angus taylor wearing a hardhat
Former Energy Minister Angus Taylor (Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas)

Taylor made After we noted the lack of transparency around investigations into the Angus Taylor/Clover Moore saga, a tipster pointed out yet more opacity around the energy minister.

Monday saw the first meeting of federal, state and territory energy ministers to be held under the secretive “national cabinet” regime. As we’ve previously reported this prevents ministers speaking publicly about the meeting, and requires it to be treated as “cabinet-in-confidence”.

Not only does this mean the content of the meeting will be shrouded in secrecy, but organisations like the Australian Energy Market Operator, the Australian Energy Market Commission and the Australian Energy Regulator (who would previously attend and provide briefings and advice) are excluded.

Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton told Crikey the lack of transparency and consultation and the ongoing uncertainty around the energy security board were all a concern.

IPA rips off the mask The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) loves freedom.

Except for Black Lives Matter protesters, for whom it wants the full machinery of the police state employed. After spending months whingeing about lockdowns, the IPA’s latest media release says Victoria Police acted unlawfully by letting BLM protests go ahead. The release is based on legal advice it solicited from Stuart Wood QC, Israel Folau’s silk. 

Back in March the IPA was singing a very different tune, calling lockdowns “Orwellian” and warning Australia had become a police state. Yet another reminder that the IPA’s “libertarianism” is nothing more than intellectually dishonest window-dressing for a group that is reactionary to the core.

Murdoch doco unseen Despite getting rave reviews back home, the BBC’s latest documentary on the Murdochs won’t be making its way to Australia (legally) any time soon.

While BBC content is often broadcast on Foxtel, the Murdoch-owned network won’t show The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty. BBC Studios said the decision wasn’t made to avoid upsetting Murdoch, but because the content wasn’t considered fitting — and by many accounts the show’s action, with its focus on Tony Blair and phone hacking, is very British.

So far no other broadcasters are showing it, including the ABC, which might seem like a natural home. One reason it might be holding off is because Four Corners has its own Murdoch series in the works, led by former Media Watch host Jonathan Holmes.

Holmes told Crikey he had no idea whether his series had anything to do with Aunty’s decision.

TV ratings hacked Fans of Crikey stalwart Glenn Dyer’s TV Ratings may be saddened to learn it won’t be running today thanks to what looks like a cyber attack. According to TV Tonight, the Nielsen data centre was hit by an unexpected disruption, meaning Tuesday night’s ratings are, for now, unavailable. A major blow in what is a huge week for TV, with the grand finals of both Masterchef and Big Brother.

Bus-ted We have been assiduously cataloguing the various times MPs have put out statements so rushed they still have the spellcheck lines, but this is something new: where someone appears to have photoshopped that effect into their promotional material. That’s a fate which seems to have befallen Victorian Labor MPs Jordan Crugnale and Pauline Richards, who were announcing new bus routes:

Think about it: someone stared at that long enough to slightly change the orientation so it matched the signs they were holding, and then still thought “Yep. That’s FINISHED.”