confident my first choice won’t be elected, giving the party a higher percentage helps them.
From Dennis #5.1.1.1.1
It’s probably about 10% of the seats are decided by preferences. I don’t know if that qualifies as “often”. But it’s not unusual.
The Libs certainly were on the rough end of preferences having lost about a dozen or more seats where they had the higher primary vote. The Teals (fake independents) took a few seats.
Dai Le (independent) won after coming second on first preference. Labor had the most primary votes. This is also how Kristina Kineally lost that same seat in 2022.
Plus the Adam Bandt example above.
The Bandt and Kineally results alone make preferential voting worthwhile just to have that happen. 😉
60
On the contrary, IMHO the preferential system can give a minor party a better chance. If One Nation splits the anti-left vote, then in a first past the post system the left wins – as happened in the UK when Reform split the anti-Labour vote and Labour in spite of not being at all popular won in a landslide. With a preferential system One Nation could get their nose in front of the Liberals and then pick up enough anti-left preferences to win.
In the preferential system, absent cheating and manipulation, the winner of each seat is preferred by more voters to the second placed.
20
I disagree.
The entire point of a coalition is that all sides bring something to the table. All have to compromise. That is normal politics. And the Liberals have always been a coalition. And every party internally has its right and left factions.
Now if they work with real conservatives, they will have to compromise. So will the formerly very conservative National/Country Party. It could be a broad coalition, the anti crazy party.
If you rule out compromise on anything, you will never win government. It’s as simple as that.
160
True, there will be compromises, ultimately this battle is between the wets and drys in both parties.
We need to see a shadow ministry that reflects a change in direction.
51
‘Angus Taylor moves to promote conservatives and sideline Sussan Ley allies as Liberal party veers right.
‘Andrew Hastie and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price among those expected to return to frontbench as new leader pursues rightwing agenda.’ (Guardian)
40
Correction: Moves back to the Menzies Australian Liberal Party centre to centre right.
Explanation: In more recent years the LINO left had reached a close to 50/50 influencing ratio and were encouraging left side positions being adopted leading to the allegation of Labor Liberal National “uniparty” on many policies.
The new Opposition Leader Liberal Angus Taylor was elected in the Liberal Party MPs ballot by two thirds, as compared to the ghost replacing PM Abbott in late 2015 with a single vote majority
20
One thousand green thumbs. Well said!
20
Who knew the International Climate in the Cryosphere Conference (ICCC) was held in NZ last week, when hordes of x-spurts flew in from around the planet to conjure new ways of scaring children with stories of polar bears & penguins & drowning & burning and – what’s this – sumpfink called hope?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/586939/every-tonne-matters-the-climate-scientist-who-wants-to-give-you-hope
Photographed at the airport prior to his return-flight to Germany (hope he planted some trees) a ‘glacier scientist’ said, “the world is projected to lose 40 percent of all glacier ice over the coming centuries” [sic].
1/. projected, throwing dice or vomiting
2/. coming centuries, plural, vague, eternity (?)
3/. there is no number 3
By riding a bike (made in Ch!na?) you too could save a fish by keeping the oceans cool therefore stopping sea level rise (though Mobama* did that long ago) enabling more rice to be grown… yeah I had trouble following that circuitous route as well, but as Barry Soetoro* once preached at his inauguration:
Hopey Hopey Changey Changey.
Or as The Steve Miller Band once suggested:
Go on, take the money and run, woohoohoo!
110
That one takes out laugh -of-the-day.
“I just want to bury my head in the remaining ice and snow”
Good luck with that mate – it will not be easy to pull your head out of its present location.
61
That quote was from a Petra Heil (hail rock?), “British Antarctic Survey director of science” who also vomited at the con-ference.
She who is named after a rock was probably happy to escape Antarctica’s summer heatwave of minus 50 degrees only to arrive in Godzone where a cold snap was causing snow to fall on the Cantabrian foothills, where she is most-welcome to go face-plant herself in the sub-zero carbon fallout powder now burying Mt Hutt’s infamous ski-and-bone-wrecking schist rock and eat humble pie.
Who employs these clowns?
100
By riding a bike (made in Ch!na?)
Oh yes please, please, please ride more bikes and help reduce our carbon footprint which we are allowed as we are a developing country.
