Europe is in a bind. They want to deter Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine but then they rely on Putin to supply them 40 per cent of their natural gas. Despite all of Europe’s net-zero posturing they need Russia’s gas. Europe has got itself in this vulnerable position because of its obsession with dancing to the tune of Greta Thunberg types. Read more

Most mornings (when I remember to) I put up the Australian flag out the front of our house. I feel enormous gratitude for living in this great country and raising the flag is a small ritual to remember how lucky I am. Just before Christmas I shared a picture of the flag on Facebook, saying how lucky we are. Plenty of people liked the post and shared that sentiment. A significant number, however, felt they could not be proud of Australia given the increasingly draconian and bureaucratic COVID restrictions on their lives. Read more

Rockhampton is our nation’s beef capital and the LNP has a plan to make it our farming capital too. Over summer local contractors were pouring the wall at the Rookwood weir site. Michelle Landry, Ken O’Dowd and I fought for years for this project. We got the first funding for it in 2016, and a few years later (after a little bit of kicking and screaming) the Queensland Labor Government came on board. Read more

There are way too many drugs in our schools. The Courier Mail has performed a public service this week by highlighting the scourge of vaping that is emerging as a new harmful drug being pushed to our children. Read more

This week Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine was made available in Australia to children aged five to 11 years old. It should remain a parent’s choice whether their children are vaccinated. Our medical system is based on informed consent for the good reason that all medical treatments involve risks. Each individual (or in the case of children the parents or guardian) deserves the right to weigh up these risks and make their own decision. Read more

The Danish physicist, Niels Bohr, once quipped that "An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field." His wisdom has been on display daily during the coronavirus pandemic. We have been swamped by "experts", telling us to stay home, wear masks and get the jab. Much of the advice of experts has been correct and we should listen to them. But we should not treat the expert class as some infallible clergy. Experts are human just like all of us and they make mistakes too. Read more

Back in August last year, Extinction Rebellion protesters graffitied the front of Parliament House and lit a pram on fire. Eight protesters were arrested and charged in the ACT Magistrates Court. They were ultimately fined just $20 each. You’d probably cop more for failing to check in with a QR code. Read more

A tradition our family has adopted for the past decade or so is watching the movie It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve. The kids complain about its over two-hour length but it’s at least a time where we put the iPads and phones away and spend time together. I suppose I should put a spoiler alert here, but for a movie that celebrated its 75th anniversary this year, the statute of limitations has probably expired on that. Read more

Every time I go to Canberra it seems that the Australian coal industry is once again being read the last rites. And every time I return, I talk to local Central Queensland coal businesses that have never been busier. A bunch of reports released in the past week shows that the on-the-ground local knowledge is right, and the “desktop wisdom” of Canberra is wrong again. Read more

There is a meme going around of a small baby sitting on Santa’s lap. The baby looks up hopefully into Santa’s eyes and asks for a Porsche 911. Read more