06/03/2006 - Labor leader
Kim Beazley will reportedly announce a new
climate change ‘blueprint’ tomorrow at the
Great Barrier Reef – an area that the Howard
Government is already protecting.
The test for Mr Beazley is – will he dump
Mark Latham’s outdated two-word climate
change policy: to ‘sign Kyoto’?
A person who is renowned for being prolix
on just about any subject has been unable
to get past two-word utterances on one of
the most important public policy challenges
of our age.
Two senior Labor figures are split with
Mr Beazley over the need for the world to
move beyond Kyoto.
The paucity of Labor’s position has been
spelled out by these two senior Labor figures:
1. Labor frontbencher Martin Ferguson –
a great supporter of the Australian Government’s
involvement in the Asia-Pacific Partnership
on Clean Development and Climate (AP6) –
told the Australian Uranium Conference last
year that a group of 22,000 New Zealand
businesses had called on that country's
government to scrap its commitment to Kyoto
and instead join the AP6: “Businesses in
New Zealand are concerned that compliance
with Kyoto could cost far more than the
government has estimated."
(Martin Ferguson, 12 October 2005)
2. Union heavyweight and newly-preselected
Labor candidate Bill Shorten said yesterday
that “The real issue is going forward in
the future, not just signing the Kyoto Protocol.
That debate has come and gone.”
(Bill Shorten, ABC Insiders programme, 5
March 2005)
Will Mr Beazley now backflip on his contemptuous
dismissal of the Asia-Pacific Partnership
on Clean Development and Climate, a breakthrough
partnership which brings together for the
first time the US, China, India, Japan,
South Korea and Australia to develop and
deploy new technologies to cut global greenhouse
gas emissions?
When the AP6 agreement was announced, Mr
Beazley said: “It’s nothing. It’s spin.”
(Kim Beazley, AAP, 27 July 2005)
Now Mr Beazley has the chance to join his
industry spokesman, Mr Ferguson, who said
“this is a regional grouping of countries
that, working in partnership, has within
its gift, the capacity to make a serious
global impact on patterns of energy use
and greenhouse emissions – and Australia
is part of it.”
(Martin Ferguson, Australian Uranuim Conference,
Perth, 11 October 2005)
The Australian Government is investing $1.9
billion on domestic measures to combat climate
change and remains determined to reduce
greenhouse gases without simply shutting
down Australia’s power supply and sending
jobs offshore.
Mr Beazley’s challenge is to do the same
– get past slogans and set down a serious
public investment plan.
Mr Beazley will reportedly make his announcement
tomorrow at the Great Barrier Reef.
This is an insult. Mr Beazley has a policy
to tear up the boundaries of the Reef Marine
Park. He must reverse this Latham policy
tomorrow.
The Howard Government acted before the last
election to place one third of the Reef
in protected marine park green zones – an
environmental outcome which has been recognised
through global awards.
The Australian Labor Party position, as
articulated by Mr Latham, and retained by
Mr Beazley, remains to tear up all the boundaries
in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park –
throwing communities, fishermen and businesses
into disarray and confusion.
Queensland Labor Senator Jan McLucas admitted
Labor had retained its policy of tearing
up the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park boundaries
during a Senate Estimates hearing last year:
Senator Campbell: When were you going to
review the boundaries?
Senator McLucas: In the review period that
was described in the RAP ...
Senator Campbell (later): You said you were
going to review the boundaries, I said I
wasn't - there's the difference.
(Senate Estimates hearing, Parliament House,
Canberra, 26 May 2005)
The Howard Government is acting to provide
a fair and equitable outcome for fishermen
and related businesses, but is determined
that the boundaries in the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park will remain unchanged.
Mr Beazley will give no such undertaking.
