Latest news with #Uhlmann
Sky News AU
18 hours ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Chris Uhlmann slams renewable energy targets, saying ‘great lie' of government energy agendas ‘has to be exposed'
Sky News Political Contributor Chris Uhlmann has called out what he described as the 'great lie' of renewable energy targets, as questions linger over a state government's controversial renewables plan. Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio has admitted the full cost of a multibillion-dollar renewable energy plan to be rolled out by the state government is not yet known. When asked whether the $4.3 billion figure for the plan detailed last month could actually be closer to $20 billion, the Minister remained tight-lipped over the cost and how energy prices could be affected, the Australian Financial Review reported. 'This is not about being dishonest, if that's what you're implying,' Ms D'Ambrosio said on Friday, according to the AFR. 'If we don't build transmission, I can tell you what happens. People's lights go out and power prices will go through the roof. 'People need to understand that transmission is an investment that facilitates the build of replacement electricity.' Speaking to Sky News host Peta Credlin on Monday evening, Mr Uhlmann took aim at renewable energy agendas in the face of the controversial Victorian government plan. 'We've seen it around the world Peta, everywhere you put in large-scale deployment of wind and solar, two things happen: the grid becomes more fragile and electricity prices soar,' he said. 'I see Lily D'Ambrosio saying that it's not going to be $20 billion, but can't say how much it's going to be, and of course, those transmission lines that she's left out of the equation probably come to around about $16 billion. So what do we know about that? We know that 9 per cent of your electricity bill is the transmission costs.' Mr Uhlmann then pointed to the federal Labor government's renewables policy, which has also drawn has drawn heavy criticism over significant project costs. 'It's interesting now that the federal Labour Party has stopped saying that people's electricity bills will go down,' he said. 'The great lie in all of this has to be exposed and that is it will be neither greener nor cheaper and the system will certainly be more fragile. 'That's the energy future which is on offer because of the policy decisions of state and federal governments.' The Victorian government VicGrid body's 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan includes proposed onshore renewable energy zones, which have been identified as suitable to host renewable energy projects. "The Victorian Transmission Plan is necessary to keep the lights on and keep energy costs affordable as Victoria's coal-fired power stations close," a state government statement on the plan's draft announcement said.
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Worst strategic circumstance': US calls for Australia to raise defence spending analysed
Sky News contributor Chris Uhlmann discusses the United States' call on Australia to raise defence spending. 'If you listen to what this government says, we are now in the worst strategic circumstances since the Second World War,' Mr Uhlmann told Sky News host Peta Credlin. 'If we are in the worst strategic circumstances … you would think there might be a little bit more activity around what was going on in the Australian government and a little bit less smugness about it.'
Sky News AU
7 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Chris Uhlmann urges Liberal Party to 'shut up' and 'get its act together' to form position on net zero that it 'can defend'
Sky News political contributor and veteran journalist Chris Uhlmann has called on the Liberal Party to "get its act together" on net zero, arguing it needed to form a formidable argument in order to win voters after the South Australian Liberals voted to dump the policy. The Liberal Party in SA voted to ditch the net zero target for 2050, just five years after it set the target of reaching 100 per cent net renewables by 2030 when it was in government. The move comes as net zero plays a prominent role in discussions between the federal Liberal Party and the Nationals, with members of each party pushing for it to be dropped. The Coalition is reviewing its commitment to achieving net zero emissions in the wake of its heavy election defeat last month. Speaking to Sky News' Peta Credlin on Tuesday, Uhlmann said he expected net zero to continue to come under the microscope within the party. "I certainly don't think this is the last division that's going to have this kind of vote... and I think it's a perfectly reasonable argument to have because I think that there are really sound arguments against net zero," he said. "One is that (the target)... it's not actually a policy and we don't have the policies in place to do it, we don't have the technology in place to do it. The major economies of the world essentially aren't doing it, and it will cost you trillions of dollars to try. Now, they're all reasonable arguments, that I think reasonable people could make." Uhlmann criticised how the Liberal Party had articulated its arguments on energy in the past and said whatever path it decided to take on net zero, it needed to establish an effective argument that could put them in a position to win. "My problem with the Liberal Party is that I don't think they have the capacity to make those arguments, or at least to decide on a position that they can defend. And when we've seen them weigh into energy arguments in the past, they leave the rest of us basically struggling to try and make sensible arguments because they've so crueled the playing field along the way," he said. "I think it would be a great idea for the Liberal Party to get its act together and to try and work out how it might win the next election in South Australia whatever its policies might be. "But I think there's this too, that if you've got nothing to say, say nothing, for God's sake shut up until you get your act together, although I doubt that's likely to be a policy position that they will adopt. They'll fight among themselves and do themselves incredible damage and do this argument damage along the way." Touching on another major political talking point of the day, Uhlmann also addressed the decision by Senator Dorinda Cox to ditch the Greens to make the switch to the Labor Party. He went as far to suggest politicians who wish to quit the party they are in should resign from Parliament altogether. "I've got an old worldview when it comes to being a senator who was elected for a political party and that is if you decide to jump out of the party you should jump out of Parliament," he said. "I think she should resign from Parliament and it doesn't matter who it is - a Liberal senator, a Labor senator, Greens senator - you were elected on behalf of your party, on behalf of your state, and if you're going to jump out of that party, then you should have the decency to resign."
Sky News AU
03-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
‘Workplace revolution': Artificial intelligence ‘rapidly' growing
Sky News political contributor Chris Uhlmann discusses the 'workplace revolution' of artificial intelligence. 'We are told this is a workplace revolution right, so there should be some workers involved in this revolution,' Mr Uhlmann told Sky News host Peta Credlin. 'The thing I've noticed about ChatGPT which I began looking at last year is how rapidly it has acquired more and more knowledge.'
Sky News AU
03-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
AI could replace many ‘white-collar jobs' in the future
Sky News political contributor Chris Uhlmann discusses the concerns of artificial intelligence replacing white-collar jobs in the future. 'The thing I've noticed about ChatGPT which I began looking at last year is how rapidly it has acquired more and more knowledge,' Mr Uhlmann told Sky News host Peta Credlin. 'You can see it replacing a whole lot of white-collar jobs down the track.'
