"What can we do?"

22 November, 2009 by

Difficult questions ahead

Difficult questions ahead

Gary M comments in a previous thread:

What do we do about Turnbull and Rudd next week? The Liberals will sign up with Wong and Co. and Copenhagen will go ahead. I cannot believe that there are so few of us that our voices will make no difference. How do we make this ground-swell attract more momentum…what can we do??

It’s a very good question. What can we do? Malcolm Turnbull is a climate change believer and will try to negotiate an ETS through the Senate. The government are completely in thrall to whatever the IPCC says, and refuse to even consider the science may not be as 100% settled as they keep telling us it is. Unfortunately, so are a number of the Liberal senators.

Our only hope is those in the Senate like Nick Minchin and Tony Abbott, who are smart enough see through the spin and bluster of Rudd, Wong, the IPCC and all the dodgy scientists on the alarmist funding bandwagon. If they can persuade enough of the remaining Liberal senators to vote against the ETS, we are in with a chance. Alternatively, with time for debate reduced to two days, running out of time becomes a real option.

Write, email or call your Liberal senators (we know the Nats will vote it down) – contact list here (PDF). Direct them to materials (see here for example) that they should read and consider before voting on the ETS. If any of you actually know your senators personally, so much the better. Personal contact is far more effective than unsolicited correspondence.

Unfortunately, until the stranglehold of the alarmists is broken once and for all, no one will ever get the full story from the mainstream media. Hence the importance of the blogosphere in the climate debate.

Send links to this blog and other sceptic blogs (see the Blogroll) to your friends and colleagues – the more readers we and the other blogs can reach, the more chance of creating a groundswell of public opinion.

Above all, remain positive!! The truth will out – in the end.

If anyone has more suggestions, leave a comment!

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Government apply yet more ETS pressure

22 November, 2009 by

Get her face off my monitor…

Get her face off my monitor…

When will the Opposition finally say enough is enough? Here we have the playground bullies just taking the other kid’s sweets, when what the bully deserves is a smack. Penny Wong will have seen the credibility of the alarmist cause disappear up in smoke thanks to the CRU leaks [either that or she will be doing the “fingers-in-the-ears-and-shout-la-la-la” routine – Ed], and will be even more desperate to pass the legislation before people wise up:

The Federal Government will give the Opposition just two days to decide whether or not to vote for an amended emissions trading scheme.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says a deal on the scheme will be presented to the Opposition on Tuesday morning.

The Government wants a Senate vote on the scheme before Parliament adjourns for the year on Thursday night, but a bid last week to extend the sitting hours was rejected by all non-government senators.

Senator Wong has been negotiating amendments with the Opposition and she has told Channel Nine that the two are inching closer to a deal.

But every cloud has a silver lining. It dramatically increase the chance of a filibuster, so that this legislation can be sunk without the need for a vote.

Read it here.

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Turnbull "confident of ETS deal"

21 November, 2009 by

Too green for me

Too green for me

It seems a bit mundane to be discussing our local politics after the excitement of the last 24 hours, but I guess we must. Malcolm Turnbull is still pressing ahead with trying to negotiate the ETS through parliament:

ANTI-EMISSIONS trading scheme forces within the Coalition are ramping up their demands in a bid to make it impossible for the Liberal Party to back a climate change deal with the government, as the issue reignites speculation over the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull.

But the Liberal leader believes that he can win party support for an emissions trading deal if the Rudd government makes enough concessions for him to be able to recommend it.

“I am confident that if I recommend a deal, it will win the support of the shadow cabinet and the partyroom,” he told The Weekend Australian.

But that will depend on whether the government is prepared to give sufficient ground on the opposition’s amendments in the negotiations that will continue this weekend.

“My view is that we should responsibly and constructively seek to amend the government’s proposal,” Mr Turnbull said.

“If we cannot achieve amendments to our satisfaction then of course we’ll vote it down. If we can achieve amendments that satisfy our concerns then we should support it.”

Save us from this climate madness.

Read it here.

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Turnbull loses key ETS ally

20 November, 2009 by

Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott

Another major figure in the Liberal party has hardened his position on the ETS, making it even more difficult for Malcolm Turnbull to claim that the party backs his views on climate change:

MALCOLM Turnbull is facing growing shadow cabinet pressure to vote down the government’s emissions trading bills, with former minister Tony Abbott abandoning his earlier support for the Opposition Leader’s strategy to try to amend and pass the scheme.

Mr Abbott’s shift, and Liberal Senate leader Nick Minchin’s strong advocacy of the “vote no” view within the Coalition, will make it harder for Mr Turnbull to persuade his shadow cabinet to support the deal expected to be finalised between the government and the opposition by early next week.

…

In July, Mr Abbott was staunchly behind Mr Turnbull’s strategy, urging Liberal MPs to allow the Opposition Leader to exercise his assessment on emissions trading and to save the Coalition from a double dissolution fight “it can’t win”.

