Climate Change: Facing the Fourth Degree

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I'll be reporting from the FOUR DEGREES OR MORE? Australia in a Hot World conference on 12-14 July at Melbourne University.

It takes place at the time the Australia government is planning to make public the details of its proposed carbon tax and emissions trading scheme. It's not just the climate that's getting hotter.

Speakers include Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Chair of the German Government's Advisory Council on Global Change, and Professor Ross Garnaut from The University of Melbourne.

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Joe Hockey feeding both sides of the spending fence

Joe Hockey is not intersted in consistency when he's spinning the daily chook droppings. From ABC Radio AM this morning:

JOE HOCKEY: Well we committed to welfare reform, but we also recognise that if you are going to move people from welfare into work you have to spend money on training, on job support. Most importantly you need to, especially in the case of disability pensioners, upgrade facilities at employers' premises.
Hockey: budget not credible without carbon tax numbers

On Sunday he rolled his hollow barrel about government expenditure:

THE Federal Government says it will deliver a tough budget, but all it has done during the past week is spend money, Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says.

Mr Hockey says if the Government wants to take upward pressure off interest rates it has to get the budget back to surplus, and the starting point is to stop spending money.
Want to budget? Just stop spending, says Joe Hockey

Neither are the media, going by the lack of rigour in testing Joe's contradcitory nonsense with the odd pertinent question.

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Tony Abbott's Revolting Pug Politics

I was spurred on by Bernard Keane's article in Crikey Placards not the only thing on display as the denialists gather to these thoughts on Tony Abbott and Tea Party politics:

(Photo: ABC)

It was hard not to be appalled by Abbott's performance yesterday. He chose his company deliberately. That included the other speakers. Barnaby Joyce was playing hysterical demagogue.

David Archibald, the ‘economist’ who spoke at the rally, was generally ignored by the media. In fact Melbourne's Herald Sun chose not to mention the event or the offensive signs at all. It was front page at their rival The Age: To-ny, To-ny: poster boy for a crowd of 'fine Australians'. Their photo is far more explicit:

Archibald is from the mining industry and close to the Lavoisier Group of deniers, founded by that well known friend of working people and the environment Hugh Morgan.

Closer to home, the owner of our local shoe shop was headed for the rally: Carbon tax cops kick in Bayside He’s a budding economist too: “He said a 10 per cent carbon tax would be “the final straw” for embattled small retailers.”

Doubtless many in the Canberra crowd were small business people with close links to the Liberal Party.

The evening of the revolting people’s day, Bayside Climate Change Action Group held a successful forum of 150 + with Prof David Karoly of Melbourne University:

Prof. Karoly said. "If climate change is happening, it's happening on top of - and as well as – all the natural climate variations."

"Better to ask", Prof. Karoly said, "is how much worse were the floods made by greenhouse climate change?" While much more research needs to be done, his 'best estimate' is that the floods were perhaps 20% worse than if carbon dioxide levels had remained at the levels of about 100 years ago.

While that may seem only a modest addition, Prof. Karoly said the shift to a warmer climate – signalled too in record seawater temperatures around much of Australia - means Australians had better prepare for a land of greater droughts during the dry spells and worse flooding rains in the wet ones.David Karoly + Simon McKeon @ Firbank Grammar.

The anti-carbon-tax lobby is well organised and presumably well financed. Menzies House provides many of the links to the people's revolt on their campaign website Stop Gillard's Climate Tax.

It was always going to be a dirty fight. Pug politics!

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Proud to be Labor

After months of listening to comments ridiculing the Australian Labor Party, I just want to say, "I'm proud to be Labor". The great leadership of Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Prime Minister Julia Gillard during the current floods speaks for itself.

My thoughts have been better put by Greg Jericho at Grog's Gamut:

On Tuesday I commented that Anna Bligh had done a great job in her press conference in response to the Toowoomba floods when she stood strong as a leader should. Since then she has continued to impress everyone with how she has continued to provide leadership through the horror. Her press conferences have been must watches for sources of information, advice and inspiration.

