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| Coalition reignites climate war over Labor's emissions policy – politics live | Coalition reignites climate war over Labor's emissions policy – politics live |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Government MPs have lashed out at Labor over its emissions target, with arguments in parliament’s corridors. All the days events, live | Government MPs have lashed out at Labor over its emissions target, with arguments in parliament’s corridors. All the days events, live |
| Just a reminder that Pauline Hanson is paid to say things like this on the Nine Network’s Today show: | |
| Don’t just take my word for it - the Today Show also highlighted it in a tweet: | |
| AAP has looked at Barnaby Joyce’s latest brain spurt, so we don’t have to: | |
| Barnaby Joyce is sick of most senators being from capital cities and has a plan to change that. | |
| The Nationals backbencher has introduced a private member’s bill to parliament which would split each state into six regions – like mega-electorates – that each vote for two senators. | |
| “This is something that is so important,” he told the lower house on Monday. “We need for our Senate to have a constituency and to have the capacity to represent a geographic area.” | |
| Joyce said that in most instances, 11-out-of-12 senators came from capital cities. He also pointed out that New York had two senators, while Adelaide had 11. | |
| “We need to make sure that as the seats get bigger and bigger and bigger in the House of Representatives in regional areas, that this is offset by the capacity to get more Senate representation.” | |
| Under the plan – which was seconded by independent MP Bob Katter – no region could be bigger than 30 per cent of the state’s landmass and the capital city would be confined to a single region. | |
| Joyce said this would also help to improve indigenous representation in parliament. | |
| The backbencher, who recently launched a failed bid to reclaim the Nationals leadership, said the proposal would not warrant a change to the Constitution. It was up to the parliament to change how senators were elected. | |
| Senate president Scott Ryan was quick to shoot down Mr Joyce’s idea after he floated it last year. | |
| “The current Senate is actually very reflective of the national vote despite the differences in state populations,” Ryan said. “But this proposal would destroy that.” | |
| Father Frank Brennan, one of the Ruddock review panel members who conducted the inquiry on religious freedom, has had some interesting thoughts on the government’s religious discrimination bill and the way the debate has gone. | |
| Brennan told the Australian Catholic University on Thursday: | |
| “The Morrison government has decided not to pursue the Ruddock recommendation of a clean, lean religious discrimination act. Rather, in response to those who have long advocated a religious freedom act, the Morrison government is attempting to formulate what we might call a Religious Discrimination PLUS Bill which will include some bells and whistles you would not expect to find in a standard piece of anti-discrimination legislation.” | |
| Brennan agreed with the Australian Human Rights Commission that legislating for individual cases - such as Israel Folau and Archbishop Porteous- “is not good legislative practice” and said that he is “not convinced” that the commonwealth overriding Victorian rules requiring doctors to refer patients for abortions is the best way to go.Brennan predicted the bill will not pass, and hopes the states will fix issues with their laws without commonwealth intervention: | |
| “I think there is little prospect of any Religious Discrimination PLUS Bill passing the Senate. When such a bill is ultimately rejected by the Senate, I do hope that our federal politicians will have the good sense to legislate a neat and clean Religious Discrimination Act, and our politicians in the NSW and South Australian parliaments will have the good sense to bring their legislation up to an appropriate standard honouring our commitments and undertakings under the ICCPR.”Brennan noted that the Coalition and Labor had agreed that schools should not be able to discriminate against students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, but said he “[despaired] at our parliament’s protracted delay and incapacity to deliver on this commitment”. | |
| A friend of the blog has also pointed me in the direction of this handy website, which, with the help of Monash university resources, is helping to track those looking at net zero emissions by 2050 | |
| I have just been reminded by a reader of the Montreal protocol, which was signed in the late 1980s and was designed to phase out the chemicals that were harming the ozone layer. | |
| It’s working. Practically the whole world signed up. And guess what? The world hasn’t ended. | |
| The science outlining what was happening to the ozone layer was published in 1973. Less than 15 years later, an international agreement was created and signed. | |
| Imagine having that “debate” now. | |
| At the same time: | At the same time: |
| Just some of those driving the energy policy in this country at the moment, being completely normal humans. | Just some of those driving the energy policy in this country at the moment, being completely normal humans. |
| One of the reasons Barnaby Joyce wants this bill is because he believes the regions don’t receive good enough representation. | One of the reasons Barnaby Joyce wants this bill is because he believes the regions don’t receive good enough representation. |
| The same regions which are represented by his party. | The same regions which are represented by his party. |
| At the UN conference of parties (Cop), Chile’s environment minister Carolina Schmidt laid out the alliance of “silly” countries, cities, businesses and investors who have signed up to “follow the recommendations of science as regards climate change” (as in, working towards net-zero emissions by 2050). | At the UN conference of parties (Cop), Chile’s environment minister Carolina Schmidt laid out the alliance of “silly” countries, cities, businesses and investors who have signed up to “follow the recommendations of science as regards climate change” (as in, working towards net-zero emissions by 2050). |
