You can’t have a mandate for a lie
Energy (and emissions reduction) Minister Angus Taylor has categorically stated that there will be no more discussion about emissions reduction. We are stuck with the (lack of) policy we’ve got.
“We’re firmly committed to the policies we took to the election. We now have a clear mandate to implement those policies and we’ll be doing so,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
An indignant Tim Wilson echoed that line on Q&A on Monday, claiming to have “smashed the Kyoto targets” and to have put us well further down the track for our Paris target which we will “meet in a canter”.
Except the department’s own documents show these claims are bald-faced lies and that, without serious intervention, we have no chance of meeting even our inadequate emissions reduction targets.
By 2020, we are supposed to have reduced emissions by 5% on 2000 levels.
The latest Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory states that emissions for the year to September 2018 were 2.6% below emissions in 2000.
As they have been rising every year since the abolition of the carbon price, we have zero chance of meeting our target honestly.
In fact, Australia’s emissions projections 2018, published by the Department of the Environment and Energy, states that Australia’s emissions are projected to grow 1 per cent above current levels to 2020.
By 2030, we are supposed to have achieved emissions reduction of 26-28% below 2005 levels. (Note the change of base year to make the target even easier – 2005 was a very high emissions year).
But the department projects emissions to 2030 will grow 4% above 2020 levels, driven by higher emissions from LNG production, increased transport activity, a declining forest sink in the LULUCF sector, and growth in agricultural activity after a return to average seasonal conditions.
Adding to the concern, the release of information is being delayed.
The date of publication of the December 2018 Quarterly Update is a matter for consideration by the Minister, once Cabinet has been sworn in.
The annual National Inventory Report was due for submission to the UN by April 15. There is a six-week grace period to comply. That ran out on Monday.
The following list is the annual national emissions inventory totals from 2000 to 2019.
2000 547.0
2001 567.4
2002 567.9
2003 572.0
2004 577.0
2005 604.7
2006 614.9
2007 616.7
2008 588.1
2009 578.2
2010 561.9
2011 550.3
2012 524.6
2013 514.1
2014 521.0
2015 517.2
2016 525.0
2017 532.0
2018 534.7
2019 536.0
As is plain to see, emissions go down under a Labor government and up under a Coalition government.
Labor’s short-lived carbon price raised $15.4 billion in revenue from polluters which was passed on to the public via a large increase in the tax-free threshold and additional payments to welfare recipients and families with school-aged children. Trade-exposed industries also received assistance to transition and had incentive to invest in more sustainable practice.
Conversely, the Coalition have spent billions of public money on their Direct Action strategy only to see emissions rise again.
When more people voted for Labor and the Greens, to claim a mandate for the Coalition’s inaction on climate change is beyond despicable.
You can’t have a mandate for a lie.
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41 comments
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Ken -
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New Eng;and Cocky -
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Kaye Lee -
Keith -
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Kaye Lee -
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Jack Russell -
helvityni -
Matters Not -
Michael Taylor -
Peter F -
Matters Not -
Kaye Lee -
Peter F -
Matters Not -
RomeoCharlie29 -
Kronomex -
James Cook -
helvityni -
Michael Taylor -
guest -
OldWomBat -
Kronomex -
Harry -
Henry Rodrigues -
Rossleigh -
Zathras -
Michael Taylor -
Kaye Lee -
pierre wilkinson -
Kaye Lee -
Ill fares the land -
Paul Davis -
Kaye Lee -
Matters Not -
Kronomex -
roma guerin
Return to home pageI totally agree with you Kaye you can’t have a mandate for a lie.
And yet everything they stand for is based on lies, lies about the opposition, lies about the state of the nation, lies lies and damned lies.
It didn’t matter, People don’t want to believe the sky is falling.
We stopped the Coalition’s “mandate” to make a mess of this country in 2014… and look how the voters rewarded the ALP!!!!!
Now it’s the time to adopt a different strategy: Allow the Coalition to go ahead with their “mandate” to mess up this country big time. Just stop the policies that are designed to syphon massive taxpayers’ money to their mates (yes, I know, ALL their policies do that, but some are worse than others).
The power of Rupert Murdoch can only be defeated by his own side, through making the voters totally outraged and shocked by the effects of their policies. It happened in Qld with Campbell Newman, whose demented Neoliberal program could not be stopped because Queensland lacks an Upper House.
Uhm … what “policies”?? What “mandate”?? I think every political comment the I have read since the 180519 election results has failed to enunciate any COALition policies for anything, let alone CO2 policy.