41
An experience I clearly remember was in Beijing China on a rainy afternoon standing at a street crossing with a pack of black bicycles with riders wearing black rain protection covers waiting for a green light. When the light turned green they all started peddling and squeaking chains but as one mass, it was a sight to behold.
30
Geez, I didn’t realise when I leave my car in the driveway and do the 2km return trip to the shops on my mountain bike that I’m saving about 660 grams of glacier ice. I was motivated by a desire to exercise but now I can virtue signal my endeavours to save the planet. Win win for me and Mother Earth. I’m like Greta Thunberg on a catamaran to a conference- get there slower but arrive full of virtue (as long as I don’t get a puncture).
However, those damned glaciers won’t cooperate with AGW. AI seems to hone in on this particular glacier despite many others surviving beyond the used by date imposted on them by climate doomsayers.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/08/us/glaciers-national-park-2020-trnd
It’s a bit like The Maldives refusing to heed the predictions decades ago that they would be consumed by the ocean.
20
NSW Libertarian MP John Ruddick wants to overturn the ban in that state of uranium mining.
A sensible move of course. In the absence of industry, Australia needs to export more rocks, especially valuable rocks, to less regressive countries that need energy and who are committed to industry and a high standard of living.
But this won’t overturn the fake conservative Liberal Party legislation that banned nuclear power, by the energy-phobe John Howard.
In any case, nuclear power should only be used if its economically viable in a particular location, not because it doesn’t emit CO2.
It should not be considered a substitute for coal or gas power.
It would be foolish to build a nuclear power station next to a coal mine, for example. Similarly, it would be foolish to build a coal power station 1000kms from a coal mine.
132
DM,
There is value in laws promoting an Australian uranium industry including building a reactor for electricity. In many countries this is a normal as having breakfast.
But we need strong sunset clauses on all new laws so that important regulatory laws from cheap political deals do not stay in force forever. Geoff S
100
Agreed.
There should be sunset clauses in all new laws and regulations, although the law about sunset clauses should not have one.
Also, the sunset period needs to be a few years, I can imagine politicians making it a ridiculous time like two centuries
90
Personally, when it comes to laws and regulations that impact values (social, cultural or community) there should be a sunrise clause. This sunrise clause would be applied by using the duration that the thing suggested to be changed has existed for i.e. 200 year old (125 years old if you use Federation as the start) “Australian” Judeo/Christian values of monarchy head, Westminster system, southern cross flag values can by all means be changed once the period for which they have existed is applied before the change takes effect.
“Everyone” has been status quo happy for X years so propose your changes and in a matching X year duration the actual decision will be made to accept or reject it BECAUSE in X years’ time even the proposed changes may not be representative of the values or model that the country has become.
30
Cheap political deals like Howard Government agreeing to ban nuclear power stations to gain support from the Greens and other Senate opposition for a new was Australian Atomic Energy Commission, now Australian Nuclear Science Organisation – ANSTO, replacement nuclear reactor to be built at Lucas Heights, a Sydney suburb.
AAEC/ANSTO have supplied radio isotopes for use in Australia for commercial and medical purposes (hospital nuclear medicine units for example) for decades past and also export radio isotopes.
20
No one denies the worth of ANSTO and the replacement facility to make medical isotopes, which they had been doing since 1960.
But Howard should have had the leadership to sell the idea and pressurise the Greens to agree to the replacement facility without compromising the possibility of Australia not being able to build nuclear power reactors.
Surely it wouldn’t have been a hard sell?
I think Howard agreed because he was fundamentally anti-energy. Why else would have he set Australia on the road to economic destruction with “green” energy and other energy-phobic policies?
62
The Minister responsible at the time was Bronwyn Bishop and she has in recent times stated emphatically that she was wrong to have accommodated the Greens and Senate opposition.
Please consider;
20
The original location for a nuclear power station during the 1950s, the first Sydney Lucas Heights nuclear reactor for research and producing radio isotopes was built late 1950s, was near Nowra in Southern Coastal New South Wales on Commonwealth land at Jervis Bay, I understand that the foundations remain but obviously now obsolete.
One of the reasons for abandoning the nuclear power station project was the discovery of more coal deposits and gas fields, the Parliament decided that nuclear was too expensive and to continue (State owned electricity assets and State primary responsibility for supplying electricity) with the fleet of coal fired power stations, and a future plan to construct Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme.
