As Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott battle
it out over who is more fiscally conservative, the Liberal Party has
challenged Labor to hold three debates during the election campaign. The
parties are yet to settle on the conditions of the face-to-face leaders'
debates during the campaign but Greens leader Bob Brown wants to be
there...
You can post a comment online and/or write a Letter to the Editor agreeing
that The Greens should be an integral part of leaders debates. At the 2007
Federal election the Greens recorded 7.8% of the vote, up from 7.2% in
2004, 5.0% in 2001 and 2.6% in 1998. Current polls suggest up to 13% of
Australians will vote Green in the 2010 election. The Greens also believe
that the public should be involved in these very important debates.
***With climate change shaping as a key election issue, both major parties
have scored a fail from experts. The experts crunched the numbers on the
parties' climate policies and awarded Labor one star out of five. The
coalition fared even worse, scoring half a star. The "election
Pollute-o-meter" analysis, to be issued on Friday, was commissioned by the
Climate Institute and carried out by consultants Climate Risk. It found
that under Labor's current climate policies - which focus on boosting
renewable energy - greenhouse gas emissions would rise by 21 per cent by
2020. The coalition's policy of a direct action fund to capture and store
carbon pollution would see emissions rise by seven per cent. The analysis
indicates neither party is on track to reach the bipartisan target of
cutting emissions by at least five per cent by 2020. Labor is working on
new climate policies, which will be factored into the Pollute-o-meter when
they are announced. The Pollute-o-meter awarded the Greens four stars out
of five, and found their policies could cut emissions by 26 per cent by
2020. The Greens want to put a price on carbon pollution.
***
Neither (major party) would go close to meeting Australia's bipartisan
minimum international commitment of a 5 per cent cut. The Greens' would -
its policies were found to lead to a 26 per cent cut.
***
“The Prime Minister's failure to understand how global warming fits into
any consideration about the Australian economy makes us increasingly
concerned her version of consultation is simply code for `I need more time
to find out what the mining industry will accept'.” The Greens were more
cautious in their assessment of Ms Gillard's speech, urging the Prime
Minister to take the time to properly consider proceeding with an interim
carbon tax. “Australians wouldn't necessarily expect Prime Minister
Gillard to rush out a climate change policy, especially if, as mooted in
today's press, the cabinet is seriously considering the Greens' proposal
of an interim carbon tax,” said deputy leader Christine Milne. “On the
other hand, completely failing to mention the climate crisis at her first
National Press Club address will disappoint a lot of people.”
***
The Greens will arrange preferences ahead of the impending federal
election but won't do any "back door" deals with major parties, says
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. The South Australian senator, in Brisbane to
support the party's Queensland candidate Larissa Waters, said the Greens
had tried to outlaw preference deals, but recognised preferences had to be
arranged. No back door deal on preferences: "Preferences will be arranged
ahead of the election. The Greens don't necessarily agree with that and
have put up various pieces of legislation to try and change the back-door
deals that are done." She urged voters to decide their own preferences to
prevent their votes spilling to other parties. Ms Waters said there had
been a positive feeling in the community from people who were finding it
hard to distinguish between the two major parties. "We're taking each day
as it comes - we're offering that progressive alternative that actually
stands up for people and the environment rather than political donors," Ms
Waters said.
***
The federal government should be urging Indonesia to sign up to United
Nations refugee laws, not doing a deal to offload asylum seekers, the
Greens say. Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who was in
Brisbane to endorse Senate candidate Larissa Waters, said offshore
processing is not a long-term solution and costs taxpayers billions...
***
A PLAN by activist group GetUp! to help new voters enrol entirely on the
internet has been thrown into doubt by an Electoral Commission ruling that
the enrolments will not be valid. The group will today launch a website,
OzEnrol.com, to overcome one of the big problems with enrolling online -
the requirement for the voter's signature - by letting people sign the
enrolment form with the mouse or trackpad of their computer. The
electronic document is then faxed by GetUp! to the Australian Electoral
Commission, which will be able to put the voter on the electoral roll...
***
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1 comment:
the two party prefference in the austrlian federal politics is outdated and unfair to the australian public, our choices are limited and it is time to make the change. the australian public should be allowed to hear what bob brown can contribute in a public forum, the greens can offer the nation a future to be proud of unforntunately the majority of australians don't realise they have the choice. make the change, BOB BROWN FOR THE GREENS DEBATE
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