Well put Kaye Lee. Your data as a graph identifying the Labor years 2007 to 2013 would have shown the failure of COALition “policy.
I agree with Kaye and all four of the subsequent comments, but two particularly strike me. First, Alpo’s proposal, drastic as it is, that we let the Coalition make the public completely outraged with their lack of or inadequate climate and energy ‘policy’ and second, New England Cocky’s suggestion that Kaye incorporate into her article a graph showing how emissions decreased under ALP governments and increased under Coalition governments. “A picture is worth a thousand words” and graphs tell stories very well.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/image002-copy.jpg
Energy and emissions are now controlled by Taylor. Directly after the election it was reported that the wholesale price for energy was going up! So much for fairy stories about the Coalition seeking to bring prices down.
Taylor has denied anthropogenic climate change, so there is little wonder that the status quo will remain.
While the LNP deny anthropogenic climate change, they are doing bugger all all about adaptation.
Labor had been good at going around Australia and communicating at Town Hall type meetings; but partially, where failure occurred was not taking a strong approach on Adani. Many people would have known that Adani stood for a number of other mines in the Carmichael Basin.
The LNP can not claim to have a mandate on anything other than the economy.
I am pretty sure Scumo has already decreed that the climate disaster is the will of his Pentecostal god, and that no man should place himself above said god. Also, to have a mandate one must first have policies. The LNP do not need policies, because they have Clive and QLD.
Speaking about the Renewable Energy Target in June 2014, Taylor said “religious belief is based on faith not facts. The new climate religion, recruiting disciples every day, has little basis on fact and everything to do with blind faith.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/25/the-inconvenient-truth-in-the-push-to-scrap-the-renewable-energy-target?CMP=soc_568
Taylor was also a major donor to the Liberal Party, significantly exceeding amounts donated to the party by other candidates and members of parliament during 2012–2013.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-biggest-donor-liberal-mp-angus-taylor-gives-a-chunk-of-change-to-his-party-20140205-320qo.html
“Fantastic. Great move. Well done me….oops…Well done Angus.”
https://www.news.com.au/national/federal-election/federal-election-2019-live-coverage-of-day-22-of-the-election-campaign/live-coverage/3f299779d85ec2ad992cec80c180d3f3
It is sickening to see the development of shit policies, to be be administered by shitheads for the benefit of money, donors, insiders, thieves liars and nohopers. A thousand days of this and this nation and the planet will go back and down. Appalling.
The LNP have only one purpose … to transfer the entire wealth of this country into private hands, by any means at their disposal, and by any means they can devise.
The orders from the future owners is the true mandate, which also includes the commodification of Australian citizens.
The content of the “mandate” they talk about publicly is the diversion, and is only useful while we “work units” continue to assist them … with our votes. That could change quite quickly.
They’re on track. The majority of the sheep are none the wiser. The bosses are pleased.
Yes, thank the Lord for Kaye Lee, David Tyler and of course for Rossleigh… I’m turning religious….
They have the numbers. Thus they have a mandate to do as they will. And they will. Labor or any other Party with the numbers would do the same.
helvityni, you forgot the boss. 😜
Kaye, you cannot have a mandate for a lie, but you can have three years in office.
Further:
The LNP get to decide what mandate will mean. It’s a case of – winner takes all.
Their mandate, as such, is to “smash” the Kyoto target, meet the Paris target “in a canter”, keep the Great Barrier Reef off the “in-danger” watchlist, build Snowy 2.0 and the Tasmanian interconnector which are only viable if the phasing out of coal is sped up, and bring energy prices down with no blackouts.
Their plan to achieve these things seems to entail giving lots of money to private enterprises.
On 4 April, Taylor tweeted:
“Tonight Bill Shorten briefly mentioned climate change in his budget reply speech. No detail. No numbers. Yet again, no answers to the big questions. How will #Labor 45% emissions target impact you? $9,000 wage cut & 336,000 less jobs. You can’t trust Bill Shorten ”
So we trust the guy with the businesses in the Caymans with connections to the water buybacks.
Riiiight.
How good’s Angus!
@Matters Not. They have a mandate to introduce policy. It is then up to parliament to decide whether it becomes law.
Angus Taylor is not your run-of-the-mill dumbo like Luke Howarth for example. He is a genuine blue blood, full of confidence, arrogance etc – from a long line of landed aristocracy with a Rhodes to boot – and he’s definitely not there to make up the numbers. He has leadership on his mind and he’s going places quickly. Frydenberg will be looking over his shoulder and Morrison will probably fuel that rivalry.
