Malcolm Turnbull to fight on

Malcolm Turnbull

Dead Man Walking. Either he knows something the rest of us don’t or he really is a bit delusional about this, as there seems virtually no chance of Malcolm Turnbull surviving as leader, after half his frontbenchers deserted him last week. But despite that, he vows to continue:

[A] buccaneering Mr Turnbull swept into a press conference to declare he would not be bowed. In a performance widely praised for its resolve and clarity, Mr Turnbull said his party would lack credibility if it adopted a policy of no action on climate change.

“It is as simple as that,” he said. “We all recognise that most Australians expect their political leaders and their political parties to take effective action on climate change. [Not if you listen to talkback radio, they don’t – Ed]

“This is about the future of our planet and the future of our children and their children. [Really, he’s just channelling Kevin Rudd now – Ed]

“Australians expect their political leaders to act responsibly, to take action on climate change, to protect and safeguard the future of our planet, the future of our children. That is the challenge for us now and I am committed to it.”

Sources said that when Mr Turnbull arrived at work yesterday his email inbox was filled with messages of support praising his determination to stare down climate change deniers.

The messages were coming in at one a minute, with 95 per cent supportive, one source said.

“Forget for a minute what the party is saying,” said another. “Malcolm is right when he says that people want action on climate change and he is determined to argue that case. He won’t back down. He won’t resign.

“In the next couple of days he will take his campaign to the public and he will use their support next week. Don’t assume he will lose.” (source)

And, disappointingly, The Australian appears to be supporting Malcolm Turnbull on the need for an ETS, in an editorial today:

This week, Mr Turnbull was savaged for understanding what his opponents cannot comprehend, that whatever the science ultimately shows, Australians of all political persuasions believe humanity is responsible for global warming and the government has to act to reduce its impact. Mr Turnbull realises that the Rudd government’s ETS is not so different from what John Howard planned to put in place when he realised in his last term in office that the electorate wanted action on climate change. Mr Turnbull responded to the political realities by accepting it was the task of a responsible opposition to find the flaws in the government’s plan and demand improvements rather than reject it outright. He was right to do so. The Weekend Australian has always called for hard scientific evidence on human-induced global warming and has been criticised for publishing critics of the environmental orthodoxy. But the planet must be given the benefit of the doubt and the relatively low-cost ETS is the sort of market-based solution this newspaper has always advocated. Given the way the world is moving to limit emissions, it is important for Australia, as a major exporter of energy resources, to demonstrate an early commitment to cutting carbon pollution, if only to avoid the possibility of international sanctions [what?] in the future. (source)

Wrong, wrong, wrong – in so many ways, wrong. You say you want hard scientific evidence, but then “give the planet the benefit of the doubt” – have you not seen the CRU story? And now they are really toeing the Labor line by referring to carbon dioxide in the misleading manner Penny Wong and Kevin Rudd refer to it, as “carbon pollution”.

We all expect Fairfax and the ABC to peddle misinformation and alarmist propaganda about climate change. But there is little chance of the public truly understanding this issue when even The Australian does it too.