Blog Archives for February 2011
After the deluge comes the mud-slinging
Blog Post | Blog of Sarah Hanson-Young
Wednesday 2nd February 2011, 11:44am
by RobertSimms in
They say a week is a long time in politics. Two weeks ago, the floods were a political no-go zone, now it seems the gloves are off. Everyone from Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, Warren Truss and Anthony Albanese are all warming up for the first mud-slinging session of the year, when parliament resumes next week.The response from both sides of politics to this disaster has been interesting. The Government is rightly pledging to help Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales with their multi-billion dollar clean-up. It's introduced a levy and cuts to services to fund this. I don't have any problem with the idea of a levy - it's a progressive mechanism that is mean tested. What surprises me however is that the Government is failing to consider how to fund future disaster clean-ups and is slashing services and programs as part of this flood recovery. If a levy is good enough for one disaster, surely there should be an ongoing levy to ensure there is money in the kitty for future events.
We know that extreme weather conditions and natural disasters are on the rise due to climate change. The Prime Minister's decision to cut key climate change programs to help with the disaster clean-up shows a short-sightedness that is cruelly ironic.
Even education is not safe. The Government's scrapping the Australian Learning and Teaching Council - a key body that promotes quality education. A surprising move from our ‘Education Prime Minister.'
It's doubly frustrating to see the Government slashing these services when it doesn't need to. Precisely why meeting the Government's self-imposed deadline for returning to surplus is more important than tackling climate change is beyond me. There are other options, yet the Government's attitude appears to be (at least at this stage) take it or leave it.
What happens when there's a future disaster - will the Government slash more services so we stay in the red? When my Leader Bob Brown raised the issue of a sovereign fund to deal with this, he was criticised. Yet surely all options including - delaying the return to surplus, delaying tax-cuts to big business or a truly applied mining tax - should be on the table.
There are other solutions that don't involve service cuts, yet Prime Minister Gillard is ruling these out in favour of meeting her surplus promise. This commitment is in stark contrast to the Rudd/Gillard Government's list of broken promises. Rudd was elected on a platform of climate action, yet he failed to act. Labor promised a more humane approach to asylum seekers, yet three years on we have more than a 1000 children in detention. It promised an education revolution, yet stuck with the status quo. But for the Prime Minister meeting her own surplus deadline really is a ‘core promise.'
On the other side, we have the Opposition. As per usual, the only contribution Mr Abbott appears to be making is in keeping with his usual role as the ‘Dr No' of Australian politics. No real solutions or ideas - simply more hysteria and more carping from the sidelines.
As both sides exchange insults, many Australians will be left asking what steps are being taken to ensure we can pay for future disaster recoveries. Here both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader are severely lacking.
* This was first published on the National Times on February 1, 2011.
Monitoring essential as PTTEP continue operations
Blog Post | Blog of Rachel Siewert
Friday 4th February 2011, 4:38pm
by ChrisRedman in
The report of the Independent Review of the PTTEP Montara Action Plan makes some very strong statements on the significant and sweeping changes in governance and oil field practice that PTTEP needs to make to reach the kind of safety and risk management standards the community expects of it if it is to operate in Australian waters.
These statements reinforce the findings of the Montara Commission of Inquiry – which found conclusively that the widespread and systematic shortcomings in PTTEPs governance and procedures were a direct cause of the Montara disaster.
The report suggests that if PTTEP complies precisely with the Montara Action Plan then it can meet industry best practice standards in all of its Australasian operations. It also concludes that the success of this program of cultural and practice change ‘will depend entirely on the quality of its execution’.
To this end we believe that it is absolutely crucial that the Australian Government undertake intensive and comprehensive monitoring of PTTEP’s compliance with the Action Plan in all its Australian operations and report publicly on this compliance.
I have significant reservations about PTTEP being allowed to continue to operate in Australian waters, given the findings of the Montara inquiry. I will be seeking more information from the Government as to how compliance with the action plan will be monitored and keeping a close eye on progress reporting through the mechanisms of the Parliament.
We note that the independent review concludes that until the action plan is completed and fully implemented, questions remain about whether PTTEP will be effective in meeting industry standards for good governance and good oilfield practice.
This means that the action plan must be completed before it is operating at the kind of standard the Australian community rightfully expects in return for our shared oil and gas resources.
This is why the report stresses that ongoing governmental oversight will be crucial to ensure PTTEP’s compliance with the action plan (over 18 months).
We believe that until PTTEP has fully complied with and completed the Action Plan and demonstrably achieved industry best practice in governance and oil field practice it should not be granted any additional licenses to establish any new operations in Australian waters.
