Yahoo Finance “Bulls**t”: Atlassian CEO calls out PM's “fair dinkum power”
Australian software giant Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes has challenged Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s stance on coal-powered energy, describing it as “bulls**t”.
In a flurry of tweets on Tuesday night, Cannon-Brookes responded to a video the prime minister posted last week explaining the Federal government’s energy policy of “put[ting] more fair dinkum, reliable energy, power into the system”.
The billionaire start-up founder took issue with the way Morrison was using the term “fair dinkum” in a pair of emoji-clad tweets and the hashtag “#gameon”.
⚡ Argh! Bullshit mate 😡 @ScottMorrisonMP you’ve made me mad & inspired me. We need a movement. We need a brand for Australia’s energy future. We need a rallying cry for Australians who believe in ☀ 🌬 & 🌊. You said it perfectly: “Fair Dinkum Power”. #fairdinkumpower 1/2 https://t.co/cbLOCAvM2f
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼💻🧢 (@mcannonbrookes) 31 October 2018
Addressing the Prime Minister, the CEO of the tech giant tweeted “I’m not sure you know what fair dinkum means” and registered @fairdinkumpower as a Twitter account.
I’m not sure you know what fair dinkum means. It means fair to Aussies, to our wallets AND to the planet. ⚡ can be reliable, renewable & cheap. @fairdinkumpower registered. Let me get back to you with some logo concepts. Give me an hour. #gameon #fairdinkumpower #auspol 2/2
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼💻🧢 (@mcannonbrookes) 31 October 2018
At 9:29pm on Tuesday night, Cannon-Brookes bandied five logo concepts for the new “Fair Dinkum Power” brand, inviting Twitter users to vote for their preferred logo or share their own creations.
Idea #1… Fair Dinkum Aussie power is green, it’s leafy, it’s bright there’s wind, there’s sun… you get the idea. #fairdinkumpower 2/6 pic.twitter.com/VU4WmXu26x
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼💻🧢 (@mcannonbrookes) 31 October 2018
Idea #2 – Fair Dinkum is Aussie… it’s boomerangs and bright colours alluding to the water, the sky, the sunrise over Uluru… #fairdinkumpower 3/6 pic.twitter.com/cjoJlyLvMw
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼💻🧢 (@mcannonbrookes) October 31, 2018
Idea #3 – Fair Dinkum is good for the environment _and_ the wallet. We’re literally plugging in nature to power our devices. #fairdinkumpower 4/6 pic.twitter.com/6hd9OTngbe
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼💻🧢 (@mcannonbrookes) October 31, 2018
Idea #4 – A twist on the same idea… Fair Dinkum is good for the world… so that our kids _have_ a world in 50 years. The power _within_ nature. Green and affordable #fairdinkumpower 5/6 pic.twitter.com/T9rS1zidGK
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼💻🧢 (@mcannonbrookes) October 31, 2018
Idea #5 – Turn it on, turn it off. Fair Dinkum Aussie power is reliable. It’s there when you need it – but it also comes from natural, renewable sources. Believe it. #fairdinkumpower 6/6 pic.twitter.com/Lwl0o5ICMz
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼💻🧢 (@mcannonbrookes) October 31, 2018
Cannon-Brookes indicated he wanted to give Morrison’s phrase “fair dinkum power” a new meaning.
“I want to reclaim the term. Renewables aren’t why your bill is high – that’s crap.”
That’s a part of it. I want to reclaim the term. Renewables aren’t why your bill is high – that’s crap. They’re a part of what you should fight for if you want a low bill. And we need a brand to promote Aussie innovation in the space! We’ve done some world class stuff.
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼💻🧢 (@mcannonbrookes) 31 October 2018
#fairdinkumpower gains traction
It didn’t take long before others began to pitching their own logo concepts for the ‘Fair Dinkum Power’ brand, with the tech mogul retweeting people’s tweets in support of the movement.
This is a little rough around the edges but I think it’s the right aesthetic pic.twitter.com/lG5Y4PHCRY
— David Endacott (@djendacott) 31 October 2018
I can’t tell you how much I love the fact @mcannonbrookes is taking @ScottMorrisonMP to task over his pathetic #fairdinkumpower
slogan. Every time I hear some conservative but powerful middle-aged man utter the words ‘fair dinkum’ I know they are being anything but. #auspol— Louise_Hislop (@Louise_Hislop) 31 October 2018
Some were inspired by the Australian band AC/DC.
Ok let’s get serious with @Solara_io @mcannonbrookes and get this palce rockin’ #fairdinkumpower pic.twitter.com/K8o0R9QkDL
— Ben Cunningham (@BencuArt) 31 October 2018
Others were more crude but forthright in their design.
I’ll be honest @mcannonbrookes, I could have spent longer on this, but still I feel it’s on brand 🙂 #fairdinkumpower pic.twitter.com/Rm18pb3Gir
— Baz Scott (@bazscott) 31 October 2018
The designs ranged in sophistication, but all were in support of renewable energy and called for more action from the government.
@mcannonbrookes An incredibly simple and naive take on the power button symbol, inverted and given sun rays. With a nod to indigenous art forms. The hand drawn style suggests returning to something humane. 30 secs work from a bloke who can’t draw. Hope it adds something. pic.twitter.com/JFiEzyGmaP
— Greg Clarke (@gregoryjclarke) 31 October 2018
It’s easy being green. (Apologies Kermit) #fairdinkumpower pic.twitter.com/bPlhCsLODD
— Steve Williams (@swillmedia) 31 October 2018
We hear you @mcannonbrookes #fairdinkumpower #auspol – pull your finger out @ScottMorrisonMP pic.twitter.com/J9K6SuhVBi
— Reverse PR (@mediawires) 31 October 2018
Cannon-Brookes inundated with requests
On Thursday morning, Cannon-Brookes took to Twitter again to take another swipe at Morrison’s policy on power that “works when the sun doesn’t shine and wind doesn’t blow”.
⚡ Morning! The sun is rising (as it has “reliably” for 4.5b years, or 3.15b prime ministerial terms 😉) and wow! Australia, you are awesome. Deluge of requests to help 👐🏻 Will take me a while to parse through them – thank you! 🙏🏻 Super energising! (Pun intended) #fairdinkumpower
— Mike Cannon-Brookes 👨🏼💻🧢 (@mcannonbrookes) 31 October 2018
In February last year, the then-treasurer brought in a lump of coal into the House of Representatives during Question Time.
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