Combet: Australia will sign up to Kyoto II

9 November, 2012 by

Combet

From ABC comes news that Greg Combet will sign up to an agreement that doesn’t exist yet, as the talks to finalise it are happening next month:

Australia will sign up to the next phase of the Kyoto Protocol on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, despite concerns from environmentalists that carbon reduction targets remain too low.

The current agreement is due to expire this year, although agreement on a new globally-binding deal is not expected until 2015. 

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has announced that Australia is willing to sign up to the next phase of the Kyoto agreement, which will effectively act as a bridging deal until a new long-term plan can be agreed to. 

Read it here.

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Quote of the Day: Greg Combet

29 September, 2011 by

More tax! More tax!

Trying desperately to justify a pointless tax that nobody wants, Greg Combet plumbs new depths:

“Tariffs were iconic, and even now they instantly reappear in debate as policy responses to contemporary economic pressures.

“But John Button’s reforms made Australia stronger.”

Mr Combet said carbon pricing was “squarely in the Labor reformist tradition” which Senator Button helped to forge. (source)

Allow me to put it simply:

“Taxing people more is what Labor does best.”

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The debate is over… on the carbon tax

13 September, 2011 by

Contempt for Parliament

With the carbon tax bills being introduced to Parliament, the government is doing its best to ensure that there is as little debate as possible. Greg Combet, difficult to like at the best of times, is at his most arrogant, contemptuous worst:

“Tony Abbott’s misinformed people, deceived people, told lies about things,” he said. [Better not mention the lies in the government’s ad campaign then – Ed]

“I don’t expect the Coalition to make much in the form of a constructive debate.”

The Coalition claim that there is no where near enough time to debate the complex bills, with each member only having a minute to debate the 18 bills. Combet explains helpfully:

“That’s all rubbish,” Mr Combet said, adding the bills would be debated as one piece of legislation. [That still is only 18 minutes per member for one of the most complex changes to our economy in Australia’s history – Ed]

Mr Combet said there had been 35 inquiries into climate change [all of them fudged or fixed – Ed].

“It really is time we got on with it.”

“Time we got on with it.” I love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning. Just imagine Labor’s outrage at a minority Coalition government with no mandate, which broke an express pre-election promise to force through a hotly contested piece of legislation and then stifled proper democratic processes in Parliament by cutting short the debates. We’d have Combet, Gillard, Albanese and all the other Labor attack dogs shrieking from the rooftops. Tony Abbott responds:

Mr Abbott said it would be a “travesty of democracy” for the Government to rush its legislation through Parliament, especially as it had no mandate for a carbon tax.

He vowed to repeal the laws once a Coalition government was elected, despite concerns it might cause disruption to business.

“It’s never disruptive to get rid of a bad tax,” he told ABC Radio.

“It’s always advantageous to reduce business costs and they don’t want this tax and if they get it, they will want to be rid of it as quickly as they possibly can.”

Read it here.

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Gore apes Combet: compares sceptics to "racists"

29 August, 2011 by

Al "Three Monitors" Gore

Remember Greg Combet nonsensically branding the Coalition’s position on climate a “white carbon policy” a few days ago? Now we have Al Gore (who he? – Ed) comparing sceptics with racists.

Gore, like Combet, has no arguments left and has abandoned any pretence of his cause being grounded on some kind of scientific basis. Now it’s all about morals, a sure sign that he, like Combet, Gillard etc, is a busted flush. Gore is now fully unhinged, desperate to keep the climate bandwagon rolling to protect his green investments:

“There came a time when friends or people you work with or people you were in clubs with — you’re much younger than me so you didn’t have to go through this personally — but there came a time when racist comments would come up in the course of the conversation and in years past they were just natural. Then there came a time when people would say, ‘Hey, man why do you talk that way, I mean that is wrong. I don’t go for that so don’t talk that way around me. I just don’t believe that.’ That happened in millions of conversations and slowly the conversation was won.”

“We have to win the conversation on climate,” Gore added.

When Bogusky questioned the analogy, asking if the scientific reasoning behind climate change skeptics might throw a wrench into the good and evil comparison with racism, Gore did not back down.

“I think it’s the same where the moral component is concerned and where the facts are concerned I think it is important to get that out there, absolutely,” Gore said.

