Day to Day Politics. The heat’s on in Paris.
2 December
1 Malcolm Turnbull in his address the Paris Climate Conference said:
‘We do not doubt the implication of the science, or the scale of the challenge’.
I found that a bit rich given that many of his Cabinet and back bench MPs are known deniers.
Added to that, the latest research shows that barely one in four Coalition voters accepts climate change is mostly caused by humans, with more than half of Liberal voters believing changes to global temperatures are natural, according to a CSIRO survey.
However, there are a number of initiatives taking place. Australia has committed to doubling the government’s $100-million-a-year commitment to clean technology research and development as part of a global innovation project spearheaded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whom Mr Turnbull met on the sidelines of the event.
Mr Turnbull also said Australia would commit $1 billion over five years to helping developing countries – especially those in the Pacific – to build resilience against climate change and to cut emissions.
And where is all this money coming from? Well the Foreign Aid budget of course. And not a whimper from Julie Bishop.
He said the country would “meet and beat” its 2020 emissions reduction goal – a reduction of 5 per cent compared with 2000 levels.
Now that shouldn’t be so difficult given that Australia was given at the first Kyoto meeting, the ok to raise its emissions by 8%, as an incentive to sign the agreement.
The fact is that our target is too low and at some point, Turnbull will have to convince his party that Australia must lift its climate ambitions if it’s to do its fair share to keep global warming to less than two degrees – a case that will be easier to make if Paris produces a credible pathway to such an outcome.
He also flagged increasing the target when a review is conducted in five years’ time.
But of course the task will be made tougher without a broad-based carbon price, an approach Turnbull himself once championed – and may yet to do so again.
He also flagged increasing the target when a review is conducted in five years’ time.
But Liberal MP Dennis Jensen said the Prime Minister should stick with the position of the party room.
The back bencher said discussion about increasing the target was “a joke”.
“I will certainly be very strong on the fact that we should not change those targets and that we stick with what we agreed [in] the party room and we don’t change,” he said.
“If there’s discussion about it a couple of years’ in the future, don’t change it again.”
It is difficult to believe that Hunt and Turnbull are actually getting away with the flattering, self-ingratiating bullshit they are delivering in Paris. And the compliancy of the mainstreammedia is equally dim-witted and lacks scrutiny. But I suppose it’s what Rupert wants.
They are both slaves to the hard right conservative wing of the Coalition. After all, delivering what he is now doing in Paris, was a condition of his employment.
Finally, Australia refused to sign with 43 other countries an agreement eliminate coal subsidies. In doing so they have now admitted that they do subsidise coal. Even if under another name. (Rebates).
2 Tuesday’s Essential Poll tightens with Labor on 49% and the Coalition on 51%. Bit of a surprise that one.
3 Special Minister of State Mal Brough has made a significant comment in relation to a key admission he made on Channel Nine over his dealings with James Ashby.
‘What was put to air was not the full question’.
Really. I suggest you watch the video.
4 I won’t beg or do an Abbott arse joke but could we please have a national ICAC.
One in six exempt companies exempted from reporting from reporting financial details to Asic are political donors or government contractors.
What was that you said?
5 Tony Abbott accusing Julie Bishop of telling lies. Well I never. Well I never.
MY THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
“If we do not take action on the environment and there is no disaster the outcome will be due to luck alone, like someone winning tattslotto” Average odds 58 million to one.
12 comments
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Adrianne Haddow -
Matters Not -
Matters Not -
Matthew Oborne -
donwreford -
Chris the Greatly Dismayed -
Chris the Greatly Dismayed -
Keith -
Michael Taylor -
stephentardrew -
Keith -
Michael Taylor
Return to home pageOne of the main reasons Millionaire- billionaire Malcolm will not and cannot commit to a greater reduction in carbon emissions for Australia is the CHAFTA.
In an ABC report, that has disappeared from its website this morning, it was stated the Chinese are pushing for a ratification of the trade agreement before Christmas, so it can begin moving its polluting industries to this country.
Malcolm cannot commit to reduce emissions when his ( or any future Australian government) is not in control of the industries which will be creating those emissions.
