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Shocking fact about Australian life that left Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk stunned - and you're paying the price
Tucker Carlson has been left flabbergasted after learning about the soaring cost of energy bills in Australia, despite the nation's wealth of natural resources.
The former Fox News host, who now hosts a popular podcast, said the hefty price paid by Australian families was ultimately driven by the country's exports of iron ore and coal to China.
The right-wing commentator said the valuable commodities were being used to produce renewables which 'we then buy back' from China.
'Whoever thought of that hates you,' he said, speaking at Melbourne's Convention Centre on Monday night as part of The Australian Freedom Conferences tour.
Carlson ridiculed Australia for selling its natural resources 'to a far-away country to make something that doesn't work and pay extra for it'.
'That is prima facie insane. The fact that you have high energy costs is reason enough for you to get rid of the people that are running your country,' he said.
Nearly all of Australia's solar panels come from overseas, the majority being made in China.
Chinese investors also own two of Australia's biggest energy companies.
Tucker Carlson was shocked to learn how high energy bills are in Australia - despite the country being rich in natural resources
Energy Australia, which has 1.7 million customers, is owned by the China Light and Power Company after being sold off by the NSW government for $1.4billion in 2011.
And Alinta Energy, which has 1.1 million customers, was sold by its private owners to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises for $4billion in 2017.
Although neither Energy Australia nor Alinta distribute electricity, both are energy generators and retailers, owning crucial assets such as coal power stations, solar power fields and wind farms.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was similarly left dumbfounded by how expensive electricity was in Australia during a 2017 interview that recently resurfaced.
'Wow, really?' he said in disbelief when told by 60 Minutes presenter Liz Hayes that power had become a 'luxury item' for many families.
'I didn't realise it was that expensive. Australia has so many natural resources that even if you go the fossil fuel route, electricity should be very cheap,' he says.
His shock turned to sadness when he was told many people were worried they would not be able to turn on their lights or cook food.
'I did not expect that,' he said as his voice shook before he took a long pause.
'We'll work harder,' Musk said, implying he hoped to make electricity cheaper for Australians through Tesla technology.
In the year to May, power bills climbed by 6.5 per cent - above the rate of inflation - according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The rise saw the Albanese government introduce a $300 energy bill rebate for all Australian households to help combat the rising cost of living.
From July 1, households would see a $300 credit automatically applied to their electricity bills, while one million small businesses would receive $325 off their bills.
Critics have slammed the measure, saying such rebates only reduce the competitive pressure on energy firms to ease their prices and may contribute to further price rises.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was similarly left stunned by how expensive electricity was in Australia
Meanwhile, inflation jumped to four per cent in the year to May, up from 3.6 per cent the month before, prompting NAB analysts to warn that any interest rate cut could be delayed until after May next year.
During his trip Down Under, Carlson also touched on Australia's housing crisis which he said was a result of immigration.
Carlson admitted he was shocked when he learned how expensive it was to buy a home in Sydney, even in suburbs far away from the harbour.
He said he was looking up house prices because he was considering buying property in Australia - but soon realised even someone with his bank balance would struggle to afford a home Down Under.
'It was so much more than I can afford and I have a decent job,' he told the crowd.
'How does anybody live here?'
He said when he asked the question to a Sydney local, he was told many had left the city altogether or ended up homeless.
'I said, "That sounds like a crisis,"' Carlson added.
'Why is it happening? Immigration. There's only one reason and that's the reason.
'But nobody wants to say it like that because it sounds like an attack on immigrants. And that's how they get you to shut up. They say, "Shut up, racist."'
Carlson said he was generally supportive of immigration but that if there wasn't enough housing for a growing population, prices would rapidly rise.
'If it becomes too expensive for your children to buy a house in the country they were born in, you're erased, that's it. Your line ends and that's what's happening,' he said.
'If your children can't afford a house here then you have one person to blame and that's the people that run your government.'
Sydney's median house price of $1.466million is 12 times an average full-time salary of $98,218 - even with a 20 per cent deposit - and last year, a record 547,300 migrants flooded into Australia.