The Independent Review also makes a number of important recommendations concerning the offshore petroleum industry as a whole.
One message that came through to me during the Montara disaster and the subsequent inquiry was that PTTEP were unlikely to be the only offshore operator who were cutting corners on good governance on environmental risk and worker safety, that there had been a number of other ‘near misses’ in the past, and that stronger regulation to achieve better governance and oilfield practices was required right across the industry.
To this end we will continue to both work with and put pressure on the government to ensure that we do put in place a world-class regulatory regime to ensure that ALL companies operating off our shores comply with the highest standards of safety and risk management.
We believe that significant cultural change is required across the offshore oil and gas industry to ensure that the safety of workers and our precious environment is put ahead of all other considerations.
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Assange Deserves Our Help
Blog Post | Blog of Sarah Hanson-Young
Tuesday 8th February 2011, 9:15am
by AndrewMcGarry in
As we begin the parliamentary year this week, there are a lot of issues in the mix, from natural disasters to budget considerations, debate over a carbon price and the future of hospital reform.
But as difficult and sensitive as some of those debates may be, there is another issue that the federal government has been trying very hard to avoid - that is the case of Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks website.
Assange - who 12 months ago was an unknown hacker from Townsville - has now got international name recognition thanks to the work of his controversial website. Last night Australian time, the latest chapter in his story began with an extradition hearing in London over attempts to bring him to Sweden for questioning over alleged sex offences.
The strength or otherwise of the Swedish case against Julian Assange has been argued extensively in the media. I don't want to revisit that debate.
What I am concerned about is the way that an Australian citizen who is in trouble overseas has been left without the support that Australians can normally count on from their government.
Whatever you think of WikiLeaks, its operation and the controversy it has caused with its release of diplomatic cables, Julian Assange has broken no law through his activities. Since last year WikiLeaks has provoked a storm of controversy by its release of thousands of confidential documents including cables from the US State Department. The publication of the Swedish allegations has only added to Assange's notoriety - he has been subjected to intense verbal and written abuse broadcast around the world.
In that time there have been no words of support from Prime Minister Julia Gillard - not even words of apology for having falsely accusing him of illegal activity - no strong messages from the Australian government of concern for his welfare, no moves to help him return home. To all intents and purposes, it appears as if our government has wiped its hands of one of its citizens.
Mr Assange has said he wants to return home to Australia immediately. Time is of the essence, since his British visa is expected to run out soon. Concerns have been expressed that the Swedish allegations are merely a ‘‘holding case'' to give the US time to lay espionage charges against him. It is crystal clear that there are many in America who would like to see the Australian receive some ‘‘extreme'' justice.
Late last year, Sarah Palin infamously called for Assange to be hunted ‘‘with the same urgency we pursue al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders'', while William Kristol from the Weekly Standard magazine called for the US to ‘‘whack'' WikiLeaks and ‘‘neutralise'' Assange. Interpol put out a ‘‘red-notice'' to police around the world that Assange was wanted by Swedish police over the alleged sex offences. Regardless of what happens in Sweden, there seems little chance of Julian Assange receiving a fair trial in the US if he faces espionage charges there.
What's at stake here is the perception that our government is more interested in appeasing diplomatic allies than standing up for freedom of speech or the rights of Australian citizens overseas. Ironically it's the exact same attitude that left the government red-faced at the initial release of the cables.
The government should offer some protection by returning Mr Assange to Australia. If the extradition is granted, then Mr Assange should face a free and fair trial in Sweden. Handing him over to the US as a scapegoat for that nation's diplomatic embarrassment cannot be an option.
This blog post was previously published on the National Times website. Click here to view the blog
Milking our dairy farmers dry
Blog Post | Blog of Christine Milne
Tuesday 8th February 2011, 11:38am
A short sighted price war, or purposeful manipulation the dairy industry? You decide, but one thing for sure is that regardless of Coles and Woolworths' assurances of absorbing the costs of slashed- price milk, the farmers will eventually suffer.
Dairy farmers are right to be sceptical about a promise from the duopoly. For example, more than a year has passed since both Coles and Woolworths promised they would end restrictive covenants aimed at preventing competitors opening stores close to their own, yet in 2011 many of the covenants remain.
With this in mind, how are we to trust their word? How are we to believe they are about to place the welfare of dairy farmers above their single bottom line when they have not acted in this way previously?
Despite the duopoly's frequent spotlight on rolling back prices, it is worth noting that bargains generally buck the trend because Coles and Woolworths' grocery prices have risen 41 percent since 2000; that's eight percent more than the OECD average.
