A powerful articulation of how both major Australian political parties have failed us on climate action over the last 25 years by Marc Hudson. Also relevant is Joan Staples 2009 article Our lost history of climate change.
25 years ago the Australian government promised deep emissions cuts, and yet here we still are
Marc Hudson, University of ManchesterA divided government firmly on the back foot ahead of a major climate conference, its green credentials shaky, and riven with bubbling tensions between those who want serious climate action and those resistant to it. Sound familiar? But the government I’m describing is not today’s version, but Bob Hawke’s federal government way back in October 1990.
October 11, 2015, marks a quarter-century to the day since the then environment minister, Ros Kelly, brought a proposed carbon emissions target to cabinet. At the time, Jon Bon Jovi was number one in Australia with “Blaze of Glory”, and some of the lyrics are apposite:
You ask about my conscience; And I offer you my soul; You ask if I’ll grow to be a wise man; Well I ask if I’ll grow old.
