Bill Shorten takes climate change seriously, so guess who isn’t happy with him?
‘The frontline of climate change’ was the appealing subject of the email I received from Labor this morning. It read:
We often talk about what effects climate change will have on our economy, or on agricultural land, or how many more natural disasters we’re likely to suffer.
What we talk about less is how climate change is affecting some of our closest neighbours right now. And it’s devastating. The Papua New Guinea and island nations in the pacific are facing real, existential threats from climate change.
Bill Shorten, Tanya Plibersek and Richard Marles are visiting these islands this week and talking to people about life at the frontline of climate change.
This is an issue that isn’t going to go away – we’re likely to see and hear a lot more about it as the International Climate Change Conference in Paris approaches at the end of this month. We’ll keep you informed as much as we can.
Now you’d think that’d be a good thing. Here we have a group of politicians and a political party taking climate change seriously and placing it front and centre on the table. And added to that, they are engaging with counties that are most likely to be the first victims of rapid change.
In most countries this concern and their initiative would be applauded. But they might just happen to be countries where the Murdoch media doesn’t have the same influence as it does here. Instead of it being applauded, we see it derided. Andrew Bolt of The Herald Sun led the way:
LABOR leader Bill Shorten will test the honesty of journalists this week when he tours Pacific Islands he claims are drowning.
Will they dare report that most of the islands are in fact growing or stable? Or will they again prove they cannot be trusted to tell the truth about the global warming scare?
Shorten and deputy Tanya Plibersek plan to visit Kiribati and the Marshall Islands.
As the gullible Sydney Morning Herald announced: “Labor wants to put climate change at the centre of public debate in the run-up to a major United Nations summit in Paris later this year.
Sister paper The Daily Telegraph could only feature the story as one that will see ‘Bill Shorten . . . fly 16,000km on a private jet . . .’ and mock him with the image above with the caption ‘Labor overboard with private jet tour’, while all that news.com.au wanted to tell us was that Bill Shorten danced awkwardly while in Kiribati with suggestions that it might give us a good reason to laugh at him.
One would think that the Murdoch media don’t like the idea of someone taking climate change seriously.
Personally, I’ve had it up to my teeth with the Murdoch media. How can any important issue or any non-Coalition politician get a fair run in this country while the Murdoch media has so much power and so many right-wing fanatics spreading the Murdoch gospel?
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Wally -
Florence nee Fedup -
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Kaye Lee -
Matters Not -
Kaye Lee -
Matters Not -
Matters Not -
paul walter -
gangey1959 -
Loz -
keerti -
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Terry -
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Terry -
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Terry -
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Marlin101 -
Roswell -
Kaye Lee
Return to home pageI saw the headline for that Bolt article and shut the web browser, sounded like more shit than I could deal with at that point in time. It had the potential to ruin a very nice home cooked evening meal.
Climate change along with tax reform will be on top agenda. Not necessary the way the PM would like it.
I noticed that many on the right are wiping Shorten off as useless, of no consequences, I have this feeling this could be a great mistake on their part.
Take time to look at Shorten’s history up to now. Has operated among the big boys Appears to come out on top every time.
Doesn’t fit in with the persona we are seeing up to now.
I am so effing sick of this nasty hypocritical shit. Labor taking a luxury jet ride?
Dyson Heydon made a complete mockery of justice in this country and it was quickly swept under the carpet, Bronwyn Bishop has been defrauding the taxpayer since at least 1987 and was not even charged with the daylight robbery she had repeatedly performed. Tony Abbott cut funding to carers, then a few weeks later flew on our dime to take part in ‘Pollie’s Pedal’ and charged us 10,000 bucks for ‘charity work.’ What was he raising money for with his fraudulent bike ride? Money for carers. The list goes on and on. I cannot wait for the tumbrels to be dusted off. I will be there cheering. Then give the heads a good kick when they roll.
Tony Abbott’s five-day trip to Torres Strait cost more than $216,000 including $37,000 compensation payment to a local hotel which lost business when the government cancelled bookings.