We are about to become China’s industrial region. The Chinese republic has listened to its people and will reduce the horrific pollution in its own country by creating it here.
This government, and its financial backers, have conducted a steady assault on Australian industry, lifestyle and values in the past two years and they haven’t finished yet.
And a Shorten- led complicit Labor Party has allowed them to do so.
Forget the video. Channel 9 has released the full transcript.
Further:
Drefus did a good job, chipping at the edges. It’s the way to go. Turnbull’s judgement must be exposed.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-01/mal-brough-60-minutes-interview-transcript-shows-no-edits/6992352
And here’s Labor giving away a ‘point of differentiation’. Give away any ‘advantage’ as if they have any number. Stupid!
Crap for brains.
http://au.educationhq.com/news/33435/labor-retreats-to-back-uni-changes/
Tony’s not finished yet, the man who gave us no cuts to health, education etc.. is now not whiteanting the Liberal party as promised.
If Labor don’t make Abbott a lifetime member they are truly not recognising his ongoing contributions to the Labor Party,
Where will the Liberal party stand if Abbott continues to remind Australia that the party are clinging to Abbott government policies?
one guess could be the 48-51 might be showing the honeymoon is over far quicker than many of us thought, me included.
Turnbull who has made big money for himself the Australian seems to be seduced that he having a track record for money making think that the same will be for the economy? nothing is further from the truth, added to the fact he has a velvet voice lulls the electorate into a false sense of security same as the leader of NSW, admitted after the ex-leader of the Liberals he is a welcome relief from the abrasive performance of Abbott? as can be seen by the Paris Global conference Turnbull has made little to no contribution to the global heating situation, other than he’s vanity of hand shaking and hobnobbing and grovelling with his superiors as Obama, he just leaned over to far to listen to the Great Man, should the Australian grovel? are we not a sovereign nation? that is the question?
It wasn’t so much that there wasn’t a whimper from Julie Bishop about ‘adaption’ funds for developing and Pacific nations being taken from the aid budget (there wasn’t really) . She was too busy talking to the deniers in her party by claiming that the funds were all for ‘natural disasters’ which she said 7 times at the end of this interview with Michael Brissenden http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4363114.htm
That is probably a sign she is making moves for the Liberal leadership and planning another coup….
This is an interesting column on the dangers of putting trust in economists (and politicians) when it comes to climate science. Our ‘carbon budget’ is all but spent.
The Dubious Carbon Budget http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/opinion/the-questionable-accounting-behind-the-worlds-carbon-budget.html?ref=opinion
During their 2015 fire season they have had some monstrous wild fires in Alaska; over one 24 hour period almost 500,000 acres of boreal forest was burnt. Since reading that at the end of June, it has left me wondering whether the release of methane might have been a factor in the intensity of the fires. The fire season had begun early in Alaska caused by lightning with very few fires set by humans.
The Indonesian fires have been quite a catastrophe and now we have fires in the Amazon Basin. In other words there are emissions partly created by humans (Alaska) or others with the full human touch (Indonesia and Amazon Basin) that have an impact on climate.
Australia needs to do far better, and hopefully the USA’s goals will not be stymied by the crazy Tea Party Republicans. Though, politicians generally try to follow the middle road, which science informs us is not good enough.
Not so much the middle of the road, Keith. I think our Liberal politicians are driving on the wrong side of the road!
Surprising, Bill Heffernen is the odd one out. In an interview I heard him say that those Liberal politicians who didn’t believe in climate change were “bloody idiots”.
Good one John. I think that Turnbull is starting to smell a little and am not surprised at the polls. I think that people are realising Turnbull is simply more of the same. He will not escape backlash for his approach to climate change however the media is completely negligent.
It appears we are slipping into recession once again and, if that is the case, that will be Turnbull’s death knell. Inequality on the increase, wages and conditions on the decrease.
Methinks the honeymoon period is about to end.
Michael, I meant politicians generally of “democratic” nations try to take a compromise position. Turnbull is leading a shameful emissions policy, far less than a middle of the road policy. When getting past all the spin, the COALition are virtually presenting a business as usual policy.
My apologies for not making that clear.
I realised that, Keith. I was agreeing with you, but just added my silly ad lib.