This originally appeared on my political blog at https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2021/08/i-am-stunned.html.
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I was recently stunned by something the national ALP
did in the Commonwealth Parliament. I'll begin with a slightly edited
quote from an email I sent to my local MP, who is a member of the ALP:
Apart from the serious environmental concerns involved in this project, I am concerned that - particularly if the potential to block the legislation was reported correctly - what amounts to active support of such a damaging proposal - particularly so soon after the IPCC report - is, at the very least, inconsistent with Chapter 3 of the National Platform (particularly
clauses 1,2, 4 - 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 18 and 23 ["Labor recognises the
Paris Agreement is more than just a commitment to emissions reductions
and therefore commits to implementing all of the components of the
Agreement including its requirement for just transition planning"]).
The ALP is currently facing criticism over an apparent "low target" policy approach (e.g., https://www.australiannews.net/news/270782853/labor-to-lose-progressive-identity-with-small-target-policies), appears to have very low recognition (based on those I know and have contact with) of key figures and policies, and now may have made a mistake Senator Wong criticised the Greens for (see Chapter Ten of "Penny Wong: Passion and Principle", by Margaret Simons) - namely, holding out on interim measures (such as blocking the provision of funds to this project now, as compared to the Greens blocking the CPRS in 2009) in hopes of a better measure (such
as being elected to government sometime next year, at which point the
project damage will already be severe and likely will be irreversible,
as compared to the Greens' expectation that Copenhagen would be a
gamechanger, rather than the actual Copenfloppen).
Had
the ALP voted against this fracking project, in addition to taking the sort
of action the ALP's platform commits it to and that the IPCC report recommend (and that the Paris agreement Australia and the ALP have committed to requires), the ALP would have gained considerable credibility and publicity - including publicity that differentiated the ALP from Morrison's corrupt and backward crew of neoliberal ideologues.
I am gravely concerned that a decision which may have been undertaken for some sort of tactical political considerations (e.g., possibly allow debate in the Senate, which is a nonsensical argument for such measures I have heard in the past) has been a strategic political error.
Your advice on this matter would be appreciated.
I may update this post after any future reply, but a few points here:
- this was not passively "waving the matter through", it was active support;
- "waving the matter through" by abstaining would, in my opinion, have been a better political strategy (especially in terms of getting the Morrison government voted out);
- moving
for a deferral until the concerning links were voted on would have been
better politically, but may not have been possible under Senate rules;
- the science, the local Indigenous people, and the ALP's Senator from the Northern Territory (who is Indigenous) were all against this project - and so was the Code Red recently issued by the IPCC.
I
have been concerned for some time that the ALP under Albanese is not
getting enough traction with voters to get Morrison voted out. That
concern has grown with the decision to go for a low target / become
invisible to the electorate policy, and now, with this recent bit of
political stupidity, has gone through the roof.
The
Greens have started to develop better policies around jobs and a less
bad organisation, but are decades away from forming a government - and
we have nothing like the Australian Democrats before they sacrificed
themselves on the GST Altar of Political Expediency (wrongly thinking it makes them look politically suave . . . perhaps much as the ALP appears to be currently doing), and NO-ONE
is doing anything to bring the lunatic fringe RWNJs back into the fold,
so I fear Australia is facing more years under the corrupt, inept, and
backward neoliberal ideologue Morrison and his colleagues of similar ilk
- some of whom I consider to be evil.
