Oz fest

Australia national government transforms; conservative party falls apart

Posted by David Roberts at 3:54 PM on 02 Dec 2007

Read more about: Australia | politics | climate | Kyoto Protocol | elections

UPDATE: Australia's new government has ratified Kyoto. Wow. That was fast.

Though we've mentioned them a couple of times in our news stream, I'm not sure I've fully appreciated just how seismic recent political changes in Australia have been. Not only was the Liberal (pro-business right) party defeated but according to John Quiggen it's completely falling apart, with most of its prominent conservative power brokers quitting and their successors repudiating the far-right Howard line. The result is total realigment:

After a thoroughly uninspiring election campaign, characterised by lots of me-too promises and fence-sitting, we have ended up with a political scene that is utterly transformed, with the previously dominant hardline right not merely out of government but a marginalised minority within the opposition. It remains to be seen whether Labor can make anything of this. No one is expecting much in the short term, but suddenly there seems to be room to move, and the prospect of several terms in office in which to do it.

Gristmill reader Craig Allen left a more detailed and optimistic rundown in comments yesterday. Here's an excerpt:

You may be aware that Australia recently had an election and that the government of John Howard (a good mate and supporter of George Bush) has been crushed by the left leaning Labor Party, led by Kevin Rudd (a former diplomat and fluent speaker of Mandarin) with the support of the Australian Greens.

Howard himself lost his seat to a very switched on former journalist from the Australian Broadcasting Commission - Maxine McKew.

It is widely recognized that the backward stance of Howard with respect to climate change played a significant role in the change of government.

The new Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is the first woman ever to hold that role.

As of yesterday we now have two dedicated, intelligent, enlightened ministers who are committed to helping the country get to grips with the environment, water and climate change, and who are eager to seek and accept the best advice available from the scientific community, economists and business leaders. Mr Rudd declared yesterday that his minister for The Environment, Heritage and the Arts is Mr Peter Garrett - the former head of the Australian Conservation Foundation (equivalent to the Sierra club in the US and the RSPB in Britain). And in addition there will be a dedicated Minister for Climate Change and Water - Ms Penny Wong, a Malaysian-Chinese immigrant. Ms Wong will lead the way in international negotiations on climate change, Mr Garrett will lead the way in developing and implementing policy within Australia.

The Labor party already held power in every state and territory in the country. The state and territory governments have been battling the national government for years to get meaningful greenhouse policies in place. Now the brakes are off. To find the highest ranking right-wing politician in Australia you now have to look to the Mayor of Brisbane!

It's always easy to be cynical ('no matter what, you always get a politician'). But this new crop includes some of the most committed, intelligent, environmentally savvy, socially progressive people in the country.

It's like some kind of miracle!

Ever since I was hired at Grist, I've been writing that every developed nation supports the Kyoto Protocol "except the U.S. and Australia." Guess the U.S. really is all alone now. I feel so proud.

For story: Oz fest
11 Comments | Post a Comment

Israel?...

I though Israel had also rejected the Kyoto Treaty?

by Tasermons Partner at 4:22 PM on 02 Dec 2007

Odd if true, Israel can not survive global warming

by sunflower at 4:47 PM on 02 Dec 2007

Re: I feel so proud

Me too. Several months ago, I interviewed several experts in Australia to write a story about it's crippling. What the piece turned into was one about cultural climate change more than anything else. Awesome.

by Maywa Montenegro at 6:02 PM on 02 Dec 2007

Congratulations, Australia

(Words I thought would never cross my lips...)

I just wish the new PM had a more positive-sounding name...K. Rudd doesn't really encourage optimism about the country's future...

Just a minor point - isn't "supports the Kyoto Protocol" a bit of a woolly phrase? It seems to me there's a wide variation of possible stances on Kyoto - such as signed but pending ratification (is that supporting or not), or passed in some branches of the government but not in all. As I said, just a minor point, but one that often occurs to me when people talk about "supporting".

It's amazing the way the government has completely altered over the course of one election, although it could have been easily predicted looking at the trends in previous years. Does this mean there's no more space for ostriches like Howard? I wonder if something similar can happen in the next US elections...

If I share initials with 'Global Warming', is that a sign?

by tico89 at 6:31 PM on 02 Dec 2007

Blame Canada

I suspect my countries Prime Minister will be a chum to the USA in Bali.

He's giving us the standard double talk. We're gonna lead, but we won't sign onto any new binding targets unless everyone else does too. Let's not forget he called Kyoto a socialist scheme to steal from the rich and give to the poor. His Government has proved as much in their action.

