The shear stupidity of a country like Oz having massive amounts of coal and no coal to petrol/diesel conversion plants. Australia could be totally fuel self sufficient. Instead we import solar and wind power units mainly from China..
Actually, folks, it is sillier than that.
I think we all understand that we have lots of gas. In the late 60s/early 70s, LPG powered cars were proliferating to the degree that various forecasts of when the majority of autos in Australia would be powered by local LPG, rather than imported petroleum were confidently made.
Then a Labor government slapped a substantial excise on LPG, to "maintain the revenue".
Result, gas conversions and sales of cars that were LPG only off the assembly line died in the proverbial posterior.
The price differential (signal) between gas and LPG became so small that only vehicles like taxis could make economic sense of using LPG.
More smart planning from Canberra.
Australia is in the position of only having stored supplies of petrol and diesel fuels measured in weeks, we will grind to a halt rather rapidly in the event of major disruptions, like ISIS disabling a major refinery in Singapore, or Iran closing off the Arabian/Persian Gulf.
Biggles, I have spent quite some time in China in recent years, have you??
The net generating capacity from coal is planned to very substantially increase, as is nuclear and renewables, but the absolute necessity for reliable "dispatchable" power to industry is well understood --- in China, and none of the information is secret.
Tootle pip!!
PS: Hydrogen as the primary fuel for cars should get much more attention, the advantages are fairly obvious, the downsides very limited, it is a matter of getting the economics right -- not the engineering. This goes, as far as I am concerned, whether you are a devoted follower of the Great Global Warning God, a luke warm warmista, all the way the spectrum to being a fan of the next ice age cometh.