The Dutton Plan was for seven nuclear facilities, five large power stations and two SMR much smaller generator plants. The basis was to replace the generating capacity lost as power stations were closed and demolished and to add extra nuclear based generator capacity for the future needs of our nation, as reported and using other developed countries as examples expected that demand will well exceed even the high peak demand periods of now.
50
I visited the original site at Jervis Bay. The foundations are still there.
Apart from inexpensive electricity, it’s other purpose was to have the capability of making weapons grade nuclear materials in case Australia decided ti build its own nuclear weapons.
E.g. see Australia’s Bid for the Atomic Bomb by Wayne Reynolds (1997).
40
And the current nuclear plant (and the previous one) generated some electricity.
As far as I now not much more than 10 solar panel on a rooftop, and used in house.
Incidentally, something the Greens won’t mention, but when the final checks on safety were done, someone wondered what would happen if an operator fell into the cooling pond around the reactor core. After some thoughts they included lifebuoys hanging from the safety rail, in case said operator couldn’t swim. That was realised it would keep him afloat for some days.
20
You would understand that a nuclear reactor does not generate electricity, the sometimes confusing factors are MW thermal for reactor capacity rating.
10
Most power plants are heat engines, and therefore can’t turn 100% of their input energy into electricity. Because of this, there are two values assigned to a powerplant: megawatts electric (MWe), and megawatts thermal (MWt). The former refers to the electricity output capability of the plant, and the latter refers to the input energy required.
Another area that misleads often is the reference to electricity supply and “SMR” or Small Modular Reactor. That being a small electricity generating plant with a nuclear reactor and steam powered electricty generator and prefabricated building and components as a package for delivery and installation at the location the client provides.
20
Thank you Dennis: for reasons of brevity I didn’t mention that the “waste heat” generated about 20kWh. Used as I said internal in parts Offices, laboratories and public relations staff.
00
Has something changed?
Perth and Sydney coldest state capitals today on 26*C max, while Brisbane yesterday cooked (shivered?) on a chilly 23, same as me although the windchill felt like 14*C.
Melburnistanis will be loving their return to ‘old normal’ as warm northerlies crank-up the mercury to 34*C for one day, possibly two, before dropping back to the ‘new normal’ low 20s, brrrrrrrrr!
15 February 2026
-52 C Vostok, Antarctica
-48 C South Pole (high summer)
-44 C Greenland (deep winter)
-36 C Mt Everest
-35 C Yakutsk, Siberia
-26 C Arctic North Pole (updated DMI)
Did anywhere in Oz even hit 40 yesterday?
NZ’s 4th snowfall this month is happening now, today, as the storm without a name hammers the east coast of both islands: please, start your engines, we need more carbon pollution to warm up poor Mama Earth!
100
Has been a cool summer in Perth, with only two main hot periods of a few days. Is this due to a strong negative SAM?
00
The trend is still positive.
https://weather.plus/aao-index.html
On the face of it, large snd strong blocking high pressure is drawing up cool air from the Southern Ocean.
21
Ok, thanks EG.
00
Best place to look is the Sun. Less sunlight over the SH compared with last year for 16 Feb. Daily averager.
30S down 0.4W/m^2
40S down 0.8W/m^2
70S down 1.3W/m^2
Not much but it has declined since December solstice compared with a year earlier.
The lower sunshine now will increase poleward advection from the higher than average sunlight Sept to Dec.
40
When you express those reductions on a per hectare basis , it is easier to understand why hay making was difficult.
Recently the met service started publishing a cloud cover metric/ day.
Add in reduced evaporation and it becomes clear.
10
Just started following Electroverse (@Electroversenet) on X. Very impressed. Similar to Jo, provide almost daily posts using real data on the subject of climate change etc. Short , summarised commentary usually all based on scientific reports. Further evidence to support that man made climate change is just a scam.
80
I followed that site for years, until it was subscription based.
He had some excellent articles on the “Beaufort Gyre”- a freshwater gyre situated above Canada.
If this “escapes”, it will quite possibly negate the Gulfstream, thus freezing in the British Isles, with no escape.
Little else is avail on this possible cataclysm, other than it has happened before.
30
Interwsting and factual explanation of the development of coal powered electricity generation over time . Fron basic steam plants through super critical, Ultra Super critical, and advanced Ultra super Critical , with the key developments of the complex steels needed for progress.
