Ben Fenwick

Dad, husband, golfer, car nut. Grateful for all that comes my way. All views are my own.

[Alister Berkeley @alisterberkeley]

There is a vicious circle at the heart of Australian fiscal policy.

Government taxes workers’ wages. Spends more than it collects. Lifts the wage tax. Spends more. Lets bracket creep quietly raise the burden every year, a hidden tax nobody votes for.

Spends more. Prints and borrows, so inflation eats what’s left in your pocket, another hidden tax.

Spends more. Stacks excise on fuel, tobacco and alcohol; stamp duty on homes and shares; a Medicare levy on top of income tax. Spends more. Brings in a consumption tax. Spends more.

Now it has to tax capital. @cjoye

At every step the answer to overspending has been a new base to tax, never less spending.

Wages weren’t enough. Bracket creep wasn’t enough. Inflation wasn’t enough. Excise wasn’t enough. GST wasn’t enough.

So the productive stock the country has spent generations building is next in line.

That is what the proposed tax regime actually is. Not a fairness measure. The latest turn of a ratchet that only moves one way and it won’t stop until the spending does.

[Swervin @SwervinF1]

People should be criminally charged for the fact that we've never, and might never, get to see Leclerc and Verstappen race proper F1 cars like this.

[Josh Frydenberg @JoshFrydenberg]

Prime Minister, your announcement today of an internal departmental review of law enforcement and intelligence agencies is wholly inadequate. To use an Australian colloquialism its bullshit.

It’s weak, it’s wrong, it’s an abrogation of your first and fundamental duty to protect all Australian citizens after the deadliest terrorist attack on Australian soil at Bondi beach.

Your departmental review will not go to the heart of the issues and the radicalisation within our country, which has been allowed to explode on your watch.

Prime Minister what are you afraid a Commonwealth Royal Commission will uncover?

The Commonwealth must take the lead with the most comprehensive, powerful Royal Commission possible. You supported Royal Commissions into the banks, veterans, aged care and welfare system.

Now 15 innocent souls including 10 year old Matilda have been murdered by radical Islamists and all you are prepared to commit to is an internal departmental review? It beggars belief and is the latest failure in federal leadership.

It’s not good enough to pass the buck to NSW whose Premier has already indicated he will hold a Royal Commission. Why is a Royal Commisson good enough for NSW but not the Federal Government?

No one could think that the extremist threat is limited to NSW. These are federal offences, federal responsibilities and failures at the federal level. The threat is national. You yourself have said that this terrorist attack was inspired by the Islamic State, you cannot legitimately conclude that this is a matter to be covered by a state based Royal Commission.

Anti-Jew intimidation, harassment and violence has metastasised in our country and must not be allowed to go one day longer. The tsunami of hate is not just an attack on Jewish Australians, it’s a threat to every Australian. Prime Minister enough is enough!

[The Australian @australian]

Opinion: We saw this coming. We warned that anti-Jewish rhetoric, disguised as war criticism, would pave the way for violence. Now, as the Intifada you globalised arrives, spare us your feigned surprise and condolences: https://t.co/EmTLm8j0U6

[Tony Abbott @HonTonyAbbott]

As we mourn those who lost their lives on Sunday, there’s also a reckoning that must take place. There’s been a colossal failure to crush the Jew hatred that’s festered in Australia over the past two years and to stamp out the radical Islamist ideology that’s allowed it to spread.

We must stop importing these ideologies and the people who live by them into Australia. They are at odds with Australia’s core Anglo-Celtic culture and fundamental Judeo-Christian ethos, which has made us one of the most free, fair and safe societies in the world.

[Josh Frydenberg @JoshFrydenberg]

Last night’s terrorist attack on families celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. My heart goes out to the loved ones of all those killed and injured. After yesterday Australia will never be the same.