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/23/tony-abbotts-five-day-trip-to-torres-strait-cost-more-than-216000
Correspondence often moves slowly between the scattered and remote islands of the Torres Strait, but the community of Mer Island is counting more than two months since hand-delivering a letter to a sitting prime minister with no reply.
The women of Mer Island say Mr Abbott assured them of a response to the letter within a fortnight.
It has now been two months, and the women who carefully crafted the message are wondering if they wasted their time.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-30/mer-island-women-still-waiting-for-reply-from-pms-office/6896896
Just watched Albanese on ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ (only watch tapes) demonstrate that he’s an intellectual lightweight and a political dumbo, writ large.
Stupid! And at so many levels. FFS who is driving the ALP ‘political’ bus? Seen Tanya and Bill ‘dancing’ in the Pacific? Another image disaster.
And I won’t comment on the ALP philosophical bus which has been driverless for years.
As for Mer (various names) and its eight ‘clans’ for 450 people. I have no comment.
I cannot bring myself to watch kitchen cabinet. The promos with Annabel Crabb heading off with basket in hand like little red riding hood makes me puke for starters. That our politicians choose this way to promote themselves I find humiliating.
You have no comment about our illustrious ex-PM wasting so much money and even a little time on his pointless photo shoot?
Kaye Lee, I only watch ‘kitchen cabinet’ in ‘fits and starts’ with the ‘controller’ firmly in my grasp. Must admit, this particular episode took less than 5 minutes to view. And my retching, somewhat longer.
As for:
I think the ‘no comment’ is perhaps the best comment. Read between the lines!
I am certainly not an expert on the Torres Strait Islands and their particular problems, needs and wishes. After all I’ve never been a ‘local’ and have only been there a few times. BTW, obesity is clearly an apparent problem.
My ‘insights’, above and beyond my ‘observations’ for what they are worth come from the former Member for Cook.
I’ll say no more.
The truth is Abbott will be remembered in a ‘dance’ or two. A ‘visit’ that will go down in history. Something to be laughed about on a regular basis.
Any visitor to the Torres Strait Island should study the ‘Coming of the Light’ concept.
http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+Cultures/Gatherings/Coming+of+the+Light+Torres+Strait+Islands#.VjoIknmhe74
I saw no evidence that Tony appreciated that. Or Peta either.
But perhaps they were aware and chose to ignore anyway which is perhaps the more likely explanation.
Good to see Bill and Tanya enjoying themselves on their tropical island.
Seriously folks. Stop talking about tony abbott.
In the words of 10CC, “She’s gone. gone. gone. I’m so glad that woman’s gone.”
Let’s get on with life, and try and fix a few things.
Our EX pm was about as bad as ANY national leader from the pages of history has ever been. At least hitler turned Germany into the power-house of Europe.
I agree with Kaye Lee, I have no desire to see Annabelle Crabb in the kitchen with anyone.
Interesting choice of comparison Gangey1959. While hitler turned germany into the power house of europe, shouldabeenaborted did his damnest to turn off power houses in his aasault on alternative energy. so far the great white hope hasn’t proven any better!
Just a more sleazey act!
As a comparative exercise on our media, one can’t help but note the treatment of two ‘stories’.
There is a miniature in Jordan, handing out visa’s to four Syrian families and the accompanying media don’t ask one, single, solitary question about the Australian governments barbaric asylum seeker policy. Nada, zip, zilch. Any articles I’ve seen laud the gesture. That piece of excrement gets a free pass.
Labor goes to Kiribati to put climate change on the agenda. I have seen no reference to Shorten or anyone else talking to the Kiribati man recently deported to Kiribati from New Zealand after a four year legal battle to get refugee status based on the impact of climate change. No reference to his three young children, born in New Zealand, and now stateless as NZ does not recognise children born in those circumstances. UN estimates there are over 600,000 children globally who are stateless due to these circumstances. No report of any conversations on climate change, stateless children. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. They got a picture of him doing an awkward dance.
