Carbon Cop-outs: too little, too fast

Brendan Nelson must be hoping that the price of oil will go back up again before one or more leadership challenges becomes reality. It’s his only policy at present. His stance on emissions trading seems to be less consistent than his party’s. He wants a delay of one or two years. But just what does he want to happen? I wonder what the Nationals would be prepared to vote for? What part of the green paper would the Coalition parties support? Will the new Liberal National Party in Queensland support
anything?

It’s bad enough that the future of Australia’s approach to climate change might be in the hands of Nick Xenophon and Family First. What will they demand in return for their votes? More betrayals of majority wishes on personal moral issues such as we saw with Brian Harradine?

The Greens will also have to think very hard about their bottom line. It would be ironic and tragic if the deniers get their way because a compromise can’t be negotiated amongst ETS supporters. Perhaps a Coalition Senator or two may have to cross the floor before we are finished.

Let’s hope that the electorate doesn’t decide at the next election that the Rudd government did too little, too fast.

There is a lot of misinformed comment about. I’m tired of claims that the Draft Garnaut Report on Climate Change did not address/mention certain aspects of the debate when it clearly did. It might be 500 pages long but you would expect so-called experts to at least scan it.

Yesterday’s Counterpoint on ABC Radio National was a case in point when Bob Birrell claimed that the issues related to increased immigration and population “haven't been discussed publicly as yet, certainly not by Garnaut or by the government”. The draft itself and his public briefings are evidence to the contrary.

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