Turnbull must go

27 November, 2009 by


Arrogant contempt

Arrogant contempt

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: for the good of the Liberals and for there ever to be a credible Opposition, Malcolm Turnbull must go.

He has demonstrated nothing but contempt for his colleagues, and for the grassroots views of ordinary Australians, who can see through the sham of Kevin Rudd’s ETS “abomination”, preferring his own personal and deeply green views on taking action on climate change. Being a former merchant banker, he can no doubt see the benefits to his own industry of the ETS – a licence to print money.

And, true to form, and despite ten resignations from his front bench, he still arrogantly believes that he can railroad the ETS through, and at the same time, pander to Kevin Rudd’s demands:

Despite the uproar within the Liberal Party, the ETS legislation, officially known as the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill, might still pass the Senate.

Government Minister Anthony Albanese last night said there would be a vote on the ETS legislation at 3.45pm today, and he said Mr Turnbull had agreed to that yesterday.

Mr Turnbull said he had been assured by the Liberal Senate leadership they would not unnecessarily delay the Bill’s progress.

The Government needs just seven votes to get it through.

The crisis erupted just after Question Time yesterday when Mr Abbott and Senator Minchin – fiercely opposed to climate change measures – met Mr Turnbull and asked that he defer a vote on the ETS until 2010.

Mr Turnbull rejected the advice, and Mr Abbott handed in his notice of resignation from the Shadow Cabinet.

He was followed by Victorian MP Sophie Mirabella, Senator Minchin and Senator Eric Abetz. Liberal Whip in the Senate Stephen Parry also said he would not vote for the Bill.

Three junior Liberal shadow ministers yesterday resigned for the same reason – Matthias Corman, Mitch Fifield and Brett Mason.

“This is not about leadership,” said Mrs Mirabella – but that’s the way most of her colleagues saw it.

I cannot see how the Senate can possibly vote on the ETS at 3.45 today, except to reject it. The Liberals cannot, must not, allow this bill to pass.

Read it here.

PS. This story even made Watts Up With That – see here.

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: , ,

China to "cut emissions 40% by 2020"

27 November, 2009 by

ABC-style carbon dioxide

ABC-style carbon dioxide

This has to be some kind of joke, right? China, which depends on coal for something like 70% of it’s entire energy requirements, and which is building a new coal fired power station every two weeks, has apparently  stated that it will cut its emissions by 40% on 2005 levels by 2020:

“This is a voluntary action taken by the Chinese government based on its own national conditions and is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change,” the statement said.

It added that China faced “enormous pressure and special difficulty in controlling greenhouse gas emissions”.

The announcement marks the first time China has put specific numbers on a September pledge by President Hu Jintao to cut carbon intensity by a “notable margin”.

So what is “carbon intensity”? And here is the get out clause:

Carbon intensity refers to emissions per unit of economic activity. Emissions would continue to grow under China’s plan as economic growth is expected to continue. Beijing is not offering an absolute cut in carbon dioxide production.

So it’s nothing like a 40% cut in emissions. It’s a 40% cut in emissions tied into economic growth, which isn’t a cut at all. The ABC fails to mention that in it’s headline, of course.

Read it here.

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: , ,

Abbott resigns – others to follow?

26 November, 2009 by

Tony Abbott has announced his resignation in protest over the ETS.

Tony Abbott and Sophie Mirabella have both confirmed their resignations and speculation is rife that Senate Leader Nick Minchin, Senator Eric Abetz and MP Tony Smith will soon follow.

Earlier this afternoon, Mr Abbott dropped a bombshell, resigning from the Liberal front bench in protest at the party’s decision to support Labor on climate change.

Mr Abbott denied his decision was a leadership issue but said he could not rule out a leadership spill may be called in the coming days.

Read it here.

More details to follow.

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: , ,

Abbott set to resign

26 November, 2009 by

Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott

Another blow for Malcolm Turnbull:

MALCOLM Turnbull’s leadership is about to be thrown back into turmoil with the resignation of frontbencher, Tony Abbott.

Mr Abbott is expected to announce his resignation from the frontbench this afternoon to allow him to vote against the Rudd Government’s ETS.

Other Ministerial resignations may follow and trigger another Liberal party room meeting to challenge Mr Turnbull’s leadership.

It is likely that Liberal Senate Leader Nick Minchin will vote against the CPRS bill in the Senate and means that he too has to resign from the frontbench.

Mr Abbott’s resignation will throw the Liberals into further chaos and bring fresh doubt as to whether the CPRS bill will pass the Senate.

At least some in the Liberal party still have principles. Remember them?

It ain’t over yet.

