The Liberal Party in Australia’s parliament has a new leader.
Herald Sun Blogger and Columnist, Andrew bolt writes to me in an email:
Anthony,
This may be a first: a major political party has dumped a global warming believer as leader and replaced him with sceptic who last month called AGW “crap”. Tony Abbott has tempered his public pronouncements since, but has today become the new Liberal leader, toppling warmist Malcolm Turnbull, specifically because he was the only one of the three contenders today to promise to delay the Government’s emissions trading scheme.
Bolt adds some background:
Following up with excerpts from new Liberal leader Tony Abbott’s memoir Battlelines, released in July.
On page 171 he quotes, with approval, Bjorn Lomborg:
“Natural science has undeniably shown us that global warming is man-made and real. But just as undeniable is the economic science, which makes it clear that a narrow focus on reducing carbon emissions could leave future generations lumbered with major costs, without major cuts in temperatures.”
Abbott then adds:
“Without binding universal arrangements, any effort by Australia (on emissions trading) could turn out to be a futile gesture, damaging local industry but making no appreciable dent in global emissions…. Another big problem with any Australian emissions reduction scheme is that it would not make a material difference to atmospheric carbon concentrations unless the big international polluters had similar schemes. Australia accounts for about 1 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. At recent rates of growth, China’s increase in emissions in about a year could match Australia’s entire carbon dioxide output. Without binding universal arrangements, any effort by Australia could turn out to be a futile gesture, damaging local industry but making no appreciable dent in global emissions.”
He also questions what climate alarmists truly want:
“It’s hard to take climate alarmists all that seriously, though, when they’re as ferociously against the one proven technology that could reduce electricity emissions to zero, nuclear power, as they are in favour of urgent reduction in emissions. For many, reducing emissions is a means to achieving a political objective they could not otherwise gain.”
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Lest you think that Climategate had nothing to do with this political shift, please read what Bolt had to say about its impact in my previous post:
The Australian ETS vote: a political litmus test for cap and trade
Several MPs have indeed mentioned the emails in their party room speeches, and your correspondents miss the way MPs actually pick up things.
Andrew Bolt has one of the most read blogs and columns in Australia and is helping to educate both people and politicians alike on the true costs of climatic induced cap and trade, please visit his blog to show some support. – Anthony
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/
“Without binding universal arrangements, any effort by Australia (on emissions trading) could turn out to be a futile gesture, damaging local industry but making no appreciable dent in global emissions.… Another big problem with any Australian emissions reduction scheme is that it would not make a material difference to atmospheric carbon concentrations unless the big international polluters had similar schemes. Australia accounts for about 1 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. At recent rates of growth, China’s increase in emissions in about a year could match Australia’s entire carbon dioxide output. Without binding universal arrangements, any effort by Australia could turn out to be a futile gesture, damaging local industry but making no appreciable dent in global emissions.”
He also questions what climate alarmists truly want:
“It’s hard to take climate alarmists all that seriously, though, when they’re as ferociously against the one proven technology that could reduce electricity emissions to zero, nuclear power, as they are in favour of urgent reduction in emissions. For many, reducing emissions is a means to achieving a political objective they could not otherwise gain.”
The ETS bill has just been defeated in the Senate this morning. Only two back-bench opposition members crossed the floor. Its all over for now. Rudd will not go to Copenhagen with his prize. If the government does want to push this through now it will be by calling an election on the basis of this defeat.
Interview (before the vote this am) with Penny Wong minister for climate change:
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/breakfast/stories/2009/2759211.htm
Oh happy days! *SMILE* Now I can go to bed (I was on night shift) and not think about this for a while. I will be looking up who crossed the floor however. They’ve lost my vote if they were NSW Senators. To sleep, perchance to dream of a public enquiry into AGW and the merits of the theory… Bigger *SMILE* 😀
sHx (16:36:15) : ,
I have been a scrutineer at the ACT booths and an informal voting is a waste of time. Your vote is simply put aside and does not play any further part in the electoral process. Nobody will know you voted informal or care except you !. Cast a formal vote and let the proportional system (in the Senate at least) work your vote through to achieve the end that you want, and don’t, don’t, waste a vote.
If public opinion can be changed as quickly as it has in the last 2 weeks, then Tony Abbott has a chance of winning the next election.
