So, Rupert Murdoch has tweeted:
Conviction politicians hard to find anywhere. Australia's Tony Abbott
rare exception. Opponent Rudd all over the place convincing nobody.
Yes, Rupert. Sure Rupert. You've never really read
Bernard Keane's clever 2011 history of Tony Abbott and climate change, have you? I'll reproduce just part of it:
Tony Abbott: OK, so the climate has changed over the
eons and we know from history, at the time of Julius Caesar and Jesus
of Nazareth, the climate was considerably warmer than it is now. And
then during what they called the Dark Ages it was colder. Then there was
the medieval warm period. Climate change happens all the time and it is
not man that drives those climate changes back in history. It is an
open question how much the climate changes today and what role man
plays.
Tony Abbott: I am confident, based on the
science we have, that mankind does make a difference to climate, almost
certainly the impact of humans on the planet extends to climate.
Tony Abbott: The argument is absolute crap.
Tony Abbott. We believe climate change is real, yes, we believe humans make a contribution towards climate change.
Tony Abbott: There may even have been a slight
decrease in global temperatures (the measurement data differs on this
point) over the past decade despite continued large increases in
emissions associated with the rapid economic growth of China and India.
Tony Abbott: I think that the science is
far from settled but on the insurance principle you are prepared to take
reasonable precautions against significant potential risks, and that’s I
think why it makes sense to have an ETS.
Tony Abbott: I think there are all sorts of ways of paying for this that don’t involve a great big new tax that we will live with forever.
Tony Abbott: There is much to be said for an emissions
trading scheme. It was, after all, the mechanism for emission reduction
ultimately chosen by the Howard government.
Update: further "conviction politics" from Tony,
only in May this year:
The letter, signed by Mr Abbott, states that he had been briefed by
shadow special minister of state Bronwyn Bishop about the agreement,
negotiated between former special minister of state Gary Gray, Liberal
Party federal director Brian Loughnane, and the ALP national secretary
George Wright.
"I am satisfied with the agreement reached and
indicate the Coalition's intention to support the legislation and to
deal with it, as requested, before the end of the sittings," the letter
states.
However, today Mr Abbott explained that he changed his mind after discussions with his colleagues.
Update 2: yet more
conviction:
TONY ABBOTT (archive footage, July 22, 2002): Voluntary paid maternity
leave: yes; compulsory paid maternity leave: over this Government's dead
body, frankly. It just won't happen.
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