Even while the large majority support international agreements, perhaps he will be the second Leader to fall to the green tide. I can only hope so.

by NSaggie at 9:53 PM on 02 Dec 2007

The Prime Minister of Oz has signed Kyoto!

Cheers David for turning my comment into a post!

Well, it's official, Prime Minister Rudd has ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

I think it is also worth noting the other greenhouse related commitments of the Australian government :

Signing the Kyoto agreement and working with other nations to move beyond it.

Implement an emissions trading scheme by 2010.

Achieving a national renewable energy target of 20% by 2020.

Reducing greenhouse emission by 60% by 2050.

Commitments to short and medium term targets once the draft of the Garnaut Report is released in June next year. (The Garnaut report being Australia's version of the Stern Report.)

AUD$500 million - to develop, commercialize and deploy renewable energy.

AUD$500 million - to the develop and deploy 'clean' coal technologies.

AUD$240 million - for assisting and encouraging business to reduce emissions.

AUD$150 million - to keep our world leading scientists and researchers in Australia, rather than losing them overseas.

AUD$8000 rebates to households for solar power instillations.

AUD$1000 rebates for solar hot water systems.

AUD$500 rebates for gray water piping and rainwater tanks.

AUD$500 rebates to assist landlords to install insulation.

Up to AUD$10,000 per household in low interest green loans for solar systems and water and energy savings measures.

Invest AUD$20 million in a Clean Energy Innovation Center.

Invest in a Green Car Innovation Fund to develop and build green cars in Australia.

Half of this is allocated to be spent in the the first 3 year term of government. (Remember that Australia has 1/10th the population of the US, so multiply by ten to get a feel for the comparative degree of the commitments.)

The government needs the support of the Greens in the new senate to get their policies through, so that will keep them on their toes.

And as a further demonstration of how committed they are, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Environment, the Minister for Climate Change and Water and the Treasurer are all on their way to Bali.

Craig Allen
Forrest, Victoria, Australia

by picoallen at 10:56 PM on 02 Dec 2007

Oz, Kyoto and the NYTimes

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-austra ...

(Not being a Pac-Rim person, I needed Craig to teach me what "Oz" meant. Being a friend of Dorothy, I find this new association of the name cute but curious.)

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 5:35 AM on 03 Dec 2007

Kyoto as a sign of good intentions

Signing the Kyoto agreement is a cheap act for politicians, but does it lead to positive results? Canada is 32% above its Kyoto greenhouse target, and its CO2 emissions are growing, not shrinking. Germany is committed to shutting down electrical generating plants that do not emit greenhouse gas and replacing them with plants that do.

Australian greens admit that Australia cannot meet Kyoto targets using renewable energy schemes unless Australians are willing to accept a decreased quality of life, and to move major industries off shore. The irony is that the industries could still emit large amounts of CO2, just not in Australia.

Charles Barton

by Charles Barton at 7:16 AM on 03 Dec 2007

That the Australian Greens actually say

The Australian Green website has a section on climate change where you can go to see what they actually do say.

You won't find much about living in caves there.

Although I guess that for many, taking actions such as using more public transport, taking shorter showers or turning on a ceiling fan instead of the air conditioner is considered to be a decreased quality of life.

Then again, at the moment the acute water shortages are impacting on gardens, public amenities like parks and ovals and driving up the cost of both water and electricity, so I guess we get the reduced quality of life if we don't meet our targets also.

Australia desperately needs to convince all countries to collectively reduce emissions. We obviously don't have much chance of being effective at that if we don't get on with reducing our own.

by picoallen at 2:38 PM on 03 Dec 2007
[ Parent ]

peter garrett

a strange dude but one of the great lead singers in rock and roll history. midnight oil's first 5 or 6 albums are brilliant.

he's travelling a path previously beaten by joschka fisher--from far leftie to insider. i wonder how that will end.

by robertogreen at 3:40 PM on 03 Dec 2007

That the Australian Greens actually say

On October 10, The Sidney Morning Harold reported on a study commissioned by the Australian Greens and written by Dr Mark Diesendorf found that drastic steps to obtain greater energy efficiency by 2020 would only cut emissions to 13 per cent below 1990 level. To achieve the 30 per cent cut, more controversial measures such as an end to land clearing, a 20 per cent cut in beef production to reduce the effect of methane from cattle, a 50 per cent cut in business and professional immigration, and the elimination or offset of emissions from aluminium smelting would be needed.

"One possible response for the aluminium industry would be to move offshore," Diesendorf stated.

Charles Barton

by Charles Barton at 4:19 PM on 03 Dec 2007

ADVERTISING POLICY

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