The legacy being created is formidable and will in many cases be irreversible: not only physically but also because there is legislation currently before parliament that will ensure environmental approvals made by the minister before 2014 will remain valid even if he ignored conservation advice. His decisions will be immune to legal challenge. Most damaging of all has been the Abbott effect on the discussion of climate change. Australia will likely become the first country to scrap a price on carbon – and this is seen as a fait accompli. In the popular media, the carbon tax is almost never discussed in environmental terms, but only in relation to corporate profitability. Renewable energy is framed solely in terms of higher power bills, as if Australia will never actually need to develop the capacity to generate low-emission power. Abbott and Hunt blithely tell Australians there is no link between climate change and drought or bush fires, when the science says quite explicitly that it will bring natural disasters with more frequency and intensity.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 11:06:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015