Antinuclear

No Christine Milne in election debate – so no mention of climate change

Where was Christine Milne? The debate we never had  Christine Milne  theguardian.com, Sunday 11 August 2013 The Greens leader was a notable absentee at the National Press Club. Here she outlines the issues she says her rivals missed

……..Fossil fuel subsidies

Another issue that didn’t get mentioned at all in the debate between Rudd and Abbott is their continued financial support for the environmentally damaging fossil fuel industry. Australian taxpayers continue to subsidise mining companies use of fuel by around $2bn a year as well as giving them tax breaks to explore for more fossil fuels that we cannot afford to burn if we are to avoid global warming.

Instead of subsidising fossil fuels we should be investing in higher education, research and development and the clean economy. The Greens will stand up to the powerful mining companies and invest in clean energy technology………

Climate change

The Greens are the only party you can trust to cut greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the reduction target to between 25% and 40% by 2020, net carbon zero by 2050, increasing the renewable energy target to 90% by 2030, increasing the Clean Energy Finance Corporation funding to $30bn over 10 years and stopping the expansion of coalmining and coal seam gas.

Rudd’s hypocrisy on the Great Barrier Reef is breathtaking. You cannot save the reef by opening up the Galilee and Bowen basins to new coalmines and dredging ports and dumping spoil into the reef. Both he and Abbott will give the go ahead to Abbot Point coal terminal. Abbott doesn’t even pretend to care about global warming. Both old parties cannot be trusted to act with conviction and internal consistency on addressing climate change.

Abbott has cast overwhelming uncertainty over clean energy investment and will stall all utility scale investment when he slashes the large-scale renewable energy target from 41,000 gigawatt hours…… http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/11/australian-election-2013-australian-greens

August 11, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | General News