Just a boy standing in front of a Premier asking for grant — Nikki Britton, Vidya Rajan, Lewis Hobba, Dan Ilic —

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This week's show we go undercover as the Premier's boyfriend to get the arts funded, we open up a mystery package of seeds from China, KFC's feature film ambitions on the Lifetime Channel, also we discuss how Australia's climate action is ranked in the world. 

Fearmongers this week:

Nikki Britton (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)
Vidya Rajan (At Home Alone Together)
Lewis Hobba (Triple J)
Dan Ilic (A Rational Fear)

Interview: Assaad Razzouk (The Angry Clean Energy Guy)

Go see Nikki Britton's Christmas Is F#cking Cancelled: https://giantdwarf.com.au/events/christmas-is-cancelled/

TRANSCRIPT BY OTTER.AI:

Unknown Speaker  0:00  
This podcast is supported in part by the birth of foundation.

Dan Ilic  0:04  
Good I Lewis How are you?

Lewis Hobba  0:07  
I'm really well how are you?

Dan Ilic  0:08  
You're really well well, why are you so really well,

Lewis Hobba  0:10  
it's December it's the Christmas spirit. pine trees in the air

Dan Ilic  0:15  
is because school's almost over as well.

Lewis Hobba  0:17  
I you know, I'm not 16 right

Dan Ilic  0:21  
now, at the end of June at the end of your work, the end of your work, that's kind of what I'm getting.

Unknown Speaker  0:26  
I'm not a take, ya

Dan Ilic  0:27  
know, I know. All right, forget it. I want to say a big thank you to our new Patreon supporters. big thank you to Michael de muitas Brendan nevel and Leoni. supriyo big thank you for that. Now you can support a rational fear by joining the Patreon yourself for as little as $3 us a month the money goes to us paying the cost of the show and getting various folks to work on it. And also what you get is an ad free version of the podcast you also get access to early lineups, and you also get access to our Discord server, where we kind of talk about the show together and comedy in general. And you also get Louis 20% discount to live show tickets. Because in the new year we are planning some big live shots including our 100th episode Lois,

Lewis Hobba  1:12  
really excited about that the big, the big sin tannery the tan, I'm thrilled I wanted to I thought once we got to the nervous 90s we might you know, do a Don Bradman and go out with an average of 99.9 to never make it

Dan Ilic  1:26  
who knows there's still time to fail, there is still time to fail. We're going to be doing a 100th episode in Sydney at giant Wharf in February. So you want to get discount tickets for that but also loads we're going on tour. We've got a gun trying to go to the Melbourne Comedy Festival once they announce what's going on there. But also we're going to be doing shows in Newcastle, Cannes, and Thursday Island next year.

Lewis Hobba  1:46  
That's what I love about this introduction Dan I find out as much as the listeners.

Dan Ilic  1:50  
By the way, you're gonna need to get time off work to come. It's Christmas time and there is no better way to tell someone you love them by saving the planet and giving them a go neutral sticker for their car. For every $90 go neutral by 3.5 tonnes of carbon offsets which is about the average daily emissions for a car and five bucks of that comes to us particularly when or only when you use the special link in our show. notes so plays to by going from a sticker head of the show notes click on through and by go to neutral stick up. I'm recording my end of irrational feet on gadigal land and the ordination. sovereignty was never ceded. We need a treaty. Let's start the show.

Unknown Speaker  2:29  
A rational fear contains naughty words like bricks cambro

Unknown Speaker  2:35  
and gum

Unknown Speaker  2:36  
and section 40 of a rational fear recommended listening by immature audience.

Dan Ilic  2:42  
Tonight, scientists are examining a canister of dust sent back from an asteroid for signs of early life in the universe that one day in the future can be made extinct by a mining company. And at the 2024 Paris Olympics, breakdancing were featured as a demonstration sport to appeal to the core demographic of Gen X's who have to pretend to be young, and Apple has released $900 income cancelling air pods. It's the 11th of December. This is irrational fear.