It would have been interesting if after the pics of Turnbull and Abbot you had asked the reader to pick which of them looks like someone you might trust and which like a fanatic before they read on.
I live in Australia.
Turnbull is a good man.
sHx (16:36:15) :
Mike Borgelt (12:54:22) :
“I think you just broke the law, mate, by inciting people to vote informal.”
Mike, ha ha! Yes, the Albert Langer case. How could I forget?
No, I don’t think you’re breaking a law. The Langer story is here. He wasn’t jailed for breaking a law, but a court injunction (contempt of court). He was advocating some numerical voting scheme (which I never saw the point of), and the court ordered him not to. There was a law passed, which might have this effect, but has since been rescinded.
Politicians aren’t “people”?
Well, I’ve always had my suspicions….
Once can cast an informal vote which is still valid, by writing on your ballot paper but still numbering the boxes properly. Back when I could vote at State and Federal elections I often wrote on my ballot papers giving my reasons for voting as I did and, sometimes, applying choice epithets. Scrutineers have reported to me that they would ensure that such ballot papers (when supporting their own candidates, at least), whilst not formal, were counted, rightly, as valid. Polling staff, too, like the occasional laugh from reading strongly worded opinions.
Inciting people to cast invalid votes was certainly against the law when I kept up with such things; it is not a crime to explain to voters that they can ensure that the parties, through their scrutineers, understand wherefore they voted as they did with explicit explanations.
Brian (00:13:50) :
I did, however, hear Sen. Barnaby Joyce explicitly mention the leaked e-mails in several questions to Sen. Wong in question time last week. Each time, as is usually the case with Government ministers, instead of answering the question, she just launched into her usual rant—reneging on a deal, settled science, think of our children, deniers and sceptics are stupid and wicked and devious, settled science, act now or seas will rise, deserts will expand, we’ll all choke to death, the science is settled …
I joined the climate sceptics some weeks back in rage at whats been happening, and I have been calling and writing and sending masses of info to a few of them,
I never ever use bumper stickers but my sceptics one is proudly displayed.:-)
andrew Bolts done a great job too.
so has Barnaby Joyce.
I will be voting Liberal for the first time ever, unless we manage a sceptics candidate here.
heres fieldings speech link
http://www.stevefielding.com.au/news/details/carbon_pollution_reduction_scheme_speech1/
and senator Chris back also sent me a pdf of his speech and he DOES mention the climategate issues.
I am a rural resident and believe me, the mood amongst the farmers and community re carbon fraud is not happy.Jan!
Murdoch owns so many media sources no one should be surprised that the info is supressed.
ABC got a few stinging mails from me regarding their amazing BIAS and the reminder that it is against their rules to disallow balance in reporting.
they still are waffling the climate stories though.Kinimonths interview was ignored in film clip, and only after complaints did they add the audio track. bastards.
they also avoid Plimer, cos he wipes the floor with them.!
Robin williams has made himself a fool and is no longer credible at all.
On Fora radio this arvo I heard Mc Gauran? a glorified accountant? talking of the carbon trades etc, I almost passed out.. this mans a complete stuffed shirt and so out of touch he may live on another plantet! I wish!
It all ASSUMES Carbon( Fraud) as a real thing.
hope he is out of a job soon too. idiot.
Re: Daryl M (09:28:44)
The issue does not split along party lines. I ASSURE you people are being silenced. At some point in time, it can become too costly to sustain the illusion of unity. The truth is that Canada is at risk as long as there is only one nonalarmist party. I am certain that you are correct that Harper is thinking strategically about this. The problem is that many of his followers do not think as well as he does.
Mr. Abbott is (unfortunately) NOT an AGW skeptic. He just opposes the cap-and-trade proposal as a massive and destructive tax. Well, half-right is at least a start.
Thank someone for that. It could be the political move that saved the globe from nuclear power proliferation under the pretence of being “green” and anti-carbon.
“Nuclear News: Copenhagen’s failure may leave plans for new nuclear power stations high and dry”
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/nuclear-reaction/2009/12/nuclear_news_copenhagens_failu.html#more
Alternative headline:
“Nuclear news: Copenhagen’s success paves the way for clean nuclear power for all developing nations. Green groups stunned.”