Show us your wind farm, Zali

NEW MP Zali Steggall is a global warming crusader, yet drives an SUV and hasn’t bothered to put solar panels on her roof. But now that the independent has beaten Liberal Tony Abbott in his beachside Sydney seat of Warringah, she’s being begged to set a powerful example.

A Change.org petition urges her to erect wind turbines along Warringah’s beaches, given that locals are apparently so hot on global warming that the GetUpbacked Steggall won 57 per cent of their vote, after preferences.

“Zali Steggall and the people of Warringah need to show leadership on immediate climate change ACTION,” the petition says.

“The proposal: wind turbines are to be placed along the foreshore, taking advantage of the sea breezes. Let’s lead the way by example, for everyone who voted against climate action …

“Let’s do it for the children!”

What a brilliant opportunity for Steggall (below) and her supporters! As one petition signer said, an ounce of example is worth a ton of advice.

No wonder hundreds of Australians rushed to support the petition within hours of it being posted, although – heavens! – their comments suggest that they suspect Steggall’s supporters are all cant and no climate action.

“I wish to have proof that Ms Steggall is as serious as she claims to be about action on climate change.”

“It’s only fair that the woke voters in Warringah put up with these monstrosities, like those of us who live out in the boonies do.”

“They voted for it so they should get it.”

But there’s more to this than a joke.

Labor lost this supposedly unlosable election for many reasons, not least having an unconvincing leader, scary tax policies and an intolerance of Christians and the many Australians who Labor leader Bill Shorten called “knuckledraggers” or those from “the top of end of town”.

But the election was fundamentally lost in Queensland, where Labor expected to pick up several seats – only to lose two as its primary vote dropped nearly 4 per cent.

The reason Queensland was so sour on Labor?

Because it was there, and only there, that Labor let slip a specific example of what its vast global warming plans might cost: Queenslanders would almost certainly lose the giant Adani coal project and its 8000 jobs, direct and indirect.

That is not the only example of a warmist crusade crashing once voters realised precisely what Doing Something about global warming involved. In France, Emmanuel Macron triggered months of violent riots when he said it would mean higher prices for petrol.

In Australia, Julia Gillard’s Labor government was doomed the instant she broke a promise and imposed a 10 per cent carbon tax. Global warming is popular when it’s an idea. It’s poison when it’s a sacrifice.

That’s exactly why even global warming prophets are notorious for not living as they preach. Actor Emma Thompson three weeks ago addressed the giant Extinction Rebellion global warming protest in London and has instructed “we should all fly less” and eat less meat to save the planet – but then flew home to America in first class, dining on beef carpaccio.

Grammy winner Drake, an alarmist who raps that “the weather’s changing … like the world is ending”, is even more brazen. This month he showed off the massive Boeing 767 he’d bought as a personal jet.

And watch Warringah. What’s the bet Steggall and her voters would never allow a wind farm along their own coast? That they’d never force every local to ditch their gas guzzler and buy an electric car? Would never decouple themselves from the coal-fired power grid?

That’s the point Labor now should accept as it decides how to reset.

When even Steggall can’t be bothered buying solar panels, Labor must realise most voters think the pain of big global warming policies is just not worth the gain.

And, as this election showed, most are too smart to buy Labor’s lie that its policy can’t be costed or costs nothing.

The voters are right, of course. The cost of Labor’s warming policy (estimated at $260 billion over a decade) is not worth the cut it would make to the temperature (nil).

Besides, global warming has so far given Australia fewer cyclones, more rain and record crops. Some “emergency”.

So Labor should ditch its warmist hysterics, like fake claims that the Great Barrier Reef is dying and only Labor can save it.

Until there are wind farms in Warringah, Labor had better adjust to the fact that most voters won’t wear their useless pain. Watch Andrew Bolt on The Bolt Report LIVE 7pm week nights