Comments on: Milne: Still time for PM Rudd to lead http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/07/17/milne-still-time-for-pm-rudd-to-lead/ now with extra source Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:09:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Peter Jones http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/07/17/milne-still-time-for-pm-rudd-to-lead/#comment-4695 Peter Jones Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000 #comment-4695 In political terms, the weakness of the Green Paper can be viewed as an opportunity. Public debate has been polarised between those who want to take serious action to reduce emissions, and those who are worried about increases in the cost of living. Now these two poles can be articulated together in opposition to the government's position. The current proposed ETS would not only be ineffective, but is also unfair, in that it hands out rights to pollute for nothing.<br /><br />By calling for a just transition to a low carbon economy, the Greens could substantially increase their support base amongst low income earners, who will be hit hardest by any policy mechanism which implictly hands ownership over the Earth's (limited) capacity to store carbon to polluting corporations. This is the crucial juncture for a strong push from the left: otherwise the moment will be lost, and people will simply resent being made to pay for a scheme which won't even put any sort of a dent in emissions.<br /><br />For this reason the Greens absolutely must oppose this ETS in the Senate. With the right leadership this issue could trigger a seismic shift in the Australian popular political scene. 'Pragmatic' compromise, on the other hand, would simply lead us back to the mood of cynicism and narrowly defined self-interest which dominated the Howard years. In political terms, the weakness of the Green Paper can be viewed as an opportunity. Public debate has been polarised between those who want to take serious action to reduce emissions, and those who are worried about increases in the cost of living. Now these two poles can be articulated together in opposition to the government’s position. The current proposed ETS would not only be ineffective, but is also unfair, in that it hands out rights to pollute for nothing.

By calling for a just transition to a low carbon economy, the Greens could substantially increase their support base amongst low income earners, who will be hit hardest by any policy mechanism which implictly hands ownership over the Earth’s (limited) capacity to store carbon to polluting corporations. This is the crucial juncture for a strong push from the left: otherwise the moment will be lost, and people will simply resent being made to pay for a scheme which won’t even put any sort of a dent in emissions.

For this reason the Greens absolutely must oppose this ETS in the Senate. With the right leadership this issue could trigger a seismic shift in the Australian popular political scene. ‘Pragmatic’ compromise, on the other hand, would simply lead us back to the mood of cynicism and narrowly defined self-interest which dominated the Howard years.

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