OPINION: The energy crisis should prompt Peter Dutton to ditch the 2050 emission target that, like eliminating the virus, no one will ever admit to supporting.
John Roskam has called on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to drop net zero from Liberal Party policy.In Australia this time two years ago, it was almost impossible to find anyone against the policy of shutting schools, closing businesses and locking people in their homes to eliminate COVID-19. Or to put it more precisely, there was practically no public discussion about the merits of lockdowns and their short and long-term consequences.
We now know how lockdowns worked . On Wednesday, 32,000 new cases of COVID-19 recorded. The point about the response to COVID-19, which would come close to the greatest public policy failure in this country since World War II, is that there was no public debate about it – and those who espoused it did so with an almost religious zeal.
The very first definition of groupthink on Google is a nice shorthand description of how energy policy is decided in Australia. It is a phenomenon that occurs when the desire for group consensus overrides people’s common sense desire to present alternatives, critique a position, or express an unpopular opinion.
As Liberal leader, Scott Morrison succeeded in demolishing not just one of his party’s political brands, but two of them. The first Liberal brand he demolished was of course his party’s reputation for responsible economic management. Many of the fiscal measures taken during the COVID-19 crisis were necessary, but not to have a plan for the recovery of the budget was almost unforgivable.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Albanese has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore civility to Australian politics | Peter LewisLabor has brought collaboration and competence back to the table. The challenge is to harness this positive mood shift
Read more »
‘The Beatles? I was more a fan of the Beach Boys’: Peter Blake at 90 on pop art and clubbing with the Fab FourThe groundbreaking artist documented the birth of youth culture and created the most famous album cover in history. Now with a new exhibition, he talks about what inspires him – from corn dollies to music halls
Read more »
Australia already has a gas profits tax, but without reform it will remain ‘a tax that nobody pays’ | Peter Martin for the ConversationProfits from oil and gas are taxed at 40%, but allowing earlier losses to be deducted reduces it almost to nothing
Read more »
Mayor of Chinese city apologises over 50-day lockdown in rare criticism of CCP's contentious zero-COVID policyThe Mayor of the north-eastern city of Dandong, home to 2.4 million people, says government work and basic services had been 'unsatisfactory' and tells residents pandemic controls will be changing.
Read more »
Mask mandate to be ditched at WA airports from SaturdayThe West Australian government further eases COVID-19 restrictions by axing the requirement to wear masks at airport terminals, as daily COVID numbers remain low with just 6,262 new cases.
Read more »
Is UK at start of new Covid wave driven by BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants?Virus may be evolving to refavour infecting lung tissue. We assess what this could mean for the course of the pandemic
Read more »