Welcome to irrational fear the show that takes the scariest stories in the news and cleans them up for dinner with your mother. I'm your host former captain of SpaceX starship Dan Ilic. Let's meet our female guest for tonight. One of the sharpest brains probing design gustan throwing truth bombs on Twitter. It's the master of mirth hailing from Perth, it's Vidya Rajan. Welcome Vegeta.

Vidya Rajan  3:44  
Hello. How's everyone doing

Unknown Speaker  3:46  
very well, very well. How's Perth doing?

Vidya Rajan  3:49  
It's being Perth. It's really hot today. And for once, I think it's climate appropriate. I don't think it's climate change today.

Lewis Hobba  3:56  
Another day of trying to succeed as well. Some hot take some milk the gallon not coming to the cabinet meeting.

Unknown Speaker  4:04  
Oh,

Vidya Rajan  4:05  
typical magallon at this point. I don't know. I don't know this is poll numbers go down and point is that

Unknown Speaker  4:14  
session toys

Dan Ilic  4:16  
and she's one of the busiest stand ups in showbiz. Despite being COVID-19 this year, she's absolutely played every major venue in the country that she's legally allowed to be in fresh from gigs at the Sydney Opera House. It's Nikki Britton Hello, Nikki. Very well, thanks for joining us on rational fear.

Nikki Britton  4:33  
My absolute pleasure. I have quite a few venues that weren't legal as well. But you know, in a way, where did you play where did you play like anything can be a venue really, Dan, you know, you just got to think outside the square.

Lewis Hobba  4:47  
You have the great privilege this year Niki of having done the Opera House, full and empty.

Nikki Britton  4:53  
Yeah. Bizarre times. I did the Joan Sutherland theatre, beautiful theatre. Opposite to actual That's exactly right. The Opera Theatre at the Opera House where they usually have the prison the ballets and things so there is no way that they were going to get these filthy mouth Little Rock on tours to do their 10 minutes in any other year except now offers in Belize the costs too big to make it legal. So I did a streaming show there with 12 people in the audience who were all wonderful Front of House employees from the Sydney Opera House. And at three o'clock in the afternoon, want to hear about my filthy jokes, but bless their hearts for being there. And then the other night we did um, about 700 in the Joan Sutherland so

Lewis Hobba  5:48  
data from the bottom now you hear

Nikki Britton  5:52  
the best of times the worst of times

Dan Ilic  5:53  
they say you play the judge Sutherland theatre twice in your career once on the way up.

Unknown Speaker  6:00  
Exactly right.

Dan Ilic  6:01  
And he was arrested once for being mistaken for the Slender Man. It's Louis harbour

Lewis Hobba  6:08  
No, and I've got these COVID pounds on there.

Dan Ilic  6:12  
Coming up, we talk with Assad reserved who's the host of the angry clean energy guy podcast out of Singapore about Australia's latest ranking on the climate change performance index. Spoiler alert. We are total pieces of shit. But first, here is our sponsor for tonight. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Peter Dutton here

Unknown Speaker  6:32  
wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and reminding you that just like Santa Claus, I'm keeping a list of who is naughty and nice. Previously, if you were an Australian citizen, and you made a joke about a minister for instance of my dog looking like in the title, there was no way I could legally tap your phone or jingle yo. But as of today, Ico can be my own personal Elf on a shelf. And I can spy on anyone I want foreign more Australian for Australian that looks a bit foreign or worse, the leader of the dreams. So if you're gonna buy certain jokes about certain ministers, remember, potatoes have eyes and they could see when you are sleeping, and I know when you're awake. Just consider yourself lucky that Santa Claus isn't coming by boat, Polo or authorised I'm opposed by Peter Dutton. cambre

