
We Used to Have a Name for Places That Couldn’t Keep the Power On
The New South Wales State Government urged Sydneysiders to limit their use of electricity last week as temperatures pushed into the 40s.
Energy Minister Penny Sharpe called on businesses and households to reduce electricity use from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. to avoid blackouts.
Now, when I was a kid, we called places that didn’t have enough electricity ‘third world countries’.
These days, we call them renewable energy superpowers!
Pretty Please
Penny Sharpe told journalists:
“We are asking households and businesses to look at what they can defer between 5 and 9 o’clock tonight.”
Hilarious.
We have so much power generated by solar during the day that there is an excess, but by the time we all get home from work, there’s a shortage.
She continued:
“If you can turn your air conditioning up a little bit, over 24 is fantastic. If you can make sure you don’t use your dryers or your dishwashers or pool pumps between 5pm and 9pm tonight, that will all help.”
What if I need to go somewhere?
I’m guessing that if I’m not supposed to be washing the dishes, I’m definitely not supposed to be charging my Tesla.
First, the Government begged me to buy an electric car. Then they begged me not to use it.
What do I do with my EV? Put the family in it and push it to the shops?
Completely Avoidable
Penny Sharpe added:
“Every small bit of action that we can take will make it much easier to make sure that the grid stays on.”
She said the lack of power was due to two factors — high demand, and maintenance issues at a coal-powered fire station.
What she neglected to say was that both of these things are issues the political class has created!
If the government didn’t continually import more people, demand for power wouldn’t be so high.
And if the government didn’t continually shut down coal-fired power stations while, at the same time, disincentivising maintenance on the few that remain, supply wouldn’t be so low.
It’s hot. And the government stinks.
___
Originally published at The James Macpherson Report.
Subscribe to his Substack here for daily witty commentary.
Photo by Ben Mack.
3 Comments
Leave A Comment
Recent Articles:
31 October 2026
3.8 MINS
Awakening begins when we remember the love that awakened our hearts in the first place.
“Un-Australian”: NT Minister Condemns Darwin Council’s Ban on Christian Group from Christmas Pageant
30 October 2026
2.4 MINS
NT’s Attorney General Marie-Clare Boothby has labelled Darwin Council's decision “un-Australian”, “an outrage”, “completely unacceptable and against everything that Christmas stands for.”
30 October 2026
4.5 MINS
A Tasmanian Christian reflects on 42 years of faith, warning that proposed conversion practices laws could threaten prayer, parenting and religious freedom, while reaffirming his hope in Christ.
30 October 2026
3.5 MINS
Awakening begins when we remember the love that awakened our hearts in the first place.
29 October 2026
2.7 MINS
If passed, the Digital Duty of Care Bill 2026 will almost certainly lead to censorship of Bible-based convictions about marriage, abortion, gender, Islam and more. Here's why it should be rejected and how to make a submission by 30 October.
29 October 2026
3.4 MINS
Professor of Law Dr Joanna Howe is taking her employer to the Federal Court after an alleged 11-month in-house investigation into her public pro-life advocacy.
29 October 2026
5.3 MINS
George Christensen’s frightening hospital visit with his six-year-old daughter offers a powerful reminder that protecting children, born and unborn, begins with love, presence and sacrifice.






Hmmm 🤨. I wonder where Ms Sharpe lives. Odds on that it’s not in the western suburbs of Sydney where there are melting hot temperatures with no coastal nor’easter in the afternoon to provide relief.
“And if the government didn’t continually shut down coal-fired power stations while, at the same time, disincentivising maintenance on the few that remain, supply wouldn’t be so low.”
Why would governments and Power Station owners put money into maintaining Coal Fired Power Stations when all the talk is about shutting them down.
Expect more breakdowns and blackouts in the future.
Australia is now in the words of former Prime Minister Keating “a Banana Republic “, and, governed by a bunch of clowns with less intelligence than the animals in the Zoo ! How will Australia have the electricity to manufacture defence equipment or effect repairs to them ? Makes me glad I no longer live on the mainland with all its MADNESS !