With this in mind I am joining other parliamentarians in supporting a call from the Australian Dairy Farmers for an ACCC inquiry into the action of Coles and Woolworths.
It is impossible to believe these $100 billion giants of retail would be so naïve as to consider such a price cut as anything but damaging to all dairy farmers, regardless of which processor they are contracted to.
Pura and Betta will invariably be pressured by customer demand to reduce their prices in line with those offered by the supermarkets, and these processors have offered no such promise of absorbing the costs. They will pass them on to farmers.
It was only a year ago when dairy farmers contracted to National Foods were being forced to sell their milk at below the cost of production. Matters have only marginally improved since then, and such a predatory pricing tactic could certainly see a return to financial strife and more farmers leaving the industry.
This is all about increasing market share of unbranded product, forcing consumer prices down and dairy farmers to the wall.
The ACCC must recognise this and show some backbone in their inquiry. They failed our farmers in 2008 when a similar inquiry backed the giants
Twenty three cents out of every dollar spent in Australia goes to Coles and Woolworths, it is time they recognised that it is not only consumers but also producers who keep them in business.
Political Exchange Opportunities 2011
Blog Post
Tuesday 8th February 2011, 4:16pm
by DavidParis in
The Australian Greens are members of the Australian Political Exchange Council and this gives us the opportunity to send young political leaders on overseas exchange.
Three exchange programs are open to the Australian Greens in 2011:
- Participation in a delegation to the United States of America from 26 March to 6 April *please note the closing date for applications below*;
- Participation in a delegation to Vietnam from 27 July to 2 August; and
- An individual study tour for a delegate to travel to the United Kingdom, the United States of America or New Zealand for up to 30 nights. This visit must be completed prior to 31 December 2011.
Applications are welcomed from all Australian Greens party members, state/federal party employees and state/federal parliamentary employees who are aged between 25 and 40 years.
Applicants should be politically active individuals who have the potential to make a significant contribution to political life and the development of the Australian Greens.
Delegates have a role as representatives of Australia, the Australian Political Exchange Council, as well as the Australian Greens political party and will be expected to conduct themselves professionally.
Trips are funded by the Australian Political Exchange Council, including flights, accommodation and a small travelling allowance.
Successful applicants are required to submit a written report to the Australian Greens Party Room within 1 month of the completion of their exchange.
To apply please submit your CV and a brief letter indicating which delegation you are applying for and addressing the following selection criteria:
- A demonstrated commitment to the Australian Greens and the Global Greens;
- An understanding of how this experience might develop your personal and professional skills as a young political leader;
- Excellent communication skills;
- A working knowledge of Australian Greens policies and positioning on federal political issues, as well as general current affairs; and
- Applicants for the study tour should provide an outline of their proposed trip including: which country you would nominate to visit; what topic you would be investigating; potential meetings and activities you would undertake; how your study tour would contribute to the success of the Australian Greens.
Applications for the United States delegation close 1pm Friday 11th February.
Applications for the Vietnam delegation & the individual study tour close 5pm 25th February 2011.
Please submit applications to: Emma Bull, Office of Senator Bob Brown, SG112 Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600 emma.bull@aph.gov.au
For further information please contact Emma Bull, 02 6277 3762.
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Time for the government to come clean on Suleiman
Blog Post | Blog of Bob Brown
Monday 14th February 2011, 1:08pm
by DavidParis in
“No Australian official ever saw Mr Habib in Egypt,” the Australian government says. What do you think?
Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown, speaking in the Senate, last week asked the Government if it was aware of Egypt’s General Omar Suleiman’s reputation as a torturer and a murderer. He also asked whether the Australian Government or members of its intelligence service had met General Suleiman and whether there was involvement in the illegal detention of Australian Mr Mamdouh Habib in Egypt.
In the Senate, the next day, Senator Conroy replied:
“In his question, he asked : Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. It is known by the government that Mr Habib was detained in Egypt. Has any member of the government or its intelligence services met Mr Suleiman? Were they involved in the detention and torture of Mr Habib in Egypt?”
“I can now furnish further information: Mr Habib’s allegations are not new. In 2005 the Australian Government asked Egypt to investigate Mr Habib’s claims of mistreatment.”
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has advised that during 2001-2002 Department officials made several attempts at senior levels to confirm Mr Habib’s detention in Egypt and to obtain consular access.”
“Egypt never confirmed that Mr Habib was in custody and consular access was never granted. No Australian official ever saw Mr Habib in Egypt,” Senator Conroy said.
“Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials have met Mr Suleiman, in particular in his capacity as a lead negotiator on Middle East peace process issues.”
