There oughta be a law

phill Parsons
phill is a Greens supporter who reckons governments are far too ready to slap us with restrictions now instead of making their own hard policy decisions for the future.
GOVERNMENTS of the old parties ‘follow the money’ in preference to the need they say is there. Lip reading and practical action remain out of sync.

That Hydro storage stands low in contrast to Sydney Water is unusual, a reversal of roles: Hydro 26.8% full and Sydney at 59.1%. Snowy Hydro storages are around their lowest levels since construction.

Tasmania will have to buy dirty brown coal whilst the supposed benefits of selling green power to consumers across Bass Strait at peak demand times will have to wait until climate chaos refills the dams, an unpredictable event that is less likely to occur than the continued low rainfall outcomes predicted. Climate uncertainty is now so high the National Climate Centre is unable to predict whether the patterns that produced the long term averages are ever likely to return.

Although the immediacy of further water restrictions for Sydney has been removed by fortuitous events, the ban on daytime watering of lawns and gardens and washing of driveways with Sydney’s potable water has become permanent.

Why? Because the NSW Iemma government recognizes the advice of the majority of the world’s climate scientists that the climate has changed. And so, with this admission of recognition, comes the flat-lining of NSW carbon emission reduction strategy that drove the state-based carbon trading scheme through targets that had reduced carbon emissions from NSW by reducing power consumption.

Many in the media have said this is because a national trading scheme is planned. It may be, but why would you stop an immediate measure for a sometime in the future scheme?

What this has to do with is the sale of NSW’s publicly-owned assets, especially the coal fired power stations and the carbon sink State Forests?

Having failed to sell their share of the Snowy Hydro, the Iemma government is desperate to find the money to refurbish state infrastructure. To do this, it has targeted the sale of assets that are not core to government services and thus likely to impact on their electoral chances. Coal-fired electricity generation assets are values at around $20 billion although with a need to reduce carbon emissions by more than 60% by 205, the value in them will not remain with any future investment open to finding its capacity reduced before the asset has reached its economic life.

Whilst not key to saving the planet from further climate chaos, the installation of energy-saving light globes and water-saving shower heads by Easy Being Green had employed several hundreds throughout NSW in practical measures that had followed a program of targets to reduce emission levels, a state-based carbon trading scheme involving householders.

The market for trading carbon in NSW has not completely collapsed by the uncertainty of which- and when- new national carbon trading scheme would be introduced but it had affected to price of carbon cutting it by half to $6 per ton.

How typical of old party government, pay lip service to a matter of life by visiting the difficulties upon the citizen in more restrictions whilst following the money.

State and Federal action addressing climate chaos by reducing greenhouse gas emissions [mitigation] has been minimal to date and, along with limited adaptation strategies such as the now delayed Murray Darling Scheme, sees the south eastern inland, Australia’s food bowl, in dire circumstances with no end in sight.

New leadership on climate remains unlikely. Rudd looks a shoe in but reading the tea leaves of environmental announcements it seems equivalence combined with inaction on the main cause will be the old parties main activity until climate chaos really hurts. Immediate solutions are not available, although the vagaries of the climate may seem to provide one through a rain event. Australia needs to take action to reduce the impacts of climate chaos and only one party clearly and unequivocally offers such a program.

Phill Parsons