Energy-policy expert Prof Bruce Mountain, from Victoria University, is a strong critic of the proposed Marinus Link – an undersea cable between Tasmania and Victoria, not unlike the controversial Basslink. He says it is not needed, will be very expensive, and average electricity customers will pay a heavy price for decades. It is a folly foisted on us by some ‘corporatised’ bureaucrats and politicians who are attracted to big ‘nation-building’ projects like Snowy 2.0. Prof Mountain says independent experts are against the project. Those pushing the project are not independent.

About Bruce Mountain: https://www.vu.edu.au/research/bruce-mountain

Mountain in RenewEconomy, 6 Sep 2023: https://reneweconomy.com.au/marinus-link-is-a-boondoggle-cutting-it-in-half-wont-change-that/

The ownership deal, 25 Mar 2024: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/news/new-ownership-deal-for-Tasmania-Victoria-clean-energy-link

Video: Mountain talks to Christine Milne, 13 Jul 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Je3PUBXTtw

Steve Williams talks to heterodox economist Philip Lawn, based in Adelaide. Lawn is best known as an ecological economist following in the footsteps of the late Herman Daly. Lawn is an expert in the Genuine Progress Indicator, which is a superior metric of human welfare compared with GDP. In fact, increasing GDP beyond a critical point results in more bads than goods, resulting in uneconomic growth. Ecological economics is first and foremost about limiting the scale of the economy on a non-expanding planet to avoid overshoot and collapse. As Lawn says, we only have one Earth, not 1.8! 

Philip Lawn at Modern Money Lab: https://modernmoneylab.org.au/people/

Lawn lecture (2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7L63x4TBZI&t=193s

Lawn talks to Herman Daly (2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0GWdtGhy4A

Lawn’s book on climate change (2016): https://www.amazon.com.au/Resolving-Climate-Change-Crisis-Ecological/dp/940177501X

Genuine progress indicator: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genuine_progress_indicator

Herman Daly’s economics (2015): https://greattransition.org/publication/economics-for-a-full-world 

Kate Chaney, elected in 2022, is the federal independent member for Curtin in WA. In this podcast she discusses her journey into politics, what she cares about, and the fact that every vote that an independent member makes in parliament is a conscience vote.

Kate Chaney personal website: https://www.katechaney.com.au/

Kate Chaney parliamentary website: https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=300006

Host Steve Williams is joined by the author of Debunking Economics, Prof Steve Keen. Keen explains how the mainstream (neoclassicals) are isolated from the real world, rely on quasi-mathematical models (garbage in = garbage out), ignore money and energy, are insensitive to criticism, pervert the IPCC process, and more. As Keen says, the writer of the dominant economics textbook, at any point in time, rules the world (to paraphrase textbook writer Paul Samuelson).

Debunking Economics (2nd ed) 2011: https://www.amazon.com/Debunking-Economics-Revised-Expanded-Dethroned/dp/1848139926

'When idiot savants do climate economics': https://theintercept.com/2023/10/29/william-nordhaus-climate-economics/ 

Steve Keen on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen

Steve Keen on Substack: https://profstevekeen.substack.com/

X: @ProfSteveKeen

David Graeber on the history of money on the BBC (audio): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07mclw8

Steve talks with the independent federal member for Warringah, NSW, who defeated then prime minister Tony Abbott in 2019 with a massive swing and who was re-elected in 2022 with an increased margin (now 11%). Zali is known for speaking out on climate change, gender equality, transparency, truth in political advertising, and similar issues. She gives some good advice on how to make change happen (i.e., don’t wait for someone else to do it). 

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zali_Steggall

Personal website: https://www.zalisteggall.com.au/

We talk to federal member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, about all things independent and winning five consecutive elections. Wilkie is known for talking truth to power, whether it be about the Iraq war, the gambling industry, whistleblower protections or salmon farming.

Professor David Lindenmayer is an expert in forest ecology and management, amongst other things. He is based at the Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University. His 49th book is titled The Forest Wars (Allen and Unwin, 2024) in which he attempts to debunk the many myths that are propagated about forestry. Lindenmayer wants an end to native forest logging in Australia, with plantations and agroforestry providing jobs and timber.

Prof David Lindenmayer: https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/lindenmayer-db

The Forest Wars (2024): https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/David-Lindenmayer-Forest-Wars-9781761470752

Agroforesty (Rowan Reid): https://agroforestry.net.au/

'Why Tasmanian and Victoria dominate the list of Australia's largest trees' 

https://theconversation.com/why-tasmania-and-victoria-dominate-the-list-of-australias-largest-trees-and-why-these-majestic-giants-are-under-threat-200276

The Australia Institute’s Tasmanian director, Eloise Carr, joins us to discuss the independent think tank’s polling on integrity issues and the marine environment. 

Integrity

Bass and Lyons polling, Dec 2021:
https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/polling-bass-lyons-landslide-support-for-key-integrity-and-accountability-measures/

Statewide, Apr 2021:
https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/polling-good-government-in-tasmania/

Marine issues

Statewide, Apr 2023:
https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/tide-of-public-opinion-backs-the-science/

Salmon farming

Statewide, Apr 2021:
https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/polling-expansion-of-salmon-farms-in-tasmania/

We are joined by Voices of Goldstein co-founder Sue Barrett, who went on to become campaign manager for Zoe Daniel for the 2022 election. Sue shares her tips on how to run successful Voices groups and election campaigns.

The best gift

Sue shares her personal philosophy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMf60-wwA6Y

Our quest for Goldstein

Sue writes about the 2022 election campaign for the Australian Women's History Network.

https://www.auswhn.com.au/blog/our-quest-for-goldstein/

Campaign management, strategy and tools

Sue shares what it takes to plan and execute a successful campaign from the awareness-raising stage, to direct voter engagement, to pre-poll and polling day.

https://www.communityindependentsproject.org/cip-resources/communities-supporting-the-voice-campaigning