Today, The Age reveals that an Egyptian intelligence officer has supported Mr Habib's claims that Australian officials watched as he was tortured in Egypt.
Mr Habib was detained in Afghanistan in 2001 and he says he was repeatedly tortured in Egypt before being sent to the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay.
He was released in 2005 without charge and returned to Australia.
A Revolution For The Ages
Blog Post | Blog of Sarah Hanson-Young
Tuesday 15th February 2011, 11:10am
by RobertSimms in
History was made last week. Not because Prime Minister Julia Gillard broke down in Parliament or because Opposition Leader Tony Abbott was struck dumb by a Channel 7 reporter, but because the people of Egypt brought about a peaceful revolution.
It's a revolution that dramatically changes the course of their nation's future and potentially that of their region.
Reading the weekend papers, however, and watching the Sunday morning political panels many Australians could be forgiven for missing this historic moment. Endless pages of print and air-time have been devoted to whether or not the PM shed crocodile tears or what was going through Abbott's head during that endless silence.
Advertisement: Story continues below At the end of the day, these things are of little historic importance. They certainly won't shape the future of our nation or have any lasting consequences (beyond perhaps the Opposition Leader declining to meet with journos wielding laptops!).
Most people of my parents' generation recall where they were when the Berlin Wall fell. Or what they were doing when Nelson Mandela finally won his quest for freedom. In turn, our grandparents remember how they felt when Mahatma Ghandi liberated India. For Generation Ys like myself, the weekend's events in Egypt should be of equal significance.Let's pause to reflect on exactly what occurred. A despotic regime was overthrown, not with tanks or guns but with the power of peaceful protest.
This is especially inspiring when we consider the other major regime change of the 21st century - Iraq. But here, however, bombs replaced placards. In the lead up to this illegal war, the Coalition of the Willing (including our own then prime minister John Howard) insisted that military action was necessary to bring about democracy for the Iraqi people. History tells us that this was a lie and at the weekend we were provided with yet another reminder that democracy is best achieved from within (albeit with solidarity from other nations). While exactly what happens next remains uncertain, it is clear that Egypt is heading on a new course towards democracy.
As someone who has worked for many years promoting positive change, it's easy to get disillusioned when change doesn't happen. Egypt sends a powerful message to all those who believe protest can achieve lasting change. It doesn't always happen overnight, but it does happen.It's remarkable to think that a regime that has spent the past three decades stifling political dissent, was finally extinguished by an uprising of ordinary Egyptians that decided enough was enough.
The fact that these events were not given the kind of coverage they deserve says a lot about the focus of modern politics. The media obsession with gaffes and faux pas all too often comes at the expense of the things that really matter - the things that to quote US President Barack Obama, truly ‘‘bend the arc of history''. Those of us in public life have a responsibility to raise the bar when it comes to political debate and discussion, but also all Australians have a responsibility to reflect on the issues that really are of long term significance. Egypt's peaceful revolution certainly puts these things in perspective.
This was first published on Tuesday, the 15th of February 2011, on The National Times (The Age Online).
Unseemly Politics
Blog Post | Blog of Sarah Hanson-Young
Tuesday 22nd February 2011, 8:26am
by RobertSimms in
Last week was a low point in our nation's politics.
On one hand, we had the opposition quibbling over the cost of funerals for the victims of the Christmas Island boat tragedy. On the other, we had the government stubbornly refusing to relocate the survivors to the mainland, citing bureaucratic process over common sense and compassion.
Caught in the middle were those vulnerable people who came to our country seeking our protection and support.
If tragedy puts leadership to the ultimate test, both sides have failed miserably. Sadly this episode has exposed the ugliest aspects of our politics.While most Australians would have been thinking of how to extend the hand of compassion to those who have suffered so much, there are others who have sought to score political points.
For instance, the decision of opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison to start a row about costs on the day of the funerals for the survivors took politics to a new low. His comments were not only grossly insensitive, but they actively sought to foment community resentment against a group of people who have experienced profound human suffering.
Following widespread community outrage, Mr Morrison later acknowledged his comments were insensitive and the wrong time and place. What he and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott fail to recognise is there is no time and place for this kind of gutter politics. Saying sorry after deliberately fanning the flames of racial prejudice simply doesn't cut it.
Sadly, the government also failed to show moral leadership. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen was right to allow the survivors of this tragedy to fly to Sydney so the funerals could be held closer to family. But, his insistence that they return to Christmas Island (the very place where they lost their loved ones) less than 48 hours after the funerals was stubborn and failed any common-sense test.