A good watch !
https://youtu.be/suCEKLCCgzw?si=9ipu4bjjy3kL_8Yj
70
Note…
Whilst this does appear to conclude with the advent of Gas powered generation, and the move to renewables, this is still very relavent for Nuclear power generation.
10
An excellent summary. Thanks.
00
And for the latest developments ,it is good to see another positive use for CO2 …
..The Super Critical CO2 turbine….
https://youtu.be/z7dr6oKHqqM?si=swnxaTnhhBtiXdrG
10
Jacinta Price on all manner of topics including Pauline, Liberals, Aboriginal Industry, Virtue Signalling and bullshit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOjBJ89aeXA
Goes for an hour. Comments on Pauline around 20 minutes.
.
[I think this was the intended link. Price interviewed by Karl Stefanovic.
https://youtu.be/2-NWe6RevlY?si=P0G9styXD6878Sfa
– Raquel]
01
Wrong link?
00
Re politics and Coalition of Liberal and National Parties, the new Liberal Opposition Leader and Liberal Deputy Leader (National Leader is Deputy Opposition Leader) were elected by the Liberal Party MPs last Friday, the Cabinet of Ministers yet to be announced in full. Policies are established by Cabinet and other MPs are consulted mostly.
Give them time to get organised and to release policies, the next election is scheduled for 2028.
And as I am doing reserve judgement until we have had time to assess performance overall and individual Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers capabilities.
Don’t be caught in in silly diversions like “women problems” alleged and other diversions and relentless negativity attacks.
30
They need to become a conservative party and drop all the woke Labor Lite BS and get rid of the Far Left faction, “the Moderates” or “the Wets” as they used to be called.
Pro-reason, pro-freedom, anti-censorship, limited and appropriate immigration, pro-science, pro-energy, pro-free enterprise, low taxing, low regulations, no debt spending, anti-globalist, pro-Australia etc..
80
They do, I am waiting to see the Cabinet of Shadow Ministers and who’s who, and how well qualified, and not LINO left minority.
But I doubt that the left will get many portfolios, the Liberals appear to have realised that state executive influencers and their chosen candidates elected have been the cause of election defeats.
12
Unless they adopt a clear rejection of the “Net Zero” policy… i am not interested !
80
They just can’t bring themselves to say it.
41
Both Liberal and National have now declared that net zero is no longer their policy.
They are not yet moving away from earlier 2015/16 Paris Agreement but that is non-binding and I understand that few countries are adhering to the target.
Coalition has also stated that a mixed electricity supply source is their preference utilising what exists and adding to it with new power stations, fuel optional.
20
They need to specifically say that they are abandoning Paris, just like TRUMP did.
They can’t keep having everything both ways.
80
They don’t need to abandon Paris just yet, we need a champion in the shadow climate and energy portfolio.
They need to reintroduce the climate wars along with energy and eliminate any suggestion that we are involved with emissions reduction.
21
The Paris Agreement is now officially a zombie, staggering on with the single practical purpose of eating political brains and handicapping developed (Western, or Western-facing) economies.
The 2015 Pollyanna objective:
To limit global warming to 1.5°C, greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030.
The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations together to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement
The reality: only naive self-harmers believed the COP21 bullshit and acted on it.
Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are projected to rise by 1.1% in 2025 – reaching a record high, according to new research by the Global Carbon Project.
https://globalcarbonbudget.org/
(Salty tears warning, but the links take you to interesting data.)
To mix horror metaphors, Bowen is ideally cast as the fly-eating lunatic, Renfield – however, Team Taylor seem unlikely Van Helsings.
30
Also note that last Friday the LINO left (moderates?) only managed to muster one third of the votes that selected Angus “Gus” Taylor as Liberal Opposition Leader. And note how angry and frustrated the miserable ghost has been seeing the left faction crumble.
If only the Labor centre left could get the same result against the far left, but unfortunately on the Labor side factions and union controllers dictate as to who candidates will be for PM and Cabinet Members. And the unions provide substantial donations and labour to assist candidates during election campaigns whereas Liberal and National rely only on their branch members.
31
Pffft! We have elected both those parties for decades, and look where we are! Neither are capable of running a Govt for Australia, they are ALL there to enrich themselves and swan around flaunting their power over the peasants. Its just what politicians do! If they weren’t of a corrupt dishonest mindset they would be doing a real job somewhere.
Anyone who votes for either party expecting something different is a fool!
