Election comedy - 19 August 2010
(provided by Judy Walker, convenor of the BCCAN Community Awarenes Action Planning Team)
I must admit I’m a bit of a politics tragic. However, during this election campaign I’ve enjoyed the comedy of budgie-smugglers, wrangers, personality changes and the picture I have in my head of boats of asylum seekers chugging up the Macquarie River as we are “overrun by illegal boat arrivals”.
However I can’t find any way of dealing with the fact that both major parties have shuffled the issue of climate change off to the side and are doing their best to avoid effective action.
Labor is promising us a talk fest and a scheme to allow farmers to earn carbon credits for purchase by plane travelers or companies, so that they can say they are environmentally conscious.
The Coalition has said it can deal with the problem of carbon emissions. Where will the Green Army of 15 thousand volunteers come from and exactly what they are going to do? What will be the cost to the taxpayer of their activities? The Coalition has said that it will encourage polluting industries and farmers to cut back on their CO2e emissions voluntarily, by offering them a subsidy. Will the cost of this be available for public scrutiny? The taxpayer is going to have to provide that subsidy. In fact, if industry takes up this promised subsidy, the cost on the public’s pocket will be a dreaded “great big fat tax”. Yet the Coalition wants us to believe that “a big fat tax” is only when you actually use the words “carbon tax” and make the polluters pay the tax.
Meanwhile the vast majority of scientists tell us that a 5% reduction of emissions is not enough. The heat wave and forest fires in Russia and the devastating floods in Pakistan are telling us that too. While the Coalition and Labor play their games the scientists are putting forward positive, achievable actions.
On Thursday, 12 August, a collaborative research report was released at a meeting at the Sydney Town Hall. The 16 page synopsis summarises a plan for Australia to transition to renewable energy in the next 10 years. It examines the cost of such actions. It deals with the issues of employment. It concludes that this transition is achievable and affordable. Look at the report for yourself on the Beyond Zero Emissions website.