We are in the midst of rapid change in power systems for homes, business, industry. Australia and every country around the world. So much of our wealth was built on coal, agriculture and mining. The future ? It may be very different.

What we need is some visionary leadership to take Australia from its past in to an exciting, innovative future. We are good at innovation. Some wonderful inventions, innovations, thinking comes out of Australia. Sadly, frequently these people and their innovations relocate to more receptive countries.

The changes that are going on right now – in China, India, USA, Europe – around power generation and storage require some deep analysis and creative thinking by our leaders about how we are going to respond. Advancements with what is going on in batteries, storage mean changes are occurring right now. Think mobile phones. Countries are not going to build landline phone systems – they will leapfrog to the latest communication technologies because they are cheap, efficient, accessible. The same will happen with power supply – they will not build gigantic electricity grids based on coal. The implications for Australia are huge.

As always ABC’s Four Corners Program The End of Coal ? this week has provided excellent analysis and overview of what is going on for coal. If you are in any doubt that we need visionary leadership from Mr Abbott and our key decision-makers take a look. We may be alright for a while – but the time to prepare is now. Good luck = planning and opportunity. So lucky country get planning and implementing.