A personal view of Australian and International Politics
Contemporary politics,local and international current affairs, science, music and extracts from the Queensland Newspaper "THE WORKER" documenting the proud history of the Labour Movement.
MAHATMA GANDHI ~ Truth never damages a cause that is just.
In a social media post Donald Trump said he spoke to Benjamin Netanyahu and representatives from Hezbollah overnight. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
In central Jerusalem, not far from the walls of the old city, there's a cluster of private art galleries.
It's
a mixture of traditional and modern offerings on HaMalka Shlomziyon, or
Queen Shlomzyion Street. But there's one store that regularly draws
interested onlookers.
Displayed
in the window is a piece depicting the flag of the United States. But
as you take two or three more steps along the shopfront, and the
perspective changes, the Stars and Stripes turn into the Star of David.
There's
often commentary that the US and Israel, particularly in the era of
Trump, are two sides of the same coin — or in this instance, painting or
sculpture.
Monday night's
intervention by US President Donald Trump as Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to launch strikes on Beirut shows how close
that relationship is.
It also hints at how much pressure Trump is under to end the war and how much Netanyahu is willing to test the friendship.
US outlet Axios
reported that, in a phone call between the leaders overnight, Trump
yelled "What the f*** are you doing?" at Netanyahu over Israel's
escalation in Lebanon.
The
reportedly explosive interaction, and how effective it seemingly was,
reminds the world that one side calls the shots, and gives an insight
into the lengths Donald Trump will go to get his way.
As we've now learned, it includes speaking to a declared terrorist organisation.
Reported 'f***ing crazy' phone call
Over the weekend, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah had intensified.
Israeli
troops pushed deeper into southern Lebanon, expanding their invasion of
the country. Deadly strikes on cities and towns continued too.
Smoke rises from Beaufort Castle following strikes on May 27. (Reuters: Stringer)
In turn, Hezbollah fired rockets and explosive drones at soldiers, and Israeli communities hugging the border.
The chain of events from there is telling.
Pressure was building on Benjamin Netanyahu, from the IDF and the Israeli political establishment to go harder in Lebanon.
It is an election year in Israel after all.
Far-right
government minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was in northern Israel just days
ago, telling media the suburbs of Beirut "need to be flattened" in order
to defeat Hezbollah.
"I also
say it to our dear prime minister. Dear Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu, I
love you, I appreciate you, but it's time to flatten Dahiyeh," he said
over the weekend.
"We respect
Trump, we need to thank him for the partnership, but the red line is
harm to soldiers, harm to civilians, and Dahiyeh needs to be flattened."
On
Monday morning, local time, Netanyahu declared he had ordered strikes
on Beirut, and the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh in particular.
Residents fled. And then, nothing.
Speculation
mounted about why there was a delay. What was the reason for announcing
attacks were coming, and then hesitating to pull the trigger?
As
Beirut held its breath, Iran announced it was protesting Israel's
behaviour by pulling out of negotiations with the US on ending the
broader Middle East war.
Trump
told American network NBC he had no formal notification from Iran that
it was suspending the talks, and maybe he's been speaking too much about
the negotiating process.
Also
significant is that he picked up the phone to intermediaries, which got
his message straight to Hezbollah itself — however unheard of it is for
a president to speak to a terrorist organisation.
Commitments were received from both. The war was not set to explode once more.
Temperatures have soared across India during an earlier than normal heatwave. (AP Photo: Rajesh Kumar Singh)
In short:
Temperatures in India have soared above 45 degrees, sending power usage to record levels as people try to stay cool.
The deadly heatwave has also forced schools to close, people to take days off work, and farmers to work at night.
What's next?
The
United Nations has warned the world to prepare for an El Niño this
year, which could worsen drought and heatwaves in some areas and bring
heavy rainfall in others.
Temperatures
have soared well above 45 degrees Celsius in parts of India as the
unseasonal heatwave disrupts daily life and claims lives.
Afternoon
markets have emptied, farmers are working at night, and some schools
have closed, with the weather too hot for people to function normally.
But
the United Nations has now warned the rest of the world, including
Australia, to prepare for a moderate-to-strong El Niño this year, which
would make some weather and climate extremes more likely.