| There are 73 parties to the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC), 14 regions, 398 cities, 786 businesses and 16 investors. | There are 73 parties to the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC), 14 regions, 398 cities, 786 businesses and 16 investors. |
| So. Far. | So. Far. |
| For the record, the list of countries who have committed to a “silly” zero net emissions target by 2050, include: | For the record, the list of countries who have committed to a “silly” zero net emissions target by 2050, include: |
| Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Beliz, Benin, Cape Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Federated Stated of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Grenada, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kiribat, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Spain, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu. | Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Beliz, Benin, Cape Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Federated Stated of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Grenada, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kiribat, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Spain, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu. |
| It’s silly to have a target without a plan. | It’s silly to have a target without a plan. |
| But apparently you can have a “strategy” without a target. Or a plan. | But apparently you can have a “strategy” without a target. Or a plan. |
| This is the level of stupid we have reached today. | This is the level of stupid we have reached today. |
| Compounding that stupid, is the fact we have signed up to the Paris agreement. We keep hearing about how we are meeting our obligations. A big part of the Paris agreement is to work out how to become carbon neutral by the second half of the century. | Compounding that stupid, is the fact we have signed up to the Paris agreement. We keep hearing about how we are meeting our obligations. A big part of the Paris agreement is to work out how to become carbon neutral by the second half of the century. |
| Which is just another way of saying – ZERO NET EMISSIONS BY 2050. | Which is just another way of saying – ZERO NET EMISSIONS BY 2050. |
| And what did Angus Taylor say this morning, in between talking about how silly Labor’s “uncocked” policy was? | And what did Angus Taylor say this morning, in between talking about how silly Labor’s “uncocked” policy was? |
| I swear I have become dumber today just following this “debate”. I have actually lost brain cells. | I swear I have become dumber today just following this “debate”. I have actually lost brain cells. |
| We are literally at “YOUR FACE IS” phase of this debate. | We are literally at “YOUR FACE IS” phase of this debate. |
| *packs bags, moves to Mars* | *packs bags, moves to Mars* |
| The bells are ringing, and with it, my ears. | The bells are ringing, and with it, my ears. |
| In the midst of all of this, the government is looking at expanding the powers of the Australian Signals Directorate – a story first broken by Annika Smethurst in 2018 – who not only got a bunch of quite personal denials for her trouble, but now lives with the threat of prosecution over her head, after the AFP raided her home and office. | In the midst of all of this, the government is looking at expanding the powers of the Australian Signals Directorate – a story first broken by Annika Smethurst in 2018 – who not only got a bunch of quite personal denials for her trouble, but now lives with the threat of prosecution over her head, after the AFP raided her home and office. |
| The government wants ASD to be able to spy on Australians, suspected of serious crimes, within Australia. Currently, it can only focus on overseas servers. The moment an investigation reaches Australian shores, it has to stop. | The government wants ASD to be able to spy on Australians, suspected of serious crimes, within Australia. Currently, it can only focus on overseas servers. The moment an investigation reaches Australian shores, it has to stop. |
| The ABC reported last week the government was advancing the proposal, although it is yet to confirm it. | The ABC reported last week the government was advancing the proposal, although it is yet to confirm it. |
| The argument is that Australia’s crime-fighting and intelligence agencies should have the powers they need to follow investigations into child abuse and terrorism in Australia. No one debates that. The problem is, this government has a habit of expanding national security powers without actually laying out how broad those powers are. Everyone wants paedophiles and terrorists stopped. But suddenly, it becomes anyone suspected of a crime that brings more than two to three years imprisonment, if convicted. And then a whole heap of other people are having their personal affairs opened up to spy agencies. You don’t have to be convicted. Just suspected. | The argument is that Australia’s crime-fighting and intelligence agencies should have the powers they need to follow investigations into child abuse and terrorism in Australia. No one debates that. The problem is, this government has a habit of expanding national security powers without actually laying out how broad those powers are. Everyone wants paedophiles and terrorists stopped. But suddenly, it becomes anyone suspected of a crime that brings more than two to three years imprisonment, if convicted. And then a whole heap of other people are having their personal affairs opened up to spy agencies. You don’t have to be convicted. Just suspected. |
| This government has not been shy with the national security brush. There have been 19 tranches of national security legislation since the government came into power. | This government has not been shy with the national security brush. There have been 19 tranches of national security legislation since the government came into power. |
| Do you know what they all do? Chances are, you don’t. | Do you know what they all do? Chances are, you don’t. |
| From AAP: | From AAP: |