Now he is arguing internally that the “politics have changed”, that the Coalition is now in a “pre-election phase” where it is wise to differentiate itself from the government and that the vehemence of the Coalition climate sceptics means a “no” vote is the only way to avoid a wide and damaging split in the Liberal Party.

Publicly, Mr Abbott has been warning there will be a very high price for Coalition support, saying the government would need to accept all of the Coalition’s proposed amendments before the Coalition would vote for the scheme.

Read it here.

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Labor ministers get desperate

19 November, 2009 by

Playground bully. Needs standing up to.

Playground bully. Needs standing up to.

So desperate are the Rudd government to sneak the ETS into legislation before anybody realises what a crock it is, that senior ministers are starting to sound like playground bullies:

KEVIN Rudd has demanded Malcolm Turnbull guarantee his divided partyroom will vote on an emissions trading scheme by the end of next week.

Accusing Senate leader Nick Minchin of “incubating a rural militia from the backwoods of Montana”, Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner warned Mr Turnbull he was being held hostage by the “wackier” end of the Liberal Party.

…

Seizing on opposition spokesman Ian Macfarlane’s concession today that the Rudd government had a “mandate” to introduce the scheme [Why on earth did Macfarlane do that? How stupid can you get – Ed], Mr Rudd said the Liberal leader must now guarantee his troops would vote before Parliament rises for the year.

“Stand up today and confirm there will be a vote on the CPRS,” Mr Rudd demanded.

If it were me, I would have two words to say to Mr Rudd, and the second one being “off”.

Read it here.

PS. And of course, Rudd cannot resist the opportunity of using the current heatwave as somehow “evidence” for “global warming”, his dull intellect not yet having comprehended that weather isn’t climate.

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Ian Plimer savages ETS

19 November, 2009 by


Ian Plimer

Ian Plimer

Ian Plimer, author of Heaven + Earth – Global Warming: The Missing Science (see here) has savaged the ETS madness currently unfolding in the Senate:

AUSTRALIA will go broke and become the laughing stock of the world if politicians ignore basic science on climate change, a leading global warming sceptic says.

Adelaide University professor of mining geology, Ian Plimer, said he feared Australia would become an economic backwater if due diligence was not part of developing climate change policy.

“My greatest fear is this country’s lights will go out and the rest of the world will think no one is home – and they will be right,” Professor Plimer said today.

“Australia will go broke and will become the laughing stock of the world if our political leaders keep making decisions on climate change based on ideology rather than on science.

“This country is heading down a very dangerous path of self-destruction if these people continue on their current path of ignorance and ignore scientific due diligence when making such important decisions about the future of this country.”

Sadly, the likes of Kevin Rudd and Penny Wong are not going to abandon those ideologies in a hurry, at huge cost to the Australian people.

Read it here.

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Climate sense from Nick Minchin

19 November, 2009 by

Climate sense at last…

Climate sense at last…

From The Australian:

Flanked by 17 Coalition supporters, including Deputy Senate leader Eric Abetz, a dozen Liberals and five Nationals MPs, Senator Minchin threw down a challenge to Mr Turnbull, launching a powerful attack on climate change science.

“The Senate overwhelmingly rejected this abomination in August – it should do so again,” Senator Minchin said.

“The Coalition has maintained from day one that this legislation should not be voted upon before we know the outcome of the Copenhagen conference.

“Until we know that other major economies are making firm commitments to enact domestic emissions trading schemes Australia should not act alone.”

Senator Minchin’s supporters also included Victorians Scott Ryan and Mitch Fifield, WA’s Alan Eggleston, Michaela Cash and Mathias Cormann, and SA’s Cory Bernardi, Alan Ferguson, David Bushby and Chris Back.

Senator Cormann told The Australian Online it was a show of support for Senator Minchin.

“It was a show of support for a great leader who gave a great speech,” he said.

“I am saying we should not finalise this until after Copenhagen. Obviously I hope the partyroom will agree to that.”

Senator Minchin said it was pure “vanity” for the Prime Minister to demand the legislation to pass before Copenhagen conference, particularly when the scheme would not start until mid 2011.

“The government’s cynical political agenda is quite naked. It is using the threat of a double dissolution to blackmail the Senate into supporting this radical legislation,” Senator Minchin said.

“It is literally crazy to be committing to an emissions trading scheme before we see the outcome of the discussions at Copenhagen. It is also frankly idiotic for this country to legislate and emissions trading scheme before the US Congress does so.”

His comments follow a warning from WA Liberal MP Denis Jensen that a third of the party – 30 MPs – could cross the floor if Malcolm Turnbull strikes a deal with Labor.

Read it here.

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Firefighters' misguided protest

19 November, 2009 by


Black Saturday

Black Saturday

The events of Black Saturday and the loss of life that resulted were a national tragedy. Like every other Australian, I owe an eternal debt of gratitude to the work of our nation’s firefighters, who carry out heroic work on a daily basis.