The
World Meteorological Organization believes the likelihood of El Niño
developing by November is "near or above 90 per cent" and that it is
expected to be "at least moderate and possibly strong".
"The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is," UN chief Antonio Guterres said.
"El Niño conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world."
People cool off at a public swimming pool amid a heatwave in New Delhi. (Reuters: Adnan Abidi)
While
India is no stranger to heat waves, Dr Soumya Swaminathan told ABC's
The World that extreme temperatures recorded across many parts of the
country since April began "quite early" and have been so hot and humid
that even the nights have not cooled down.
"Clearly,
the trend over the last few years is that every year we've reached
higher temperatures, the heat has been more prolonged and over larger
parts of the country," she said.
"The urban areas, the cities even, are facing the brunt even more.
"Every day it's just dealing with the heat and making sure people survive and don't fall ill."
The
former World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist said she
believed heat-related deaths had been under-reported in India because it
was not easy to diagnose, especially if the person died at home or
outside a health facility.
Heatwave deaths 'tip of iceberg'
Soumya Swaminathan says there is a need for a national approach and more solutions to heatwaves in India. (By Fabrice Coffrini)
But Dr Swaminathan said heat-related deaths were also just the "tip of the iceberg" of this heatwave's impact.
"[Hot
weather] affects a much larger base of ill health, of people not being
able to perform, of people not being able to work," she said.
"We
also know that women face a disproportionate burden of heat, that
domestic violence, for example, goes up during the hottest days of the
summer, and they also suffer a lot of physical, reproductive health and
mental health disorders.
"It has an impact on the social fabric, on communities, on productivity and on the economy.
"When
it gets really, really bad, they give up a day's labour, they give up a
day's wages essentially because they just can't go to work."
She said there was a "need for solutions," with few people having access to air conditioning and other ways to cool down.
A cycle rickshaw puller drinks water on a hot day in Old Delhi. (Reuters: Anushree Fadnavis)
Dr
Swaminathan said the forecast El Niño was "adding to the uncertainty"
in India around "the fear of sub-adequate monsoon and perhaps drought"
in some parts of the country.
India
has forecast an El Niño-weakened monsoon this year that will bring the
lowest rainfall in 11 years, fuelling concerns over crops, food prices
and growth in the world's fifth-largest economy.
Indian girls use a scarf to protect themselves on a hot day in Jammu. (AP: Channi Anand)
UN warns of moderate to strong El Niño around the world
El
Niño is a periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the central
and eastern Pacific Ocean, which typically lasts between nine and 12
months, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
It
is predicted to increase rainfall in Central Asia, the southern parts
of South America, the United States, and parts of the Horn of Africa,
cause drought in Australia, Indonesia, parts of Asia, and Central
America, and trigger hurricane formation in the central and eastern
Pacific.
WMO chief Celeste Saulo said the world needed to prepare for the El Niño.
While
the last El Niño contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on
record and 2024 the all-time high, more than 1 degree above the
1850-1900 pre-industrial average, the WMO said there was no evidence
that climate change increased the frequency or intensity of El Niño
events.
"El Niño is arriving on our doorstep," Mr Guterres said in a video message.
"The
only effective response is climate action equal to the crisis - ending
the addiction to fossil fuels, accelerating the shift to renewables,
protecting the most vulnerable, and delivering early warning systems for
all."
The WMO hoped the
warning would help countries prepare, especially in climate-sensitive
sectors such as agriculture, water management, energy, and health.
Newly released footage shows the first test-firing of an Australian-made solid rocket motor.
The
rocket motor, which has been in development for more than four years,
is seen as a step towards developing a greater Australian-made missile
industry.
The federal
government has been investing in developing Australian-made missiles,
with the Iran war highlighting the pressure on global missile supply
chains.
An
Australian-made solid rocket motor, carrying more than 300 kilograms of
propellant, has been test-fired for the first time in the remote South
Australian desert.
The DRACO rocket motor is the largest and most advanced rocket motor designed and built in Australia.
The
rocket motor was fired at Defence's Woomera test range in February, but
footage of the test-firing has only been released now.
The DRACO solid rocket motor is tested at Defence's Woomera test range. (Supplied: Defence Science and Technology Group)
It
is roughly a metre and a half long, weighs almost half a tonne before
it is fired, and has been in development for four years.
