If Australia wants to subsidize its mining, farming and packaging sectors, maybe it should just do that, instead of spending bajillions on boondoggle gas infrastructure whose main function will be to give those sectors under-priced raw materials?
I like ammonia and olefins as much as the next person but there's a global market for this stuff, you don't need to build a government-funded fantasy domestic gas industry to get hold of it.
I realise we're all meant to pretend that building a couple of gas storage tanks at Wallumbilla will magically turn Australia into some South Korea-style heavy manufacturing hub.
But this really is all about ammonia and olefins, and there's not much in the way of jobs or money in that.
If you're wondering what ammonia and olefins are, that's a sign of the extraordinary fact-free poverty of the debate we've been having:
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.