It’s difficult to muster much enthusiasm for another election. It’s clear that neither of the major parties will act in the public interest. Still, it’s the one time in three years when we get a say about the future of our country, so here’s how I’ll be voting and you should too. The most pressing …
Category: Elections
Nov 27 2014
Victorian election climate resources
I had intended to write a comprehensive guide to the Victorian state election on Saturday, but time is running out. So rather than reinvent the wheel, I’ll link to some great existing guides to the parties’ policies on climate and environment: Vote Climate Victorian election 2014 – climate policy summary (includes a guide to …
Nov 12 2014
Report on Bendigo climate election forum
I was involved in running an election candidate forum yesterday. The following report was prepared by Sue Wight. A State Election Forum on Climate was held in Bendigo on Tuesday November 11. Bendigo straddles two electorates, Bendigo East and Bendigo West and falls into the upper house region of Northern Victoria. Candidate attendance was as …
May 24 2014
Bust the budget 5: Lies and outrage
This is the final part of a series arguing against the Abbott government’s first budget. Part 1 summarizes the overall unfairness and debunks the justification offered for this agenda. Part 2 examines how the budget affects climate, environment, fossil fuel subsidies, business, and science. Part 3 examines how it affects the federation, education, and health. …
Apr 06 2014
Protest votes, mandates, and entitlement
Last night I watched the ABC TV coverage of the Western Australian re-election count. It was an interesting result. With 68.7% of the vote counted, the governing Liberal/National Coalition won 36.8% (a swing of -7.5%), Labor 21.8% (-4.8%), Greens 15.9% (+6.4%), Palmer United 12.5% (+7.5%), and others 13.0% (-1.6%). In other words, there were significant …
Apr 04 2014
Why the WA re-election matters
Western Australia will go back to the polls tomorrow for a rerun of last year’s Senate election (due to the count having been bungled in that state). The re-election will be critical in deciding the makeup of the new Senate from July this year, and is a key opportunity for the Greens. To pass legislation …
Mar 14 2014
Tasmania needs a Greens opposition
Tomorrow, Tasmanians and South Australians will go to the polls for their respective state elections. In both cases the Liberals are expected to gain government, but the Tasmanian election may present an unexpected opportunity for the Greens. The Tasmanian situation is reminiscent of last year’s federal election, pitting an unpopular governing coalition of Labor (led …
Jan 25 2014
How Labor lost the climate debate
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 …
Oct 26 2013
Anti-politics 6: Delegitimizing the Abbott government
This is the final part of a series about the Australian “anti-politics” attitude and how the green left should respond to it. Part 1 lays out evidence for the attitude and speculates on its causes. Part 2 argues the green left needs to distance itself from political elites. Part 3 discusses how we should communicate …
Oct 11 2013
Australian election reveals anti-politics attitude
Last month’s Australian federal election results (summarized here) displayed a disturbing trend toward widespread disengagement from politics. Both major parties were disappointed: Labor received its lowest vote since the Great Depression, and despite winning the election the Liberal/National Coalition saw its lowest Senate vote since World War 2. Clearly an increasing number of voters are …
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