Those who have been watching her media appearances over the past days would have been noticing the red eyes and obvious signs of time gone without sleep and a determination to not give in to the emotion of the events. This morning while delivering some stirring words to her fellow Queenslanders her voice cracked and the pent up emotion slightly crept through. It was her use of the phrase “as we weep…” that I think did it – the mere mention of that emotional response brought out that which she had been denying.

But by God it was brilliant to see.
Leadership is a wonderful thing to behold

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ALP Federal Election 2010 Review: Melbourne Consultation

Two things that need to be addressed that were raised at the 13 Dec Melbourne consultation meeting of the ALP Federal Election 2010 Review with Steve Bracks and John Faulkner:

First, concern was expressed that there is no woman on the panel. We must not copy this in the Victorian review. The names suggested n the The Age report this morning are all men.

Secondly, the internet where we have been woeful at the Federal level. Steve said that the review is looking at social media. The web is much more than social media and we need to establish a presence in many facets.

Most of our websites are not user friendly or useful for visitors. Cyber campaigning is not just an arm of PR or media releases. Tweetspins are just one symptom where we got caught out in the Victorain election. It should not just be the province of timid technocrats and green gatekeepers.

As well as commenting here the ALP has a Think Tank website where you can leave your ideas.

I've started a #LaborThinkTank twitter tag as well.

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Julian Burnside Defends Wikileaks

I've posted a report about Law Institute Victoria's Wikileaks forum in Melbourne on 9 December.

It includes a video of the speech by human rights lawyer Julian Burnside.

Julian Burnside, well known and respected human rights lawyer, has condemned calls by United States politicians and media commentators for the assassination of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. He spoke at a forum hosted by the Law Institute Victoria in Melbourne on Thursday 9 December.

He also attacked the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and Attorney General Robert Mcclelland, for their responses to Cablegate

Full post here:

Melbourne WikiLeaks Forum Condemns Politicians

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Climate Cablegate

We're blogging about climate change aspects of the WikiLeaks cablegate at Th!nk4: Climate Change:

Climate Cablegate: Lowering Expectations at Copenhagen

Join us!

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Greg Combet: Climate Clark Kent

My latest Th!nk4: Climate Change post

(Photo: Wikimedia)

Greg Combet, Australia's new Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, might look like Clark Kent but politically he is a Superman. As Secretary of the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions) before entering Federal parliament, he won some seemingly unwinnable battles.

Combet and the Gillard government have received welcome support from the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) for placing a price on carbon:

THE government's push for a price on carbon has received a boost from the OECD.

Its economic survey of Australia says the setting of a price "sooner rather than later" is the "best option for cutting CO2 emissions".
Price on carbon 'is best option'

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Schools Building Program Value for Money

So sad to see Christopher Pyne getting upset. It's a big advance on his bullying but fictional rhetoric about the Federal government's Schools Building Program:

THE man overseeing the investigation into the $16 billion federal schools building program has challenged Coalition criticisms, claiming there is no evidence that value for money has not been achieved.

In evidence to a sometimes-heated Senate hearing yesterday, retired banker Brad Orgill said some state governments had achieved better value-for-money results than some private school systems.
'Excellent' results for schools program

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Greens Plot Pragmatic Political Path

My latest post for Th!nk4: Climate Change:

As my early post Australia Revisits Carbon Tax indicated, green politics have become the flavour of the year in Australia. With a State election in Victoria due on 27 November, environmental politics have taken on an engrossing importance.

Swings away from the ruling Australian Labor Party are now the order of the day. Tasmania has a minority Labor government backed by the Greens who have two Cabinet ministers. (I’m tickled by the fact that the Greens leader Nick McKim is Attorney General, making him the Minister for prisons amongst other things).

Opinion polls in Victoria show a large swing with the Greens on 16-19% this week. They received 10% at the election 4 years ago. This time they may win Assembly seats and hold the balance of power. Just as interesting is their current politicking:

Federal Greens leader Bob Brown has left open the possibility of his party entering into a power-sharing alliance with the Victorian Coalition if the election produces a hung parliament.

He said in Melbourne yesterday that the Greens had every right to negotiate with either side of politics if it meant getting a better deal for their supporters.
Greens put heat on ALP

Long gone are the days when The Greens were seen as idealistic purists.

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