To me, he seems like a very good politician – pejoratively speaking – but I suspect he has a host of dodgy deals in his past that should attract an ICAC (if there was one) but should also encourage some dirt digging on the Labor side. Hope they have some luck – because he’s going to take some serious stopping.
Churchill said “ never have so many owed so much to so few” of course he wasnt talking about the 2019 post election Australian Senate , but a handful of so- called independents will have the opportunity to decide whether a mandate claimed on the success of a campaign of lies and deceit is really a mandate. I just wish I had more faith in them but at least we can rely on Jacqui Lambie to pull no punches.
Didn’t take Scummo long to claim a bullshit non-existent “mandate” for a party that squeaked in with an approximate (but don’t quote me) 51% total. The Lies Now Plentiful party is just starting to ramp up the rhetoric and continuing destruction.
All I can think of is a certain line, in regard to the little people of Australia for the next three years, from History of the World, Part 1 which I don’t expect I’ll have to actually quote.
They will have a mandate because the MSM will regurgitate that line. The same MSM that helped get them elected. Until we have an unbiased media we’re stuffed! These bastards will continue to funnel money to their already-wealthy mates [and themselves] and screw the vulnerable and still win the next election. I’ve no doubt they are already planning years ahead.
Michael Taylor
May 28, 2019 at 12:21 pm
The Boss is the best, it goes without saying !!!
Of course. Silly me. 🐿
Everything is going sky high in the statistics we really do not want to get out of control. Carbon emissions, debt, etc and figures which are manipulated, such as jobs growth and interest rates.
When I look at the Coalition and its pronouncements, without even being an expert, I want to scream. This Coalition government was a chaotic rabble from Abbott on and it shut up shop for six months before the election. Their policy is the IPA’s “small government “- which means do as little as possible except for anything which is supposed to exemplify the mythical “trickle down effect”. That is about all they have to offer.
Any politician who does not understand that Climate Change is already affecting the planet, however much they wish it were not so, kids themselves that Climate Change is not real and demonstrates the kind of ignorance which is espoused as a problem in our democracy. And it is that ignorance which is exhibited in so much of what the Coalition says. Anyone, especially a politician of any party, who cannot understand the basic tenets of climate science is thicker than a concrete brick.
The Qid Labor government and the federal ALP have been wedged because of a number of people who claim that they are coal miners and therefore have a right to mine coal and send it overseas to be burnt into CO2 is simply refusing to understand the consequences of their actions.
Why they think burning more coal, no matter what the money raised, will help the Coalition’s attempt at cantering to reduced emissions is beyond comprehension. Why they refuse to look at renewables as a job source is yet to be explained. It is like that idiot statement that said tradies would be saved from electric vehicles. It is another example of rusted on ignorance.
And what is the basis of this ignorance? Vested interests. For a conservative nothing must change. It is head-in-the-sand attitude.
Angus Taylor might very well ask Labor what would be the cost of a 45% emissions target, and then say Shorten does not know. But Angus thinks he knows – and he makes up some numbers. Remember the numbers the Coalition made up about towns to be destroyed and the cost of roast lamb in the attack on the “Great Big Tax ” which was not a tax.
Taylor has no answer to the question What is the cost of no action. Or the question What will be the cost of inaction on Climate Change when coal is burnt and the CO2 emissions keep rising.
For people like Taylor, the voters must not ask questions the Coalition cannot answer. They think they can make predictions years ahead with not thought for consequences. And some voters do not think ahead either, about a flat tax scheme which favours the wealthy over time.
The revealed mentality of this new government is worrying because it really gives no confidence that they will be able to mane things going forward. It is all one big bluff base on dodgy predictions or outright lies, pea and thimble tricks.
We will see what we shall see – and we have seen some glitches already.
Way to go nlp, one nation and clive palmer voters. Pity about those in the +70% of voters who rated climate change as the big issue and yet helped vote in these clowns again. Seems self-interest won the day. What a surprise.
Arrogant, overbearing, corrupt, and just plain vicious mongrel (Scummo must be so pleased) –
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/28/angus-taylor-calls-for-bipartisanship-on-climate-policy
Thank Yog-Sothoth I haven’t eaten much today because after reading this Ipecac article I couldn’t have found (in a desperate hurry) a bucket big enough to contain my “thoughts” –
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/28/morrison-says-his-government-will-burn-for-the-australian-people-every-single-day
What I saw in May 2019 …
I saw pensioners vote for cutting the pensions, whilst voting to support $6 billion continuing to flow to 60,000 millionaires.
I saw old and sickly people and caring professionals vote for cutting the budgets for hospitals – and our once magnificent universal health system – Medicare – now a pale shadow – of what was once the envy of the world.
