And so it continues...
With the elevation of Garrett to the shadow environmental portfolio I was willing to admit I was wrong and congratulate Labor for allowing the (former) environmental activist to have some power to do some good. Yet it doesn't seem like things have changed.
On Rudd's meet and greet tour of Australia Rudd took Garrett with him to all states except the latest stop, Tasmania. Stupid move on Rudd's part because it is too conspicuous and the papers have been all over it. It has made Rudd and Garrett look like the cowards that they are. But it also continues to embolden my claim that Garrett is nothing but a cardboard cut-out to be wheeled out when the Labor want to look like it has some environmental credibility.
Rudd has also come out saying that Latham's pro-forest policy in the last election campaign would be overturned and would rather stick with the current policy that allows old growth forests to be destroyed for profit. Where was Garrett? He is the shadow environment minister, isn't he? Well he had no comment today. Coward.
At the same time, Bob Brown has won a landmark court case in Tasmania that will serve to help protect Tasmania's forests.
posted by Joel MacRae @ 3:56 pm
2 comments
2 Comments:
Yeah, I'm really disappointed in Rudd's forestry policy stance. Just cause Latham got played by Howard on that one doesn't mean it's any reason to give up on it. It just means it needs to be done better, argued more cogently, and argued from a consistent platform of strong environmentalism.
I think Rudd's trying to be too pragmatic on all matters environmental (e.g. forestry, uranium mining). But do you think that'll really hurt him? Guess he's just taking the green vote for granted, which probably isn't such a misguided position after all considering how anti-green Howard is.
It depends on what your talking about. If Rudd maintained some sort of pro-environment stance then he will win back a lot of the disaffected Labor supporters who have started to vote Green. On the other hand, if he continues this selling-out path that he is taking then those disaffected Labor supporters will continue to vote Greens and preference Labor second. Not much difference to Labor (at least in the lower house) but it makes a hell of a difference to the Greens.
He has failed on forestry, uranium and so whats next? I can't wait for immigration to become an issue again.
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