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10/11/09
The Rudd government has questioned whether there's any point to negotiating on emissions trading when the coalition remains unmoved on the science behind man-made global warming. Labor has also taken another crack at Malcolm Turnbull and his shaky grasp on the leadership, this time blaming him for thwarting good faith negotiations by having failed to earn the backing of his party room. Negotiations plunged to a new low on Monday after Opposition Senate Leader Nick Minchin declared most of the coalition did not believe humans had contributed to climate change. It prompted the government to question the validity of last-minute negotiations on its carbon pollution reduction scheme, set to go before parliament next week.
Deputy
Prime Minister Julia Gillard asked how discussions could be fruitful if
Mr Turnbull had failed to win over party room mates on the veracity on climate
change.
"We saw senior coalition figures basically trash Mr Turnbull's agenda,
(so) we're entitled to ask a question ..." Ms Gillard said on Tuesday.
"That question is, is Malcolm Turnbull in a position to say that in
negotiating in good faith, that he's got his party's support?
"Because if he isn't, then what are we negotiating about?"
Attempting to tighten the noose, Ms Gillard said the embattled opposition
leader must come good on his earlier promise to negotiate a climate change
deal, or else leave.
"We need Malcolm Turnbull to do no more or no less than he said he
would - he said he didn't want to lead a party that wasn't with him on climate
change.
"All we're asking him to do is honour his words.
"He's got to get his party to follow him."
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong and the opposition's negotiator, Ian
Macfarlane, met again on Tuesday to discuss amendments to the government's
scheme.
Negotiations had been made that much worse after Senator Minchin's comments,
Senator Wong told ABC Radio.
"I think it will be particularly difficult given what happened last
night on the television," she said.
"There are too many people in the Liberal Party who are not fair dinkum
on climate change, who do think it is some sort of conspiracy."
Even if a deal was brokered, it would be tough for Mr Macfarlane to get the agreed amendments through the party room, said Senator Wong, who called on Mr Turnbull to repudiate his wayward colleagues. Some senior coalition figures heaped coal on the fire by claiming Mr Turnbull was "too green" for the rest of the party, and a Nationals senator's claim that the emissions trading scheme - amended or not - would not get past the Senate. On Tuesday, the comments didn't stop - with Liberal backbencher Bronwyn Bishop announcing Senator Minchin had got it right on the number of climate change sceptics within the party. But Mr Turnbull would not waver from his traditional line on Tuesday, saying he remained focused on the negotiations, refusing to comment on his wayward colleague's comments. He reaffirmed his belief that global warming was because of human activity.
Deputy
opposition leader Julie Bishop later rejected Senator Minchin's comments
that the majority of the coalition gave no credence to man-made climate
change.
"That might be Nick's personal view, and he's entitled to have a personal
view. It's not my view," she told Sky News. "My understanding
is that the party room gave Ian Macfarlane authority to negotiate a range
of amendments in good faith with the government." Senator Minchin's
comments had been pre-recorded "some weeks ago" and events had
since moved on, she said.
The
negotiations would not be derailed.
"We had a process in place, we are still proceeding to negotiate the
matter, we'll then come back to the party room and then we'll vote on it
in the parliament."
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/929134/climate-sceptics-in-fantasy-land-wong
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