Dan Ilic  7:30  
always good to have Peter Dutton this morning. The first fear this week the New South Wales premier may have pulled off a magic trick more impressive than David Blaine flying with a bunch of helium balloons and fighting on TV at the same time. Yes, a New South Wales inquiry into the allocation of more than $250 million of local government grants is heard that the premier Gladys berejiklian, announced 255,000 for Council in the state of walga during the 2018 byelection months before the application was lodged and processed. Some are saying this is not pork barreling. This is just extremely efficient distribution of money to an area of the country where the premiers boyfriend happened to be a member of parliament in but what do we know? Did we know? Is it magic? Is it not the premier is you know actually really good at magic. In October the premier made some documents relating to how $140 million worth of grants were allocated, simply disappear. Vidya Rajan, how is the New South Wales premier pulling off these incredible magic tricks?

Vidya Rajan  8:36  
Oh, I mean, she's just so skilled at this. She also managed to defeat COVID in between, you know, her test and appearing in Parliament. You know, she just knew she didn't have it. She's very intuitive. She's really special woman. I don't know. But you know, I think maybe people are going too far on this one because it's really hard being a singer, like a woman who has a job and has things to manage. And poor Gladys, you finally found love. And we're all coming down on him. Like you've got to you've got to do things to keep a man the love languages, there's five love languages it's how you show love and relationship as complements, quality time physical touch, acts of service and of course gifts. And I really feel Darrell Maguire that's his boyfriend I know that he's willing to give so she was just doing what she needed to keep him sorry. You know feminism back.

Dan Ilic  9:38  
Nikki, do you agree with this? This this take this hot tech

Nikki Britton  9:43  
look Yeah, I I kind of respect jixi for like it's just a repair to burn it all down for love. You know, she's got a lot on the line. And she's like, Nah, my debt like her and Darrell in their leathers rotting off into the sunset on the back of a highway. Just down to walk

Unknown Speaker  10:03  
across the board and it

Unknown Speaker  10:05  
just

Vidya Rajan  10:10  
it should be I know that you know, I'm basil lemons remaking Australia. I think I heard that horrible rumour to be about Gladys and Darrell.

Unknown Speaker  10:22  
Absolutely.

Nikki Britton  10:25  
I mean, she's not a politician doing dirty day she's a woman holding on.

Vidya Rajan  10:33  
And I don't know if you've had a look at, Darrell, I was speaking or saying anything. Um, what it really tells me is that they have a very physically satisfying relationship, because you kind of speak.

Dan Ilic  10:48  
I, you know, the Guardian actually reports. So far the premier has declined an invitation to appear before the inquiry. First of all, it's nice to be invited, isn't it? It's just nice to be invited somewhere to go do something. But secondly, a magician never reveals her tricks.

Vidya Rajan  11:03  
It's also like, you know, she's just she's standing up for women. Like, I feel like the suffragettes walked so Gladys could run away from accountability.

Dan Ilic  11:14  
You know, Lewis, would you ever try to forge a relationship with a premier to you know, get something funded of your own?

Lewis Hobba  11:24  
Well, again, I work for the ABC. I don't imagine I could be a good enough love to get some money out of a liberal premier.

Nikki Britton  11:33  
It's an that is some incredible love bragging. What

Dan Ilic  11:36  
about you? Would you Would you ever consider to forge a relationship with the premier get something funded of Europe?

Nikki Britton  11:41  
Oh, look, I've I've had this kind of behaviour. modelled to me through several international boyfriends who wanted phases. So yeah, I'm familiar with how it goes. I definitely. Yeah, look, is it? Is it someone who's going to fund the arts? Yes, I would have a relationship with the premier

Unknown Speaker  12:02  
and we would all support you.

Unknown Speaker  12:08  
immunity guys.

