⚫️ Speak to me first

⏱️This edition of the National Account’s newsletter is a six-minute read.

👋 G’day everyone, Archie here.

Another big day of news and I’ve got an exclusive for you, so let’s crack straight in🗞️

❝

It would have been better if they’d spoken to us first

Arche Energy CEO Andrew Murdoch on the Nationals’ use of their data to justify dumping net zero

🗣️ Why did he say that?

It’s crazy to think it’s only been a month since we started covering the Nationals’ decision to dump Net Zero, and, more importantly, looking at the data they used to justify the move.

What we’ve established so far:

The Nationals based its decision to step away from net zero on a report ("the Page Report") that used modelling done for the coal lobby (Coal Australia).
The report left out $100 billion: they kept the performance numbers of brand new ultra-supercritical coal plants, alongside the much cheaper CAPEX costs for refurbishment of existing plants, wiping roughly $100 billion in construction costs.
We then found out that the assumptions, like coal prices, used in the modelling by Arche Energy for the Page Report and Coal Australia, didn’t match reality.
Not long after all of this, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen also made a video covering the same points. Then Arche released a statement.

Now we’re here: Yesterday, I had a sit-down interview in Sydney with Arche Energy CEO Andrew Murdoch to try and clear the air on some of my other questions.

I learned that Arche’s clients do help shape their objectives and modelling.

I put the $100 billion mismatch mentioned above to Murdoch directly, and asked whether the Page Research Centre had used ARCHE’s modelling incorrectly to reach its conclusion about the cost of coal.

Murdoch wouldn’t confirm Page got it wrong.

But he did say: “It would have been better if they’d spoken to us first.”

For my full breakdown, check out this article and video:

Exclusive: Consultant says National Party's Net Zero modelling was a "client-influenced" best-case coal scenario

Energy consulting firm Arche Energy has clarified what role the Nationals' think tank had in achieving its claim that coal is cheaper than renewables.

www.nationalaccount.com.au/p/coal-report-nationals-energy-consultancy-clarifies

Jobs for mates

The Albanese Government has finally released its long awaited “jobs for mates” review. It certainly doesn’t beat around the bush, and calls many past appointments “overpaid political hacks.”

The report lays out clear fixes to clean up public sector board appointments, but the Albanese Government is only taking a few on board, ditching key reforms like cooling-off periods for ex-politicians.

The question now: will anything actually change?

For my full breakdown, check out this video:

Around the Grounds 🦘

🍽️ Gippsland’s hungry kids

In Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, youth workers say some teenagers are stealing food because they’ve got nothing to eat.

As Jacob Wallace at Gippsland Monitor reports, Gippsland Youth Spaces is feeding more than 100 young people a week, with many likely sleeping rough.

After hearing that staff cuts are hurting support services, Latrobe City Council backed a $30,000 outreach program to connect vulnerable teens with help.

Read that story by clicking below 👇

Young people stealing food because they’re hungry, Latrobe City council told

A Gippsland Youth Spaces spokesperson said many of the adolescents who come into their communal areas are likely to be on the streets.

www.gippslandmonitor.com.au/p/young-people-stealing-food-hungry-latrobe-city

🃏 4am pokie loophole closing

NSW pubs and clubs will soon have to shut down poker machines by 4am, after years of exemptions let almost 700 venues keep playing past the legal time.

As the Northshore Lorikeet’s Huw Bradshaw reports, the change affects venues across NSW like Chatswood’s Orchard Hotel, with the repeal set for March 2026.

Some venues can still apply for exemptions under “tougher guidelines,” which critics say is just the bare minimum to reduce gambling harm.

Read that story by clicking below 👇

After years of loopholes, 4am pokies shutdown will finally be enforced. Kind of

The new rules will affect late night venues such as Chatswood’s Orchard Hotel and Hornsby Railway Hotel.

www.northshorelorikeet.com.au/p/after-years-of-loopholes-4am-pokies-shutdown-will-finally-be-enforced-kind-of

🇺🇸 Letter to America

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has rejected claims from a US congressman that she is a “zealot for global take downs”, after being summoned to testify in front of a US government committee.

The US committee claims to be investigating whether foreign entities, including Australia, are trying to influence what information Americans have access to.

The committee - whose remit includes “civil liberties” - is looking at how foreign laws and regulations could potentially force companies to censor speech in the United States.

Republican congressman Jim Jordan wrote to Inman Grant in November, requesting she testify in front of the committee.

Responding in Senate estimates on Tuesday, the eSafety commissioner said she would send a letter in response to the congressman's initial request for testimony – but didn’t confirm whether she would make a statement.

“What I am zealous about is protecting children online, but I will be going back to him with a letter, explaining a few things,” said Grant, emphasizing Australia’s Online Safety Act doesn’t affect anything that an American platform will serve to Americans.

“So no, it does not impinge upon Americans’ freedom of speech.”

The eSafety commissioner said she will not make her letter public until congressman Jordan has seen it, after pointing out Sky News got ahold of his initial letter at the same time it was sent to her.

Thanks for catching up with me. I hope you enjoyed this issue, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Just reply to this email and I’ll be on the other side 👋

I’ll be back on Friday.

Cheers, Archie