Five percent reduction good enough for Abbott

The Abbott government appears to be walking away from a long-standing bipartisan agreement to lift Australia's target for cutting carbon emissions if global action on climate change is strengthened.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday said the federal government had made "one commitment and one commitment only" to reduce Australia's emissions by five per cent by 2020.

But both Labor and the coalition have since 2009 pledged to increase Australia's emissions reduction target to 25 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020 if there's genuine global resolve Fairfax

Repeal carbon tax = lower electricity price INSTANTLY

the magic of Greg Hunt


Environment Minister Greg Hunt says scrapping the carbon tax will bring down electricity prices "immediately", despite more warnings from business that it could take time.

ABC

ACCC runs out of money

Surely as Treasurer its Joe s job to make sure the bills are paid

News

Abbott Government: Week 6 in review

Here we go again

• Abbott goes on photo op with RFS
• His gay sister gets engaged
• Joe Hockey increases the debt limit. National credit card something something
• The Government will challenge ACT gay marriage laws
• Flogging off assets starts with Medibank
• Climate change isn't a factor in bushfires, says Tony
• Anyone who thinks it is, is talking through their hat
• Possible DD trigger: Direct Action tied to supply
• Barnaby Joyce says that free range could cause a bird flu epidemic
• Tony unimpressed by some more hogwash about climate change\
• Wrap it up guys the boats have stopped in just 50 days
• Carbon tax = SOCIALISM.

previous weeks wrap ups here

Carbon tax = SOCIALISM

"Let's be under no illusions the carbon tax was socialism masquerading as environmentalism," he said.

"That's what the carbon tax was."

ABC

Direct action tied to Supply

FUNDING for the centrepiece of Tony Abbott's Direct Action climate change policy, the Emissions Reduction Fund, will be attached to budget appropriation bills under contingency plans to thwart expected efforts by Labor, the Greens and crossbench senators to scuttle the policy. Australian

"talking through her hat"

said Tony Abbott to a UN official:

Earlier this week, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,Christiana Figueres, said the fires proved the world is "already paying the price of carbon".

ABC

Abbott Government: Week 5 in review

What new ways has Tony found to ruin Australia this week?

• Government at odds with IMF over carbon pricing
• Number of women on opposition front bench is 11x greater than on Tony's
• George Brandis' $13,000 bookshelf is too big to fit in his office
• Tony releases carbon repeal bill, urges Labor to 'repent' on carbon
• Govt floats the idea of flogging off the HECS debt
• Backbencher Don Randall buys an investment house, like everyone else in Australia.
• The cops are called over expenses. They decline to probe further
• Billionaire Twiggy Forest gets offered a job heading a review into Indigenous employment.
• Abbott revokes clean energy grants, saying 'you didn't say no takebacks'
• Temporary Protection Visas return 
• Tony Abbott proposes digging up the dead, reburying them in Canberra

A little quieter than previous weeks, sure, its tough work being Tory.

Should have said "no takebacks"

Abbott to revoke $53m clean energy grants.  Guardian

Abbott urges ALP to repent on carbon

Draft legislation released.  Abc

Abbott set for carbon clash with IMF

THE Abbott government is heading for a clash with the International Monetary Fund and the OECD over its plans to abolish the carbon tax.

The leaders of both institutions have strongly endorsed carbon pricing and will report on steps being taken to introduce it in their assessments of member economies. "Our message to finance ministers is you can raise your revenue by doing the right thing, and by the same token you are going to also take care of the future of your grand children," IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said at the fund's annual meeting in Washington. Australian

Abbott confident of repealing carbon tax

Labor and the Greens are against the move, so in the new Senate Mr Abbott will have to convince six crossbenchers to pass the legislation.
Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm, Democratic Labour Party Senator John Madigan and Family First's Bob Day also support moves to scrap the tax, but not all of them back the Coalition's carbon reduction policy.
Billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer has indicated his party supports the repeal but says its three senators will wait to see all bills before guaranteeing support. ABC

Abbott needs Palmer, Palmer needs Abbott to repeal carbon tax

The other newcomers are Palmer United Party (PUP) senators Glenn Lazarus from Queensland, Jacqui Lambie from Tasmania and Zhenya Wang from Western Australia.
Mr Abbott will be able to count on the three PUP senators, Family First's senator-elect Day and Senator Madigan as all have publicly opposed the carbon tax.
PUP supports reimbursing carbon tax that has already been paid. Fairfax

Greg Hunt misleading on carbon

ABC fact checks the environment minister

New federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt says that under the carbon price emissions have actually increased. And in an interview with Lateline last week he quoted figures to back up the claim.
"The strange thing about the carbon tax was that emissions went up, not down, from 560 to 637 million tonnes," Mr Hunt said.
He was unequivocal. The carbon price "doesn't work", "doesn't do the job" and is "a just hopeless means of achieving the outcome," he said during the interview. ABC

Palmer united already divided

PUP wins the Tasmanian Senate spot.  Jacquie Lambie has already flagged disagreement with Palmer over the carbon tax, but has vowed to be a thorn in Abbott's side.

Setting a bad example on carbon

"Abbott's win seen stoking anti-carbon price sentiment elsewhere"

The failure of Australia, the biggest emitter per capita among the world’s richest nations, to entrench its carbon price is emboldening opponents of fledgling emissions markets from South Africa to California and dimming prospects for a new global climate treaty. About 200 negotiators are set to meet in Warsaw this year to discuss how to ratify promises from the US and China, the world’s largest economies, to reduce greenhouse gases linked to climate change.

“People who want a reason not to implement some form of emissions reduction would be able to point to Australia and say: they haven’t, why should we?” Fairfax

Reliable and authoritative information? No thanks

Climate change commission - gone.

Professor Flannery, who is also a former Australian of the Year, has defended the commission's role. 

"We've stayed out of the politics and stuck to the facts," he said. "As a result we've developed a reputation as a reliable apolitical source of facts on all aspects of climate change.

"I believe that Australians have a right to know - a right to authoritative, independent and accurate information on climate change. ABC