Read it here (h/t Andrew Bolt)

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: , , ,

Turnbull dooming Libs to landslide defeat

26 November, 2009 by

Alby Schultz

Alby Schultz

Probably right, because just as the public mood turns against the global warming alarmism of the past decade, and with daily revelations about fudging figures in order to make the data fit the agenda, Malcolm Turnbull signs up with Kevin Rudd to introduce an emissions trading scheme that, let’s remind ourselves, will do nothing for climate (see here):

Liberal backbencher Alby Schultz says the Coalition is facing a landslide defeat at the next election after the party chose to back the Government’s controversial emissions trading scheme.

…

Mr Schultz, the Member for Hume, says Coalition support for the ETS will leave it in Opposition for possibly the next three elections because public mood is shifting.

“I’ve received over the years many, many emails and phone calls,” he said.

“They have never been to the level that I’m receiving them at the moment.”

“My assessment of it is that the Opposition has no hope of winning the next election.

“I sat down last night and looked at it and, conservatively, we’re looking at a landslide.”

That’s what happens when Oppositions forget to do what they’re supposed to: oppose.

Read it here.

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: ,

NZ temperature data fudged, claims NZ climate group

26 November, 2009 by

Fudge

Whole lotta fudge

Another CRU-style scandal may be brewing as it is revealed by the New Zealand’s Climate Science Coaltion that the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) appears to have added “corrections” to raw temperature data, leading to increased warming:

Before:

Raw temperature data

Raw temperature data

After:

After adjustments

After adjustments

Read more here, and the original PDF here.

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: ,

Miranda and Melanie: two great articles

26 November, 2009 by

Miranda Devine in The Age:

Climate doomsayers caught out

We knew but never before had seen such proof of bad faith, overwhelming in its small detail, its shameless dishonesty, its meanness, its totalitarian tactics, pouncing on every deviation from The Word, as handed down by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Melanie Phillips in the UK Spectator:

Green totalitarianism

All the manipulation, distortion and suppression revealed by these emails took place because it would seem these scientists knew their belief was not only correct but unchallengeable; and so when faced with evidence that showed it was false, they tried every which way to make the data fit the prior agenda. And those who questioned that agenda themselves had to be airbrushed out of the record, because to question it was simply impossible. Only AGW zealots get to decide, apparently, what science is. Truth is what fits their ideological agenda. Anything else is to be expunged.

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: , ,

William M Briggs: "What is – and what isn't – evidence of global warming"

26 November, 2009 by

Statistician to the stars

Statistician to the stars

A very worthwhile read, cutting through the hyperbole of global warming reporting:

Remember when we heard that the icebergs were melting, that polar bears were decreasing in number, that some places were drier than usual and that others were wetter, that the ocean was growing saltier here and fresher there, and that hurricanes were becoming more terrifying? Remember the hundreds of reports on what happens when it gets hot outside?

All of those observations might have been true, but absolutely none of them were evidence of AGW.

Diminishing glaciers did not prove AGW; they were instead a verification that ice melts when it gets hot. Fewer polar bears did not count in favor of AGW; it instead perhaps meant that maybe adult bears prefer a chill to get in the mood. People sidling up to microphones and trumpeting “It’s bad out there, worse than we thought!” was not evidence of AGW; it was evidence of how easily certain people could work themselves into a lather.

No observation of what happened to any particular thing when the air was warm was direct evidence of AGW. None of it.

Every breathless report you heard did nothing more than state the obvious: Some creatures and some geophysical processes act or behave differently when it is hot than when it is cold. Only this, and nothing more.

Read it here.

Filed Under: Climate

The Daily Bayonet: GW Hoax Weekly Round-up

26 November, 2009 by

Skewering the clueless

Skewering the clueless

As always, a great read!

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With:

Liberal senators to cross floor on ETS vote

26 November, 2009 by

From The Australian:

AT least 12 of the 32 Liberals sitting in the Senate appear to be preparing to cross the floor on the emissions trading bills when a Senate vote is finally held, either on Saturday or early next week.

With the five Nationals senators, five Greens senators and two independent senators also planning to vote no — for a variety of reasons — there could be 24 or more of the 76 senators voting against the bills.

At least one Liberal senator, Mary Jo Fisher, will “actively abstain” — registering her dissent not by voting “no” but by sitting at the back of the chamber.

Frontbench senators Nick Minchin and Eric Abetz were absent from votes on the procedural motions yesterday.

But despite their strong opposition to the ETS, as frontbench members they will be expected to vote for the amendments negotiated between Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull and the Rudd government, and also for the final bill.

At least some senators can see the pointlessness of the ETS…

Read it here.

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: ,
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