In which the Caterists once again prove the usefulness of federal grants ...

There's nothing like a cartoon to get the pond in the mood for a hearty dose of Caterism, unless it's a gaggle of reptiles offering up a profound reptile insight...

Dammit, it's those devious inner city 'leet types calling the shots again, of the kind you might find in a Surry Hills bunker in Sydney, heading off for a furtive shot of coffee from their favourite barista ...

This is a job for the super - über if you will - Caterists ...

Now there's no need to raise questions about Adani and the whole damn thing all over again - that heretic John Quiggin is typical of the neighsayers (it's that day of the year again) when he scribbled furiously in the Graudian not so long ago Jobs bonanza? The Adani project is more like a railway to nowhere ...

As usual, Adani’s response was to play the jobs card, announcing that the fly-in, fly-out (Fifo) workforce for the mine would be divided between the two leading claimants, Townsville and Rockhampton. The response was predictably enthusiastic, with the Queensland premier. Annastacia Palaszczuk, describing it as “great news for those regional communities that have been struggling”. The euphoria surrounding the announcement obscured the fact that the promised job bonanza had been scaled back, with the mine now expected to employ about 2,000 workers and the regional headquarters only 150. 
Even bigger news was buried, or ignored altogether. In return for their selection as the Fifo hubs, the Townsville and Rockhampton councils agreed to pay $18.5m each over the next two years to build an airstrip at the mine site. 
The use of local government money to build infrastructure for Adani epitomises the entire project. The construction of the rail line connecting the mine site to the port depends on getting a loan of around $900m from the commonwealth government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Publicly owned export-import banks in Australia and elsewhere are also being pushed to fund the project.
Even with generous public support, it seems unlikely that the Carmichael mine can be made economically viable. Why then, does Gautam Adani, the ultimate owner of the Adani Group, continue to push the project? It could be simply the hubris of a wealthy and powerful man, unaccustomed to defeat. 
More likely, however, is that the manoeuvres around this project are part of a more complex strategy. As analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis has shown, Adani needs to refinance its Abbot Point coal terminal by by November 2018. In the absence of Galilee Basin coal, the export volumes through the port won’t be sufficient to service the debt. 
So, it’s in Adani’s interest to keep the Carmichael project alive as long as possible. On the other hand, any Adani money invested in the project, beyond the large sum that has already been spent, is likely to be lost...

What would an economist know? These practitioners of the dismal art can't hold a candle to a Caterist when he sniffs out a coal mine ...

Besides, Quiggin has, in his analysis, missed out on a singularly important point ...

The vital point that Quiggin missed with his mocking of federal and local government money and generous public support?

Why, it's the tremendous amount of employment that can be generated with discreet federal government funding applied wisely ... and in this area the Caterists speak from tremendous personal experience ...

Indeed, indeed, why the Caterist himself might well be out of a job without benefit of Department of Finance finance, and so he speaks from a tremendous personal understanding of the situation ...

And so to the last gobbet of the coal lover, wise in the ways of government funding ...

Now it takes considerable skill to announce that the coalmine is 400 km from the coast, since some of the fuss involves the way that coal will be shipped to that very coast ...

The Carmichael mine is remote. To transport the coal to its port on the coast, Adani propose to build the North Galilee Basin Rail Project. This 388 km long standard gauge, greenfield rail line will have a capacity of up to 100Mtpa - enough for the Carmichael mine and more. The rail line will connect the mine to the Port of Abbot Point, near Bowen, Queensland.
In addition, Adani have approval for a new coal terminal, Terminal 0, at Abbot Point. This would have a capacity of up to 70Mtpa and would be required if the Carmichael mine were to operate at peak capacity. Whether the development is required if the Carmichael mine were to proceed and operate at a reduced capacity is unclear and largely depends on whether Take or Pay contracts with existing users of Terminal 1 are renewed. 
 Building Terminal 0 would increase Adani’s port’s coal export capacity to 120Mtpa, all of which would be shipped through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and World Heritage Area. (here)

Now Adani has already copped token fines for polluting the reef - and was most unhappy at being asked to pay 12k - but the important thing to consider here is the way that government money of a grant kind can produce an astonishing capacity in Caterists to construct an alternative reality ...

It takes a singular capacity to totally misrepresent the debate, whatever side you're on, and the pond credits the Department of Finance as a major contributor to this astonishing ability of your argumentative Caterist ...

Let us have no more mocking of government grants in action, let us have a celebration ... or at least a Pope cartoon celebrating everyone's desire to pay their taxes in full, as a badge of citizenship, from Bono to the Queen ... with more Popish celebrations here ...