Every Australian has been attacked by this evil and hateful act of violence. It was all too predictable and so many of us said so. The Director General of our national security and intelligence agency ASIO even rang the alarm bell himself warning that the dangerous rise in antisemitism was his ‘number one priority’ in terms of threats to life. Why didn’t our leaders listen and why didn’t they act?

The massacre we have seen at one of our nations most inconic landmarks is the culmination of an unprecedented failure of leadership to heed the warning signs that were so obvious to every Australian who opened their eyes. From the disgraceful scenes on the steps of the Opera House just hours after Hamas’s attack on October 7 to the firebombing of synagogues and child care centres, the doxxing of Jewish artists, harassment of jewish students and daily violent protests on our streets, the last two years has seen a tsunami of hate that has left the local jewish community feeling abandoned and alone.

In response we got little more than hollow words from our leaders as they stood by and watched the flames of hate burn.

The Prime Minister’s public pledge after October 7 that he would not let antisemitism ‘find so much as a foothold here’ in Australia, is now fully exposed for the failure it has been. The fact is Australia is no longer safe for Jews.

Everything must now change from here. Everything must be on the table. The law must be enforced. Those who spew hate must no longer be tolerated. We cannot as a country continue as we have done. Our leaders must now finally stand up, accept responsibility for what has happened on their watch and close this shameful chapter in our nation’s history.

Every Australian must demand nothing less.

[Boris Johnson @BorisJohnson]

On the second anniversary of the appalling Hamas massacres of 2023 it is entirely up to Hamas - and Hamas alone - to end the suffering in Gaza. The Islamist terrorists have been offered a tremendous deal. They get an amnesty for their crimes - even the worst acts of murder and torture. They get to choose whether to live out their retirement in Gaza or take safe passage elsewhere. They get a Palestinian run Gaza and massive Western investment in the Gaza Strip. They get continued Western commitment to an eventual Palestinian state. All they have to do is release the 20 innocent Israeli hostages and the remains of the dead, renounce terrorism and abandon their disgusting charter of anti-Semitic violence. It’s not that much to ask.

Hamas has the opportunity to make peace today, on excellent terms. If they fail to take it they will have no one to blame but themselves. If Hamas fails to agree this deal all anti-Israel protests should cease forthwith because they will have become manifestly ridiculous and redundant.

If you really want to protest about Gaza, protest at the refusal of Hamas to make peace.

[Adam Creighton @Adam_Creighton]

"Maybe we will agree as a society that we never want to do that (lockdown) again,” Brett Sutton said.
“There are other ways to manage stuff."
Anyone numerate with a modest IQ could have known this from early 2020.
An epic, avoidable disaster.
https://t.co/c4f5arGpsi

[Senator Sarah Henderson @SenSHenderson]

This decision by the Albanese government is reprehensible.

Palestine is not a sovereign state. It has no recognised borders, no effective government and no formal diplomatic relations with other countries. Gaza is controlled by the terrorist group Hamas which continues to imprison Israeli hostages in tunnels.

This is a sickening fraud on the Australian people which rewards and emboldens the terrorists, puts at risk the security and safety of Israel, abandons the two-state solution, and greatly compromises our relationship with our closest ally, the United States.

This announcement may be made on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia … but it is not in my name or the millions of Australians who condemn this appalling betrayal of Israel.

[David Crisafulli @DavidCrisafulli]

Exactly 80 years ago, Australians spilled onto the streets to celebrate the formal end of the Second World War.

The war had exacted a terrible toll on our nation, and today we remember and reflect on the enormous sacrifices made by Australians to achieve peace.

Queensland proudly remains at the forefront of Australia’s Defence story as the home State to the Nation’s largest population of veterans.

Today, and every day, we thank and remember our servicemen and women for their on-going sacrifice for our country.

Lest We Forget.

[Jacinta Nampijinpa @JNampijinpa]

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE

SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY
SHADOW MINISTER FOR DEFENCE PERSONNEL

STATEMENT

80th ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC

Eighty years ago today, in addressing the nation, Prime Minister Ben Chifley uttered words that Australians had prayed for, waited for, served for, and sacrificed for: “Fellow citizens, the war is over.”