Its
successful testing is being described as a significant leap forward in
Australia's push to develop and manufacture its own missiles.
This test puts Australia closer to manufacturing its own missiles. (Supplied: Defence Science and Technology Group)
The
development of locally made missiles has become a Defence priority in
recent years as it works to reduce Australia's reliance on overseas
imports.
But missiles currently
produced in Australia are largely assembled using overseas-built
components, and there is a push to start making more components onshore.
Solid rocket motors are essentially the rockets that lift spacecraft off the Earth, or fly missiles thousands of kilometres.
The ADF has been investing heavily in developing a sovereign missile production capability. (Supplied: Defence Science and Technology Group)
A Defence spokesperson said this test-firing puts Australia closer to manufacturing.
"The
successful static firing test marks the largest militarily relevant
solid rocket motor ever designed and manufactured in Australia,
delivering a significant step forward in building the nation's capacity
to produce advanced weapon technologies domestically," they said.
"Data
from the test will inform the development of larger-scale propulsion
systems, supporting the next phase of Australia's sovereign capability
in long-range and high-speed strike weapons."
Rocket produced in Defence project
The
DRACO rocket was produced by Defence's Science and Technology Group,
which aims to work with industry to develop new military technology.
Industry
figures argue solid rocket motors are in high demand globally, and this
work can be leveraged to develop more advanced and capable systems.
The
Iran war has highlighted pressures on global missile supply chains,
with estimates the US burned through more than 11,000 missiles in just
over two weeks.
Those missiles are worth an estimated $38 billion.
Data from this test will inform the development of larger-scale systems. (Supplied: Defence Science and Technology Group)
Later this year, Australia's first locally made guided missiles will be produced in the Hunter.
Defence
manufacturer Thales Australia led an industry group working on the
DRACO project, and chief executive Jeff Connolly said it was a step
towards a more substantial sovereign missile industry.
"The
Draco rocket motor test with Defence Science and Technology Group is
the result, and a demonstration, of sovereign advanced technologies
manufacturing in Australia," he said.
"It
required teamwork and an enduring commitment to securing the nation to
develop, manufacture, and test the largest and most advanced
military-relevant solid rocket motor ever in Australia."
It
was built for South American ferry company Buquebus to service the Rio
de la Plata route between the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo and Buenos
Aires in Argentina.
Described
as a landmark in sustainable shipping by Incat when it was built, the
130-metre-long ferry is equipped with more than 5,000 batteries that
will allow the ferry to run for 90 minutes.
The 130-metre-long ferry has a capacity for 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles, and is powered by more than 5,000 batteries. (ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough)
It underwent sea trials in January,
and was ready to ship to South America by April, but has faced
logistical delivery issues after the original heavy-lift vessel booked
to transport the ship became stuck in the Persian Gulf due to the US-Iran conflict.
Now
another vessel, the 217-metre-long and 42-metre-wide transport ship MV
Black Marlin, has been secured to transport the electric ferry, dubbed
China Zorrilla after the Uruguayan actress, from Hobart's River Derwent.
Incat
chairman Robert Clifford said Black Marlin was currently off the South
African coast, and, pending refuelling and a stopover in Melbourne,
could be expected in Hobart as early as mid-July.
Bob Clifford says the arrival of the heavy-lift vessel marks a major step in the "groundbreaking" shipbuilding project. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
"Very few people ever get the chance to see an operation like this up close," Mr Clifford said.
"The
Black Marlin is an extraordinary vessel in its own right and will be
one of the largest ships ever to enter the River Derwent."
Complex logistics
Enormous
heavy-lift transport ships like Black Marlin are used to transport
large marine vessels and cargo, as well as structures as large as oil
platforms and drilling rigs.
"There
are probably half a dozen of them that are suitable around the world,
but it's a matter of getting one at the right time," Mr Clifford said.
The
logistics and execution of the carefully planned loading operation in
the River Derwent were expected to take several days, he said.
Heavy-lift ships transport other vessels, cargo and large structures like cranes and oil rigs. (Wikipedia: Max Stepanov)
China
Zorrilla will first need to be moved to the heavy-lift ship before
being handed over to tugboats, which will help position the ferry.
