The Colour of Teal
They were called the Teal candidates - a group of women running against mostly men in Liberal-held seats. They campaigned for strong action on climate change and for integrity in politics.
And they were a smash hit at the ballot box. Dr Monique Ryan ousted treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the Melbourne seat of Kooyong. And Kylea Tink unseated popular North Sydney Liberal Trent Zimmerman.
And so the Teals - there were six of them - marched on Canberra to change the political landscape.
But now we are learning that Teal is really just another shade of green.
Here’s Greens leader Adam Bandt, tweeting at 7.45am yesterday …
And here is Teal candidate, the Independent MP for Kooyong Dr Monique Ryan, tweeting just 43 minutes later …
So Teal is green.
But this week we learned that Teal can also be left red faced.
On Tuesday it was revealed that Independent MP for North Sydney, Kylea Tink owned shares in fossil fuel companies.
Nothing wrong with that, except that at the centre of Ms Tink’s election campaign not even four months ago had been a call for net zero emissions.
While Ms Tink might not be a very smart politician - calling for drastic carbon cuts whilst owning shares in oil and gas companies - she is a shrewd investor.
Stock she owned in Viva Energy increased value by 37 per cent over the past 12 months. Her stock in Beach Energy performed even better, rising by 63 per cent.
Say what you like about her politics, her sharemarket game is solid.
Ms Tink said she invested in the fossil fuel companies to demonstrate her environmental concerns. And if you believe that, she’s got a bridge to sell you!
As one commentator said, it’s like claiming you bought shares in a cigarette company to find a cure for cancer.
Ms Tink claimed that buying stock in fossil fuel companies would help her to better understand the energy market. Moreover, as the owner of a small amount of shares, she would be able to influence company direction as an activist working from the inside.
Also, my dog ate my homework.
Information about publicly listed companies is available to shareholders and non-shareholders online. Owning stock doesn’t give you any special learnings!
As for the claim that owning a small amount of shares would enable her to exert influence, the claim is self evidently contradictory. A small amount of shares gives you zero influence.
If I said I had purchased 100 shares in the Commonwealth Bank with a view to influencing home loan rates, you’d laugh.
Climate catastrophists warn about emissions before getting on jets, obsess about rising sea levels before purchasing water front mansions, and call for net zero emissions while buying oil and gas shares in a rising energy market.
Teal is green. But it can also be left red faced. That much is black and white.
Gold.
As the old saying goes, if it weren't for double standards, most of our politicians would have none.
A busload of politicians were driving down a country road (off to a climate summit) when, all of a sudden, the bus ran off the road and crashed into a tree in an old farmer's field. The old farmer, after seeing what had happened, went over to investigate. He then dug a hole and buried the politicians.
A few days later the local sheriff came out, saw the crashed bus, and asked the old farmer where all the politicians had gone.
The old farmer said he had buried them.
The sheriff asked the old farmer, "Were they all dead?"
The old farmer replied, "Well, some of them said they weren't, but you know how those politicians lie all the time."