Lewis Hobba  12:10  
just reading the news, it's quite confronting when you try to just take generally across Gladys berejiklian News. And you're getting sort of two streams of news one is about her sexual relationship. And the other one is about pork barreling because when you just open the article, it says, darling Jerry Maguire, you're like, Oh, I hope this is money. And then the other thing

Unknown Speaker  12:31  
Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  12:34  
From his own backyard is a worst example of pork barrel and you can

Unknown Speaker  12:37  
find

Dan Ilic  12:39  
Okay, second fear this week out of nowhere. 260 on identified unsolicited mystery Sayed parcels have been found in litter boxes around Australia this year. These are the ones that have actually made it through the net. Over 45,000 other seed parcels have been stopped at the border seeds make up 75% of biosecurity, interceptions, the rest are my relatives bringing food back from overseas fear mongers, what the hell is going on here? Nikki Breton?

Nikki Britton  13:06  
Guys. I'm not entirely sure what's going on. But I'm just thrilled. This is the hot woman story that we needed in 2020. You know, because you know, who's winning out of the story or the biosecurity stuff and the sniffer dogs? They've had nothing to do in Australia for the last nine months. They are thrilled to pieces they've had they, I mean, that how are they going to work from home when their primary? Their primary job is to just interrogate backpackers who has foreign nectarines in a luggage. I haven't had a chance to inspect that a hiking boot tread for any shred of organic material. How have their eyebrows coped with nothing to do for nine months because they haven't had the opportunity to Pharaoh in judgement. When you suggest on your entry form that you have not brought back woodcarvings from Fiji. The workmanship is impeccable it's

Vidya Rajan  14:04  
very good of you to point that out Nikki because they've been really suffering they haven't been able to racially profile anyone in so yeah. You know, Iran got the 70 people in like India is like a COVID night man I know so like that's usually the bread and bada sorry.

Dan Ilic  14:24  
Well, the United States Department of Agriculture belays of the mystery seeds this happening all around the world by the way. In the US they reckon it's part of something called a brushing scheme which involves sailors sending unsolicited items which are typically light and easy to ship some people have reported getting on solicited right bends in the mail. Some people have reported getting on solicited grant Daniels in the mail. It's pretty it's pretty phenomenal. And then they post fake reviews to boost sales.

Unknown Speaker  14:53  
What what are they?

Dan Ilic  14:54  
What are they trying to boost sales of more seeds

Lewis Hobba  14:58  
if it's a if it's a brushing scam guys, I might have an idea about who's doing it, guys. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker  15:04  
yeah.

Lewis Hobba  15:05  
Russian hackers. Thank you so much. Yeah, yeah.

Unknown Speaker  15:14  
Wow.

Unknown Speaker  15:18  
This is a rational view.

Dan Ilic  15:22  
That's the scariest news story circulating the the net this week is that KFC is making a feature film on the lifetime channel starring Mario Lopez as Colonel Sanders. Here is the trailer if you've missed it a lifetime original Mini Movie, you don't answer my proposal. And now you're not answering my call.

Unknown Speaker  15:41  
I can find for the new chef.

Unknown Speaker  15:44  
Jessica is falling. But cook.

Unknown Speaker  15:48  
Jessica, skip town.

Unknown Speaker  15:50  
He has a secret recipe that's gonna change the world or the claims to have some secret recipe a secret recipe.

Unknown Speaker  15:57  
We all have our secret.

Unknown Speaker  15:59  
Cue marry my daughter. I promise they'll be more long weekends in your future. Mom, I have to tell you something. We have a problem. secret's out chicken man.

Unknown Speaker  16:10  
I'll take care of that.

Unknown Speaker  16:16  
Harland Sanders the new chef Mario Lopez is Colonel Sanders in a recipe for seduction premieres December 13. That new

Unknown Speaker  16:26  
time presented by Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Dan Ilic  16:31  
Can't wait for that. That's pretty extraordinary. Who's excited about the KFC Phil Nikki?

Nikki Britton  16:37  
I mean, I don't even know where to begin. It's it is described as a Mini Movie, which I'm sure they mean short film and just spin under the pump meaning

Dan Ilic  16:51  
Wouldn't that be just a nugget movie?