I saw unemployed people voting to continue being paid $40 a day and voting for a government who have waged a cruel and savage war on the poor instead of poverty.
I saw public servants voting for more savage cuts to our public service, whilst voting to lose their own jobs, and reduce public services, already stretched to breaking.
I saw viewers of the ABC vote to cut the ABC to the bone until the final indignity for our national broadcaster – poor ‘Aunty’ – raped and pillaged and then sold for a song to a Murdoch type clone.
I saw farmers and small country town Aussies vote to have less water in their rivers and their towns, whilst feeding the avarice of the massive farms growing absurd commodities – like cotton – that will largely find their way offshore – with offshore profits – for greedy offshore corporations.
I saw tourism workers vote for a massive mine – owned by a ruthless, inhumane and contemptuous Indian billionaire – who will rape and pillage the mighty Great Barrier Reef – till there are no more tourists in Queensland.
I saw outback Queensland farmers who depend on artesian water vote for allowing the water they need to feed their animals and plants being sold – on an unlimited basis – to this same greedy Indian mining billionaire – whose human rights and environmental record is appalling – even by Indian standards.
I saw average Aussies vote for tax cuts – for up to fifteen times more than theirs – for those who earn over $200,000.
I saw educators vote to support the public funding of elitist and affluent schools, whilst public schools get less of our Common Wealth funding.
I saw our two major political parties competing for who could commodify the democratic process better, whilst Uncle Bob did what every parent tells their kids not to do. ‘Don’t poke the stick at the small town redneck feral Queenslanders Bob!’ They don’t like it when you moralise to them, without providing any credible and clear action plans for their futures. That’s why the crooked Indian billionaire will probably get his way and stuff up our Great Barrier Reef. He knows how to sell the unsellable. Well, that and the nice junket trips to India with god knows what additional inducements to engage in his insanity by state and Federal pollies from both the LNP and ALP.
Forget about the democracy sausage sizzle in 2019. This year it was a fizzle.
I saw strange fruit hanging from the Democracy tree in the election of 2019 in the land of the Never Never …
James Cook……….You’ve nailed it. The core problem with our ‘democracy’ is the corrupt media. Nothing will change until the media is changed.
Harry….. your frustration and incredulity of the voters naivety, their greed or their unbelievable stupidity is something that bothers and puzzles us all.
Maybe its time for the real revolution !!!!!!!!!
Michael, when helvityni said, “Thank the Lord…”, I just assumed she meant you!
There’s a bitter-sweet old Russian joke I think of in circumstances like this.
Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev board a train to take them to an important conference.
Time passes but the train does not move so Lenin says “I’m the father of Russian Communism so I’ll sort this out”.
He returns much later and says “I called all the workers together and gave a two hour speech about why the train should be moving. We should see the results very soon”.
Hours pass and still nothing has happened so Stalin gets up and leaves the carriage.
On his return he tells the others “I had all the railway workers purged and replaced them with more willing workers so all should now be well”.
More hours pass with no result so Khrushchev finally gets up, pulls down the blind and says “The train is now moving”.
This government is like Khrushchev and Taylor is just the messenger.
Lying and obfuscating may get you into office but won’t keep you there forever, especially once things continue to fall apart and they run out of scapegoats and excuses. Telling people they’ve never had it so good when the opposite is painfully obvious will only make it worse. We saw it with Fraser and again with Howard and it’s obvious we will see it again quite soon.
How could have I missed that? 😳
Meanwhile, atmospheric CO2 reached 415 parts per million earlier this month. The last time CO2 concentrations hit 415 ppm was likely close to 3 million years ago.
let us hope that the senate is indeed a harsh judge of this “government’s ” policies – or lack thereof…
and yet…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-19/federal…bass-tasmania-seat…/11128438
it might well be that the celebrations are a tad premature, with pre-poll votes still to be counted in three still marginal seats, including Bass which has already been claimed by the COALition, and Chisholm, where dirty tactics are under judicial review…
I know, grasping at straws here, but who knows?
Labor is 67 votes ahead in Macquarie. They are also ahead in Cowan. In Bass the margin is 593 to the Coalition.
At the moment, it looks like 77 for the Coalition, 68 for Labor, and six crossbenchers. The Liberal Party lost a seat, the LNP gained two, Labor lost one and the Independents gained one.
They are two by-elections (or two disgruntled members moving to the crossbench) away from a minority government.
We are lucky that under Rudd and then Gillard, emissions did reduce and dramatically, only to immediately start increasing under the LNP.