When this boat tragedy first occurred, I called on the government to allow the survivors to be relocated to the mainland, so they could be closer to family and key support services. This was particularly true of the young Iranian boy who lost both his parents and other children who were orphaned.I welcome the Minister's decision to allow this boy to be brought to Sydney to be with family, but I can't fathom why Mr Bowen didn't make this call to begin with. Instead this poor child was flown half-way around the country, to Christmas Island and back.
The Minister insisted that his position was based on the ‘‘best advice'' given to him. Yet we know that at least one of his key advisers, Professor Louise Newman (head of the government's Health Advisory Panel on Immigration) said the boy should not be kept on Christmas Island.
Despite this advice, the Minister took action only after realising he'd misread the public mood. It's sad to think that politics could get in the way of the welfare of a vulnerable child and the Minister needs to make a similar ruling on the other survivors.
Following last week, neither side of politics has much to be proud of.
Now all political leaders should draw a line in the sand. Rather than fanning the flames of division, we should be celebrating compassion as a shared Australian value. If we abandon it in pursuit of cheap headlines, then we become all the poorer for it. I hope that when we come to reflect on the politics of 2011, last week is the exception, rather than the rule.
This blog was first published on the National Times on Tuesday, 22nd February 2011.
Letter to the Editor – Australian Financial Review
Blog Post | Blog of Bob Brown
Tuesday 22nd February 2011, 10:10am
by DavidParis in
Dear Editor,
Laura Tingle writes (19 February 2011) that “the Greens were quick to say the tax rate should be higher after publicity was given to the scale of the government's concession to the miners”.
Wrong.
The Australian Greens have opposed the government's concessions on the Treasury-proposed 40 percent mining super profits tax since it was negotiated, behind closed doors, last year. Treasury figures now reveal the concession will deprive government of $60 billion in the coming decade.
These figures vindicate the Greens’ consistent call to government to restore the 40 percent proposal.
This nation should have a sovereign fund - like Norway's - to ensure its current wealth is not frittered away but instead is available to finance education, health, housing and transport much further into the 21st century.
Yours sincerely
Senator Bob Brown
Leader of the Australian Greens
Bob Brown on Meet the Press - 27-2-2011
Blog Post | Blog of Bob Brown
Sunday 27th February 2011, 1:04pm
by DavidParis in
Greens Leader Bob Brown discusses the carbon tax, mining tax and constitutional issues with Paul Bongiorno on Meet the Press.
Click the more link for the transcript.
PAUL BONGIORNO, PRESENTER: Hello and welcome to Meet The Press. Nature, the destroyer, made another unwanted appearance in 2011. New Zealand's deadly earthquake dominated the week, dwarfing the concerns of Canberra. As with our own natural disasters, the scale of destruction and human suffering in Christchurch was a powerful unifier in the normally fiercely combative forum of parliament.
JULIA GILLARD, PRIME MINISTER (TUESDAY): Today our family is suffering a very devastating blow. I am sure many Australians, like me, have watched the images on TV today and they have been truly shocking.
TONY ABBOTT, OPPOSITION LEADER (TUESDAY): The bonds of love stretch tight and close across the Tasman. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of New Zealand at this time.
PAUL BONGIORNO: But the harmony did not linger long, with the flood levy passing the house by the narrowest of margins and now running the gauntlet of the Senate. On Thursday, the Prime Minister announced a controversial carbon tax by July next year - something she promised wouldn't happen.
JULIA GILLARD (16 AUGUST 2010): There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead.
TONY ABBOTT: How can she possibly justify today's betrayal?
JULIA GILLARD: The Australian people have voted for change. They voted for a carbon price.
TONY ABBOTT: Since when does one vote trump 149 votes, unless the real Prime Minister of this country is Senator Bob Brown?
PAUL BONGIORNO: The Leader of the Greens, Bob Brown, is a guest … But first what the nation's papers are reporting this Sunday, February 27. The ‘Sunday Age’ has “Christchurch shut for months”. A third of its buildings in the city centre will be demolished as rescue crews continue the painstaking task of searching for more than 200 missing people. The ‘Sunday Mail’ reports “petrol freeze mooted to offset carbon tax”. Petrol prices could be frozen under a cent for cent excise cut. The Gillard government will consider to limit the early impact of the carbon tax. The ‘Sun Herald’ leads with “Gaddafi slaughter”. His own ambassador to the United Nations has likened Muammar Gaddafi to Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot as dramatic amateur video shows injured demonstrators being taken to hospital. The ‘Sunday Telegraph’ carries the story, “Hawke says Combet should be next Prime Minister”. The paper says the former prime minister has been caught out speculating about the Labor leadership. And welcome back to the program Bob Brown. Good morning, Senator.
