Scott Morrison has launched a scare campaign that, if Labor wins the election, they will need the Greens support to form government and that would result in higher emissions reduction targets.
Now that may seem scary to some right-wing voters who would never vote Labor anyway, and it may horrify some dyed in the wool Labor supporters whose hatred of the Greens is eternal – but I doubt it’s going to win Scott many votes. For a lot of us, greater action on climate change is not a threat but a necessity.
But Labor can do themselves some real damage if they allow Morrison to wedge them into refusing support from the Greens or promising targets are set in concrete never to be revisited or upgraded regardless of changing circumstances. Increasing aspiration in the future should not be cast as a bad thing.
The way it looks at the moment, Labor might well be negotiating with a crossbench with 1 Green and several teal Independents to form government. They should turn Morrison’s words against him by saying we must be responsive to the science and that they would negotiate with all MPs to achieve that.
A lot is made of the deal that Julia Gillard signed with Bob Brown for his support to form government in 2010.
Contrary to urban myth, the Greens did not get Labor to commit to a price on carbon or any move towards legalising gay marriage, with Greens leader Bob Brown saying the deal was still a “work in progress”. He knew those things would take time. Nor were the Greens promised a Ministry.
What they did agree to makes for very interesting reading today in light of Morrison’s attempts to spook the electorate.
The concessions secured by the Greens included:
- the formation of a climate change committee
- a parliamentary debate on Afghanistan
- a referendum on recognising Indigenous Australians
- restrictions on political donations
- legislation on truth in political advertising
- the establishment of a Parliamentary Budget Committee
- a parliamentary integrity commissioner
- improved processes for release of documents in Parliament
- a leaders debates Commission
- a move towards full three-year parliamentary terms
- two-and-a-half hours of allocated debate for private members’ bills
- access for Greens to various Treasury documents
An admirable list of requests, few of which appear to have come to fruition with the parliament, instead, paralysed by attacks on Julia Gillard’s decades old involvement with the AWU, the evisceration of Craig Thomson and Peter Slipper, and the constant demonising of asylum seekers.
That the Gillard government got so much important legislation passed in a minority government is reason enough alone to dismiss Scotty’s latest marketing campaign as trivial rubbish designed to cover his lack of any vision for our country and its people.
[textblock style=”7″]
Like what we do at The AIMN?
You’ll like it even more knowing that your donation will help us to keep up the good fight.
Chuck in a few bucks and see just how far it goes!
[/textblock]
