As Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau announces that Canada will impose a tax on carbon emissions starting in 2018, ex-NASA GISS director Dr. James E. Hansen and Our Children’s Trust announce they are taking the US Government to court for climate change damage.
Read about the burden we are leaving our young people here and watch the video below to hear about their case.
There is precedent for their action with a successful case being brought by the Dutch people against their government where a court in The Hague ordered the Dutch government to cut its emissions by at least 25% within five years.
“The state should not hide behind the argument that the solution to the global climate problem does not depend solely on Dutch efforts,” the judges’ ruling said. “Any reduction of emissions contributes to the prevention of dangerous climate change and as a developed country the Netherlands should take the lead in this.”
At the very least, the Australian people should demand that the government produce independent modelling to show how current policies will achieve our 2030 emissions reduction target. In a humiliating admission to a Senate committee, they confessed that they have done no such modelling.
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Kaye Lee, I called hubby to read your post.
“A small country with big ideas,” was his typically Dutch, albeit a somewhat pompous response.
I have to admit I’m a bit envious of the Canadians, why can’t we have a leader like Justin Trudeau in Oz….
helvityni,
I have Dutch relatives. They do a lot of things right there, not only climate change but euthanasia and the way they deal with drugs for example. I Love the Netherlands and have been there often. I am a bit concerned, however, about the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment there no doubt fuelled by Geert Wilders. Speaking to a young Dutch family member a while ago, he was on Wilders side while I tried to point out that each society should do more to help groups where there appears to be higher unemployment and greater social disadvantage and marginalisation.
I find it surprising that the countries who pursued such extensive colonisation get upset when people start realising their countries were exploited and seek a better life. We are even worse with our Indigenous people where we fight their rights at every turn.
Our fearless Fizza’s = if it is not an LNP idea, it’s wrong and we will do everything in our power to make it so – we have excellent shit polishers with unlimited budgets to tell you so.
It took 200 years to get this gaggle in the one room, let’s hope it takes more than another 200 for repeat performance
Gee, I seem to recall that we did try to take some action once, by establishing a price on CO2 pollution. Such a simple idea – if you pollute, you pay an additional cost, but if you want to avoid the burden, then reduce the amount of pollution you produce.
Hell, we even gave compensation to those couldn’t afford to mitigate the cost or were likely to be badly affected.
However, despite this very simple mechanism being lauded by scientists, economists and international organisations, it was somehow cast as the worst idea in the history of our nation and one that would destroy the place. It was eventually destroyed, so pollution could roam free, the way nature never intended.
Around the same I I also recall us having, what was commonly referred to as a “debt crisis”, where if we didn’t act to resolve it quickly – future generations would be left to carry an the enormous burden left by our generation. Despite years of ongoing rhetoric, this issue was very quickly forgotten, despite the very same debt burden having tripled.
The young have a lot to be very angry about.
So they have emulated Julia Gillard’s price on carbon pollution which Abbott turned into the carbon tax, good on the Canadians we don’t have a leader like that because of the backroom dealings of Shorten& Howe and other members of the ALP Right wing faction, that bought the party to its knees and made it non-electable.
We are really very much in need of a strong innovative Labor Government led by a strong leader who we saw during the election campaign and who has since withdrawn into the background again, we need a leader with passion, always like Senator Doug Cameron.
Kaye, just for your information (no malice) Morgans Research have found Australian unemployment figure to be 10.5% in July of this year, followed by 10.4% in August, still waiting for September but I expect it to be much the same. This could very well feed into the 49% of Aussies who back Hansonite policies on immigration?
Immigration is not (entirely) responsible for unemployment in this country townsvilleblog, I agree there should be more control over 457 visa workers but those don’t seem to be the immigrants people are angry about.
What we need are stronger workplace laws so no workers are exploited. We need to reinstate the CES who can actually hook people up with work. I am pretty sure if someone organised it that we could find busloads of unemployed people more than happy to go do fruitpicking for a few weeks if we provided the transport and accommodation. The CES could organise a mobile workforce who gets bussed to wherever needed. That is just one small idea. Migrants also mean a greater market for our goods, more enrolments to keep schools open, new hospitals built etc.