The
semi-submersible heavy-lift ship will then submerge its cargo deck
beneath the waterline, before China Zorrilla is manoeuvred into position
on a cradle above the submerged deck.
"The
cradle will have to be built on board — which is probably going to take
a day — setting up the deck like you would if it were a dry dock," Mr
Clifford said.
The water will then be pumped out, lifting the cargo deck out of the water, before the ferry is chained down and secured.
China Zorrila is the largest electric vehicle of its kind. (ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough)
"All
that is probably going to take one day of preparation and maybe half a
day of loading, and another half a day of lashing the ship down," Mr
Clifford said.
Due to the size
of the heavy-lift ship, Mr Clifford said the loading would need to occur
in the deepest part of the River Derwent, which will be determined by
TasPorts.
"The ship, when it's partly sunk, will actually be drawing about 23 metres," he said.
"It's most likely going to be somewhere off Taroona; it won't be anywhere near the Tasman Bridge."
A test case for future ferries
When
the US-Israel war with Iran scuppered the ferry builder's initial plans
to transport the vessel, it considered other options, including placing
diesel generators on board to power the ship's electric motors.
Incat's
head of projects, David Riseley, said the decision to wait for another
heavy-lift ship was partly based on the need to preserve the structural
integrity of the electric vessel.
"It's not just about battery capacity," Mr Riseley said.
"It's constructed to run on a relatively calm river, so the vessel's not been constructed for heavy sea operation."
Mr
Riseley said while heavy-lift ships had entered the Derwent before,
putting a large aluminium catamaran onto a heavy-lift ship was uncommon.
"It's also large. It takes up a good portion of the deck, so it needs to be very accurate when it takes its position," he said.
The new ferry's high-speed, low-emission design has already attracted interest from other transport operators.
The superstructure of Hull 096, pictured during the construction phase in Hobart. (Supplied: Incat)
"I'm
sure in the future we'll have vessels that will need this same kind of
transportation to be undertaken, depending on the configuration of the
vessels. This will be a test case," Mr Riseley said.
"Typical of Incat, we've picked the biggest one to start with as opposed to testing a smaller one first."
Mr Riseley said he expected the trip from Hobart to Buenos Aires to take between 30 and 40 days.
Harry Lagastes and Jill Viccars with a RoBird drone. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
In short:
Birds cause more than $300 million in Australian crop losses annually.
A drone mimicking a peregrine falcon is being trialled to protect strawberries.
What's next?
The trial, funded by Hort Innovation, will run for three years.
A
drone mimicking a peregrine falcon is giving hope to farmers losing
hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of strawberries to ravenous
rainbow lorikeets.
The robotic raptor has the same size, silhouette and flight patterns of the world's fastest bird.
It flaps flexible polyfoam wings during 15-minute windows on rechargeable batteries.
The RoBird needs to be thrown in the air to launch. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
Launched
with an overarm throw, the RoBird weighs less than a kilogram and was
designed to protect food crops without harming native wildlife.
"We're
only hazing or going after the birds that the farmers know eat the
crops, in this case rainbow lorikeets and cockatoos," drone pilot Harry
Lagastes said.
"All other birds … we're not actively trying to remove them from the crop, for biodiversity."
The trial is being funded by Hort Innovation. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
Queensland
strawberry growers gathered at TSL Family Farms, an hour's drive
north-west of Brisbane, to learn more about a three-year joint trial
with Canadian-based AERIUM Analytics, funded by Hort Innovation's
Frontiers project.
AERIUM
Analytics chief growth officer Jill Viccars said flying and fixed-wing
versions of the RoBird had been successfully used overseas to deter
birds at airports and mining sites.
Its horticultural trials began last year in Victoria and South Australia, focusing on stone fruit, apples and almonds.
Crop damage reduced by 89pc
Falcon-like drones take to the skies to protect crops. (Supplied: AERIUM Analytics)
"The almond trial ran for four and a half to five months, and we did a treated versus untreated site," Ms Viccars said.
"We saw an 89 per cent reduction in fruit damage, so we were obviously very excited about that.
"Our second year of operations in almonds is going to be looking at how we scale [expand]."
