We knew, long before Australia elected Tony Abbott as Prime Minister, that Abbott wanted to tear down the former government’s (already meagre) climate policy regime, particularly the carbon price. On election night, as Abbott’s Liberal/National Coalition stormed the House of Representatives, the question became whether the ragtag bunch of misfits elected to the Senate crossbenches …
Tag: Direct Action Plan
Sep 24 2013
Abbott can run, but can’t hide from climate
So far it’s been all bad news on climate change from Australia’s new Liberal/National Coalition government. Prime Minister Tony Abbott is in the process of tearing down Australia’s climate policy regime at a hectic pace. The first casualty has been the Climate Commission, an independent government-funded body set up by the previous government to communicate …
Sep 05 2013
Abbott’s last-minute policies reveal true colors
Throughout the Australian election campaign the Liberal/National Coalition and their leader Tony Abbott have blatantly evaded any scrutiny, either on their budgetary plans or, more importantly, the details of their climate policy. Abbott has been saying for two years “we’ll announce our full fiscal position in good time before the election”. Today, having waited until …
Sep 04 2013
A closer look at Tony Abbott’s climate policy
Three days to the Australian election, and both major political parties are still planning 20 years of climate inaction. I’ve written at length about the climate policy of the incumbent Labor Government led by Kevin Rudd, who wants to move from Australia’s existing fixed carbon price to a 20-year emissions trading scheme (ETS) with a …
Aug 30 2013
Memories of John Howard are rose-coloured
“Do you really want three more years like the last six?” Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott constantly repeats. Although my answer is no, I have even less desire for three more years like the twelve which preceded the last six. Abbott likes to hark back to the last time his Liberal/National Coalition were in government, …
Aug 14 2013
Australia’s major parties plan 20 years of climate inaction
Australia’s two major political parties – the incumbent Labor government led by Kevin Rudd and Liberal-National Coalition opposition led by Tony Abbott – present themselves as having quite different policies on climate change. Labor, together with the Greens, has legislated a fixed carbon price soon to morph into an internationally-linked emissions trading scheme (ETS). The …
Jul 23 2013
Does Abbott have a point on invisible carbon?
In this post I do something I very rarely do: agree with Tony Abbott, leader of the (conservative) Liberal Party of Australia. Regular readers may be wondering if I have gone crazy, but bear with me for a moment. I don’t believe anything the Liberals say is particularly sincere; it’s more that a stopped clock …
Mar 03 2013
Liberals’ climate policy just got stupider
This week as Australia concluded its hottest summer on record, the climate change policies of the Liberal/National Coalition got even sillier and more contradictory. According to Climate Spectator, Liberal climate spokesperson Greg Hunt reconfirmed on Wednesday that the Liberals’ proposed Direct Action Emission Reduction Fund (DAERF) is (as I’ve explained in detail before) like a …
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 …
Jan 13 2013
Liberals Part 2: Their “Direct Action” is neither
This is the second 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. This part examines the climate policies they promise to introduce. The first question to ask about the Liberal Party’s climate policy is “what is it?” …
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Precarious Climate
- Vote for a real opposition party, not Labor
- Australian climate voting guide
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- Defending Assange 5: Ecuador’s excuses
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- Defending Assange 2: Obama’s obfuscation
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