The forces of Imperial Japan had finally surrendered – 99 days after the Allies marked Victory in Europe with the defeat of the German war machine.

Crowds formed in main streets where people cheered, sang, danced, threw confetti, embraced, kissed, and waved the Australian flag in celebration.

Amidst the joy, there was also a national sense of relief and a profound sense of what had been done and what had been lost.

After almost six years of war, 39,000 Australians had given their lives for the greater good. Of the more than one million Australians who served, many returned home with the physical scars of conflict, while others stoically battled demons from their experiences of the hell of war.

In the Pacific theatre, of the 22,000 Australians taken prisoner by Imperial Japan, one-third did not make it home. For those who did, many were forever changed by the brutality they had endured at the hands of their captors.

On the home front, Australians knew the war in different ways: from the loss of loved ones, to surviving Imperial Japan’s bombing of our north, to supporting the engines of industry to churn out machines and munitions, to rationing goods.

Across Australia, barely a city or town, suburb or street, community or citizen was unaffected or unscathed in some way by the catastrophe of the all-encompassing conflict.

On this 80th Anniversary of VP Day, we pay tribute to all Australians who served, suffered and sacrificed for our nation – especially those dear veterans of the Greatest Generation who are still with us today.

We recall the courage, conviction and camaraderie of our forebears – so we don’t forget who we are as Australians and what we can achieve together as a nation.

We acknowledge our allies – especially the Americans – without whom the war would not have been won.

Most importantly, we maintain a tragic sensibility. We remember tragedy to summon the willpower to prevent tragedy anew.

Those before us endured the horror of war to defeat tyranny and restore peace. In their memory, it’s our duty to preserve peace by deterring the tyranny that so often has been the cause of catastrophic war.

Lest we forget.

15 August 2025

ENDS

[Tarric Brooker aka Avid Commentator 🇦🇺 @AvidCommentator]

My new favourite forecasting chart from the RBA.

[Jacinta Nampijinpa @JNampijinpa]

The Albanese Government’s decision to recognise Palestinian statehood is impulsive, irrational and ill-timed.

Hamas’ barbarism on 7 October 2023 single-handedly set back the goal of a two-state solution.

The leaders of Hamas said they would repeat similar attacks until Israel is exterminated.

Until Hamas is defeated, a two-state solution isn’t even conceivable and there can be no peaceful future for the people of Gaza.

Let’s also not forget historical facts:

In 2005, Israel withdrew entirely from the Gaza strip, handing it over to the Palestinian Authority and had to relocate Jewish families in the process.

In 2006, Hamas was elected to power.

In 2007, Hamas seized control of Gaza.

For the next 16 years, Hamas squandered the opportunity to support the Palestinian people and work towards a two-state solution. Gaza could have become a Singapore of the Middle East.

Instead, Hamas used billions in international aid to amass weapons and build a vast underground tunnel network to wage terrorism against Israel and the Jewish people.

If the Albanese Government truly believes in a better life for Palestinians and a two-state solution, it would lend its full support to Israel’s military response to rid the world of a death cult.

But in moving to prematurely recognise Palestinian statehood, the Albanese Government has endorsed Hamas’ use of terrorism to achieve political ends.

And all this while Hamas continues to hold hostages.

This Labor Government has lost its moral compass. And its disgraceful decision today shows, yet again, how it is willing to use foreign policy to grandstand to a domestic political audience.

Australia should stand firmly with Israel, tighten sanctions on Iran and its proxies, and make it clear that Palestinian statehood will only be considered when Hamas is dismantled and the Palestinian leadership recognises Israel’s right to exist.

