Snowy 2.0 Pumped Storage Power Station

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there to be saved on Snowy 2.0, on net zero, on various infrastructure boondoggles.

So yeah, yeah, certainly there's, there's, there's lots to be done.

But the point I'm just trying to make is that when the government proposes little things, just let's just, let's just go along with it 'cause at least, at least it's reduci- [chuckles] reducing spending a little bit.

That story's live now at theaustralian.com.au.

Snowy 2.0 was supposed to be the world's biggest battery, the renewable energy dream made real right here in Australia.

But a decade of catastrophic delays and blowouts have the whole project literally at risk of getting squeezed to death by Australia's ancient geology.

And now The Australian's revealing the Commonwealth Government considered sacking the builder that was meant to save this enormous project.

[laughs] Yeah, we've all watched our fair share of grand design shows.

We know the moment that's coming.

Look, Snowy 2.0, this is on a grand scale, and what's happened is it is some of the most challenging geological conditions, mostly because it's not all the same.

So as you kinda move through, you know, the different rock types, the different terrain, it's required slight tweaks to these massive tunnel boring machines.

But what project are you talking about?

Oh, the snowy, the snowy scheme down here, Snowy 2.0.

So it wasn't like a job they said, "We'll do the job for five million." They just said, "Do the job, and we'll just give you 20% on top."

We'll give you a dollar 20 for every dollar you spend.

Yeah

... allow me to spice things up even further, because from Gladstone we flew to Canberra, which is Australia's capital city, and then we drove another few hours into the gorgeous Snowy Mountains to visit the largest hydropower project in the Southern Hemisphere called Snowy 2.0. And think of Snowy 2.0 as the one of the world's biggest batteries.

Mm-hmm.

The problem or challenge with renewable energy, like solar, is that it doesn't have anywhere to go during low demand hours.

Or gas, you put it in a pipeline or, uh, et cetera.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, so that's one of the big challenges with renewables and, um, Snowy 2.0 addresses that challenge by allowing renewable, like solar, during low demand hours while solar is producing, um, to pump water uphill using enormous turbines.

Mm.

I think he's been given that name, that nickname, and I think it applies.

So that's a most interesting case, and there's no reason why we can't be told what's happening with Snowy 2.0. First week of November could be very interesting.

25 to 9 to 8 if you're in Queensland.

22 minutes to 9 to 8 if you are in Queensland just on our feedback line a lot of people unhappy about the situation particularly with Snowy 2.0 that we're paying for it and that we're not actually being told what's happening there and just on rorts and grants and the fact that it's unconstitutional for the federal government to be handing out stuff that should be done by states and Greg makes a point here just in relation to all of this we do the census he's made this point before and it's very good one I know you're a regular correspondent here that we do the census we did it recently and the census is supposed to say what who's there what are needed what the facilities are that might be needed in a certain area and so then that information is available for decision makers to decide whether they allocate funds and councils have access to that, state governments and others, but it seems that the political colour of the area often has a greater impact.

21 minutes to nine is the time.

Now, I was jolted by two things this evening.

I think that you know we don't need to do the orcas subs and i think most of the defense spending is pretty useless particularly now that warfare is all about drones and you know cheap much more much cheaper ways of fighting each other i think um I'd do

infrastructure procurement that we, you know, Snowy 2.0, North East Link, 26 billion.

Governments just get done over with our industrial laws, CFMEU, et cetera.

So I would demand more efficiency in the productivity of the government's infrastructure spending.