If the figures cited by the author are correct, a couple of things stand out. One is that a carbon price implemented by Labor made a significant difference.
Two is that under Howard, emissions increased by around 15%. But imagine having emissions still increasing from the Howard base. Rudd and Gillard Labor at least brought emissions down so that the impotence of the LNP on climate change is actually less damaging than it might have been if Rudd and Gillard’s Labor had continued that same trajectory. Of course, according to Dumb and Dumber (Jones and Roberts – in whatever order you want to put them in – and their cronies at the Galileo Movement), Australia’s emissions are a “little, itty-bitty grain of rice”, so why are we worried.
Three is that the LNP are lying (but they are such awful liars on a whole range of things, so why would we expect veracity when they know that the truth is their “policies” are a giant fail – but they lie knowing full well they are lying since chances are their supporters will believe the lies).
Four is that “mandate” is, is it not, a Howard originated “weasel word” and that is in part why it resonates with a failed corporate hack like Morrison (weasel words are the mainstay of his vocabulary).
Finally, it is only the first obvious example of the total lie Morrison uttered when he talked about unity and keeping Australians “quiet”.
That isn’t quite what he said, but he is making a virtue out of silence – just what he wants – no critics, no nay-sayers, no doubters. As I have said several times in various forums; Morrison preaches unity, but practises division. Anyone who doesn’t toe his line is his enemy and he is planning for the next election by making sure that Labor are seen, or can be accused of not being co-operative – “we were willing to work with Labor but they were unco-operative”. That will be a lie, of course, but Morrison now knows that he can lie with virtual impugnity and Labor knows it can’t because the rabid press will go to town on them.
First time ever i felt sorry for Ellen Fanning on The Drum tonight. She produced a government authorised co2 emission graph showing the rapid rise in last few years and projections out to 2030 proving Straya cannot possibly get anywhere near meeting Paris commitment. The three pro government shills on the panel waffled and waffled but would not agree with Fanning that the government needs to be pushed to do something… Pathetic.
Harry, Kronomex, Kaye Lee, Rossleigh, James Cook and a host of others …. His Divine Munificence HoMo, the holy but simple hobbit from the shire, sincerely believes he has a mandate to lead his true believers to a new Straya, a promised land reserved for those who love to have a go. But …..
Matters Not, yes i believe you are correct Angus Taylor is the dictator in waiting, a man of unparalleled ego with no conscience. Interesting times ahead.
The historic emissions data comes from data table 2 on page 36 of the latest quarterly emissions update from the Dept of Environment and Energy.
http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/4391288e-fc2b-477d-9f0b-99a01363e534/files/nggi-quarterly-update-sept-2018.pdf
Harry re:
Lots of truth and reasons for that but let’s not make excuses for Labor’s shameful treatment of public education over at least the last decade or so. One of my real fears is that Albo will appoint Shorten to Shadow the Education portfolio.
In brief, Gonski found that the funding of education was a complete mess (leading to massive inequality in terms of access, outcomes and the like) and it was the results of political deals from both sides of the aisle over many, many decades. The clear implication being – don’t do it, desist, stop. never again – just allocate the educational dollars on the basis of student need. It was a path forward, welcomed by all serious educators and those wedded to social justice.
The Minister at that time was Bill Shorten. His response to Gonski was to travel across the Nation and negotiate 27 separate deals. (I kid you not.) And that penchant continued even after Labor lost office – with Shorten doing deals through State elections (Victoria) and by-elections (Longman). Talk about a slow learner. The problem was (and still is) that Shorten’s modus operandi is deal making. That’s his strength but also his weakness. It’s how he constructs his reality. It’s the only way to go. It’s his common sense.
Without going into the whys and wherefores, deals in educational funding invariably favour the private sector (Catholics in particular) and because resources are scarce, it’s always at the expense of public schools.
PS, yes I know that this time around Labor promised much for public education (they always do – and should) but since Rudd’s rise public schools have gone backward. That’s the objective reality. Perhaps public school teachers, parents etc are waking up? But I don’t think so.
Great big sssiiiggghhh of “How unexepected.” –
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/resources-minister-backs-new-coal-plant-as-labor-reconsiders-climate-policy-20190528-p51s31.html
Are we seeing the beginning of the new piss weak and wimpy Labor?
A nasty and horrible little Il Duttonuci homunculus?
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/no-regrets-new-multicultural-affairs-minister-proud-of-campaign-against-african-gangs-20190528-p51s0c.html
The figures cannot be fudged. Delaying their release will not alter them. The Climate Crisis is here.