PM defiant over global warming

John Howard has dug in over coal-fired power, nuclear energy and refusing to sign the Kyoto protocol in the face of an international report predicting a catastrophic economic cost of $9 trillion if nothing is done to stop global warming. Labor and conservation groups immediately labelled the Coalition a rogue nation on greenhouse gases for refusing to ratify the Kyoto agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The Prime Minister told Parliament yesterday he would not sign an international agreement that did not put the same limits on the fast-growing economies of China and India and that coal would continue to provide most of the world's energy to 2050. "What you really need in this debate is to have a multiplicity of responses," Mr Howard told Parliament. "The only things that will ever replace the current dirty power stations are cleaner uses of fossil fuel, or nuclear power. You will never replace them with solar or wind."

A dire report from Britain has called for urgent international action to cut greenhouse gases or face economic failure worse than the Great Depression. While grim in its outlook if nothing is done, the report is optimistic that a concerted effort to develop clean coal technologies will be able to stabilise world greenhouse gas emissions. Described by British Prime Minister Tony Blair as the "most important" report he has received, the document says the economic impact of global warming must be addressed immediately to avoid catastrophic economic effects. Compiled by former British Treasury head Nicholas Stern, it estimates the cost of not cutting greenhouse emissions by 2050 to range from 5 per cent of world GDP - $455 billion - if action is taken now, up to 20 per cent of world GDP "if a wider range of risks and impacts is taken into account". But the Stern report concludes that the costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change "can be limited to around 1 per cent of global GDP each year". Australian estimates of such an impact on the energy-based economy are between $15 billion and $66 billion a year, driving down Australian wages by 20 per cent.

Labor Treasury spokesman Wayne Swan said the Stern report said urgent action had to be taken and supported the expansion of the carbon trading system established under the Kyoto protocol. "It says, basically, that the globe and individual nations have a window of opportunity, only of 10 or 15 years, to act," Mr Swan said. ALP environment spokesman Anthony Albanese said Australia must immediately ratify the Kyoto protocol, introduce a national emissions-trading scheme and increase the renewable energy target. "Climate change is the greatest challenge facing not just Australia but the global community, and we have a government that refuses to take action," he said. "The Howard Government is frozen in time while the globe warms around it."

Mr Howard said the "variety of responses" had to include a sensible examination of the nuclear power alternative.

Source





Leftist public broadcasters under scrutiny

Liberal [party] senators have attacked SBS executives, claiming the broadcaster exhibits pro-Arab bias, broadcasts "smut" and "pornography", and fails to clearly identify and label terrorist organisations to its viewers. And SBS is not the only public broadcaster under fire. The ABC, represented by new managing director Mark Scott, also faced hours of interrogation from Liberal senators and Labor's communications spokesman, Stephen Conroy, at a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra yesterday. Subjects in contention ranged from the ABC's controversial new editorial guidelines, which come into effect in March, to allegations of bias in Middle East coverage and labelling of terrorist organisations.

ABC executives confirmed during yesterday's hearings that a new position announced by Mr Scott for policing of editorial impartiality will carry a salary of between $150,000 and $280,000. Mr Scott told senators the ABC board would have a role in the appointment, with deputy chairman John Gallagher on the selection panel. Board participation in editorial appointments was "not atypical." All ABC staff, including high-profile journalists and presenters, will be required to undergo training in the new editorial guidelines. Mr Scott rejected repeated assertions from Senator Conroy that the new guardian of editorial impartiality would act as the "chief censor" of the ABC.

Two Liberal senators, Victoria's Michael Ronaldson and Concetta Fierravanti-Wells from NSW, meanwhile, criticised SBS about its reporting of the recent Lebanon-Israel conflict. Senator Fierravanti-Wells claimed high-profile SBS presenter George Negus expressed "pro-Arab" sentiments. She also alleged that SBS had "sided" with David Hicks, the Australian held at Guantanamo Bay, and exhibited "a rather equivocal view of terrorism". In addition, she said that SBS broadcast "smut and pornography" through foreign movies and through adult animation programs such as Striperella.

