Short and complete message from Barnaby Joyce, ex-right wing, deputy PM of Australia….. on twitter…
“Well, you probably wonder what politicians do on Christmas Eve. Well, when it’s drought, feed cattle. [shot of drought affected land].
“Now, you don’t have to convince me that the climate’s not changing; it is changing. My problem’s always been whether you believe a new tax is going to change it back?
“Look, I just don’t want the government any more in my life, I’m sick of the government being in my life.
“Now, the other thing we’ve got to acknowledge is, you know, there’s a higher authority that’s beyond our comprehension, and right up there in the sky [camera shot of sky]. Unless we understand that’s got to be respected, then we’re just fools. We’re going to get nailed.”
Obvious Commentary:
People have been saying the drought is bad for some years now, and that it is being prolonged and made worse by Climate Change. During that time Barnaby has been running with the “I love a Sunburnt Country” line, with a rare, but disbelieving, ‘maybee something is happening’ comment…. So it is a boost to hear him say, on camera, climate change might be real.
Even if he almost uses the “climate always changes” line.
Then he asks us if a new tax change it back. No. It won’t.
Because of people like him, a Carbon tax and some mild government action could no longer prevent the current drought – after all the drought is happening, we can no longer prevent it. What could have happened if he and others had not prevented action, never mind concerted action, is a whole different world – completely unpredictable. It would most likely be a better world, with a much better future, but we won’t ever know for sure.
His remark does manage to show the massive lack of creativity on the Right. He can only think of a tax as a solution. Nothing else. This is particularly bad, given that the Carbon price was not thought up by him or by his side of politics, in the first place. They really do seem to have nothing to offer,
To be fair one action was probably never going to change a problem of a complex system. We have needed multiple actions, for some time.
Even now, we could try to stop making the situation worse. We could stop new coal mines and gas drilling, and phase out old coal and gas. We could help workers find new well paid work. We could support international action rather than oppose it. We could support renewables rather than try to make the market so complicated its hard to invest. We could invest in new transmission cables to allow new power sources to come on line. We could invest in storage to help smooth out supply. We could support regenerative agriculture and save the farm sector. We could investigate and fund GHG drawdown. We could de-financialise water to stop wealthy people accumulating most of it and letting towns die. We could stop mining in water tables and in catchment areas.
There is a lot of things we could do. I’m sure people can think of more possibilities. A carbon tax is only one prospect not all of them.
He says he wants the government out of his life. Cool. He could resign. Start up a business. Refuse Federal and State assistance for his farm and business. He could reject his government pension…. Its easy. No? Odd. He could want all the gifts and non of the responsibilities.
If the statement means that he thinks that he can solve climate change by himself without any government involvement, then he should get on with it, and stop complaining that he can’t think of anything to do. Personally, I think he needs to persuade his party to get involved and take on the Liberals now that he has seen the problem. He could be helpful. He could be a maverick.
I suspect that God is not going to be particularly joyful that Barnaby Joyce recognised the great problem of our time, the great moral issue of our time, the challenge of whether to help to keep the creation going or abandoning it to greed, and then walked away saying it was God’s problem?
If people don’t respect God and God’s Creation, then we will be ‘nailed’. Things will get worse. That is one message he could take away from this. There is no longer any excuse to try nothing.
Tags: climate change, Disinformation, religion
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