Anthony Albanese’s Self-Imposed Constraints.

Given the news, it’s hard for an environmentally-conscious socialist worker to focus on a single topic.

Think about it. Should I focus on the catastrophic drought, heat wave and/or wildfires afflicting Europe, north Africa and Asia? What about the megadrought that left Lake Mead dry? Should I focus on it, instead?

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Or, rather, should I report on the unprecedented rainfall – and unusual snowfall – in southeastern Australia?

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Some parts, registered four major flooding events since March:

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Bangladesh and India were also underwater last June, should I dwell on that?

What about the changes in the jet stream behind snowfalls closing the border of Chile with Argentina?

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And those are only climate change-related events.

But there is mass extinction, too. What about the latest and depressing State of the Environment Report, released in December? It was kept in secret by the former Minister for Environment and current Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, but the current Minister, Tanya Plibersek, made it public.

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Let me highlight just this bit, from Plibersek’s speech yesterday at the Canberra Press Club:

The previous government had a decade to fulfil the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. It’s a good plan, Labor made. We delivered it and it saved the river system from dying in 2019. But it’s yet to be fully implemented. By the time the Morrison government left office, they had delivered just 2 of the promised 450 gigalitres of environmental water, just 2 gigalitres of a promised 450. And there was no plan to find the other 448 gigalitres by 2024, when it’s due.

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Maybe I should comment instead on the arrests of pro-abortion protesters in Washington, where Capitol Police caught a number of politicians and members of the public:

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I’ll just say two things. First: if that protest had taken place in New South Wales, those ladies could get up to 2 years in jail and/or a fine of $22K, thanks to new legislation advanced by Dictator Dom (Perrottet, Liberal: equivalent to a Republican) and supported by his lapbitch Chris (Minns, state Opposition Leader: Labor, equivalent to a Democrat).

And second: this is how the NSW Police Force represses civil disobedience:

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In Australia civil disobedience is a most serious crime (ask Peter Hartcher), but Australian law does not define what Ley did as a crime. That’s the rule of law, in liberal democracy.

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No, I won’t deal with any of that. Instead, I will deal with David Speers’ comment a week ago:

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Speers is right to remark on a noticeable shift in the attitude of authorities and Labor politicians towards expert advice. A few months back, they all were unanimously eager to follow expert advice and rightly castigated the few, but loud and problematic, discontents.

Not anymore. Now authorities find all sorts of excuses not to follow expert advice.

To his credit, PM Anthony Albanese backflipped on the really terrible idea of ending the Covid isolation pay for casual workers: iso pay is back, although only until September. But he did that after unnecessarily exposing his Government and himself to opposition’s opportunistic criticism and causing casuals unnecessary anxiety. And he only changed his mind after state premiers and Labor pollies protested: expert advice played little, if any, role in that.

On climate change, the excuse is that they only promised 43% reductions and that’s the mandate they have. Their plan, they say, follows science, even if scientists deny that. I mean, what do experts know, right?

But by far the most commonly used excuse comes from Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Just this morning he once again repeated his mantra:

I have tried to be particularly upfront about our economic situation … We are going through a time of high and rising inflation, falling real wages, energy and food insecurity and our choices are now constrained by a budget which is heaving with $1 trillion in Liberal Party debt.

I’m not convinced there’s anything inherently catastrophic in the $1 trillion debt. Australian Government debt seldom falls. Certainly, it has not fallen in the last few years of COAlition rule. And, so far, the invisible Bond Vigilantes and the Confidence Fairy are nowhere to be found (unlike climate change and mass extinction and Covid, which are there for all to see). Why should this sudden and inexplicable fear strike the souls of authorities right now, in the most inconvenient time?

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Moreover, as Chalmers himself has recognised, our inflation is supply-generated (in large part, I’d add, thanks to that senile psychopath living in the White House).

But, let me guess, you are an Extremely Serious commentator and you dismiss my doubt on the grounds that it’s too MMT. As VSP knows, the mere label “MMT” excuses you from proving your point. (On this, Chalmers is greatly aided by commentators – much like David Speers.)

Fine. But the thing is that the Albanese Government dismisses out of hand as well even partial alternatives that have nothing to do with MMT. In fact, alternatives that even VSPs non-MMTers – like Joseph Stiglitz– propose: a superprofit tax. It could generate the fiscal revenue – essential, according to Chalmers – to give the Government some breathing room.

It’s like facing a planet convulsing, Australia being dragged into a recession by a bunch of criminally insane buffoons international central bankers and a resurgent Covid threat, the Albanese Government chooses to impose additional and unnecessary constraints upon itself. And the only thing they insist on doing – besides giving the Opposition abundant ammo for their criticism– is antagonising the Greens and the crossbench and apologising for disappointing voters.

I hope I’m mistaken, but Albanese seems resigned with being a one-term PM. Remember, Albo, my primary vote was for the Greens, not for Labor. I chose to put you immediately behind them. Next time things may be different (they will be different in the next State elections, Chris Minns).