Maintained by Peter Black, this group blog will obsessively cover the politics, policy and prognosticating of the 2010 federal election.
Header Image: Canberra in the evening as seen from Mt Ainslie. Photo by Ryan Wick.
Contributed by Peter Black
Maintained by Peter Black, this group blog will obsessively cover the politics, policy and prognosticating of the 2010 federal election
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Labor's climate change policy farce: a policy when you have no policy
I think one of the most disappointing public policy issues over the past 12 months from both major parties has been their refusal to confront climate change. Instead we have seen the Liberal Party, which was once a champion of bipartisan reform under Malcolm Turnbull, do everything it can to downplay both the threat posed by climate as well as putting forward a policy that doesn't stand much chance of addressing the problem. However, as weak as their policy is, I think Julia Gillard has reached a new policy low, in a disappointing act of political cowardice, by more or less putting climate change in the "too hard basket" for the duration of the campaign.
Julia Gillard is currently speaking at the University of Queensland, in what SkyNews describes on the lower third of the TV screen as "Prime Minister Julia Gillard Announcing Labor's Climate Change Policy". In fact, it really is the announcement of a non-policy. She is using all the right buzz words, and doing her utmost to respect all points of view so that she doesn't possibly offend or alienate anyone, but it really is an announcement without any real policy substance or fortitude. So instead of beginning to address the issue now, she wants to delay any action pending more consultation. From ABC News:
A re-elected Labor government would ask a new "citizens' assembly" for climate change advice, under a key part of the ALP's new climate change policy set to be launched by Prime Minister Julia Gillard today.
The ABC understands Ms Gillard will outline plans to set up a committee of scientists to advise the Government on climate change.
The committee will be paired with a citizens' assembly, consisting of 100-200 volunteers who will gauge feeling of the community on its attitude towards putting a price on carbon, and feed it back to the Government.
The policy launch comes two-and-a-half months after the Federal Government decided to shelve its emissions trading scheme.
Now unfortunately this may well be smart politics; I know there are large segments of the Australian population who don't believe in climate change, or who don't think it is worth Australia taking any action, or who don't want to have to pay for any meaningful climate change policy. But it is also weak leadership. And quite frankly, I expect more from our political leaders. No wonder so many people are disillusioned by both the Labor and Liberal Parties and will be voting for the Greens at this federal election.
- 23 July 2010
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Election Blackout's Posterous
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Maintained by Peter Black, this group blog will obsessively cover the politics, policy and prognosticating of the 2010 federal election.
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Scientists and economists are saying that the time to act is now and Gillard wants to stall by setting up a "citizens' assembly"? On August 21 the Australian people will elect 190 representatives (150 MHRs and 40 of 76 Senators) to put their views across on a wide range of issues.
Allowing volunteers with no public backing, and, dare I say it, less of an understanding of climate change than the scientists and economists telling us to act now, to advise the government on the public mood is a waste of time and resources.
There has been research, polling, focus group testing, etc. on this subject and it paints the very clear picture that immediate action is needed and that the Australian people want immediate action from their political leaders.
For something which is "the biggest moral challenge", the government appears to be behaving as though this were a community consultation for a new Council pool.
I am a sceptic on "man-made climate change" - and would encourage anyone to read the book Lord Lawson (Margaret Thatcher's Chancellor of the Exchequer) wrote - "An Appeal to Reason" or, the chapter in Dubner & Levitt's "Superfreakonomics" that touches on it.
Having said that - the Labor line on Climate Change reminds me a lot of Churchill's Locust Year's speech:
"Anyone can see what the position is. The Government simply cannot make up their mind, or they cannot get the Prime Minister to make up his mind. So they go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent. So we go on preparing more months and years – precious, perhaps vital to the greatness of Britian – for the locusts to eat."
If this citizens' assembly thing must go ahead, it should be tweaked so that it becomes a deliberative opinion poll. That is, gather a random representative sample of the population and poll the respondents' opinions on climate change and various strategies to address climate change. Then put the respondents and a wide range of experts through an intensive series of workshops, group discussions, and lectures on the relevant issues over a period of several days. Then poll their opinions on the same questions at the end and see what's changed. It would probably show that people become more supportive of action to address climate change, and less amenable to scare campaigns and denialist nonsense, when they interact directly with experts and engage with the issues in depth. This could help the government build the community consense it claims to need before acting.
But really, none of this is necessary. The government can and should act now. There is no requirement for community consensus to undertake major reforms. Many big reforms that now enjoy near universal support were deeply controversial when they were implemented. Medicare is a good example of this.