The way ahead for Australia

The Coalition policy on climate change will not include any ETS or carbon tax, and will re-open the debate on nuclear power – about time too. Penny Wong, in her closing speech to the Senate yesterday held up the examples of the US, UK and France as countries which have working emissions trading schemes, conveniently forgetting one key fact: they all have massive nuclear power capability.

TONY Abbott plans to fight a climate change election using land management and energy efficiency measures to slash greenhouse emissions instead of an emissions trading scheme or a carbon tax.

And as the Senate yesterday buried Kevin Rudd’s proposed carbon emissions trading scheme, the new Opposition Leader said his alternative means of reducing emissions would meet the same targets for sharp reductions in emissions proposed by Labor.

Mr Abbott’s promise came as Labor folded in the face of his dare for an early election on climate.

Despite the Senate’s rejection of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme establishing a double-dissolution trigger, Julia Gillard said the government would give the Coalition “one more chance” to change its mind. The Acting Prime Minister said Labor would introduce a new CPRS bill, including amendments agreed to by the Coalition under ousted leader Malcolm Turnbull, to parliament in February in the hope that “calmer heads” within the Coalition would shift their positions. (source)

But there is precious little hope of that:

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says he expects the Coalition’s position to harden over the summer break.

He has ruled out taking an emissions trading scheme or a carbon tax to the next election as Coalition policy and says there is “very little” chance the Coalition would vote for one in February.

Nationals Senate Leader Barnaby Joyce does not think the public will be impressed by the idea of a third vote.

“The Australian people will just get furious with you. We’ve made our decision, you’re playing a game and we’re sick of it,” he said.

“Get over it, get on with life and get back to the next item of politics.” (source)

Well said, Barnaby, who may soon be on the front bench…

Conservative roots

This is precisely what we need – as has been said before, an election campaign is the only way in which the ETS can be exposed for what it is – a tax on everything based on flawed and exaggerated science.

TONY Abbott will steer the Liberal Party back to its conservative roots with a 2010 election campaign portraying Kevin Rudd as a Whitlamesque big spender whose climate change policies will smash Australian jobs.

The new Opposition Leader’s first act after ousting Malcolm Turnbull in a partyroom vote yesterday was to scrap his party’s support for Labor’s carbon emissions trading scheme, which he dismissed as “a great big tax”.

And Mr Abbott immediately moved to repair the Liberals’ shattered relations with the Nationals, embracing their contempt for the ETS after months of Mr Turnbull dismissing their views as irrelevant.

As Senate leader Barnaby Joyce rejoiced in a return of Coalition unity and pledged to pick apart Labor’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme “piece by piece”, the Labor Party released an advertisement warning that an Abbott government would take the nation backwards on climate change and industrial relations.

But Mr Abbott was unabashed, foreshadowing sharper policies on border protection and industrial relations to re-engage with his party’s conservative core.

“We have spent too much time arguing over whether we might look right-wing or that we might look like a return to the Howard government,” Mr Abbott told The Australian last night.

“What we need to do is to apply to problems common sense and forget about the tags.” (source)

Disappointingly, it looks like some Liberal senators will defy the new policy and vote with the government. Here’s the “name-and-shame” list:

• Judith Troeth
• Sue Boyce
• Gary Humphries

Fortunately, these three will not be enough to let the bill through, so by lunchtime, we can say “farewell to the ETS” – for now at least.