Adam Bandt, The new Australian Greens leader looks to hopeful action on climate catastrophe
“There is no point in telling people there may be jobs in unspecified industries in the future. It is incumbent on us to explain how we will look after people in this transition”. …….
He has opened his period of leadership by talking about a Green New Deal, which he characterises as “a government-led plan of investment and action to build a clean economy and a caring society”.
Adam Bandt: the Greens must provide hope there is an exit strategy from climate catastrophe The new Australian Greens leader says the party has to connect with coal communities if it wants to be taken seriously, Guardian Katharine Murphy Political editor @murpharoo, Fri 7 Feb 2020 For the first time in the party’s history, the leader of the Australian Greens sits in the House of Representatives, not in the Senate. If you have to hold a lower house seat at every election, Adam Bandt says, you have to listen, and you have to be plugged in to the practical concerns of your constituents. Continue reading
Know your Federal govt pro nuclear stooges
These are just a few – mentioned in today’s Age:
- Katie Allen inner-city Melbourne Liberal MP
- Ted O’Brien, Queensland LNP MP , Fairfax electorate on the Sunshine Coast
- Trent Zimmerman, from inner-city electorate North Sydney
- Bridget Archer from Bass in northern Tasmania,
- David Gillespie Nationals MP for Lyne
- Rick Wilson MP West Australia
- Keith Pitt, North Queensland Nationals MP , who was this week promoted to cabinet as Resources Minister.
Former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has also promoted nuclear energy.
Australian Parliament and its coal-smudged deals
Leadership spills and coal-smudged deals, Independent Australia, 
By Michelle Pini | 6 February 2020 Leadership spills aside, we have a Government littered with climate denialists and two major progressive parties effectively acting as their enablers, writes executive editor Michelle Pini.
FIRST, we had a Nats spill brought on by the sports rorts scandal. Then we had a changing of the guard – and definitely not a “spill” – at the Greens, which went largely unnoticed, what with all the drama in the Government. And talk of another Lib spill – despite Morrison’s “miracle” election win – has also been doing the rounds. Again.
But today, we still have McCormack. We still have Morrison. And though we have Bandt, he is heading a party with basically the same old agenda – a self-righteous, if admirable, one – where there is no negotiation, only elaborate demands. Oh and we still have Albanese — who heads a risk-averse Labor Party, which is unlikely to spill much other than their own unelected tears.
WHEN A SPILL ISN’T A SPILL
Deputy Prime Minister McCormack is safe. For now. And by his side is David I’m-Not-A-Scientist Littleproud.
McCormack’s first appearance on national TV, since surviving the well-sharpened knives of his predecessor, was dedicated to the importance of coal and gas….. That the focus was on rocks and other fossil fuels from the leader of the party of dinosaurs pretty much says it all……..
Most Australians want action on climate change, but it’s just not going to happen so long as they also keep voting for the Coalition…….
MORE COAL-SMUDGED DEALS
Meanwhile, it’s business as usual at the Liberal Party.
With his sudden and spectacular fall from public favour as the bushfire crisis escalated, Morrison made a few “climate change is real” noises. But anyone who has actually been listening knows he never committed to doing anything real. He never has and he never will. Not while there’s coal in his fossil fuel-lobbying belly.
A challenge for the leadership will likely bring Dutton the Overlord out of his dark sinister corner, so a Lib spill will only bring more of the same — or maybe even worse outcomes for the climate emergency…..
What we have, in essence, is a Government littered with climate denialists and two major progressive parties effectively acting as their enablers. Because as long as the Greens just lay out their wish list and Labor take refuge in their hidey-hole of inaction, the coal-smudged dinosaurs continue Australia’s fossil fuel rule.
Instead of political posturing, what is needed is the collaboration of all progressive parties. In the first instance, between Labor and the Greens, and then between this partnership and the crossbench.
Those of us on the progressive side of politics need to wake up and smell the acrid smoke of the alternative.https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/leadership-spills-and-coal-smudged-deals,13568
#ScottyFromMarketing appoints nuclear-coal enthusiast as Australia’s new resources minister
Liberal policy
Pro-coal, pro-nuclear, anti-renewables MP is Australia’s new resources minister, REneweconomy, , Queensland MP Keith Pitt – an outspoken support of coal and nuclear and critic of wind and solar – has been elevated to the federal cabinet and replaces Matt Canavan as the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, as flagged by RenewEconomy yesterday
Liberal politicians jump on the climate bandwagon to promote nuclear power
Goldstein MP, Tim Wilson and North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman spoke in favour of nuclear power, commending MP Ted O’Brien for his parliamentary inquiry into the issue, which was tabled in December, and advocating for it to be further explored.