30
FWIW
“This is your AI girlfriend”
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2022733873554350168/photo/1
I guess time to recycle an old saying –
“Seeing’s believing, feeling’s the naked truth”
30
This is Tom Cruise.
https://x.com/RuairiRobinson/status/2021394940757209134/
00
Are those loose screws on the ground compensation for not getting one real one?
20
FWIW
Some reading with both eyes on Oz
“Poland’s Foreign Minister Exposes Europe’s Ignorance on America and Freedom of Speech”
https://pjmedia.com/tim-o-brien/2026/02/15/polands-foreign-minister-exposes-europes-ignorance-on-america-and-free-speech-n4949516
10
And, across the (big) pond:
https://www.danielgreenfield.org/2026/02/virginia-begins-criminalizing.html
Coming soon to a……
Too late?
30
Australia’s censorship legislation, supported by the Liberals, effectively does that.
20
Supported by the Liberals with LINO left influencer MPs and state executives with a slight majority of the MPs in past years but until more recent years remaining a minority but increasing.
The latest party room leadership result was one third LINO left.
10
“For example, in the UK burning a Koran has been prosecuted as a form of hate towards Islam.”
it would be interesting if there was a public fire of the Koran and the Bible and see what the authoritas did..
00
In Canuckistan, “traditional values” are now considered “extremist views”.
We’re probably not far from that in Australia as well.
Short video, under 80 seconds, at link.
https://x.com/i/status/2023105852165509232
30
FWIW
“Things You Won’t See on the CBC or CNN”
“In this video, she reviews recent commentary by Asmongold about Canadians being weak. More accurately, both of them point out the obvious: The majority of Canadians and the majority of American Democrats are weak and exceptionally ignorant. Are the two traits related? You decide.”
Mega Streamer Asmongold Says Canada is Weak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORz6dGISy2o
Via
https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2026/02/15/things-you-wont-see-on-the-cbc-7/
Or “Their ABC” either but it bears considering in Oz
21
The Epstein files by country
https://64.media.tumblr.com/ba775a6044a075fa7c19905d139fe352/834b5eb245ae974d-79/s1280x1920/507d796d514ba1b6e701c5e32cf49f8283c7fc06.jpg
It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it. Thankfully.
40
FWIW
“We Don’t Need No Bailed Out Sparky Cars”
“It’s more than a car – it’s your preview of a fat, ugly bailout.”
“At Canada’s International AutoShow, we unveiled Project Arrow: Borealis. This is a fully electric concept vehicle built entirely in Canada, with contributions from over 55 Canadian companies and support from Feddev Ontario.
This vehicle is more than a car — it’s a statement: Canada is leading the EV revolution, pushing the boundaries of innovation, and showcasing our homegrown capabilities on the global stage.”
https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2026/02/15/we-dont-need-no-bailed-out-sparky-cars/
Can we expect an “Elbow Announcement” of the setting up of an Oz production line soon?
40
And
“The Part I Like Best”
“About drug decriminalization is the way government follows science in determining best practices.”
“SCANDAL: BC Govt ordered deletion of a $40M, 20-year addiction study that contradicted their decriminalization push.
Dr. Julian Somers’ research proved housing security — recovery-focused homes — was key to beating rehab & relapse.
Eby ignored the report, flooded streets with drugs & crammed housing with immigrants.”
https://x.com/WiretapMediaCa/status/2012690540693688447
https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2026/02/15/the-part-i-like-best-42/
20
LOL
China is going to absolutely crush the Canadian EV market by dumping cars in Canada via their new trade deal. It’s the same tactic they have used over and over again (steel, PPE, solar panels, etc.) for decades and Carney just gave them a free pass to do it to Canada’s EV market. The Canadian EV manufacturers are going to get slaughtered.
Fortunately for Carney and the Canadian economy, their EV market will remain tiny due to (1) the limitations of EVs operating in a frigid environment like Canada and (2) an even worse charging infrastructure than the USA, so China crushing their EV industry won’t be a major blow. China will dominate a niche market.
40
Obviously China focus is on growing economic prosperity and earning export foreign currency that increases China’s economic strength and position in the world.
USSR used to be happy to exchange local Roubles for particularly US dollars and many others for foreign visitors but refused to accept Roubles from those visitors at departure time.
