Climate change

Killing solar PV softly

Larvatus Prodeo - May 16, 2008 - 2:00pm

Possum’s analysis of the broad policy objectives being played out in a subtle, piecewise fashion shows the political strategy of the Rudd government in the large. Be that as it may, there’s plenty of evidence of raw political cunning as well; I’d just like to point to a little policy announcement in the budget that demonstrates it. Read more »

A comprehensive national feed-in law

GreensBlog - May 15, 2008 - 6:23pm

Against the backdrop of several appalling Rudd Government Budget decisions that will undermine the renewables industry in Australia even further (some of which are detailed here), Christine Milne introduced a Private Member’s Bill in the Senate this morning to establish an comprehensive national feed-in law.
Feed-in laws support the rapid and unlimited growth of the renewables [...]

Pity the poor Federal Opposition

Hoyden About Town - May 15, 2008 - 11:20am

The bizarre fixation on the tax hike for ready-to-drink alcholic mixed drinks shows that they haven’t really got a lot to effectively gripe about with the first Rudd Budget, have they? How many of the small number of politics wonks who normally watch the Opposition Leader’s Budget reply speech will even bother tuning in to Brendan Nelson’s (aka 9 of 100) effort tonight? 1 Read more »

Expecting a messy and confused Budget

GreensBlog - May 13, 2008 - 11:17am

There is an old political adage that the Budget is the clearest possible view of a government’s soul - laying bare its priorities for all to see.
So, now that the day of the Rudd Government’s first Budget has arrived, what can we expect?
From all that we’ve seen and heard thus far, and from regular interaction [...]

True love spurned

The Blair/Bolt Watch Project - May 12, 2008 - 8:29am

By The Editor

I’ve got to admit that I almost feel sorry for Andrew Bolt. Watching Gordon Ramsay on television a few weeks ago he fell in love. There was something about Gordon Ramsay — a man’s man with conservative values and masculine pride — that made Bolta’s heart beat a little faster. Read more »

A Budget stuck in the past

GreensBlog - May 16, 2008 - 1:22pm

Instead of replying to the details of the Rudd-Swan Budget, I decided this year to use their backward-looking, future-phobic presentation as the launching pad for a broader discussion of what we might do if we had a Government with the vision and guts necessary to take on the twin challenges of climate change and peak [...]

The climate Budget betrayal

GreensBlog - May 15, 2008 - 2:21pm

Crikey published this piece from me today, in the lead up to my Budget Reply speech tonight, which I will post to the blog as soon as the Hansard is available.
Tuesday night’s Budget was a slap in the face for all those Australians who voted for the Labor Party at the last election in the [...]

The budget rituals

Larvatus Prodeo - May 13, 2008 - 11:22am

I’m clearly getting old and cynical. But it seems that the pre-Budget media leaks have followed the conventional pattern even more than normal. Read more »

How about this? - Clotheslines banned in much of the USA

North Coast Voices - May 10, 2008 - 8:56pm

News from the home of prohibition, the USA, confirms the view that global warming doesn't rate too highly there. Read more »