The Guardian 28 February, 2007
Howard clutches
at environmental straws
Peter Mac
Three out of four states have now accepted the Howard Government’s $10 billion takeover of the ailing Murray-Darling River system. It is likely that Victoria will also agree, perhaps after some further modifications.
However, the agreement reached so far leaves major questions unanswered.
For example, who will choose the two "independent" water commissioners, and what will be the selection criteria? What will be the terms of reference for their work? Will the needs of cities, towns, small farmers and natural ecosystems take priority over the demands of the huge rice and cotton irrigation farms which consume massive quantities of the rivers’ flows?
The handover of the river system by the states will not provide adequate supplies to the many small farms and communities that depend on it, as long as Howard government remains in power.
Speaking on ABC TV’s Landline program recently, Howard declared with reference to the current drought "I am not going to embrace an approach that damages our resource industries." He was undoubtedly including the rice and cotton industries here.
Howard has taken virtually no interest in the environment except to defend those who violate it, and to look for profitable opportunities for major business interests while claiming to defend it. Until very recently he has poured scorn on the best scientific advice that indicates that climate change is happening, that it is contributing to the current drought, or that it is a result of human industries.
In 1997 Howard forced the Kyoto conference to allow Australia to increase its level of greenhouse gas emissions by eight percent, even though we should be reducing them. Nevertheless, Australia has still exceeded the limit, which the Government attempted to blame on a booming national economy!
The Howard Government has rejected expert advice as to the impact of global warming, and has effectively prevented CSIRO scientists from drawing conclusions from their research or experiments.
Howard originally cast doubt on the existence of global warming at all. After the release of the UK Stern Report on the potentially devastating economic effects of climate change, he became a climate change "sceptic", and then a "realist" (i.e. one who invariably rejects the latest bad news about climate change). Finance Minister Nick Minchin still describes himself as a sceptic.
Howard warned other politicians about being "mesmerised" by the Stern Report’s conclusions. Government Minister Ian MacFarlane contemptuously dismissed Al Gore’s important and disturbing film on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth, as "just entertainment".
Three years ago the Government’s white paper on energy backed the continued predominant use of fossil fuels, and refused to increase Australia’s mandatory renewable energy target from 2 percent. Renewable industries have suffered from a lack of funding for research and development, with some enterprises facing closure..
The Howard Government has refused to endorse reduction of the use of coal combustion in power stations and industries. The Government’s environmental funding policies for research into geo-sequestration are benefiting the coal industry.
Howard has twice rejected ministerial proposals for introduction of a carbon-trading scheme. He briefly toyed with the idea, in order to facilitate the introduction of a nuclear power generation in Australia. However, he has lapsed into silence on the issue since coal industry representatives voiced vigorous public opposition to any such scheme.
The Government has established an emissions trading taskforce, but it is staffed by representatives of the coal mining, power generation, and metal processing industries, the very industries which oppose Australia’s participation in a carbon-trading scheme. John Daley, a lobbyist for the fossil fuel industry, has been drafting policies for the taskforce.
It is clear that the greatest impediment to Australia playing a leading role in the international battle to counter global warming is the Howard Government itself.