SENATOR BOB BROWN, GREENS LEADER: Good morning. How are you, Paul?
PAUL BONGIORNO: Well, we know from the election campaign Julia Gillard did talk of a carbon price and an ETS by 2012. It was the Greens who were talking about a temporary carbon tax. Are you responsible for making her a break her promise?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: Well, the people of Australia voted for a minority government. I might add here that in talking with Tony Abbott in the wake of the election, he said he would be prepared to negotiate on anything, in terms of reaching government. We were successful in striking a compact with Labor, with Julia Gillard. She now is acknowledging that compact in the wake of the vote of the Australian people who want action on climate change. That is what we are working hard to achieve.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Can I pick you up on that. In your talks with Tony Abbott as both leaders were trying to form government, did he keep on the table an ETS or a carbon price?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: No, he did not. But he did comment that he was prepared to negotiate on anything, in terms of achieving government. That obviously included the potential for negotiations on climate change, but we did not get to specifics like that. This was a historic election outcome with a minority government, negotiating with a number of independents as well as the Greens, and one of the upshots of that, regardless of what Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott committed to during the election outcome, was the insistence that in forming government, we take action on climate change and the Prime Minister, to give her her due, has not only agree to that, but she is following through. The result is going to be a very good one for Australia.
PAUL BONGIORNO: There’s discussion in the papers this morning that the Greens would insist that transport, that petrol be kept in, and there is now talk that maybe the Gillard government will offset some of that pain. Are the Greens sympathetic to compensation for any carbon tax that is introduced?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: Well, absolutely. Our job is to ensure that the average Australian householder and car user is not punished by a carbon price. The idea here is to make the polluters pay. The big corporate polluters, who are threatening this country's economy and jobs with dangerous climate change. That has to be underscored, all the way down the line, Paul, that no action on climate change is going to be very destructive of the economy, and I might add, that Tony Abbott's alternative prescription is to leave the polluting companies, the cause of the pollution alone, but to take $3.5 billion over forward estimates away from the Australian people services. When you look at that, that is the equivalent of 10,000 jobs. People like nurses and teachers in this country. That is a prescription that we will not be taking up. What we want to do is to see through a proper carbon pricing system, as is the experience over seven years in Germany, where they created 330,000 new jobs, we want to be following that positive path rather than cutting jobs as Tony Abbott would have it.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Tony Abbott says Julia Gillard has breached the trust of the electorate as we mentioned but he made his prediction.
TONY ABBOTT (THURSDAY): We will fight this tax every second of every minute of every day of every week, of every month. I think there will be a people's revolt against this carbon tax. I do not believe it will ever happen.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Senator Brown, are you on the wrong side of this people's revolution?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: Well, it is a pretty poor revolt that Tony Abbott is engendering here. I think the Australian people are smarter than he is. They are not going to be patronised like that. They want action on climate change. But they want the action to be reasonable. That is exactly what this climate committee is doing while Tony Abbott is tub-thumping and I think it is not going to wash with the Australian people.
PAUL BONGIORNO: The climate committee does seem to find it hard to agree. There are reports it has had four meetings and the only thing it can agree on is a framework that Tony Windsor in a press release on Friday said there is still no carbon tax. There is no agreement on a carbon tax at this point in time.
SENATOR BOB BROWN: We have agreed on a framework which would move us to a carbon price, through a carbon tax and then onto a carbon trading system, which everybody seems to agree on. No, there have been no definitive. We are due to report as the Prime Minister said, by 1st July. One of the things that is happening here, is that the committee, through the government, has announced the framework of now getting to working out what the figures will be in terms of catching up with the polluters. They are compensating households.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Just briefly, are you confident that there will be a carbon tax, that Tony Abbott is wrong?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: I think there will be a carbon tax on the polluters. There will be abundant compensation to low income earners for example who, even under the Kevin Rudd scheme, they were going to end up with more money in their pockets than they would have lost in Australia. It is the big polluting companies of course who have Tony Abbott to thank for saying that he put the impost on average Australians and allow the companies to get away scot free.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Time for a break. When we return with the panel, are Australians being diddled out of billions by the Gillard Government's mining tax compromise? And Tony Abbott let smoke get in his eyes when he came face to face with a carbon-polluting former Prime Minister on Thursday.
BOB HAWKE, FORMER PRIME MINISTER (THURSDAY): I thought I was coming out for a quiet cigar and what happens? (BLEEP) Bloody (inaudible) (LAUGHTER).