$200K in crop loss
TSL Family Farms co-owner Laura Wells was eager to host RoBird's first Queensland trial.
Laura Wells hopes the RoBird can help cut fruit losses to rainbow lorikeets. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
Her
family moved from growing strawberries in the ground to tabletop
production to reduce backbreaking labour, soil-borne disease, weed
growth and the need for agricultural chemicals.
But
they hadn't predicted that raising the crop's height would create a
strawberry snack bar for rainbow lorikeets, costing, in the farm's worst
year, "$200,000 in just a couple of weeks in early crop loss".
Lorikeets damage the fruit. (Supplied: Taste’n’See Strawberries)
"They're not a bird that just comes and has a snack, they actually annihilate entire rows of fruit," Ms Wells explained.
"There's not actually a berry left on a row where they've actually decided to go and eat."
Damage varies according to the season and location. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
Ms Wells said the influx intensified when rain washed out natural nectar sources.
Bird scarers, gas guns, and driving through the crops have done little to deter the lorikeets.
"They
actually come and settle in the night before, and then they're here
while that overcast weather is here so they know that they're going to
have a good food source."
Bird scarers and gas guns have not kept lorikeets away from the fruit. (Instagram: @shutterscot/File photo)
Over
the next three years, the fake falcon drone will take to the skies over
the south-east Queensland strawberry farms multiple times a day during
the growing season.
"They've had a lot of success in other areas, and we're hoping to see that here," Ms Wells said.
Beak performance
For now, the ornithopters need human operators.
AERIUM Analytics said the three-year trial would determine whether it would hire out drone pilots and RoBirds or sell the units.
The RoBird has a carbon fibre body and flexible polyfoam wings. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
Asked if the cost would stack up, the company said the farmers they worked with were crying out for the technology.
"They've all said that they've tried everything," Mr Lagastes said.
"So,
the cost-benefit analysis certainly lies with the sometimes hundreds of
thousands of dollars' worth of crop that they're losing."
Ducks can also be a problem for farmers. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
Bird damage
The
federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry valued
Australian horticultural crop losses to birds at more than $300 million
annually.
The damage was unpredictable, varying from year to year and farm to farm.
More than 60 bird species presented a threat, including lorikeets, cockatoos, ducks, corellas and feral Indian mynas.
Ms Wells said the trial had given her hope.
"Super excited to be honest, feeling really optimistic," she said.
"We're really, really hopeful that this is going to be the game changer."
More than one-third of Australian households generate power via rooftop solar, (ABC News: Rhiannon Shine)
Change may be one of life's only constants, but it is far from the only contradiction.
Few of us embrace change and, for the most part, we actively attempt to resist it.
Those
tendencies spill over into politics in what is often an epic battle
between those attempting to maintain the status quo and their opponents
pushing to overthrow previously accepted norms.
Occasionally,
the conflict becomes so entrenched, and the protagonists so wedded to
their positions, that logic is thrown out the window, particularly when
the clash involves money.
In the past 30 years there's been no better example than the war over climate change.
Once
the domain of academics and scientists measuring minute atmospheric
shifts, it has moved mainstream, and in recent years has narrowed into
an ideological fight over, of all things, how to best generate
electricity.
Gas was always seen as the intermediate fuel in Australia's transition from coal generation to renewables. (Supplied: Woodside)
For
years, every major global investment bank found that renewables were
the cheapest way to generate electricity. So too did the CSIRO. But that
didn't stop the debate.
But in the past six months there has been a seismic shift in opinion.
Fossil fuels, which have powered the global economy for centuries, are under threat.
And it just so happens that Australia has become ground zero in this global battle.
Against all odds, households have transformed from mere energy consumers to being a serious force in its production.
Households have become a serious force in energy production as more install home batteries. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)
In the past year they've taken on a new role in energy storage and distribution.
More
than one-third of Australian households generate power via rooftop
solar, while a revolution in home battery installations has dramatically
changed the dynamics and economics of electricity generation.
It
is a shift that could help solve a decades-long energy crisis that has
sent inflation soaring in recent years and contributed to higher
interest rates.
Power without politics
For all the infighting in Canberra, Australians have embraced renewable energy with gusto.
