Yesterday was the first sitting day of the 47th Australian Parliament. In the lead up the usual suspects opinionators were hyperventilating in public, as they busily urged the Greens in the Senate – and David Pocock, I suppose – to approve the so-called Climate Change Bill 2022.
They were not alone. Labor environmental activists had been shaking their fists at the Greens before. Won’t somebody please think of the children!
Such dramatic urgency seemed a bit strange – to me. I mean, why a Bill that was virtually unknown to the public – even its precise title was uncertain, for Christ’s sake! – could be deemed so vital? Did they know something I didn’t?
In 2007 the Australian Labor Party, under Kevin Rudd, inflicted a painful defeat on the COALition. From 60 MPs the ALP had before the federal election, their Lower House representation swelled to 83 (more than enough to pass legislation). And 22 of those new MPs were replacing defeated COALition MPs, whose House contingent was reduced to 65.
To make things worse for the COALition, even John Howard, until then PM, lost his safe seat of Bennelong and “moderate” Malcolm Turnbull, who soon was chosen federal Opposition Leader, was facing an extreme Right insurgency, led by Tony Abbott and Nick Minchin.
In the Senate, things were only slightly less favourable for Rudd, the new Labor PM:
Why the difference in results? Because in Australia, normally only half the Senate seats are contested each election. So, perhaps Labor could have done much better in the Senate, but only half its seats were in dispute. (It would have taken a double dissolution for all Parliament seats to be contested).
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?
Rejoice, largely white and male, generally straight, often old, and invariably educated, upwardly mobile and relatively affluent progressive, identitarian and Liberal-Leftish intellectuals from English speaking rich nations! The revolution is happening in your lifetime!
