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👋 G’day everyone, Archie here, relatively dry and definitely not hungover.
Over the weekend I experienced one of the best things about living in Australia: exploration.
After having to install a new battery in my car (at 6:30pm on Friday night) I made the 3 hour journey to Dungog, NSW from Sydney.
Staying on a mate’s cattle farm, I can semi-confidently say 90% of the world’s problems were fixed (at least as well as they can be by six blokes in their 20s).
When we were done solving the planet’s problems someone decided to bog the farm ute while checking if there had been any calfs born.
De-bogging a ute has to be up there in my Top 3 Male Bonding Exercises. It also helps when one of your mates is a volunteer firefighter (Note: the bloke with proper gumboots on).
There were a couple moments over the weekend where we thought we may be flooded in, as New South Wales was lashed with wild weather.
I witnessed the aftermath on the journey home: plenty of flooding, downed trees and the occasional, tragic, house-that-didn’t-quite-make-it.
Today, I filed a quick video with some footage from the Mid North Coast. You can watch that here.
As far as the rest of the day, my focus has been on the Liberal Party — and the forces in play shaping it for the future.
A mirage of the MAGA movement
🗣️ Why did they say that?
Like many others in the country, it seems the Young Libs can clearly see part of what’s bringing their party down.
The youth chapter of the party, along with sitting MPs and now even an op-ed in the Australian, are all part of an increase in internal pressure the party’s leadership is facing to not let the net zero debate be the death of them.
Oh, and to cool it with the Americana, right wing talking points.
For my full breakdown of that story, check out today’s video:
Around the Grounds 🦘
Across the country things are happening at a local level that have devastating impact nationally. Around the Grounds sheds a light on the stories across Australia you might not hear about in the traditional media.
I don’t know about you, but the idea of having my OWN power is pretty cool, because it means less money in the back pocket of the energy retailers.
Clearly I’m not alone, as Mathew Sims reports for the Eastern Melburnian: nearly 20,000 batteries were installed across the country in July.
It seems like a pretty good deal. According to the government, households installing both new solar + battery could save up to $2300 a year.
Read that story by clicking below 👇
Ongoing drought conditions have been making life tough for farmers in regional Victoria. Thankfully, there some new support is on the way.
Farmers in Ararat, in Western Victoria, will be seeing a 40% cut to their rates this financial year.
Rather than making farmers pay in full and apply for a rebate, councillors backed a streamlined approach that applies the relief automatically.
The funding will come from a lump sum payment provided by the state government’s Primary Producer Support Payments.
Mayor Jo Armstrong said at last Tuesday’s council meeting the system was “simpler, more efficient, more effective and more humane” than forcing producers through additional red tape.
Zara Cuthbertson, at the West Vic Brolga, gives the rundown on how the state government support will benefit primary producers - those who use the land to generate their income.
Read that story by clicking below 👇
Seen today 👀
Last week I filed the story below, talking about how the conversations around climate change are now including national productivity and the economy.
Today, the productivity commission released a report spelling out why emissions reduction is so important for the country’s waning productivity. I’ll have more on that on Wednesday, but in the meantime here’s a basic explainer from the Australian Associated Press.
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 Wednesday with more.
Cheers, Archie