Climate change was supposed to have won the party the Australian election. But yesterday, routed in the polls, panicking Labor Party leaders backed the opening of a coal field bigger than the UK to mining.
Fearing a wipeout in state elections next year amid a rising tide of pro-coal workers and a rebellion against its plans to halve Australia’s carbon emissions, the Labor state government in Queensland accelerated its decision on 105,000 square miles of coal-rich outback land known as the Galilee Basin.
It came days after the party lost what was dubbed as the “climate election” to the incumbent centre-right, pro-coal government of Scott Morrison, suffering the most damage with swings of up to 20 per cent in the coal country of central Queensland and the Hunter Valley of New South Wales.
Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, announced she was overturning all attempts to block mining and all outstanding approvals would be resolved within three weeks. She said she was “fed up” with her own government’s processes, and that the election had been a “wake-up call” on mining the basin. The move was welcomed by the federal resources minister, Matt Canavan, who told The Times yesterday that the Galilee Basin represented a victory for the “hi-vis workers’ revolution” — a reference to the armies of mine workers, dressed in high-visibility shirts, who make Australia the world’s biggest coal exporter, and seemingly a reference to the “yellow vest” movement in France which battled President Macron on his climate policies.
The international climate action movement argues that if the Galilee Basin’s estimated 27 billion tons of coal was extracted, exported and burned, the extra carbon dioxide released each year would be far more than Australia’s total emissions, and would set back the world’s chances of keeping the increase in global warming under 2C.
Read the full GWPF article here.
This is great news providing Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk can out manoeuvre her deputy Jackie Trad, a known supporter of the left green agendas in Queensland. But you could bet your last dollar that the Premier is only doing this change of heart to stay in power in that state/
Overall the comments say it all, Gregory May 24 is one of the best.
Now the State of Queensland is unusual , as all of the other States have
more Urban than Rural voters, and it shows in their political thinking.
But Queensland has more voters who live outside of the State Capital,
thus they live in the real world. Now over the last 30 years or so many
thousands per year move from the colder States to the South to warmer
Queensland, so a State which was truly once a “Workers Paradise” gradually
changed to the usual city versus the countryside in the way that they think.
The Primer has been dragging her feet for years over this matter, trying to
keep both the inner city Green types happy, then saying nice words to the
country folk. Recently just before this last election she was all for the
development of Adami, but her vice Premier was violently against it.
This election overall was not in my opinion all about the climate, but the
high cost of living frequently got a mention, but neve a mention as to just
why this was so, i.e. such as the cost of the renewables.
The only significant mention was when Bill Shorten was asked what the
cost of climate change measures was going to be to the community. He
replied with the stock answer, “” What will be the cost of inaction. “”
This led to one of the best short slogans, “The Bill that we cannot afford”.
As for the mention of pumped Hydro. Yes the idea looks attractive ,
the giant sized “Battery” that the Greens hated Hydro Scheme can be,
but its many years in the future, if it ever gets started.
The Premier was shocked at the swing through the rural heartland to the
Liberal (Conservative) party, and reacted as all politicians do, survival
is far more important than ideologies such as the myth of Climate Change.
She has to face them come next years State election.
But I expect the Greens to find a Aboriginal or two or a small creature that
thy will say is in danger, so Adani is not there yet.
MJE VK5ELL
P.S. to my previous. If Adani finally goes ahead then expect more
proposals to mine other parts of this vast coal bearing area. That is what
the Green movement actually fears long term. Adani is just the tip of the
iceberg.
Palmer did not waste some 80 million dollars to just support the Liberal
National party. It will be “Payback”time then.
And expect the GBR to get a mention too. Coal dust can travel a very long way. Hi.
MJE VK5ELL
Coal dust is no more toxic than dust, dust. Are we supposed to put Australia under a giant tarp because the GBR may get some minor dust input to it?
Situation normal.
Just how toxic is elemental carbon?
Carbon elemental is not regarded as toxic because of its specific chemical properties. Quite to the contrary. Most people meet it rarely and then as natural graphite (lead pencils) or coal from the fireplace. (Plus inert diamonds.)
Organic carbon OTOH is everywhere including as a structural component of some of the most deadly poisons like botulism and plague. But it is absolutely wrong to regard organic carbon with fear, because it is everywherer involved in the essence of life. Geoff
Dare I say it, the Trump effect. Good!
A “swing” of 20% in some districts in Qld, and from comments, really only a few percent overall. I was under the impression that there had been some sort of epiphany on the CO2 sham in Australia but the change is disappointingly marginal. What has been done to you Ozzies! What more has to be done!
Com’on mates, kick all the totallytarios out. Be brave and scare your metabolisms back to life and see what happens! Hint, nothing bad is going to happen with the climate. Certainly nothing is going to be done about the climate with D. Trump having cancelled global warming. What’s happening now is your children are being scared to death by propaganda instead of given an education and your economy is being destroyed. Look at the Drongos that are telling you all these lies. Do a little research on your own. The rest of the world is waking up. Europe has “swings” 10x what you have experienced as they struggle to save the last bits of their economies.
If the people of today do not plan to limit sea level rise the disruption to the world economy will be a financially disaster. The climate extremes will overwhelm the insurance industry, displace millions of citizens living close to the sea, coral will die, the fish that feed on them as a result. Anyone can be retrained, new industries will inevitably emerge after coal has been retired. Look to the future, not the past.
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Wow, 6 inches in the next 100 years is going to cause all of that.
Really?
Foregone concluder: Have you considered reading? I’m sure you do read, but don’t limit yourself to bumper stickers?
I hope Oz is adding a per ton remediation fee to the coal so the ChiComs are paying for a lake and hiking trails…giant holes are actually kinda interesting if presented in the right way.
Just backing off would be wise also. And take some time to get an educational also.