The nation
is the undisputed world leader in rooftop solar with more than 4 million
households generating and feeding power into the grid.
Every
day, close to midday, an enormous surge in electricity supply back into
the grid would crash wholesale power prices as coal-fired generators,
unable to adjust their output, operated at a loss.
The rise of home batteries has had a dramatic impact on the wholesale cost of electricity. (ABC News: Liz Pickering)
Last
July, however, the federal government introduced a 30 per cent rebate
on home batteries, a program so wildly successful that it has been
recalibrated and upgraded to ensure it doesn't run out of cash.
More than 400,000 households have since taken up the scheme, reducing the amount of solar power flooding the system all at once.
Many now sell excess power into the system at night from their batteries when prices are higher, evening out the energy flow.
And that's had a dramatic impact on our grid and on the wholesale cost of electricity.
For
the first time, batteries — both grid-scale and home systems —
determined the price of electricity. Gas was suddenly knocked off its
perch.
Gas prices had been soaring for more than a decade. (ABC News: Brendan Esposito)
Gas was always seen as the intermediate fuel as the nation switched from coal generation to renewables.
Fired up within seconds, gas generators can fill the breach, keeping the lights on during periods of high electricity demand.
Fuelcast: Gas plans on (and off) the table
The
only problem is that it was horrendously expensive. And given it was
the swing factor, the marginal supplier, it was the price of gas that
determined the ultimate cost of electricity.
It
now appears those very same gas exporters who profited handsomely from
exorbitant prices have inadvertently encouraged households to take
control of their own power.
A global battery boom is underway and Australia is charging ahead. (ABC News)
Battery price plunge
The numbers are extraordinary.
Outside
of China, Australia dominates the global demand for household
batteries, accounting for almost 60 per cent of the market.
Despite
the enthusiasm for solar power in the past 15 years, most Australian
households couldn't make the numbers stack up when it came to batteries.
Until now.
Just as with solar panels a decade ago, the price of batteries has plummeted.
Both grid-scale and home battery systems are determining the price of electricity. (ABC News: Glyn Jones)
As
most auto manufacturers switch to electric models, the huge upscale of
battery production has seen greater efficiency in inputs and lower
production costs.
Between 1991 and 2024 the price of lithium-ion batteries dropped 99 per cent.
In the past two years, price falls have accelerated even as batteries have extended their range and durability.
That was
partly a function of a slowdown in EV sales, a trend that is now
reversing in spectacular style as global demand explodes following the
latest oil crisis.
But continued improvements in technology and production efficiency are expected to see further reductions in prices.
China
now dominates battery production, accounting for up to 85 per cent of
global supply with the remainder sourced from other Asian countries,
North America and Europe.
Just
as in Australia, the ongoing climate wars in the US and in various parts
of Europe discouraged manufacturers from investing in battery
production, effectively ceding control of the market to Beijing.
What does this mean for interest rates?
Soaring
power prices have had a huge impact on Australian inflation in the past
four years, which has fed directly into higher interest rates.
Despite being a global energy supply giant, Australian fossil fuel exports are subject to market whims.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine kick-started the trend as supplies to Europe were cut and global energy prices soared.
With
almost 20 per cent of oil and gas supply now trapped in the Persian
Gulf, energy prices are destined to remain elevated for at least the
remainder of this year.
But the rapid shift in electricity production and storage may alter that dynamic.
According
to the AEMO report, renewables in the March quarter, which have no fuel
costs, provided a record 46 per cent of the nation's electricity.
Unsurprisingly,
given the continued shutdowns of Australian coal-fired generators,
coal, which once provided more than 80 per cent of our electricity, has
seen its contribution drop to a new record low.
But the biggest shock was the gas contribution.
"Gas-fired generation recorded its lowest average for any quarter since the fourth quarter of 1999,"
the report said.
Even
more startling, it dropped 24 per cent from the same period last year,
suggesting its role as the stepping stone between coal and renewables
was rapidly unwinding.
But its role may be revived by the business investment boom in data centres.
The
power-hungry AI infrastructure centres are being built at a frenetic
pace across the country at a rate that could rival the mining boom of
the early part of this century.
Unless grid-scale batteries are added at the same pace, we may end up back at square one.