I haven’t been a fan of Labor since Beazley went into ‘me too’ mode more than a decade ago. But to give them some credit, it’s hard getting a message out when the messenger is determined to undermine you. Thank you, Roswell. Take care
not about climate change that’s the product ,its about global warming ., when the worlds leading scientists report the earth has heated 2 degrees in the last ten years , after 2000 yrs and at the present rate of rise in co2 will accelerate in time to an UNLIVEABLE WORLD where your forests and sea will die , money and gold not going to mean much .. but its only propa granda remember nothing thing too worry bout tell your kids ..let me know how a aussie government funded and corrupted by multinational companies that run on pure greed work out for u . blind freddy can see the whole thing was a con , bad guy good guy . nobody is as stupid as abbott and hockey acted ,they got paid very well ,wonder how much it costs to rubbish your name for the rest of history …couple of billion ??? now I got too listen to turnbells shit ..he is so full of it ..same shit different mouth . 15% gst might as put a nail in a stick and start hitting yourself , be bout as good as another 3 years of these greedy pigs
Why then will labor not do a memorandum on new coal mines? All piss and wind from liberal light
not that abbott lied to get elected , his gone . that worked out well didn’t it .damage done , thank god theres a really good bloke to take over , and his not going too treat people like fools …ha ha makes u roll with laughter
lest shorten talks straight and the labour party polices are sound and reasonable ,turnbell and mob ,slippery, its like trying to hang on to a handful of maggots ..how much revenue have they destroyed and jobs been lost ..thank god we got cheap foreign labour getting in , and a goverment ready to regulate the unions to their own will… that will fix it
@ Terry. Nov 5 at 9.34
Yes but they have discovered water on Mars and those in the ‘LNP magic bus’ all have pots of money so they can set up there nicely.
As long as there are minerals to be exploited it should be fine.
Gina will look as good in a spacesuit as she does in a high- vis vest and a hard hat.
Why is liberal light not wanting a memorandum on any new coal mines. Labor is becoming the most invalied party. Perhaps all this piss and moaning by bill and the right wing faction vanish into the ether the better. Ask him about the donations from that Chinese billionaire and why he waved through the cfta. Good RITTANCE LABOR.
mars looks like a good place for them ,wish they would hurry up and get on that magic bus … could get better trump could win
There has been some talk recently about whether or not Pacific atolls are sinking. Professor Paul Kench of Auckland University says a report, published in New Scientist, has been badly misrepresented. The report says more about the changing shape and area of atolls than about sinking. What it does say is that with a rise of 30cms in sea levels, there is a more complex challenge for Pacific atolls than simply sinking.
The way this report has been misrepresented is typical of the way science is treated by those with their own ideological agenda.
We see the same method applied in the treatment of the fact that Antarctica sea ice is increasing in area. What is omitted by the climate deniers is that East Antarctica is increasing in area, but West Antarctica is decreasing due to wind changes. And the ice is thinner – not so much of it. A huge quantity of ice has been lost in Antarctica.
So what we have is misrepresentation of the science. Much more of interest to the MSM is Bill Shorten’s dancing. Cheap trivialisation in an attempt to belittle people. Deflection from the real issues. Childish laughter.
Surely, if Pacific atoll people – and scientists – see danger in the effects of sea rises, we should be taking serious notice.
Now I am not disagreeing with anyone, but the above article was not written by Kaye Lee and it made no references to Kitchen Cabinet, so I am curious as to why so many of the comments reference both, and are spewing hate accordingly?
Marlin101, sometimes posts grow legs and head off in different directions. Sometimes this is done deliberately by a person who wants to hijack the article, but on this occasion it just drifted off topic.
I’m sorry for going off track though the article did make reference to the way politicians are reported in the media and, in my opinion, kitchen cabinet is the reality tv version of politics. I am not really interested in what they are like as people in their own homes though I know many people enjoy the show.
Back to climate change…..
“The final text of a huge 12-country trade agreement has confirmed the “worst nightmares” of environmental groups, with no mention of climate change in its lone environment chapter and weak enforcement mechanisms, Australian academics say.”
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/details-of-transpacific-partnership-finally-released-20151105-gkrivo.html