Peter Whish-Wilson finished with:

Advance and a proliferation of other dodgy groups have campaigned against offshore wind farms, supposedly saying they kill whales, an entirely false claim that has been at the centre of exactly the same campaign against clean energy mounted by—guess who?—Atlas units in the United States like the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which is funded by fossil fuel interests and climate denial specialists
the Heartland Institute, which is, once again, funded by big oil.

This is particularly acute and relevant to us now, and I ask people who are interested in this subject to go onto the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee’s public page for its inquiry into offshore wind, where there is some very telling evidence from Dr Jeremy Walker about how this all works and the extraordinary efforts and resources that have been committed in the United States and here in Australia to undermine the offshore rollout of wind and other renewable energies. The entire pro-nuclear campaign that is now dominating the headlines is also linked to Advance and to the Atlas Network.

I want to talk a little bit more about the news today. It was reported that Advance is now under investigation by the Victorian Electoral Commission for potential violations of campaign finance law after receiving half a million dollars from the Cormack Foundation, the same funding entity that donated a million dollars to the Victorian Liberal Party in 2023-24.

The elite billionaire rich-listers backing Advance play as dirty as the coal they so desperately want
to keep digging out of the ground. These people have no interest in progressing policy that would materially benefit working Australians, bring down the cost of living or make people’s lives easier. Advance is not a mainstream voice for Australians; it is a Liberal Party aligned campaign group funded by coal barons and multimillionaire investment managers. It is using the divisive language and campaign strategies perfected by conservative American think tanks to do the Liberal Party’s dirty work.

Have no doubt: Advance wants to turn Australia into America. Is that what we want?

Advance are terrified because analysts are predicting a shared-power parliamentary arrangement after the next election, where the Greens will push to put dental and mental health into Medicare, build more affordable homes and stop new coal and gas projects paid for by Advance’s billionaire donors. This election, the Greens are within reach of winning seats across the country, and Advance are desperately trying to stop that. We wear that as a badge of honour. But we know that, when the Atlas Network and Advance’s mask is ripped off, people will see right through them and their wealthy elites and the way the LNP couples themselves to them and their donors.