Barnaby Joyce auctions lump of coal – in a glass jar – at Nationals dinner

It seems the Coalition events aren’t really events unless there is a lump of coal involved. First there was then treasurer and now prime minister Scott Morrison waving his lump of coal around parliament, telling Labor and the Greens and the Australian population not to be scared.

Then there was the Victoria Liberal party fund-raiser where the presentation of another lump of coal to Morrison so outraged then Liberal party member and former Clean Energy Finance Corp boss Oliver Yates that he was ejected from the event, and subsequently quit the party and stood as an independent against current treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the last election.

Now it has emerged that Barnaby Joyce, the former National Party leader and deputy prime minister who delighted in handling Morrison’s lump of coal in parliament two years ago, has been at it again – auctioning a lump of coal at the executive dinner held at the conclusion of the Nationals Federal Council conference in Canberra in September.

Unlike Morrison’s lump of coal, which had been thoughtfully lacquered by its supplier, the Minerals Council of Australia (whose CEO has since joined Morrison’s staff), Joyce’s lump of coal was not clean, and likely to negatively impact anyone who handled it, so it was placed into a glass jar.

As our source observed: “It just shows that they are not completely stupid.”

The lump of coal was auctioned – on September 14 at the Old Parliament House – as part of a job lot along with a “start Adani” t-shirt that had apparently been worn by resources minister Matt Canavan, who likes to describe himself as “Mr Coal from Australia,” and who is a former chief of staff for Joyce.

We are informed the auction generated great interest and went to an unidentified bidder at around $800. The proceeds were destined for the Young Nationals. We’re pretty sure the winning bidder won’t get the money back on the open market, as coal is now selling for around $60/tonne.

Our informant was horrified by the events. It wasn’t just the discussions about coal and climate that dominated proceedings. “It was like being back in the 1970s,” our informant observed. “They are on a completely different planet.”

Sadly not. They are very much on this planet, in Australia, and in government.

Comments

16 responses to “Barnaby Joyce auctions lump of coal – in a glass jar – at Nationals dinner”

  1. Dale Avatar
    Dale

    I wonder what his grandchildren will think of him when they are starting to deal with a world that is 2 – 3 degrees hotter than it is now…

  2. Ren Stimpy Avatar
    Ren Stimpy

    Last I heard the Young Nationals want real climate action. They should start by tearing up that cheque and throwing it right back at Barnaby the beer bellied bonehead.

  3. lin Avatar
    lin

    And these fuckwits think they are the smartest guys in the room. Delusion runs strong in them. It’s a national embarrassment that the Australian public choose to elect such fools to represent them in parliament.

  4. KiwiInOz Avatar
    KiwiInOz

    Why do they hate farmers and Australian agriculture so much?

    1. George Darroch Avatar
      George Darroch

      Because farmers and Australian agriculture hate themselves so much, and vote these morons into power religiously.

  5. Marcus Avatar
    Marcus

    It just goes to show how tribal this whole issue is to them. Even privately, at a party, coal is just a symbol of defiance of the other “tribe”. No thoughts beyond striking points against political enemies. The physical, apolitical world really doesn’t seem to exist for them. I can’t even imagine being so small minded.

    1. JackD Avatar
      JackD

      Well, small minds abound in vast quantities, my friends. Many of these small minds even think the Nationals are waaaay too far to the Left and find solace in voting for something a little lot more to the Right..

  6. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    So here it comes, the run of The Beetrooter to return as Leader of the National Party.with Matteo Coalavan as the Deputy Leader…”in Coal we trust”.

  7. Seriously...? Avatar
    Seriously…?

    Well that’s one way to keep the coal market ticking over…by the way, what happened to that Adani coal mine?

  8. Chris Fraser Avatar
    Chris Fraser

    Couldn’t think of a more boring night. Nah, Frozen 2 is on just down the road in Civic.

  9. JackD Avatar
    JackD

    One sentence – What a bunch of Wankers!!!

    Nuff said, really.

  10. Captain Pugwash Avatar
    Captain Pugwash

    Let’s give residents in Kingaroy and surrounds really really cheap electricity. Let me explain the concept.

    When I see others having a rant ( yes, I rant a lot myself) I notice how unhelpful it can be. Maybe I am a contrarian, but……how do we make this discussion useful.

    Barnaby and company are one perspective on the world. I am not from a coal region, but I imagine their arguments make sense to them and can be “rationalised”. Coal has been and is a big export earner and has been for a long time. Its a known entity, it’s jobs for a local community, it’s how they define themselves ( hard working coal mining community). Climate change can be rationalised away, “it’s natural variation” etc. City folks and university scientists are “not us” and they are telling us what to do.

    Maybe what we should be striving for is a rational inclusive discussion and initiatives for the more pragmatic elements in those communities.

    The biggest challenge is that we had generations to fix this, now we have about 10 years and even Labor have largely lost the plot. Queensland labor seems to be returning to a “for the worker” narrative and green issues, while not forgotten, takes a back seat.

    We can’t afford to put the output of Adani into the atmosphere, regardless of how many wind farms we build in Queensland.

    So what do we do? How about we acknowledge Barnaby exists but focus on green initiatives and industry for coal and rural regions. Let’s see how the green benefits can flow to those communities, even if we pay a bit more in cities. Maybe local regional residents get electricity at 2c a kWh when the wind blows in Kingaroy, home of the new Coopers gap wind farm. It’s their land providing the infrastructure after all. Can we look at this model elsewhere. Let’s look at how it might work rather than bogging down on the barriers.

    Let’s bring as many people along on this journey as we can.

    1. trackdaze Avatar
      trackdaze

      How about Global Coal use will be down 3% in 2019 with India double that. Coal price has tanked.

    2. Risque Fiasco Avatar
      Risque Fiasco

      The simpleminded coal adoring followers of Christensen and Canarvon will never see sense; the only way to shut down this monstrosity that is Adani; is to refuse it ALL and EVERY incentive, without taxpayer dollars this project is doomed.

  11. Miles Harding Avatar
    Miles Harding

    Hmm,
    He had to tip his brain out of the jar to put the coal in.

  12. Risque Fiasco Avatar
    Risque Fiasco

    If we all shut up about funding old aged homes, we can be rid of 80% the Nationals and Liberal support base in just a couple more years….

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