"Ha ha! F*** you, Australia!"
Ironic that this story breaks on the one year anniversary of “There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead.” A more obvious sign that Labor and Gillard are more interested in clinging on to power than doing what is in the best interests of the country is difficult to imagine – a damning indictment of any political leader.
Why else would she refuse to reconsider the carbon [dioxide] tax in the face of serious international financial concerns, and the possibility of a GFC Mark II? There couldn’t be a worse time to introduce yet another tax – especially a tax on everything like this one (ignore the 400/500 biggest polluters nonsense – it’s all spin. Everyone will pay more for just about anything you care to mention). Even in sound economic times it would be suicidal, but with the US faltering and European countries lining up to default, it is beyond madness.
So why is she pressing on? Because she knows if she backs away from the toxic tax, the Greens support will evaporate (don’t forget, Labor bribed the Greens with a cowardly promise of urgent action on climate), and there will be an election – which Labor will lose catastrophically. So political survival takes precedence of the interests of the nation and the people whom she is supposed to represent. Disgraceful.
THE Gillard government has vowed to forge ahead with its carbon tax amid growing financial uncertainty, saying the “manageable” economic reform” will deliver certainty to Australian businesses.
While the worsening economic outlook has the government edging away from its 2012-13 return-to-surplus deadline, Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said the carbon tax would go ahead regardless.
“Yes we have had a period unfortunately of great uncertainty in international markets driven by debt concerns in Europe in particular,” he told ABC radio, as protesters gathered for a new anti-carbon tax rally outside Parliament House.
“However this is a reform to our economy that is necessary in the long term, it is a manageable economic reform, what’s more it will deliver certainty.” (source)
Maybe Greg will front up at the carbon dioxide tax demonstration in Canberra today to explain… Ha, not a chance. This government has abandoned the country.
Australian Climate Madness 
The sad thing is ,Labor have allways put there survival above the national interest
Combet is right, It will deliver certainty. Certainty that everything will cost more, and it will be a licence to print money if you’re a power provider, and certainty that any perceived economic edge that Australia has at the moment is well and truly lost.
I don’t understand the repeated claims about how well the Australian economy is doing compared to the rest of the world, maybe we are, but really, we wouldn’t have to be doing that well to be better off than Greece or even the US. It’s all relative isn’t it? Much like comparing 2 people with terminal illnesses, one may live for 6 months and the other for 12, so they are “better” but the end result is the same…
I am certain of two things :
1. Combet is an idiot
2. Combet has dishonestly misrepresented Treasury modelling results
In doing 2, he has mislead Parliament. This used to be a sackable offence.
He should resign.
and spent as much money on themselves as possible, like kids let loose in a sweet shop!
9 months out from the election she’ll be replaced and the replacement will come out with “we’ve lost our way & there’s more to do” and we were distracted by the minority govt, greens and independents – now we’ll be true to the labor movement and try and regain the confidence of the electorate. Standard process and only way to get close to being re-elected or damage minimisation…
On the ‘no carbon tax’ anniversary, our Alarmist Commissioner Will Steffen reported that south-west W.A. is facing catastrophic consequences of climate change. The report has warned WA faces a bleak future if nothing is done to combat climate change.
The Climate Commission has found that the average temperature has risen by about one degree. However the Bureau of Meteorology says the increase in south-west W.A. is less than 0.8c. Here is a chart for Perth temperatures. When you take into account the margin for error caused by Urban Heat Islands, unreliable pre-1910 data, you will find there is no increase in Perth’s temperatures outside the normal variants.
The report also said ‘sea levels on the west coast are rising at twice the global average’. However, when you look at a graph from the Bureau of Meteorology, sea levels at Fremantle have been quite stable and well within natural variants.
Then the report reveals there has been a 15 per cent reduction in rainfall across the region over the past 40 years. However, the Bureau of Meteorology has produced a graph detailing the frequency of daily rainfall exceeding 50 mm at Perth in 15 year intervals 1883 -2002, and all seems quite normal.
I think Will should stick to advising our Prime Minister of how to drop this toxic tax. Happy anniversary Julia.
Vote Liberal!
She’s the village idiot.
National idiot you mean…if not a global one…
Was always thus!!
Time the Libs came out and denounced any action on climate change as a sham, giving the voters some real choice!
Amazingly a fairly even handed BBC report about the carbon tax demonstration http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14537653
That is our Government in true Dictatorship style.
There looked to be thousands at the rally in Canberra today. There is an article in the Canberra Times about the rally, also they have done a picture gallery of rally pictures as well.
Abbott gets rockstar treatment. Canberra Times
Rally Picture Gallery.
in the uk they have granted themselves and council workers powers to force entry to your home without prior notice or consent to inspect your appliances for compliance to co2 regulations (not many are even aware of this yet, but they will), then even in critical financial times you wont be able to withold buying a new cooker/freezer/boiler/heater/kettle/toaster/tv/insulation/windows….etc…..etc….without serious hassle in the form of fines/court appearances/arrests/red tape etc.