00
Bank of England says ‘genderfluid’ male staff can wear eyeshadow and high heels to the office in new dress code
Under the rules, ‘anyone is welcome to wear a suit with high heels’ regardless of their gender, while ‘trans men may wear large earrings’, ‘cis men may wear eyeshadow’ and ‘trans women may have facial hair’.
The guidance is designed for Bank of England staff to dress in a way that allows them to switch between presenting as male or female ‘within the same outfit’.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15560199/Bank-England-dress-code-genderfluid.html
Closes account. Goes elsewhere…
90
Can alpha males wear codpieces?
80
Aliens or no aliens?
Former POTUS Obama interviewed;
https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/united-states/barack-obama-says-aliens-are-real-but-i-havent-seen-them-in-recent-podcast-interview/news-story/681dfb8b84df5521349fb9be6eb35bcc
00
Hey if he stopped the oceans from rising – although a far better trick would have been ‘parting’ the oceans and gathering some fish & stuff for his brethren – then believing his scriptwriters when they type ‘aliens are real but’ is a walk in the jungle / oops! / a walk in the park 🌺 or the vineyard at Martha’s 🍷
40
The math of an infinite universe makes it highly probable that there are other intelligent life forms out there somewhere. But the size of the universe makes it unlikely any of them will ever bump into each other. I suspect that is what Obama was alluding to.
What I got out of that interview is that journalism is dead. The interviewer was so intent on getting through his list of softball questions that it never even occurred to him to ask a follow-up question when a former POTUS admitted to existence of aliens. 50 years ago, pretty much every journalist in the business would have jumped on that response like a fat kid going after cake. Today, almost none of them will ask follow-up question to an unexpected answer. They’re not quick enough on their feet to improvise a follow-up off the cuff, and most of them are more concerned with checking questions off their list than actually listening to the answers being given.
60
He was alluding to the fact that they are here and operating outside our concept of physics.
“There is footage and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are,” he said.
“We can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. I think people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is.”
01
“He was alluding to the fact that they are here and operating outside our concept of physics.”
Similar to he and economics?
10
Quite a few presidents have shown interest in the UAP topic.
There is talk that Donnie is going to blow the whistle on the coverup, but the Dems will only say its a distraction.
11
” But the size of the universe makes it unlikely any of them will ever bump into each other. ”
“We can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory.”
So we’re like primitive stone-age people looking at a jet liner in the sky and the priest says ‘We don’t know what it is or how it works, but it will never be able to cross the ocean.
10
It appears that we will be drip drip informed of ‘alien’ existence in the same manner as the Epstein files.
It will be difficult for us to make any sense of it and we’ll argue about which parts accurate and which are outlandish exaggeration for political manipulation.
Or if there is any truth to it at all.
I guess everything is like that now.
But, at least the ‘conspiracy theorists’ get even more vindication (but remain excluded from polite politics).
This seems to be happening a lot.
10
“A(nother) perfectly good civilisation going to waste”…….
https://notthebee.com/article/this-account-shows-how-south-africa-has-decayed-in-just-15-years-and-its-a-warning-to-us-all
60
That would be pretty darn depressing if it was just South Africa falling apart. But it’s not. You could find something pretty damn similar in most countries that allowed their industrial production to be gutted by globalist economic policies and unfettered migration. Pick pretty much any western country and you can find hollowed out factory towns that were thriving 50 years earlier.
50
Amazing James. That level of degradation in 15 years is incredible. Entire streetscapes disappearing right down to footpaths and guttering and roads going back to dirt.
20
Has anyone else been pleasantly surprised by the latest act of generosity supposedly by Qantas namely the offer:
“In celebration of our 105rd year, we are excited to offer a special gift coupon worth 99.5 AUD to 20,000 clients who have been randomly selected by our system.”
No doubt if you did get “their” offer you may have wondered how often a “105rd year” occurs and wonder why 99.5 wasn’t rounded up to an even 100.
You could even have gone that very quick and easy extra step and visited WHOIS .com and typed in the originating sender detail to find out that the URL is registered on CrazyDomains Australia and the contact listed for it is one Alan Cucmber (sic) – wonder how many pickles he’s been part of.
Then doing an AI search with your above easily assembled information you would find out that yes Qantas has been actively warning against fraud messages, as has ACCC, since back in August 2025 after it suffered “a major data breach in July 2025 that exposed 5.7 million customer’s data”.