Nikki Britton  16:53  
Hey, here it is just a bite sized chunk of a movie. Yeah. Um, I have some like, deep teenage fantasies about Mario Lopez. I'm saved by the bell days. So this is I'm in a real conundrum here. I mean, am I turned on by the 11 secret herbs and spices? Sure. Sure. Sure. finger licking good guys. Levels now.

Dan Ilic  17:18  
Do you guys do you guys think it's kind of an effective effective marketing vigia?

Vidya Rajan  17:23  
It's so good. Like it's such good not everyone's gonna hate watch it and they're gonna have a bucket of chicken in their lap while I do this. It's just, it gets in your head. It's perfect. I am vegetarian and I kind of want to buy kale.

Lewis Hobba  17:41  
Is it gonna spare Do you think like a copycat series from like every fast food chain? Like will there be a sort of, like Ocean's 11 heist of the hamburglar?

Dan Ilic  17:52  
Um, I'm really glad you brought this up. Because locally, some people are getting in on the act including Red Rooster. Have a listen to this.

Unknown Speaker  18:00  
The following trailer contains adult themes and gratuitous plucking from the people who brought you KFC recipe for seduction, and McDonald's mayor's mug to use comes in all new all Australian romantic fast Boomer drama.

Dan Ilic  18:22  
your legs, your breasts, and your skin is so I was gonna say crispy.

Unknown Speaker  18:31  
He's MY man. You can get stopped. Oh, yeah,

Unknown Speaker  18:35  
you're the chicken.

Unknown Speaker  18:40  
So if you ate chicken salt is that like cannibalism Of what? That

Unknown Speaker  18:48  
rational fear

Unknown Speaker  18:49  
presents? Red Ruta. Oh, yes.

Unknown Speaker  18:55  
Yes.

Unknown Speaker  18:56  
Oh, yes. Yes. One chicken one car at a Sunday. Spit Russ to remember. Read Russa when love takes you under it's worrying. It can leave you in pieces.

Dan Ilic  19:17  
There we go. I believe it's right at our say you go.

Alright, moving back into truly scary topics the heat death of the earth and what exactly Australia is doing to prevent it as it turns out, not very much. But we are getting better. According to the climate change performance index when it comes to climate action. Australia has jumped from the bottom of the ladder up to rankings from 56 to 54. Well then Australia, we are finally bidding Petro states like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan. When it comes to climate action. We did it one day we will be better than Russia and Belarus and Lithuania will get There. Who knows, in fact, this weekend there is a United Nations summit on climate change, where countries who have made recent gigantic leaps and bounds in their climate policy have been invited to talk to other world leaders about what they're doing and how they're doing it. And guess who isn't invited? Scott Morrison. There are two things that happen this week on Saturday, the agent Sydney Morning Herald celebrated a huge shift in climate policy from Australia because it was leaked to them, that the federal government wouldn't be using Kyoto carryover credits in order to reach its Paris targets, which is kind of like celebrating Lance Armstrong for not using drugs to win the Tour de France. Well, then he didn't cheat the usual way. Excellent. Then on Tuesday, Catherine Murphy from the Guardian reported that inside this week's cabinet meeting, they've been actually no decision on carryover credits, and that we shouldn't get so we shouldn't basically give up on Australia cheating its way across the line with its Paris Climate obligations too soon, we can still cheat. That's really good news for everyone. Joining us to tell us just how the world sees Australia at this moment, is Assad reserved. He hosts the podcast, the angry clean energy guy, but he's also the co founder and CEO of a company that finances builds and operates renewable energy projects, right across Asia, as Assad. Thank you so much for joining us at irrational fear.

Assaad W. Razzouk  21:14  
lovely to be here. Thank you.