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Coalition MPs clash over climate policy in first party room meeting of 2020
Scott Morrison faces difficult task of repositioning on climate change after assuring voters policies would ‘evolve’ Guardian, Sarah Martin @msmarto, Tue 4 Feb 2020 The prime minister, Scott Morrison, faces a fresh internal row over climate change policy, with MPs clashing over the issue in the first Coalition party room meeting of the year. Continue reading |
#ScottyFromMarketing “won’t be bullied” by climate science
Mr Morrison’s comments echoed those of his deputy prime minister during the height of the bushfire crisis.
In November, Mr McCormack attacked those who were linking climate change to the severity of the bushfires, labelling them “inner-city raving lunatics”
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Scott Morrison says he won’t be ‘bullied’ on climate by inner city voters, https://www.sbs.com.au/news/scott-morrison-says-he-won-t-be-bullied-on-climate-by-inner-city-voters Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he “won’t be bullied” into changing his government’s position on climate change as National MPs renew demands for more investment in coal.
5 Feb 20, BY TOM STAYNER
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declared he won’t be “bullied” by inner-city voters as he downplayed concerns of a fresh climate war inside the Coalition. Continue reading
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Greens leader Adam Bandt vows to hold torch to Coalition on climate
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Greens leader Adam Bandt vows to hold torch to Coalition on climate, The New Daily, 3 Feb 20, Adam Bandt has been elected unopposed as Greens leader following the surprise resignation of Richard Di Natale
The only Greens member in the lower house, Mr Bandt was formally endorsed by his federal party room colleagues in Canberra on Tuesday morning. He has promised to pursue a “Green New Deal” focused on including dental treatment in Medicare, making education free by abolishing public school fees, and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. Mr Bandt aims to win the balance of power in the upper and lower houses of federal parliament at the next election. In the meantime, he intends to pressure the Morrison government to take stronger action on climate change. Mr Bandt labelled the Coalition government “criminal” for abolishing the carbon price under Tony Abbott and argued climate inaction was fanning the ongoing bushfire crisis. He also claimed big businesses were “killing people” by contributing to a “climate catastrophe”. Mr Bandt said the Greens would provide “real opposition” and hold the government to account He said the major parties were “singing from the same song sheet” on coal mining. “I’m not one of those people who says that Labor and the Liberals are the same,” he said, shortly after his election to the leadership. “But when it comes to coal, Labor is now using exactly the same terminology as the Liberals.” Queensland senator Larissa Waters will remain co-deputy of the party and will share the role with Tasmanian senator Nick McKim. Senator Waters will also be the Greens leader in the Senate……https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2020/02/04/adam-bandt-greens-leader/ |
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#ScottyFromMarketing has no climate target, because he is controlled by climate denialists
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Scott Morrison’s missing target: climate https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/scott-morrison-s-missing-climate-target-20200203-p53x5g
If he is going to appease noisy climate change denialists, it would be better if the Prime Minister left emissions reduction policy to the states. Richard Denniss Columnist Scott Morrison loves long-run targets for everything except climate policy.The federal government has long-run targets for inflation (2 to 3 per cent), the budget surplus (1 per cent of gross domestic product) and net debt (zero). It’s got a long-run target for defence spending (2 per cent of GDP) and countless long-run targets when it comes to Indigenous disadvantage, education performance, aged care quality and foreign aid. But when it comes to reducing the amount of coal, oil and gas Australia burns, apparently long-run targets are an unnecessary distraction for an “action man” like Scotty from Marketing. Targets give business, consumers and other levels of government something clear to work towards. Energy sources, especially the coal and nuclear power stations that the Prime Minister likes the sound of, take years to plan, years to build and decades to pay for themselves. Targets give business more certainty but they also make governments accountable for performance, which is presumably why the Prime Minister is so determined to avoid them when it comes to carbon emissions. In his sermon to the National Press Club last week, he avoided committing to net zero emissions by 2050 on the basis that his “climate action agenda is a practical one, it goes beyond targets and summits”. But you can’t go “beyond” long-run targets without having first set them.
