Many here in the USA got their first inkling of the extraordinary events going on in Australia with the vote that was supposed to happen in parliament on Friday over “ETS” or Emissions Trading Scheme, with this WUWT post:
Ripples of Climategate? Liberal MP’s desert Turnbull in Australia over emissions trading scheme
On Friday, 12 Liberal members of parliament resigned their frontbench positions rather than be forced into a party line vote for ETS. That is quite a statement. The MP’s are hearing from their constituents in large numbers. From ABC news in Australia, this snippet:
“The phone lines have been in meltdown with people saying that the Liberal Party would not be doing its job as an Opposition simply to pass this thing without the scrutiny that people calling my office think it demands,” he [MP Tony Abbott] said.
Here’s a YouTube video being circulated in Australia:
When I ran my story Ripples of Climategate? on Thursday, I suggested that Climategate was being heard by the people of Australia, but I got a number of comments from people in Australia who posted on WUWT saying that they aren’t hearing about it in the mainstream media there.
Andrew Bolt, columnist and blogger for the Herald Sun, answered my query today on what is happening with ETS as it relates to “Climategate”:
From: Bolt, Andrew
Sent: Friday, November 27, 2009 5:07 PM
To: Anthony Watts – mobile
Subject: RE: Climategate in Australia
Several MPs have indeed mentioned the emails in their party room speeches, and your correspondents miss the way MPs actually pick up things.
Yes, it’s true that the emails have not yet had quite the coverage they deserve. That said, my column appears in the biggest selling paper. My blog is the biggest political one in the country, and I suspect is read or at least occasionally checked by most Liberal MPs.
I’ve talked about Climategate on radio stations in four states, including the highest-rating AM shows in Sydney and Melbourne. Some talkback shows have flogged the issue, particularly in Brisbane and Sydney. Readers of the blog and other sources, or listeners to Sydney talkback in particular, have bombarded their MPs with emails mentioning it. I’ve debated it on the ABC (your BBC) on its flagship late-night political show, watched by many politicians. And still that doesn’t cover it all.
Many MPs have been scared to challenge a “consensus”, fearing they may not just be outgunned but simply wrong. The emails give some extra confidence. I doubt more than a handful at best would not know of them, and no sceptic would not be emboldened by them.
In all this, however, many other factors are at play, including an assessment of the merits of the emissions trading bill, the wisdom of passing it now, the terrible leadership of Malcolm Turnbull and more.
Andrew Bolt
It would seem, the people and their representatives are bypassing the MSM in favor of the Internet and Talk Radio.
The ETS vote has been delayed until Monday, and there may well be a leadership “spill” before the vote. If ETS fails in Australia, it will the first eco-political casualty affected in part by Climategate.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
heres the link http://www.modernghana.com/news/251690/1/commonwealth-leaders-welcome-proposed-fund-to-addr.html
Australian Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull loses ballot for party leadership to Tony Abbott.
Update, Tony Abbott is now the new leader of the opposition.
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/abbott_wins/
Let’s hope the senate tosses out the bill today
Don’t you just love political Spin… Julie Bishop, debuty leader of the opposition:
”Today our colleagues showed a great sense of unity … they have drawn a line and we will now move forward under our new leader Tony Abbott.”
Vote outcome – 42 to 41!!!! 1 measly vote… split the party, cross the floor, pass the ETS. Abbott was going to, so none of Turnbull’s supporters should have any moral dilemma there.
When you are cheering the election of an arch-conservative close ally of the Catholic Church, well it is a strange day for science. Next creationism will be on the curriculum.
“FWIW the Greens are against the Bill in its present form. They also can see that the ETS is just another crippling Tax and will have no effect on reducing alleged Green House gas emissions. However, they are likely to vote with the bill on Monday. If the bill makes it through Monday without a vote they will probably side with the new conservative leader and strike it down hoping to opt for stronger legislation later.”
All true, except The Greens approach it from the other side. That is, the proposed ETS or CPRS (Carbon Production Reduction Scheme) doesn’t go nearly far enough! They believe that a Prius is a filthy, carbon belching abomination, all roads should be given over to bicycles and trams. Anything that needs a truck to deliver it should be banned, along with the person who bought it.
Interestingly, none of the above stops their Parliamentary Leader, Senator Bob Brown, from jetting about the place selling his hair shirts.
My goodness that is a bit rich – how long have the libs been in power compared to labour? The frightneing thing is that by oposing the ETS ( rightly or wrongly) you will include all the other right wing ideas as well. The liverals will oppose the ETS and then bring in the other right wing ideas to lim it your rights at work, at home and abroad. The figures in the you tube video are not only sensationalist they are wrong, and have no basis in truth. Who caused most of the rise. I have three letters for you GST