The reality of this is that it has high probability of being yet another excuse for ‘look over there’, obfuscation, and an invitation for every arm chair crackpot and outlier to have their go. Predictably predictable. The political conclusion would surprise if it was anything more than a whitewash of business as usual and how good this government is.
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My predictions are:
- The federal enquiry (at least) will only come up with short term measures like emergency services, new water bombers etc, that they can throw some money at to show that they are ‘taking action’, or even ‘decisive action’. Most of such things are within the control of the States and this will be used as an excuse while urging the States to take more (short term) action. Hazard reduction burning and anti-arson measures will be in this list.
- The opposition will hum along with the choir mostly but quibble over some details to look different. Labor will fail to grow a pair and not give the parts of the electorate who are dissatisfied with climate action a major party to vote for. Again.
- Climate change mitigation, which is something that can be done locally without international cooperation, will get little or no explicit consideration at the federal level because it means admitting that the main climate change actions are and will be inadequate. Any action will be carried by the States. The feds may make general funding available to States that can be spent on mitigation thus allowing the feds not to have to acknowledge it.
- The furphy that we are meeting our emission reduction targets will be continually repeated despite the fact that our emissions are growing $$$ and will continue to grow. One look at the trend graph over the last decade will tell you that ‘meeting our targets’ is nothing but creative accounting.
- Some State enquiries will mention long term matters such as climate change policy and action but complain the matter is out of their hands and the feds need to do it. Even coalition held States will bag the feds because they feel the growing resentment of the people and they are not bound by a policy that can neither succeed nor be abandoned. Much better to focus the backlash on their federal colleagues than allow it to fall on them.
Overall little will be achieved. Whether the aim of political harm minimisation will be met depends on whether the electorate will retain their fury come election day and turn it into action and whether the opposition emerges from their coma. That is beyond my crystal ball.
$$$ Note the dip in the graph, that was when we briefly had a price on carbon but that is now the third rail that nobody wants to touch.
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Complete and sage-like prognostication!
Fearless leader said “our policies don’t pursue reckless job-destroying and economy-destroying targets” A man who has mistaken an opportunity for a threat.
Back in the real world “Business is already doing it, not because they are greenies but because they are capitalists,” market forces are acting but sadly rather too late.
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I wonder what we should describe the current economic impacts of the extended and severe drought and unprecedented bushfires as?
Business as Usual!
There was a glimmer of hope for the Liberal Party under J Howard. Common sense and bipartisanship might have been the norm in response to climate change. We are now into our 13th year of devise politics, obstruction and evasive policies from the same team.
Australia might now add irreversibly ‘credibility destroying’ to it’s international credits.
I guess ScoMo only needs to surf this wave once, when everything is burnt it will take a number of ‘terms’ before it is an issue again - by which time he will be retired … or taken in the rapture …
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An article regarding Murdoch & Co and the bushfires.
Move along folks. Nothing to see here. It is all burnt and gone.
A sad history:
Another article regarding Ross Garnaut’s comments on reducing emissions whilst protecting the economy.
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Pauline still thinks it is all rubbish. She will probably be re-elected for as long as she wants to serve since she and her voters are like minded denialists, or have trouble connecting dots to how climate change affects bush fires and drought seasons even if there is no cause-effect they accept.
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A quote which says much about her (Pauline’s) understanding:
“As far as predicting the climate change… they can’t even get my weather right and tell me if it’s going to rain,’ she said.”
“They can’t get it right over the next seven to 10 days and they’re trying to tell me what it is going to be like in the next hundred years.”
Pauline, its for the same reason I will give you odds of 1000 to 1 that the mean maximum temperature in July will be much lower than in January in any year you care to name. It isn’t about specific days it’s about trends over time. The chaotic nature of weather makes accurate prediction of short term weather impossible but does not prevent the accurate predictions of trends over years - as we have seen.
So we have these “please explain” moments. What is worse she and other public figures of the same level of comprehension are not held to account at the ballot box. I find this very sad for my country and the globe. It is fine to use prejudice to decide what to have for lunch not the future of the world.
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As much an indictment on the educational system as on the voters. I’ll not get into the fake news and conspiracy types who are fanned by Rupert’s empire.
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I have a relative who works in Canberra. She has breathing difficulties. Many days, she’s had to work from home - just couldn’t operate outside for long enough to get to the office.
Come the holiday period, the family escaped to the coast. That didn’t work out too well. Last I heard, they were in Hobart breathing freely for the first time in quite a while.
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And an article on pathologising climate change concerns:
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Apparently everyone actually missed the solution to the bushfire crisis except for this person.
And then, theres this. Goodbye to more koala habitat.
Not to worry. We are going to send them to New Zealand.
Although they may have reservations after we gave then all those lovely possums.
They’d have to send their special trees too. They havent thought it through.
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I know I get irritable and don’t think clearly when I’m too hot.
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And some facts for the interested:
Re Koalas:
It’s worked very well in the past - Australia has been instrumental in saving many species from extinction - rabbit, hare, fox, camel, pig, horse, buffalo, donkey to name just a few - maybe it is time for us to have our threatened species saved by introducing them to other countries? what could go wrong?
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Possibly not the koalas will be the problem (unless they become dropbears), but the vegetation to support them. Eucalyptus (Corymbia sp) have become a significant weed problem in many countries and comes with introducing/increasing local wildfire risks.
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