Unemployment is a problem that will continue to grow until our government invests in infrastructure, education, skills training and job creation and stops privatising services and selling our assets. Thinking the profit driven private sector will do this is folly. We need to tackle the corporations idea of a disposable part time workforce and the government’s continual outsourcing, not the migrants.
Thing is, the neolibs don’t want it resolved. They are determined that there is to “labour market discipline”as they call it, with higher unemployment levels to create a rat race for jobs and erosion of OHS, wages and conditions in work places. Part of it is denial of the real problems to do with economic control and distribution of wealth and opportunity, that requires scapegoats to be exposed as bludgers, a bit like refugees as queue jumpers.
Of course they should bring back the CES, but they won’t, because that works and does not encourage churn and demoralisation so much.
Glad to see the Yanks doing this. We should too.
Trouble is, it means effectively suing ourselves because it won’t cost anything for the politicians who are blocking sensible carbon pricing. I’d love to see the actual politicians targeted. Sue the pants off them, in fact, when found guilty of corruption and dereliction of duty, take away their job and any associated pension, and imprison the bastards for a government term — the same amount of time we have to suffer under them. At the moment the mongrels have absolutely no incentive to do the right thing.
We can cry out all we want, but they just give us the finger, pocket millions and eventually retire on a bankroll for the rest of their unnatural lives to, as in the case of nasty Johnny (lying rodent) Howard, forever moan about Australia and promote himself.
The politicians need incentive to do the right thing. Clearly for many (most?) being a great politician and enhancing our country doesn’t propel them. We need them to see corruption and fleecing Australia as being not worth the risk. They have no respect for us. To them, we’re mere sheeple and they’re born to rule over us. We need a big stick to remind them that they’re really supposed to be our servants.
Kaye, I agree with you they should be concentrating on 457 visa holders, but what they are concentrating on is the fact that nor they or their children can get jobs, and this tory government is telling them that unemployment is 5.8% so they are probably wondering what the hell is wrong with them?
Something those of us who are right into politics sometimes forget that the everyday Aussie (some of them) would rather watch the simpson’s than the news and all they go on is what someone else tells them. I loathe what is happening to our country, but a good percentage will only find out, after they lose their jobs that there is bugger all safety net left, so fanatical have the tories been over the past 3 years.
Those of us included in the 3 million living below the poverty line can feel the walls closing in on us, as we can access less and less help, how do we fight back?
Miriam EnglishOctober 6, 2016 at 12:45 pm spot on Miriam.
The real truth about Aleppo
He who holds the reigns of the communication/entertainment/ news holds sway….wonder who is really running the circus
Hear! Hear! Kaye Lee
Miriam
“The politicians need incentive to do the right thing. Clearly for many (most?) being a great politician and enhancing our country doesn’t propel them. We need them to see corruption and fleecing Australia as being not worth the risk. They have no respect for us. To them, we’re mere sheeple and they’re born to rule over us. We need a big stick to remind them that they’re really supposed to be our servants.”
Politicians really do need more than incentive – I agree, a bloody great stick is needed – NOW. They need to be held accountable both for their terms in office and any consequences of their decisions in the future. More transparency, more working with expert advice, more thought for the nation as a whole – not just as a mining hole.
I am beyond disgusted. There should be a word in English to explain this feeling – the Germans (and Dutch) often excel at the exact right word, in this case I recall ‘weltzschmerz’, which a means a kind of world weariness when reality is not what it could be.
I agree with Miriam @ 12.45pm and diannaart @ 6.22pm on 6/10,
sue the politicians and treat them with the big stick they like to use on us. That will act as a powerful deterrent to corrupt behaviour and rightfully reduce them of their ill-gotten gains.
If they start to feel the pain of their own wanton conduct, it will remove the rotten ones and show the more reasonable ones how the Australian people demand to be represented and treated much better.
Jennifer
I found a lot on “politicians sue media” not nearly as much on “can we sue politicians”.
I did find this article:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Opinion+hold+politicians+accountable/10052466/story.html
While it is from Canada, it is just as relevant here.
Basically, the cycle of elections is not working to hold politicians to account – they can make promises no other professional can make and get away without consequences.
Thanks diannaart.
There are ways to sue politicians some of which John Ward describes on another stream.
Thanks back
🙂