Dan Ilic  21:17  
That just tells how does how does the rest of the world kind of see Australia at this moment,

Assaad W. Razzouk  21:22  
I've been thinking about how to summarise it. And I think you know, maybe an image you can take away is the following you're at a dinner party, Australia's there, Australia has got a massive gas, indigestion, and bloating. And it's making noises that are just annoying everybody else around that dinner table. And in Australia's case, that gas is actually real. It's because of an obsession with natural gas and coal and kind of fighting lost the battle of the previous 20 years as opposed to the next 20 years. And so it's in this odd situation where it's annoying everybody, but it's kind of enough far away that you don't have to worry about it daily.

Dan Ilic  22:17  
I know that that kind of makes sense. But easier. And it is the animosity between, you know, our neighbours and us about how we kind of not taking any action on climate change?

Assaad W. Razzouk  22:28  
No, I think the best movement for change in Australia is going to be Australians themselves. It's not going to be pressure from abroad, except that the Chinese and the Japanese and the Indians eventually are going to buy a lot less gas and coal from Australia. And of course, the Australians, you know, are making a difference at a citizen level. Because if you look at that, that climate change performance in the index ranking in detail, what you see is that in renewable energy, actually, because of Australian households, and some of the Australian states are actually enthusiastic about renewables, the situation could be worse. I know it's only 54th overall out of 61 countries. But it could have been 60 years or 61st. Because it is actually 60 years sixth on climate policy. So it's literally bottom of the pack on climate policy,

Dan Ilic  23:25  
of course, because the United States is about to go through an epic transition and an epic pivot to actually take over the rest of that list. And probably by this time, next year, there'll be at the top of the list round the bottom. What advice do you have for Australia to kind of pick up its act?

Assaad W. Razzouk  23:43  
Well, on current trends next year, Australia will be together with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan and Russia? Yeah, bringing up the literally these four. So there is a problem with the governing party because they seemingly just don't get it. They don't want to get it they have too many friends in coal and gas. And it's quite the difficult problem. Because there's not much of a solution other than the states doing more the citizens doing more and then an election literally, you know, what else can what what else can be done if the cabinet just wouldn't do anything? And actually is moving in some ways, the wrong way by backing you know, more gas, so more bloating and for more noise? That's gonna just play out this way for a little while.

Nikki Britton  24:35  
It's a bad dinner party. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker  24:37  
not a good one.

Lewis Hobba  24:39  
I never I'm very down is being being lost. But yes, that would be when all those you know, sometimes it's just if you're in the running, someone needs to come last.

Vidya Rajan  24:49  
Yeah, Australia can Steve bradbery its way out of this one, which is a huge it'll take me

Assaad W. Razzouk  24:55  
I love the fact that the Australians are pissed off by and large and so You know, something will happen, because the government is not actually carrying public opinion. And you know, you're going to have massive fires again, right now. And so this is going to be even more in the consciousness. Fraser Island. I mean, I know it's got only 200 people, but it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And I think two thirds of it is already gone. This is this year. And so the topic is going to stay in the consciousness of everybody. And eventually something is going to have to get at a federal level

Dan Ilic  25:34  
when it comes to changing that federal level in terms of their policy. What do you think will be the main lever for that? What do you think will be the main reason that they will actually change their policy?

Assaad W. Razzouk  25:49  
They won't hold the line. Once Biden is in charge, because between the China net zero commitment, the Japanese one the South Korea one and and then the Americans on top of the EU, I think Australia will probably fall in line, reluctantly, and problematically, but probably,

Dan Ilic  26:12  
I don't know Assad, and we have deep carbon lobby issues in Australia week, all of a sudden, our biggest trading partner could be Russia, if we're

Assaad W. Razzouk  26:21  
everybody does, you know, everybody has a deep vested interest, carbon lobby, but eventually everybody got out of those shackles. And I hope, you know, the Federal that, actually, it's not even a federal government problem. It's just a ruling party problem. You know, so it's inside there. And even within that ruling party, you know, the former prime minister is no longer with the programme.