However, it can be rather too easy to look for blame, and to jump to the conclusion that such horrific events arose directly because of “climate change”. The United Firefighters of Australia union appears to have succumbed to this temptation, and is engaging in a misguided protest in Canberra today to urge Senators to “take action on climate change”:

The union made a similar call for action in the wake of February’s devastating Victorian bushfires and Peter Marshall has today repeated the call as parts of South Australia are now declared catastrophic code-red areas.

With only five parliamentary sitting days left to pass the scheme, Mr Marshall has warned that without efforts to combat climate change, bushfires across the country will increase in frequency and intensity.

“We are not scientists but we are the people on the front line,” he said.

“If there is not action put in place now, Federal Government’s research says that places such as Canberra by 2050, the type of fires we’ve seen here in 2002 will happen on an eight-year basis.

“We are asking you very clearly, stop making this a political football, put in place the action that’s required to secure the future because by 2020 we are going to see a frequency like we’ve not seen before.”

Unfortunately, there are so many assumptions and flawed steps in the logic of this approach, namely:

  • that the climate is changing as a result of anthropogenic CO2 [only partially at best]
  • that reducing Australia’s emissions by means of the ETS will affect climate [it won’t]
  • that severe bushfires are the direct result of climate change [they’re not]
  • that reducing emissions will therefore reduce the instances of severe bushfires [it won’t]

As with everything else connected with climate change, trying to stop it is pointless, and adaptation is the only sensible approach. In this case, that means putting pragmatism above bush environmentalism, removing draconian council bylaws which prohibit or restrict property owners from clearing bushland on their land, and for state governments to clear and manage state owned bushland in a way which will prepare for such events in the future.

Read it here.

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Senate debate on ETS gets underway

18 November, 2009 by

After a perfectly reasonable delay yesterday to finish other important legislation (which the government, in its usual, cheap, point-scoring way used as a stick to batter the Opposition), debate on the ETS has finally got underway in the Senate. We’re in such an odd situation here, with debate going on in Parliament, and parallel back-room negotiations going on outside. With chummy assurances going on outside Parliament, and harsh rhetoric within. Bizarre.

The Opposition just look like a bunch of wet rags, dancing to the Government’s tune – it’s pathetic. But at least inside the chamber, the Coalition are doing a passable impression of an Opposition:

Liberal senator Ian Macdonald has kicked off upper house debate on the government’s planned emissions trading scheme, dubbing it a “shambles.”

The suite of 11 bills setting up Labor’s carbon pollution reduction scheme was voted down by all non-government senators in August.

The government reintroduced the draft laws to the lower house in October, and on Monday used its numbers in that chamber to send them onto the Senate.

Senator Macdonald foreshadowed a difficult debate on the legislation.

“It’s going to be one of the most difficult debates to prosecute because the bill before the chamber today is exactly the same bill that the Senate voted down three months ago,” he told parliament on Wednesday.

“What we are debating today is a piece of flawed legislation that the Senate has already expressed its views on.”

The coalition and the government are currently negotiating amendments to the scheme, which are yet to be finalised.

“The government’s climate change policy is in a complete shambles,” Senator Macdonald said.

Then why on earth are you “negotiating” to pass it? Climate madness from the Opposition.

Read it here.

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Rudd ploughs on regardless

17 November, 2009 by

I know 5 facts about climate change, all of them wrong

I know 5 facts about climate change, all of them wrong

So now we can be 100% certain that forcing the ETS through parliament is nothing more than political vanity on the part of Kevin Rudd and Penny Wong. The circumstances have changed so much in the last few days, and there will be no binding deal at Copenhagen, but that doesn’t deter the great Chairman Rudd (and I have to warn you, there is a stack of tired climate clichés ahead):

On Sunday, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told leaders of the 21-nation Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation group, meeting in Singapore, there was little prospect of the Copenhagen meeting producing a formal agreement on reducing carbon emissions.

The leaders, including US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, decided to scrap a 200-page draft agreement negotiated by their diplomats and instead use the Copenhagen conference to seek a “framework agreement” under which countries would agree to cuts in emissions contingent on others taking similar action.

“Contingent on others taking similar action” – it even spells it out! But even that isn’t plain enough for Rudd:

Yesterday, Mr Rudd made it clear the change of tactics would not have a bearing on his push to create an ETS before the Copenhagen meeting.

[Cliché Alert] “The time has come to act,” Mr Rudd said.

[Cliché Alert] “The clock is ticking for the planet. It is also ticking for this parliament.”

At least one Liberal has the guts to see all this for the sham it is:

However, Liberal senator Mitch Fifield said the weekend events had “completely shot” the argument that the emissions legislation needed to be passed urgently.

“There is absolutely no reason not to wait until we know what happens in Copenhagen and, for that matter, to know what happens in the US,” Senator Fifield told Sky News.

Message to Malcolm Turnbull and the Opposition: there is absolutely no reason for this legislation to be passed before Copenhagen. For god’s sake VOTE IT DOWN.

Read it here.

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