Morrison knows targets matter. That’s why his government targeted so many sports grants to marginal electorates, and it’s why he spends so much time talking about meeting and beating Tony Abbott’s 26 to 28 per cent Paris target. Scott knows that if you set the bar low enough you can easily clear it, and if you don’t set the bar at all you can do nothing at all. After six years in office, continuing to avoid long-run emissions targets makes the government’s job easier and the energy industry’s harder. The Prime Minister’s real problem with long-run climate targets is the long-run climate change deniers in the party he’s trying to lead. For 10 years the only way for a Liberal leader to survive has been to publicly promise to do something about climate change while privately promising not to. Morrison waved a lump of coal in Parliament when he wanted to destabilise Malcolm Turnbull, but today he waves his “climate action now” slogan to stabilise his slide in the polls. Ultimately, like the last five Liberal leaders, he will be impaled on the fence his party insists he sit on. Morrison’s new-found interest in hazard reduction is no substitute for spending his prime ministerial capital in international forums, trying to steer the world away from the 3 degrees of warning we are currently on track to experience. The state premiers are perfectly capable of raking the leaves, but only the federal government can negotiate on the nation’s behalf for more ambitious action. Which brings me back to targets. Back in 2016, the ACT set a target to source 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and it’s already “meeting and beating” that goal and providing some of the cheapest electricity in Australia. The City of Sydney will be 100 per cent renewable by the end of this year and the state Coalition government of Gladys Berejiklian has committed NSW to net-zero emissions by 2050. In fact, every state in Australia is committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 – which, whether Scott Morrison likes it or not, means that Australia has committed to being carbon neutral by 2050. But rather than using those targets as leverage on the international stage, Morrison is undermining them on the domestic stage. If the Prime Minister was as interested in appeasing the quiet Australians as he was in appeasing the noisy climate denialists, he would welcome the bear hug the state premiers have wrapped him in and take credit for their ambition on the world stage while holding the premiers to account for their commitments back home. While a national approach to emissions reduction would be nice, the federal Coalition has shredded every initiative that has been put forward. Rather than take over more responsibilities from the states, Morrison would do better to leave climate and energy policy to them. The only thing stopping him from showing up at the next global climate talks and putting the states’ target of net zero by 2050 on the table is his backbench. |
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Pro nuclear stooge Minister Matt Canavan faces conflict-of-interest inquiry
 Matt Canavan faces conflict-of-interest inquiry over $20m club loan, SMH By David Crowe, February 3, 2020 The Morrison government is caught up in another inquiry into one of its own senior figures after Resources Minister Matt Canavan revealed a potential conflict of interest over a $20 million loan.Senator Canavan announced on Monday night he had not declared his link to the North Queensland Cowboys football club at the time it gained the loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility……..
Senator Canavan disclosed the inquiry at the same time he announced he had offered his resignation from the ministry because he would back former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce in a challenge against party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, or NAIF, is a key agency within Senator Canavan’s portfolio and was used last year to fund a multi-use training centre at the club……. The inquiry into the loan raises the prospect that Senator Canavan may remain outside the ministry whatever the outcome of the Nationals leadership ballot. The potential conflict has similarities with the resignation of former Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie, who stood down because she had not disclosed her membership of a gun club when the club received money from the sports funding program she oversaw as minister……… https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/matt-canavan-faces-conflict-of-interest-inquiry-over-20m-club-loan-20200203-p53xez.html?fbclid=IwAR2SINUWJoXs791GHHySuwgvYFHG9YJRtCT-qtRYJGdmcVvUeXIBb2_P0yQ |
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Scott Morrison, in the grip of fossil fuel lobby, is wrong about more gas for Australia
So, Scott Morrison, let’s come clean and let the public know that there’s no domestic case for increasing gas extraction. Given that gas extraction threatens landscapes and has a major problem with emissions, it’s better we leave it in the ground
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, surrounded by advisers out of the fossil fuel industry, is stuck in a time warp.
His claim that “there is no credible energy transition plan, for an economy like Australia in particular, that does not involve the greater use of gas as an important transition fuel” is demonstrably wrong. There are many. Continue reading
#ScottyFromMarketing is dodging the need for real action on climate change
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Climate change calls for action, not adaptation, SMH January 31, 2020 Judy Dillon, Garran ACT In the midst of our horrific summer, polls show the majority of people want to see urgent action on climate change, (”PM’s bushfire response must include climate change: experts”, January 30). We don’t want a focus on ”resilience and adaptation” or ”meeting and beating” pathetically low targets with the use of accounting tricks. Emissions are continuing to rise while the Morrison government uses weasel words to pretend they are doing something effective, all while handing billions to the fossil fuel industry.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to sit for a total of 72 days in 2020, so politicians have no time to lose. If they are not prepared to get on with the mammoth task of taking real and significant climate action in the interests of all Australians, and indeed the whole world, then they should get out of the way now so politicians who are so motivated can take their place. Quiet Australians have had enough – we will not be silent. –
– Peter Spencer, Castle Hill The PM is setting up an inquiry that avoids the real cause of of this and future bushfires – climate change. Once again, he gives the impression he is doing something when he is avoiding the real issue. Another opportunity wasted.