so, if you accept this nonsence by aquiescence (doing feck all to stop it) this will be your new ‘green’ future
@ Ian, I must confess that I hadnt heard of this but then thats how they work isnt it by stealth, Anyhow I can assure you they wont get passed my doorstep without meeting my 3 lovely large dogs first that guard my private property, My rules apply here & not the `jobsworth` councils so they had better think again for the goodness of their own health & well being.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet says he understand there are carbon (dioxide-sic) tax concerns but people were “increasingly comfortable” with the Government’s direction. See here: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/combet-admits-carbon-tax-concerns/story-e6frfku0-1226115726246
Trouble is the federal governments track record on treasury modelling is woeful. The Building Education Revolution costs blew out by $1.5 billion. The Cash for Clunkers costs blew out by $400 million, more than double. Treasury estimates for asylum seekers blew out by more than half a billion dollars. The federal governments social housing program costs blew out by over $60 million. And still I haven’t mentioned the pink batts fiasco, NBN, solar rebate scheme, boarder protection, set-top boxes …
But have no fear, the Government has calculated price impacts down to the decimal point for individual grocery items. The figures show the Government expects the cost of Weet-Bix cereal to rise by 0.00024 cents a biscuit, Tim Tams will increase 0.012c and 0.004c on a box of tissues. See here: http://www.news.com.au/national/julia-gillards-tim-tam-plan-to-soften-the-carbon-tax-blow/story-e6frfkvr-1226091487234
So whilst the Government has trouble calculating the big end of town programs you can rest assured a Weet-Bix will only rise 0.00024c.
Of course she is putting political survival above all else. One also might ask what you need to do to get stood down as a Labor MP these days:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-16/gillard-defends-craig-thomson-over-escort-scandal/2842042
Here is a man who has (allegedly) used union funds to procure prostitutes yet the PM has “complete confidence” in him.
Astonishing!
Unfortunately I am in Craig Thompsons electorate and from what I have observed he thinks he is better than everyone else. I have emailed him my concerns but he never bothers to reply. I feel really disappointed that I don’t have a local representing me or even interested in my views.
I too feel very disappointed, even though I don’t live in Craig Thompsons electorate. I have a Prime Minister who doesn’t represent me or is even interested in my views also.
Wait, let’s change that … 60% of the electorate doesn’t have a Prime Minister representing them or is even interested in their views!
@ian it is called a “statutory right of entry” and is not limited to councils…
let there be no doubt that if abbot were p m he would be pushing for the same carbon con and juliar would be fighting it
There was only 1 candidate who went to the 2010 federal election in favour of a carbon tax … and that was Adam Bandt for the Greens. There is no way Tony Abbott would have pushed through a carbon tax because the Liberal/National Party allows members to cross the floor in parliamentary voting, whilst the Labor Party forbids such behaviour. Tony Abbott would have know such an unpopular tax would have meant Coalition members crossing the floor to vote down the tax … unlike weak Labor members who sit in silence whilst looking for new job prospects after the next election.
typical to see such a discussion in a forum only containing people of one opinion… You may as well go to a young liberals meeting and tell them to vote liberal. Nick you are a fool, comparing Australia’s economic situation to the USA or Greece is not like comparing illnesses, but like comparing someone who’s at the height of fitness and just run a marathon but caught a cold during it to someone with a terminal illness.
I know its pointless saying to closed minds but still, the statement about not having a carbon tax was made prior to the hung government, and so obviously refering to a solely labor goverment, not one combined with the greens. Who by the way recieved 12% of the vote compared to the nationals 3%… Perhaps the liberal party should consider changing their alliances
What’s your point?If you don’t like it here, there’s plenty of other blogs. By the way, yes, there is a hung parliament, so there is no mandate for the introduction of a tax that was expressly rejected days before the election. Unfortunately, the closed mind is yours. If this had been a Liberal hung parliament, forcing through WorkChoices having ruled it out before the election, I wonder what your attitude would be then, hmm?
“typical to see such a discussion in a forum only containing people of one opinion… ”
So what are you doing here then? Would you like to be enlightened into the dark and dangerous mind of a skeptic?
I really wish this blog… [snip]
“…was something it isn’t” is kinda the gist of your comment. Well the internet’s a big place – you can go and start your own. Please don’t waste my time – Ed.
Separating science from politics is the theme of many ACM posts, including your latest post (http://www.australianclimatemadness.com/2011/08/csiro-mustnt-criticise-government-policy/).
I only wish to promote the idea that the entire blog might follow this theme.
I honestly didn’t think productive criticism from a frequent reader is wasting your time.
Fair comment – I may have been hasty… 😉 This blog has always had a political slant – it isn’t a heavy science blog (as there are others that do it far better than I can), so the focus is squarely on the political machinations which are obviously at the front and centre of the climate debate. The two are inextricably linked: the climate change agenda is driven by Gillard’s desire to stay in power with the help of the Greens. I believe that we must tackle the political issues first, and then we can focus on the science – for once a carbon tax is enacted and cemented into our way of life, it will be almost impossible to chisel it out again.
I believe I saw on another web site where they are doing the same inspections in america , what ever the inspector deems to be unsatisfactory is subject to a fine or jail no inquiry or trial the inspectors word is final
It has been crystal clear for a couple of years now, that the Rudd/Gillard government will say/do anything whatsoever to hang on to power. And just as clear is the fact that they don’t care at all for anyone other than themselves !
MAkes one wonder how those who voted Labor/Green at the 2007 election feel about the results of their doing so, and the same applies to those who vboted Labor/Green/Independent at trhe 2010 election.
It’s the LIE=bor Party.. Get it right!
does any one seriously think that there would have been a coalition between libs and greens . party politics in australia is only a circus for the mugs all pushing the same agenda , we are stupid enough to believe their lies whilst being sold out
It doesn’t matter what part of the globe they reside in, the labour party by definition are morally defective, and will always cling onto power because they alone know what is best for everyone.
They ignore of course, that them being in power is the worst situation possible for everyone, but they will persist, and go on to trash the economy and divide the nation as only they can.
There are planets, in this galaxy, where calling yourself socialist or conforming to labour doctrine is a crime, and so it should be on this planet too. The labour party and aligned socialists are resposnible for most of the problems we face today.
Get rid of these socialists Australia, its the only way.