Lewis Hobba  26:45  
Well, I mean, the opposition still had a problem with a member of its Party and the Labour Party, basically saying that they should stop talking about climate change. So it's not hugely heartening in Australia.

Assaad W. Razzouk  26:58  
It's not but unfortunately, sadly, the new fire season is going to remind everybody, and I bet you this time, the Prime Minister is not going to go on holiday and not come back. Again.

Lewis Hobba  27:13  
We have such short memories. I think there's nothing will change until we have an election in January.

Unknown Speaker  27:18  
Yeah. Yeah, that's what you want,

Unknown Speaker  27:20  
like one election?

Lewis Hobba  27:22  
Yeah, like, yeah, hunters on fire. And we have to like duck around the fires and the floods and to get one and a half to like,

Nikki Britton  27:32  
battle through smoke to get to the polling centre.

Lewis Hobba  27:36  
times for another global catastrophe, like by the time pandemic kid who'd already forgotten about the fires. And by the time the sandstorms or the locusts tear will have forgotten about the pandemic in the election at the exact right sweet spot, the Goldilocks zone or climate change.

Dan Ilic  27:52  
Yeah, you want to get it sometime between COVID 20 and COVID 21. That's when you

Lewis Hobba  27:56  
want. Yeah, this is awesome. The Furious franchise movie is like, yeah, COVID still COVID.

Vidya Rajan  28:05  
election, sausage sizzles will be easier. Just reach out.

Unknown Speaker  28:10  
Yeah, not powered by gas.

Dan Ilic  28:12  
No. Assad, one of the one of the most impressive kind of movers on the climate change performance index is India, India is in the top 20 of those nations and you've got projects in India, what kind of changes have you seen across South Asia, when it comes to embracing climate action?

Assaad W. Razzouk  28:31  
India has been amazing, but so has By the way, Bangladesh, for example, look, the the political will top down is there. You have to remember that in all these countries in China, for example, as well, that the population is dying from pollution. And so the issue is very emotive, it's not some concept about climate change that's moving anything. It's actually air pollution. And the Coronavirus actually made air pollution worse, because there's been studies that basic scientific studies or last few weeks that actually showed that if you have higher pollution in this city versus that one, then the Coronavirus death rate is also higher. Right? So it's all it's all linked well, and so and so India is very serious about what they're doing. In terms of renewable energy. Bangladesh is in the process of cancelling something like 90 coal plants. The Chinese are incredibly serious as well. Everyone is getting really serious around Australia and Japan, by the way is now just joined the bandwagon. And all these are Australia's biggest markets for its fossil fuels. Right. So something as I said something is going to give otherwise, Australia, asset prices are going to change

Dan Ilic  29:52  
for you like what is the what's the most hopeful story you can tell us about this space? what's the what's the one thing that you kind of you know, any Your day to day operation keeps you going.

Assaad W. Razzouk  30:03  
Well, if you flashback to the 2008 2010, the coal capital of China, which I know very well, because we've developed some renewables projects there is called Taiwan, the city of Taiwan in Shanxi Province. I remember when I first visited, you could see the problem from call in people in the colour of people's teeth and in their skin. If you visit today, the city is 100%. Electric taxis 100%, electric buses, there is literally no more air pollution in that town. Wow. And the coal mining has really cleaned up their act on top, of course, having moved quite a bit towards renewable energy. And so frankly, if one of the poorest cities in China can do a complete turnaround, I think Australia can as well down so you know, that's, that's, I think, the lessons, there's so many heartening lessons in China and India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, along these lines,

Dan Ilic  31:14  
Assad, but we're just poor little Australia, which we've just been, we've just been like rotting off the back of a mining boom for the last 20 years. None of us have any money. We spent it all on big TVs, Assad, we can't possibly do it, Assad,

Assaad W. Razzouk  31:27  
the private sector is doing it in Australia. You know about that, that? The Mike cannon Brooks project, for example,