Adrian Owen, Killawarra , The PM now reluctantly concedes our continent is warming and drying. By saying the effects of the emissions already in the atmosphere will be felt for decades regardless of any action, he seeks to portray emissions mitigation as a lost cause. He must imagine the public will willingly surrender to warming beyond two degrees. His new focus on resilience and adaptation will lead to the absurd situation in which the coal industry will continue apace while federal government will spend money elsewhere to try to protect the rest of us from the ravages of a warming climate. –
– Mike Reddy, Vincentia After listening to Morrison talk about climate change action, I think his government is focused on hope. Hope that individuals keep putting solar panels up. Hope that the states keep pulling their weight. Hope that the rest of the world reduces its emissions. Hope that no one notices he is doing nothing. Hope that rising sea levels don’t swamp Waikiki.
Graham Lum, North Rocks Barilaro claims that Matt Kean’s comments on climate change are unhelpful and do not represent the whole of government. That may be so, but I suggest they do represent the views of the majority of Australians. -… https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/climate-change-calls-for-action-not-adaptation-20200129-p53vwp.html
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Climate and the Coalition’s new denialism
Nick Feik, In recent months the federal government’s position on climate change has shifted. Not in policy terms: the change has been restricted to its rhetoric. It has a new strategy to avoid responsibility. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has become adept at evading questions on climate change and its links to bushfires and judging by his satisfied expression as he fronted up for ABC’s 7.30 recently, he remains confident he has a form of words that, like armour, journalists will be unable to penetrate…. (subscribers only – or buy the print version) https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2020/01/25/climate-and-the-coalitions-new-denialism/15798708009296
SA Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young slams investment in South Australian uranium mine
Honeymoon isn’t over: SA uranium mine to reopen, The Advertiser, 22 January 2020 A closed uranium mine near Broken Hill will be reopened to seize on a renewed demand, its owner says.
The Honeymoon uranium mine in the state’s east “will be Australia’s next uranium producer” following a $93 million restart, its owner Boss Resources says.
The ASX-listed company says the mine “can be fast-tracked to re-start production in 12 months with low capital intensity to seize an anticipated rally in the uranium market’’…..
The Honeymoon project uses “in-situ recovery”, which involves injecting solvent into wells drilled into the deposit, dissolving the uranium, then recovering it at the surface. …..
SA Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the focus should be on renewables, not nuclear energy.
“South Australia doesn’t need to tether itself anymore to the toxic and dangerous cycle of the nuclear industry,’’ Ms Hanson-Young said
“SA is better than this and we are best placed in the world to reap the renewables and green industry revolution.
“Rather than a big new uranium mine, SA needs investment in our clean green energy industry. We should be working towards SA being a net exporter of renewable energy and technologies. ‘Green’ mining and industries like lithium for batteries, green hydrogen and renewable powered manufacturing will create jobs fit for the climate crisis Australia is in.”
Wilderness Society SA director Peter Owen said they would prefer to see investment in the state’s vast renewable resources such as wind and solar.
Former Prime Minister Turnbull scathing about #MorrisonFromMarketing, on the climate issue
Last year, The New Daily revealed the Prime Minister had embarked on a secret trip to Hawaii while fires were devastating Australian communities.
The former prime minister, who has a new book out this year, also slammed the US President Donald Trump for playing a “very destructive” role in the climate debate.
“Trump makes no bones about it. He says global warming is rubbish,” Mr Turnbull said.
“Trump is trying to put a brake on global action to reduce emissions. The lack of American leadership is extremely damaging.
Mr Turnbull also accused his own predecessor, Tony Abbott, of being the nation’s most prominent climate denier in Australian politics, who was joined by others in a shameful “war against science”.
“It is an extraordinarily irrational and self-destructive approach,” Mr Turnbull said.
“The right [wing] in the Liberal Party essentially operate like terrorists,” he said.
“Now I’m not suggesting that they use guns and bombs or anything like that, but their approach is one of intimidation.
“And they basically say to the rest of the party… if you don’t do what we want, we will blow the show up. Famously one of the coup leaders said to me, ‘you have to give in to the terrorists’.” https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2020/01/23/malcolm-turnbull-scott-morrison-climate-denial/
Australia’s Finance Minister Mathias Cormann spruiks for coal and for Trump at Davos summit
Davos 2020: Climate critics are wrong, says Matthias Cormann THE AUSTRALIAN, 22 Jan 2020
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has declared global perceptions of Australia’s climate action are “false” as he defended both the coal industry and US President Donald Trump in front of world leaders at the Davos summit…. (subscribers only)
1 This month
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/235274195556
19 May – Webinar- Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-05-19 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-05-19 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 