The hoon about the week that was to May 20

TLDR: This week the Government released a tame Emissions Reduction Budget and presented a tighter Budget, while overseas, the United Nations warned 47m more people will starve within months if the war in Ukraine continues and Australian PM Scott Morrison faces an election loss this week.

I discussed these events and more in our weekly ‘hoon’ live webinar for paid subscribers to The Kākā, which is in recorded podcast form above for all to listen to. This is our weekly ‘sampler’ email for both free and paid subscribers.

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Five big things this week

Is that it?

On Monday the Deputy PM Grant Robertson and Climate Change Minister James Shaw released the long-awaited Emissions Reduction Plan, which is the Government’s roadmap to achieve the emissions reductions budgets set by the Climate Commission.

The $2.9b of spending over four years listed in the plan is being paid for by $4.5b of receipts from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which has been cordoned off into an Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF) . It disappointed those hoping for faster and more aggressive action to shift people out of cars and onto bikes, buses, trains, footpaths, electric cars, e-bikes and scooters. It also did not include details of how to bring Agriculture into the ETS. That is due later this year.

Here’s what I wrote from the ‘lockup’ presenting the plan.

The 12 blocks of Tasty Cheese Budget

On Thursday, Robertson tabled his fifth Budget, including a $27-a-week-for-three-months one-off cost of living support payment for people not already getting the winter energy payment or a benefit. The price of a block of ts The Opposition criticised the Budget as profligate, although it actually represented a slight tightening of fiscal policy over the next four years.

Here’s what I wrote on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday about the background to Budget 2022 and the details announced on the day.

A looming global food crisis

The UN warned on Thursday night that another 47m people faced starvation within a few months if the war in Ukraine and Russian blockades of grain shipments from Black Sea ports continued, adding to the 276m already hungry because of climate change and civil wars. Wheat prices rose another 6% on Wednesday night after India, the world’s second largest grain grower after China, banned exports.

The Economist-$$$ reported yesterday that Russia and Ukraine usually provide 12% of the world’s traded calories.

They supply 28% of globally traded wheat, 29% of the barley, 15% of the maize and 75% of the sunflower oil. Russia and Ukraine contribute about half the cereals imported by Lebanon and Tunisia; for Libya and Egypt the figure is two-thirds. Ukraine’s food exports provide the calories to feed 400m people. The war is disrupting these supplies because Ukraine has mined its waters to deter an assault, and Russia is blockading the port of Odessa. The Economist-$$$

The United States is considering sending long-range anti-ship missiles to Ukraine to destroy Russian vessels enforcing the blockade and accused Russia of holding the food security of tens of millions hostage.

The UN’s World Food Programme also called for the blockade to end.

Scott Morrison is set to lose power this weekend

The Opposition Labor Party is ahead of the governing Liberal/National coalition by around five percentage points in the last polls before this weekend’s Federal election. PM Scott Morrison looks set to lose because women see him as sexist and his Government has taken little action to address climate change.

Stocks slumped on fresh recession fears

US stocks briefly fell into bear market territory overnight, taking their falls from their peaks in January to over 20%. Here’s what I wrote on Tuesday.

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