SIMON CREAN: You are always capable of that.
TONY ABBOTT: I am the person who is supposed to use scatological language around here.
PAUL BONGIORNO: You're on Meet The Press with Greens Leader, Bob Brown. And welcome to the panel, Eleanor Hall, ABC The World Today and Paul Osborne from AAP. Good morning Eleanor and Paul. Labor will need the Greens to get its mining tax through later this year. April last year saw the mining super profits tax unveiled, creating such a backlash that it helped cost Kevin Rudd his job. Julia Gillard diluted the tax, giving it a new name. Her sobriquet-stitching handiwork - according to Treasury – will cost the revenue a projected $60 billion over 10 years. But the Treasurer is not for turning.
WAYNE SWAN, TREASURER (MEET THE PRESS, 20 FEBRUARY 2011): We reached a fair agreement with the mining companies on the rate. It is very important that we have certainty in this area. It is important that that agreement is honoured.
ELEANOR HALL, ABC THE WORLD TODAY: Senator Brown, the Treasurer says this agreement must be honoured. Do you agree with him?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: Well, I think the Treasurer, along with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Martin Ferguson backed off to the big three mining companies at the expense of the Australian taxpayer and householder and I don’t accept that. And the latest Treasury figures I question Ken Henry about these inestimates, Senate estimates during the week, are that taxpayers are going to use effectively $100 billion over the next 10 years. That is $10 billion a year in each Budget for the next decade, not available for such things as a National Disability scheme, or $2 billion of that would give us a national dental healthcare scheme or we could have high speed rail. I am not going to, and we Greens are not going to simply give up on that.
ELEANOR HALL: But the Treasurer raised the issue of certainty for this industry. Given at this point that you also looking to impose a carbon price on the mining industry, isn’t certainty a critical issue?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: The carbon price will apply to the coal industry. That is where it effectively is going to end up affecting a resource extraction. But built into the Treasurer's model is a one cent reduction in taxes for all of the miners. So they not only have got a massive reduction in the fair tax they pay on super profits to help this country run, but they’re going to get a tax break as well. I agree with those economists and very senior economists who think that Australia should have a sovereign find out of this massive wealth, which is largely pouring overseas so that this nation is able to provide the schools, the hospitals, public transport and housing that it requires in the coming years when we are not doing so well.
ELEANOR HALL: So you clearly do not agree with the Treasurer. How much pressure are you prepared to put on the government over this?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: The problem for us is Tony Abbott again because he would not collect a dollar off the big companies like BHP who are making tens of billions and exporting large amounts of those profits. The problem there is that if Tony Abbott got together with the Greens, Australians would be $100 billion better off in getting services over the next 10 years. But he is missing in action. He is a man who wants to oppose everything that is put up. But in so doing, he is robbing the Australian people of their right to good services and a more secure future. We will have to argue with the government but we are doing so from the disadvantage of having an opposition which is, if you want to look for a constructive opposition, it is missing in action.
PAUL OSBORNE, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS: Senator, the carbon price is going to make nuclear power more affordable. Doesn't the carbon tax give more added impetus to the movement within Labor and the Coalition, and indeed internationally, to bring on nuclear power as a clean, green source of power?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: I had Bob Hawke, who we saw just a while ago, lobbying over a nuclear waste dump in WA just a week ago. No, the expense and danger of that is unnecessary. You will remember when John Howard, before the last election, but one, brought up the spectre of 25 nuclear power stations. He dropped it very quickly. It is so unpopular in Australia because those power stations will have to be sited near centres of population, use a great deal of water, which is scarce in our big cities, and it will not be as cheap as renewable energy in this solar blessed country of Australia.
PAUL OSBORNE: In your negotiations with the government, do you risk the possibility, as the Democrats did, falling apart over the GST?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: No. The Democrats supported a pretty unpopular tax. By the way, the GST was a 10% impost on everything.
PAUL OSBORNE: This carbon tax looks quite unpopular as well, doesn’t it?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: But nowhere near the order of that. I think it is much more popular. I think people are recognising, as long as they are looked after. As I had said earlier, households will be. It is the polluters that are going to pay. People see the common sense in that. And remember this, this is the difference with the GST, if we do not act on climate change, there is going to be a 5-20% hit on the national wealth later this century. That means our children or grandchildren are going to have massive costs put up against them, according to Sir Nicholas Stern, who was commissioned to look at this on behalf of the British Government. It is economically responsible that the Greens are trying to ensure to take the management responsibility, as we are doing now along with the Gillard government, something missing from Tony Abbott, to ensure that we do not leave the Australia that economically damaging legacy.
