Ep 36: Coal Is Good

Scott Morrison’s diplomacy in his trip the USA was all matey and bit cringy, but successful, and he got out of town just in time for the Democrats to declare the Ukraine/Biden/Trump imbroglio was enough for impeachment. (1:45-19:54) New Hope Mine in Queensland is mired in approval hell in Australia’s longest running mine dispute and it’s time the legal privileges given to environmental activists are wound back (19:54-30:28) What’s Buggin’ Kevin this week? The two-time former PM thinks the ABC favours the Greens (who knew?) and the main threat to democracy is the Murdoch Empire, and. What other gems can be found in his speech? (30:28-42:08) Your hosts Scott Hargreaves and Dr Chris Berg are joined by the IPA’s Dr Zac Gorman and Kurt Wallace to answer these questions as well as dive into their culture picks such as Dream Machine, a reflection on the NRL’s Canberra Raiders and what they reveal about our nation’s capital, and Austro Libertarian Magazine: a new journal of Austrian economics and libertarianism (42:08-1:02:48).

Show Notes:

Donald Trump will (probably) never be impeached
https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/donald-trump-will-probably-never-be-impeached/news-story/614d49331269f6d64e71b14e175f046d

New Hope blasts green groups’ loophole on secondary boycotts, Brad Thompson
https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/new-hope-blasts-green-groups-loophole-on-secondary-boycotts-20190922-p52toq

Oakey businesses owners threatened with boycotts have called for calm, John McCarthy
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/oakey-businesses-owners-threatened-with-boycotts-have-called-for-calm/news-story/1c854274a6ccc7dc5b50c610245a6bad

The Complacent Country: Alternative Visions for Australia’s Democracy, The Need for a Royal Commission into the Abuse of Media Power, Kevin Rudd
http://kevinrudd.com/2019/08/29/the-complacent-country-alternative-visions-for-australias-democracy-the-need-for-a-royal-commission-into-the-abuse-of-media-power/

Culture Picks:

The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal, M. Mitchell Waldrop

Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

The 100 best books of the 21st century
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/21/best-books-of-the-21st-century

Australia’s Biggest 13 Mistakes, The Institute of Public Affairs