There is much debate in Australia, particularly in the political sphere, about who is a climate change denier. To answer that question, we first have to clarify what we mean by climate change denial. The book Climate Change Denial by Haydn Washington and John Cook helpfully distinguishes between several different stages of denial: literal, interpretative, …
Category Archive: Spin
Jan 27 2013
Liberals Part 4: Australia has a legitimate government
This is the fourth part of a series examining the Liberal Party of Australia. Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 examine the party’s climate policies. This part debunks their allegations that the incumbent government is illegitimate. Illustration: Stephen Wight There has been a persistent campaign by the conservative Coalition, led by Tony Abbott and …
Jan 16 2013
Liberals Part 3: False crimes of a climate crook
This is the third part of a series examining the Liberal Party of Australia. Part 1 covers the party’s climate change denial and intention to abolish various existing climate policies. Part 2 examines the climate policies they promise to introduce. This part defends them against incorrect criticisms of their climate policies. To use language which …
Oct 14 2012
A terrible week for the climate
This week’s events illustrate (not that further illustration was needed) that both of Australia’s major political parties are in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry, though Labor hides it behind a veneer of greenwash while the Liberals are overt about it. On Monday in New South Wales, the Planning Assessment Commission approved the Ashton …
Sep 25 2012
Climate change, foxes, and hens
Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced yesterday the Labor Government will introduce a tax on the consumption of hens by foxes. “By making hen consumption more expensive, this policy will make alternative food sources relatively cheaper,” said Gillard. From 2015, Australia will have a hen consumption trading scheme, in which foxes will be able to buy …
Aug 25 2012
Is Tony Abbott a liar, or just plain stupid?
It’s taken them two-and-a-half years, but it looks like the Australian media is finally beginning to cotton on to the blatant dishonesty of Tony Abbott, leader of the Liberal Party and Opposition. His latest mistruths are debunked here. What better time than to recall some highlights from his ever-growing litany of false, misleading, and contradictory …
Jul 19 2012
Politics isn’t bad; it’s the reporting
As people in other parts of the world fight for the right to vote, too many Australian voters dismiss politics as boring, unimportant, even irrelevant. 15% of Australians believe “for someone like me, it doesn’t matter what kind of government we have”. They couldn’t be more wrong. It’s not politics that is the problem; it’s …
Jul 10 2012
Yes, the Greens do compromise
Representatives of the Australian Labor Party have repeatedly accused the Australian Greens of being unwilling to compromise. Though this is obviously a self-serving argument designed to shore up Labor’s own support, it is so blatantly false that I felt compelled to set the record straight. In negotiations with the Gillard Labor Government over climate policy, …
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