Dan Ilic  31:35  
he's been on this show. Yeah,

Assaad W. Razzouk  31:37  
yeah, of eventually building a humongously, large renewable energy power plant and exporting solar and hydrogen to Asia. And then Fortescue, the mining company, also seems to have seen the light and announced the single biggest commitment to renewable energy in the history of the world. Right. So so people are moving in Australia, and they're moving big. It's literally just the governing party, which is just the odd man out

Dan Ilic  32:12  
aside, if you could say one thing to prevent you from getting a visa to Australia, about Australia's climate policy, what would it be

Assaad W. Razzouk  32:19  
to prevent me to get

Dan Ilic  32:24  
your podcast is the angry clean energy guy, but you've been incredibly moderate on this podcast?

Assaad W. Razzouk  32:30  
Oh, have I? Well, well, you know, I mean, I've been moderate, frankly, because the the the governing party, the future of Australia, and the future of climate policy, is simply not in the hands of the government parties, so they can pretend what they want. I mean, it's happening with or without them. So I am, you know, angry and in some respects, but actually quite optimistic about about Australia in you know, in particular, because nobody's listening. The private sector isn't listening and the citizens aren't listening. And you've got the highest rate of household solar in the world.

Lewis Hobba  33:08  
Plus, we're already so shit that it won't take much to get that up.

Assaad W. Razzouk  33:13  
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So as long as nobody's listening to the government, you know, we're good.

Dan Ilic  33:19  
Well, Assad, thank you so much for joining us on irrational fear. It's great to get a global a global perspective of where Australia sits. A big thank you to all our guests tonight, Nicky Britain Vidya Rajan Louis harbour. Have you guys got anything to plug aside? You want to plug anything? No, thank you. I'm good. Okay, great. Vidya, would you like to plug anything?

Vidya Rajan  33:38  
No, I mean, just follow me on Twitter. I put my sketches up there, etc, etc.

Dan Ilic  33:43  
Nikki Britton? Have you got shows coming up?

Nikki Britton  33:45  
Um, I've actually written a Christmas pantomime. That's happening in Sydney next week at giant Wharf on Wednesday, the 16th. Right, it's called Christmas is cancelled. Yeah. And it's all about Santa being a cyst straight. Why? by a certain age, which is really getting everything wrong and not being very woke. But it's actually very irreverent, super fun. And it's raising money for performers and others who have had a really tough year.

Dan Ilic  34:15  
Oh, that is brilliant. Louis, do you have anything to plug this week?

Lewis Hobba  34:19  
No, that sounds much nicer go to Nikki thing.

Dan Ilic  34:21  
Yeah. JOHN Doerr. Next Thursday, a big thank you to rode mics, the Bertha foundation go neutral. Our wonderful Patreon supporters, Debbie bluestein. Adds Gabby bolt, Robbie McGregor, Jacob brown on the tepanyaki timeline. Usually I'd say next week. There's something to be scared of Good night, but hang around, because I'll leave you with Gabby bolts sultry Red Rooster theme, which was too good to not play on. It's on. Here it is here. We didn't know if we'd have to use it or not. So I kind of used a little bit of it.

Unknown Speaker  34:49  
Let me play. There we go.

Unknown Speaker  34:51  
Do you remember some days when your mom stopped? You could smell the sweet Do I remember how I used to think that Chuck was worth the way I

Unknown Speaker  35:09  
read Bruce? So they cook it right to make it Sunday every day.

Unknown Speaker  35:20  
Are you ready? Are you ready? This

Unknown Speaker  35:24  
chicken is ready. Are you

Unknown Speaker  35:30  
ready for this chicken? Are you ready? Are you ready?

Dan Ilic  35:48  
Big Thank you. Debbie bolt has just put a call in on the Facebook stream. I can't believe you're playing this right now. Thanks for a great Oh Yeah, me too. I'm gonna go get myself a flavour wrap. Thanks, everyone. Thanks for a great show.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

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