Antinuclear

Most credible scientists would call the warming of the planet a crisis, or at least an impending problem, but you will not hear either Rudd or Abbott declare it one. For different reasons, it is not in their political interests to do so.

Rudd has moved heaven and earth (and created a budget hole of $3.8 billion) to neutralise the opposition’s anti-carbon tax campaign. The Prime Minister acted to ease voter concern about rising cost of living pressures, which rather disrupted the Gillard government’s narrative that the cost of living had either not risen, or where it had risen, had been offset by government compensation.

It’s a confused message, and it’s difficult to believe the government has designed the best possible emissions abatement scheme when it was initially created as a political fix, and then tampered with for another political fix.

Meanwhile, though Abbott points to the Coalition’s 30-page Direct Action Plan as evidence he can be taken seriously on climate change, it is difficult to believe it is a policy area close to his heart when he has previously declared the science ”crap” (comments he made in September 2009 to a Liberal Party function, reported by the Pyrenees Advocate. Abbott has since said he believes climate change to be real).

But now the heat has come out of the carbon tax debate, which was so rageful for so long, it might actually be possible to set Direct Action side by side with the government’s emissions trading scheme, and compare the policies with (dare I write it) cool heads. Continue reading →