Given the rejection, this may be the last Australian election where “climate” is used as a key issue.
From CNN:
Australia’s Liberal National coalition government under Prime Minister Scott Morrison has won a historic victory, taking his party for a third term in government against all expectations.It is still unknown if Morrison will form a majority or minority government, but swings to the coalition across large Australian states, especially Queensland, have ensured he will remain prime minister.
In a triumphant speech Saturday night, Morrison said he had “always believed in miracles.””And tonight we’ve been delivered another one,” he told jubilant supporters in Sydney who chanted Morrison’s nickname “ScoMo.”
After losing an election which many analysts described as “unlosable,” Labor leader Bill Shorten conceded and announced he would be stepping down as head of the party.
From Al Jazeera:
Climate change to be decisive issue in Australian election
Energy and global warming debates have dominated Australia’s election campaign, with many voters calling for change.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison‘s centre-right Liberal-National Coalition is seeking a third-straight term in power, but polls have shown Bill Shorten’s opposition Labor Party clinging to a narrow lead. The left-wing Greens Party is expected to remain the third force in the country’s politics.
“Australia doesn’t solve climate change by itself,” Morrison insisted last week during the final party leaders’ election campaign debate.
“It actually does its bit in concert with other countries.
But Australia is one of the world’s largest per capita emitters – producing some 1.3 percent of global carbon emissions in 2017 with only 0.3 of the world’s population.
“Climate change is shaping up to be a number one issue in this federal election,” said Kelly Albion, the head of campaigns at the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, attributing this to “young people as a moral voice for action on the greatest issue facing our generation”.
From CNBC:
Climate change set to be major issue in Australian election
CNBC’s Will Koulouris reports from Longreach, Australia.
Video at this link
Looks like voters have rejected “climate change” as an important election issue, much like we’ve seen in the USA with the election of Donald Trump in 2016, who promised and delivered on exiting the Paris Climate Accord.
Once more for the dummies: given a choice, people will vote for less/lesser *climate action* rather than more. But I’m also a dummy for not backing ScoMo at 6-1.