These two videos go a long way toward explaining why the Australian Labor Party won the 2007 election and lost in 2013. They show how Labor changed the way it framed climate change. In 2007 they correctly identified it as the most important issue of our time: By 2012 (when Labor were already in an …
Tag: Julia Gillard
Aug 24 2013
Tony Abbott’s manipulation of public perception
Australia’s Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says in today’s newspaper: The problem with the Parliament at the moment is that almost nothing is ever said which isn’t basically crude political head-banging. Both sides are guilty but I think that as prime minister Gillard was particularly bad at it. Abbott’s hypocrisy is staggering. In reality, it is …
Jun 27 2013
Rudd’s return: bad news for climate action?
I probably don’t need to tell Australian readers that Kevin Rudd has been reinstated as Prime Minister of Australia and leader of the Australian Labor Party, replacing Julia Gillard who succeeded him three years ago. I see Rudd’s return as a victory of appearance over substance, intuition over logic, personality over policy, treachery over teamwork, …
Mar 19 2013
The many faces of climate change denial
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, …
Feb 19 2013
Greens denounce Gillard Labor government
The Greens have publicly distanced themselves from the Labor government in the leadup to the Australian federal election on 14 September. Last month, Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Liberal leader Tony Abbott each launched their party’s election campaign with a National Press Club speech. (Gillard discussed economic policy, hinted at more budget cuts, and …
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 …
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Precarious Climate
- Bendigo Climate Drawdown Summit
- The Paris Agreement was a sham anyway
- Australian election: say no to the polluting major parties
- Will Turnbull act on climate?
- Are we approaching peak stupidity?
- Is Turnbull a green Liberal?
- 2014 the warmest year as global heating speeds up
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership: the dirtiest trade deal you’ve never heard of
- Tony Abbott’s intergenerational theft
- 2014: the year that was