[Tony Abbott @HonTonyAbbott]

Recognition of Palestine should be a reward for good behaviour not bad. Recognising Palestine with Hamas still armed, still holding hostages, still largely running Gaza and withholding aid, and still pledged to the destruction of Israel is unconscionable. By all means suggest alternatives to the Israeli government’s approach, but handing a propaganda victory to terrorism is just wrong

[John Anderson AC @JohnAndersonAC]

This isn't just an economic issue — it's a cultural and political tipping point. When over half the population is paid by the state, cuts become unthinkable, deficits become permanent, productivity falls, and taxes move in only one direction: up. https://t.co/pz2PSmxAc9 via @FinancialReview

[Chris Martz @ChrisMartzWX]

If we spent more time addressing real environmental issues like deforestation and plastic pollution, we could actually make a positive difference in the world.

Instead, governments have taken trillions of taxpayer dollars over the last 40 years to line their pockets by making a promise to set a thermostat on the planet and stop bad weather from occurring. This is a grift, it isn’t science and it definitely isn’t environmentalism.

[Chris Martz @ChrisMartzWX]

I dislike the term “clean energy.”

Renewables, particularly solar and wind, are only considered to be “clean” sources of energy because of their low carbon footprint on a lifecycle emissions basis.

The definition of “clean energy” rests on the false premise that colorless, odorless carbon dioxide (CO₂) is somehow “dirty” because of its infrared-active properties.

Big deal. 🙄

If one considers both the material and land requirements for these utility- and industrial-scale solar and wind farms popping up everywhere, it becomes very apparent that there is nothing “clean” or “green” about them.

𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬:

The chart on the left shows the material requirements per terawatt-hour (TWh) of electricity produced by different energy technologies.

☀️ Solar Photovoltaic (PV)
• *Concrete… 4,050 tons / TWh
• Steel…………. 7,900 tons
• Glass………... 2,700 tons
• Copper……… 850 tons
• Aluminum… 680 tons
• Plastic………. 210 tons
• Silicon………. 57 tons

🌊 Hydroelectric Power
• *Concrete… 14,000 tons / TWh
• Steel…………. 67 tons
• Copper……… 1 ton

🌬️ Wind Power
• *Concrete… 8,000 tons / TWh
• Steel…………. 1,800 tons
• Plastic………. 190 tons
• Iron…………... 120 tons
• Glass………... 92 tons
• Aluminum… 35 tons
• Copper……… 23 tons

🌋 Geothermal Power
• *Concrete… 1,850 tons / TWh
• Steel…………. 3,300 tons
• Aluminum… 100 tons
• Iron…………... 9 tons
• Copper……… 2 tons

🏭 Coal Power
• *Concrete… 870 tons / TWh
• Aluminum… 3 tons
• Copper……… 1 ton
• Iron…….……... 1 ton

☢️ Nuclear Fission
• *Concrete… 760 tons / TWh
• Steel…………. 160 tons
• Iron…….……… 5 tons
• Copper……… 3 tons
• Lead………….. 2 tons

🫧 Natural Gas Power
• *Concrete… 400 tons / TWh
• Steel…………. 170 tons
• Aluminum… 1 ton
• Iron…….……… 1 to

🔗 https://t.co/i8EhkxwEYa (p. 390)

* 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆.

𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬:

A single 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactor occupying 1 mi² of land, operating with a capacity factor of 0.93 can power roughly 775,000 homes over the course of a calendar year.

Not considering battery storage, in order to power the same number of homes with either solar or wind, it would require:

• 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐏𝐕: 4,000 MW of installed power and 24,000 acres of land (37.5× as much land)

• 𝐎𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝: 2,800 MW of installed power and 89,600 acres of land (140× as much land)

None of this sounds very “green” to me.

[David Taylor @DaveTaylorNews]

Australia's economy grew 0.2 percentage points in the March quarter.
Absolute shocker.
GDP per capita -0.4 (year to March)
Productivity -1.0
What on earth are we doing?

[Mitchell Driver🇦🇺 @Mdriver1992]

Put this on your bucket list of courses to play!
#golf
@pkcgc

[Senator Matt Canavan @mattjcan]

Great article from Greg Sheridan this morning.