As usual when figures like Gore and Combet try to justify their belief in the climate religion by resorting to ridiculous comparisons to issues of race or morality, we should be satisfied that their argument is well and truly lost.

Read it here (thanks to WUWT).

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Head slap: Coalition climate policy "racist" – Combet

23 August, 2011 by

Idiot. No other word, sorry.

No matter how low Labor sink in their smears of anyone that disagrees with their deceitful carbon tax, they still manage to amaze by pulling a real shocker out of the bag:

Federal Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has accused Opposition Leader Tony Abbott of having a racist climate change policy.

Mr Abbott has warned that Australian businesses buying carbon permits under an emissions trading scheme could be conned by unscrupulous international traders.

…

Mr Combet described Mr Abbott’s position as “economic xenophobia” in an address to the National Press Club.

“It sends the signal that it’s somehow dubious to trade with foreigners. It’s typical dog-whistle politics, trashing the commitment that’s existed for many years on both sides of politics to economic liberalisation and open trade,” he said.

“It is in effect a white carbon policy designed to harvest more votes no matter what the cost.” (source)

Greg, you are a copper-bottomed idiot, I’m afraid [and no, that isn’t an ad hom, because it is conclusion drawn from a statement which any rational person would consider utterly and completely insane – Ed]. The small facts that (a) the biggest carbon trading market, namely that in the EU, is mired in fraud and corruption, and (b) as part of the carbon tax package we will be sending billions of dollars to dodgy third world dictatorships to purchase “carbon credits” in order to meet hopelessly unattainable emissions reduction targets, seem to have somehow escaped him.

Face-palm. But I guess we should be pleased that Combet is so desperate he has descended to this level.

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Labor: political survival above national interest

16 August, 2011 by

"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.

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Figures fudged to justify carbon price

15 August, 2011 by

China's carbon price is lower, Greg

This is what happens when ideology and a tawdry deal with the Greens takes precedence over the best interests of the nation.

THE Gillard government’s claims that Australia lags behind China in the effective price on carbon have been discredited by its Climate Change Department.

The revelations, in documents obtained through a Freedom of Information application, show that rather than trailing China’s implicit carbon price by more than $12 per tonne, Australia’s effective price could already be higher.

This undermines the government’s argument for Australia to introduce a carbon tax now at an additional cost of $23 per tonne.

The documents, obtained by the Institute of Public Affairs, show the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency warned that a crucial draft report on comparative implicit carbon prices overestimated China’s figure more than sixfold.

Despite that warning, the higher figure remained in the report and has been quoted by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet.

…

The report the minister referred to was not as independent as it sounds — it was funded by government through a $70,000 payment that went via the “non-partisan” Climate Institute.  (source)

The Climate Institute? Non-partisan? Oh, please.

Read Tim Wilson’s article in The Australian here.

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Arrogant Combet to plough on with carbon tax

24 July, 2011 by

Contempt for the electorate

Poor Greg. He’s got no choice of course. Blackmailed by the Greens into taking urgent action on climate change (thanks Adam Bandt for that bit of intelligence), Labor has the unenviable choice of either:

(a) abandoning the most unpopular tax in Australian history quickly, losing the Greens’ support in parliament, thereby precipitating an early election… which they will inevitably lose; or,

(b) forcing through the most unpopular tax in Australian history, and then having to survive until the next election… which they will, er, inevitably lose.

They’ve plumped for the second option and you have to admit Combet is playing the part well, with plenty of huff, puff and bluster and swagger (none of which he probably believes himself), and in the process managing to alienate even more of the electorate – if that were possible – with his play-acted arrogance and conceit:

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has lashed out over criticisms at how long it’s taking the public to warm to the carbon tax.

It’s two weeks since the federal government released the long-awaited details of its carbon price, and the polls are still indicating a lukewarm response. [“Lukewarm”? More like freezing your nuts off – Ed]

Asked if the government will be forced to rework the tax or consider alternatives if support doesn’t pick up, Mr Combet gave an exasperated response.

“Give us a break will you, God, this is such rubbish,” he told Network Ten on Sunday. [Does he mean the tax or the question? – Ed]

“The detail (of the carbon price) has been out for two weeks. There has been months of deceitful, misrepresentative campaigning by (Opposition Leader) Tony Abbott, supported by some others.” [Which is of course nothing compared to the deceitful, misrepresentative campaigning by the Government on the carbon tax – see the Eight Lies – Ed]

He insisted the government won’t waver on its plan to price carbon at $23 a tonne starting July 1, 2012.