PAUL BONGIORNO: On Monday, the Opposition agreed with the government that the Senate's money bill on youth allowance was unconstitutional. Here is Christopher Pyne.
CHRISTOPHER PYNE, MANAGER FOR OPPOSITION BUSINESS (MONDAY): It is certainly up to the government whether it is presented to the Governor General, but that is a different distinction from whether we can consider it.
PAUL BONGIORNO: The opposition has made the concession that they can have the argument over a Senate money bill, but it is only that. It will not have the force of law. Does that deter you from trying to bring in other money bills originating in the Senate?
SENATOR BOB BROWN: They are not money bills. They are bills that come from standing appropriations which have already been passed by Parliament. The Constitution Section 53 and 54 is very clear on this. The Senate has equal powers with the House of Representatives. What a situation we get into if you follow the logic of Christopher Pyne there, and the Senate were to say, we are not going to pass bills coming up from the house, Private Member's Bills for example. This is uncharted territory and we need some maturity here. I have spoken to cross-benches in the house during the week, and to the government, and there needs to be a new compact between the two houses in the interests of stability to see that decent Private Members' Bills coming from both houses are passed by the upper house if warranted by the interest of Australia of the day. That is what the Constitution wanted. That is what we Greens are going to ensure happens. I am not about to devalue the Senate as the big parties appear to want to do.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Thank you very much for being with us this morning, Bob Brown.
SENATOR BOB BROWN: Thank you, Paul.
Christine's comments on transport in carbon pricing
Blog Post | Blog of Christine Milne
Monday 28th February 2011, 4:21pm
by TimHollo in
Senator Milne's press conference on Friday lasted a 30 mins, covered a great deal of detail on the carbon price statement, how the process works, the level of a carbon price, the level and design of compensation, offsets, green carbon, nuclear power, how agriculture will be counted, what Christine might personally do to change her behaviour after a carbon price is introduced and more.
21 minutes and 14 seconds into the press conference, transport is first mentioned in response to a direct question from a journalist.
Christine: "I think it's important that transport is included. Transport is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and if you want transformation in the economy then you have to cover as many sectors as possible and also you get your cheapest abatement by having the broadest possible coverage. And this has to be budget neutral as you will have noticed from the principles that we put in."
Follow up question (from The Australian journalist): "So you'd like people to pay more for petrol and diesel, Senator?"
Christine: "My view is it would be fantastic to have really good public transport in Australia. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have very fast trains, wouldn't it be great to have a decent metro system in Melbourne and Sydney, wouldn't it be great to have electric cars, wouldn't it be great to redesign our cities so that people are less car-dependent and they're healthier and happier at the same time, and experience better air quality. They are the questions that need to be asked and that's what people want. If you want to get transformation and innovation, you only get it by transferring to the technologies that are low carbon and that's where we're coming from in this scenario to make sure we drive that kind of innovation in Australia."
Qn: "So you're signalling that petrol will be included?"
Christine: "Well, the transport sector is.."
QN interrupting: "When you say the transport sector, you're talking freight or people's ordinary cars?"
Christine: "At the moment, we have a high-level document which says that transport is included in the coverage. As you will have heard the Minister say yesterday, there is still - and we haven't this discussion, so to say that there's still debate, we haven't started the debate yet - on what he calls phasing, and I'm assuming that he means by that the point at which certain parts of any of those sectors come in. That's a matter for discussion. But the Greens argued very clearly under the CPRS that we thought that transport should be in and that transport should be covered, so petrol would have been covered under our previous scenario because we want to see that transformation. But this is a negotiation and we haven't even started that discussion."
Qn (Another Australian journalist): "Senator, do you think that householders should be fully compensated for rises in petrol prices?"
Christine: "... I'm not prepared to discuss that because it hasn't been discussed and we're still formulating a view."
...
QN (1st Australian journalist): "Senator, by flagging higher petrol prices, you give Tony Abbott ammunition to essentially scare people, to run a scare campaign that this is a bad idea? Do you accept that the Greens will have to compromise on some of these issues so as to achieve the main goal which is getting a price on carbon?"
Christine: "We've said all along we are going to compromise..."
Qn (2nd Australian journalist): "Will part of the negotiations be to get some of the revenue from a carbon tax towards building metro, fast trains..."
Christine: "I think that would be a fantastic idea but that would be my view and it's not something that we've even discussed. But all these things are on the table and that's what I talk about when I talk about transformation and the possibilities. As the Prime Minister said yesterday, this process opens up all kinds of possibilities..."