But hang on my message is dated 15 Feb 2026 how is it that CrazyDomains Australia haven’t been approached to cancel the registration/email address? What additional information does CrazyDomains have as to the real identity/whereabouts/bank accounts of Alan Cucmber? Even if Crazy doesn’t have extra details maybe they could be persuaded to send an email of their own “In celebration of our 105rd year…” and get all the detail they/ACCC/Qantas need to finally shut the alleged scam down.
40
FWIW
“Popular Fast-Food Chain Removing Microwaves From All Its Restaurants”
https://www.iheart.com/content/2026-02-12-popular-fast-food-chain-removing-microwaves-from-all-its-restaurants/
Via https://instapundit.com/776417/#disqus_thread
00
FWIW
For your next record you’ll have to try something else
“Ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel becomes the first person to climb Mount Everest and ski back to Everest Base Camp without supplementary oxygen.”
https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2026/02/15/honey-i-finished-the-internet-618/
20
One more step towards modular nuclear power. I have no idea how big this step is.
30
Here’s some pics:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/department-war-transports-next-generation-reactor-nuclear-energy-milestone
10
For comparison purposes this might be useful, and note many other articles provided including submissions to the Senate Inquiry that CSIRO GenCost was prepared for presentation
https://a7dffb77-e855-4fa6-bd37-0bc063cdb46e.filesusr.com/ugd/e63596_57f326cd401146e09580d9c4f2024f51.pdf
10
No doubt a new generation SMR of the basic design being improved on for over 75 years and installed in ships, licenced to UK Rolls-Royce about 60 years ago.
Rolls-Royce have a slightly larger SMR based electricity generator plant in certification stages that consists of a prefabricated building and equipment delivered to client’s location for assembly on prepared foundations. I understand that the generator capacity is installed/nameplate 470 MW.
And that the Dutton Plan here of five large and two small nuclear power stations and plants is based on the Rolls-Royce “SMR”.
00
A song from my misspent communist youth “…and even in the area of ballet we are in front of the planet’s all !”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT8-b5YEyjo
10
Bugs Bunny physics
https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_taiiux84Jk1z23obp.mp4
😁
30
FWIW
“Al Jazeera: USA is Pressuring Vanuatu into Dropping ICJ Climate Claims”
“Al Jazeera claims to have seen a leaked memo detailing the USA’s “strong objections” to Vanuatu’s actions. But there is a lot more to this story.”
More at
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/02/15/al-jazeera-usa-is-pressuring-vanuatu-into-dropping-icj-climate-claims/
20
I see independent Senator Pocock is promoting a rage-bait razzle-dazzle. https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/3-billion-truth-leaves-aussies-stunned-as-tax-income-from-beer-exceeds-levy-on-oil-and-gas-projects/news-story/0bab5ce1f42bb2819fdf0d2638f8ba2d
Wow, if oil companies pay less tax than breweries, we ourselves might get a bit annoyed.
But that’s not the case. So, as always with leftists and journalists, we’re left wondering whether it’s ignorance or dishonesty?
Companies pay their PRRT. (This is only 6 % of what they pay to the Government each year.) Then they pay their Company income tax (61% of what they pay each year.). They pay Royalties, Excise and fees. (30.2%). They pay Goods and Services tax (GST) and Fringe Benefits Tax(FBT) and payroll tax.
So the breakdown is 6% PRRT, 94% other taxes.
Just as in Norway, the Government is making a motza off the oil companies.
The headline “$3 billion truth leaves Aussies stunned as tax income from beer exceeds levy on oil and gas projects” is pretty damn misleading. It does not indicate they’re only talking about 6% of what the companies pay.
Oh, I just realised I forgot the requirement to buy Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) and safeguard mechanism credits (SMC) which supposedly are not carbon taxes, but as far as I can tell are carbon taxes. Those costs are not included above.
(Then separately, after drilling, transporting, refining, delivering and pumping, the government takes another 51 cents per litre, amounting to billions of dollars per year. An extra 7.18 billion last year, not including similar charges for diesel, and not accounting GST in that figure.Plus they take GST on petrol.)
Then the shareholders pay income tax on dividends and capital gains tax when they sell shares. And of course employees pay income tax, which is not technically a company expense, but it’s money the government wouldn’t get without the companies.
So, let us impose a super tax on Senatorial incomes, that will raise their total tax payments by 6%. Then let’s rail about how little tax senators pay.
20