“The government is going to stick to its guns here.

“We will continue to explain this to people, in particular that the price impacts are modest.”

As always, they think that the public is plain stupid, and just by explaining it more they will learn to love the tax. But they won’t. You can’t polish a turd. And the carbon tax is a turd alright…

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Labor wastes $12 million advertising a tax that doesn't exist

16 June, 2011 by

Carbon tax advertising

The Climate Madness escalates to new heights, as Greg Combet announces a propaganda campaign, to be funded by 12 million of your taxpayer dollars, for a policy that doesn’t yet exist.

Hang on a minute, surely we should be waiting until the Climate Committee makes its recommendation, shouldn’t we? Nope, because the Climate Committee is a TOTAL SHAM. Like the one-eyed Climate Commission and all the other pointless talk-fests. This government doesn’t give a sh*t about what any of them says – it’s already made up its mind that there will be a carbon tax, and it’s already budgeted for the advertising. Un-freaking-believable.

Finally, FINALLY, the independents are slowly beginning to stand up to the utter nonsense and dishonesty being perpetrated by this embarrassment of a government:

TAXPAYERS are set to foot the bill for a $12 million carbon tax advertising campaign in an announcement that has angered independent MPs, who will have the deciding votes on the controversial reform.

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet today revealed initial plans for the campaign, which must still be signed off by the multi-party climate change committee and meet government advertising guidelines.

He said the “modest” campaign was appropriate to inform [brainwash – Ed] the public on a matter of government policy.

“The government considers that it is extremely important that the government [public? – Ed] has access to appropriate information [biased propaganda – Ed] about the policies and plans for carbon pricing,” Mr Combet said.

He refused to rule out an expansion of the advertising budget in the future.

Multi-party climate committee members Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor condemned the announcement as “incredibly unhelpful”.

“I totally disagree with the decision and totally disassociate myself from the decision,” Mr Oakeshott said.

Mr Windsor said the announcement was “dumb” given the lack of a concrete policy.

“It’s the presumption that money will be spent on something that doesn’t exist,” he said. (source)

On ABC news this evening, Windsor said it was “money for propaganda.” Bravo. Keep it up. Maybe the independents have finally each grown a set.

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NT passes 50-year carbon tax exemption

6 May, 2011 by

Carbon tax exclusion

At least the Northern Territory isn’t as dumb as the rest of Australia. They’re bailing out of a carbon tax before it has even been introduced!

An opposition motion in the NT Legislative Assembly, which was passed “on the voices”, calls for a half-century exemption, which would be relaxed in the event of an international deal on cutting carbon emissions.

The motion will be presented to federal parliament for the consideration of MPs ahead of debate on Labor’s final carbon tax proposal.

The Country Liberal Party motion was passed on Wednesday night after crossbench independent Gerry Wood spoke in its support.

Chief Minister Paul Henderson’s minority Labor government would have needed the support of a Labor defector, independent Alison Anderson, to win a vote on the floor.

Rather than seek her support, the government let the motion pass “on the voices”.

The federal opposition seized on the move, with climate action spokesman Greg Hunt saying support for the carbon tax had collapsed among state Labor branches.

And Tony Abbott said the carbon price was a “toxic tax” and the NT resolution followed a global movement against carbon taxes.

“Right around the world, the tide is going against what Julia Gillard is proposing. We’ve just seen an election in Canada which gave an anti-carbon price government a majority, and that’s the first time they’ve had a majority government in Canada for quite a long time,” the Opposition Leader said.

But the best bit is Combet’s desperate attempt to make the Territory feel “guilty” for betraying the planet, and his false logic on the issue:

“The Gillard government is very conscious of the impacts of climate change and a carbon price in the Northern Territory.

“The NT is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Rising temperatures could see the loss of significant freshwater wetlands in Kakadu National Park, which would hurt the Territory’s tourism industry, and there are other risks for the Territory from climate change.

Except a carbon tax in Australia won’t change any of these things! If you believe that CO2 is causing dangerous warming, then you should be speaking to the US, China and India, because they’re the only ones that would make any difference.

Read it here.

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