Comments on: ETS – Exit Turnbull Stage left

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:04:27 +0000

I agree with you totally Graham. If the Libs had attacked the ETS starting over a year ago it would be Rudd on the ropes and the general public would have started to turn on this issue. Ok so in the polls people say yes to a wishy question of “should we do something for the environment?” But if they were also asked “how much are you prepared to individually pay to lower carbon emmisions?”, it would be nothing near what the ETS will impose. And the true cost of the ETS isn’t getting out there.
Turnbull is dead scared he will be called a skeptic and the media won’t love him. The Libs should have been showing Penny Wong up a year ago just as Steve Fielding has managed to do with a few simple question over global warming (with no party machine behind him mind you).
Come on Libs stand up. You won’t get any votes trying to appeal to the left. The right don’t like it, and the left don’t believe it. Loose/loose.

By: Arjay

Arjay — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:11:46 +0000

I just can’t let this stupidity rest.Kevin Rudd is going to borrow on our behalf $ 315 billion over the next few yrs to pay for infrastructure and stimulus packages.In a microcosm we have $5 billion worth of pink bats from China sitting on our docks waiting to installed for free.Many houses can be insulated for far less than $1600.00 say $900.00. Kevin is borrowing billions from China to buy insulation for our houses at inflated labour prices with no added increase in manufacturing or productivity in Australia!Has the penny dropped yet?
Under Kevin’s policy the yoke of debt will enslave our children forever,yet he has 66% approval rating!
Get this.We have a private balance of payments deficit due to OS Borrowings of $650 billion plus Kevin’s debt of $ 315 billion.This is almost $1 trillion.Just the interest alone is almost $10,000.00 for every working person pa.How will we ever pay it off particularly if rates rise and they will?
It took the Howard Govt 10 yrs to pay off $90 billion of Labor debt in the 90′s in boom times.

By: Arjay

Arjay — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:57:32 +0000

The whole thing is a farce.A tax imposed on the basis of an unproven theory and little Aust with less than 0.33% of the world’s pop is going to lead the charge into oblivion.
Kevin Rudd won’t be so popular when the debt chickens come home to roost.This is the biggest pork barrel in our history.
I never thought Malcolm would self destruct so easily.The next leader will be a sacrificial lamb[caretaker] also, to reduce the damage,so he can’t have too much ability.Woe is us.

By: john Ward

john Ward — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:56:03 +0000

When the Swiss Watchmakers invented the digital watch in their laboratories, they treated it like a toy. After all it wasn’t a real watch,was it?
They did not take out a patent.
When Texas Instruments and Seiko saw this new watch at an international watch expo, the watch paradigm suddenly had shifted and after one year 65,000 Swiss watch makers were out of work.
They had paradigm paralysis and could not see the future when it was staring them in the face.
A lot of people want to hope that climate change is not a paradigm shift and are in serious denial.
The thing is that when a paradigm shifts, every one goes back to zero.
If the future really is in renewable energy and Hydro-carbons become feed stock for a chemical industry. Those who now have Paradigm Paralysis will be the big losers. The conservatives and their scientists look like they are dealing themselves out of the game and risk being part of the catastropic changes that more open minded scientists are predicting.
Sorry Malcolm, you are stuck with the wrong bet.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:34:57 +0000

Hi Graham. Not so sure about this – I think a “do-nothing” position would take a bit of selling. The Greens would be easier to persuade than the public. Don’t you think the reason that Turnbull’s gone for this bizarre plan is that he’s being told that the public want something done immediately?
That said, I don’t necessarily disagree that nothing – for now – might wind up being better than the ETS we appear to be getting.

By: Jennifer Marohasy

Jennifer Marohasy — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:01:51 +0000

And I agree that if someone articulate and respected actually went after the ETS exposing it along the lines you suggest… it would be Kevin and Penny needing to exit left.

By: Patrick B

Patrick B — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:59:24 +0000

Graham,
I rather think that you’ve missed the bus. You assume that there is a significant constituency out there for a “no plan, do nothing” position. You fail to see that Rudd is actually still very popular in the community. You advocate a more prominent role for Wilson Tuckey. I’d say you won’t be getting to many calls from Liberal Party headquarters.

By: Russ

Russ — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:52:57 +0000

I have to agree with you Graham. The ETS will ruin Australia’s economy.