SBS managing director Shaun Brown defended the broadcasters' policy of "neutrality" in the identification of terrorist organisations. He also categorically rejected the suggestion that SBS broadcast pornography. Programs such as Striperella, he said, followed "a tradition at SBS to support adult animation".

Senator Ronaldson criticised Mr Scott for failing to bring key ABC executives to Canberra to face questions, and took issue with "subjective" ABC coverage of the recent Lebanon conflict. He became increasingly frustrated with Mr Scott's answers as the estimates hearing unfolded and raised concerns about various correspondents' reporting from the Middle East. "Such a good start and now you are back with the pack, Mr Scott," Senator Ronaldson told him yesterday.

ABC television head Kim Dalton has come out in support of the Media Watch program and its presenter, Monica Attard, rejecting speculation that satire would be blunted by the new editorial policies. Mr Dalton said Media Watch would return next year with a new executive producer and he hoped Attard would remain as presenter. "I think she does a great job and has an extraordinary reputation as one of our leading, award-winning journalists," he said. The job of executive producer has been advertised nationally. Current executive producer Peter McEvoy announced his departure before the unveiling of new editorial policies aimed at removing any bias from ABC programs.

Mr Dalton said he did not want to reflect on how the program could be improved. "I think it's a really important program. I think it serves a really important purpose in our media environment in Australia at the moment. It's clearly a very entertaining and popular program, and it will remain so," he said. Mr Dalton played down suggestions that Media Watch would become a panel-style show, adding that such speculation did not come from within the ABC. The show's essential role would remain that of a watchdog that looked at "the practice of media in an increasingly complex and globalised environment", he said. Endorsing the program's its single-presenter format, he said: "It is a short program, it's 12 or 13 minutes on a Monday night . (Viewers) are looking for something that has pace and edge and I'm not sure you can achieve that through a panel show."

Source





Dumb bureaucrats again

A platypus colony is holding up the construction of the final major link in a dual carriageway between Sydney and Melbourne. Liberal senator Bill Heffernan told a parliamentary committee today he was astounded that senior AusLink executives did not know a platypus colony was stopping construction of the Albury-Wodonga bypass on the NSW-Victoria border. AusLink is the government body charged with overseeing the program of funding to nationally significant roads and railways.

"I'm surprised that you blokes don't know and I have to say that I think it's something you could fix in 10 minutes," Senator Heffernan told the executives. "There's a colony of whatever-they-are that live in the edge of the bank of the creek there. It's been given plenty of press in the local media." The problem could be solved in about 10 minutes if federal government bureaucrats got involved and axed a string of consultants who had done little more than waste taxpayers' money, Senator Heffernan said.

The officials were left speechless by Senator Heffernan, who said he was not trying to apportion blame. "I'm not aware of the platypus issue," one executive said. Senator Heffernan said his aim was to see the road, part of the Hume Highway, finished. "I drive past there all the time and it's the most dangerous bit of highway because people forget they're not on the dual carriageway and boom, you have plenty of that," he said.

Source





Hair theft??

An airline luggage courier accused of collecting women's hair samples from their bags has pleaded guilty to theft. Rodney Lyle Petersen, 30, of Wallan, north of Melbourne, is facing 110 charges of theft and stalking. He is accused of taking head and pubic hair samples from women's bags while working as a sub-contractor for a company employed by Qantas to return lost luggage to its owners. Today he pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates Court to seven counts of theft and reserved his plea to seven counts of stalking. He was not asked to enter a plea to the remaining charges.

On May 25, 2006, a police patrol unit found Petersen at the rear of a van, looking through luggage, Detective Sergeant Doug Smith previously told the court. A search of the van uncovered a folder containing plastic bags with human head and pubic hair, three exercise books containing the names and personal details of women, a small telescope and three radio scanners. Petersen had been delivering luggage to a woman at a hotel in Hastings.

Police later searched his home and seized a computer, mobile phones, four more exercise books containing the personal details of 365 women, plus 80 labelled and seven unlabelled plastic bags containing human hair. Police also allegedly found a collage of newspaper and magazine pictures of women "in positions of power" at the house. The court today was told that some of the victims' names may be of interest to the public and others did not give statements to the police because of their young age. Magistrate Donna Bakos refused to release documents relating to Petersen's charges, saying it could cause distress to his victims. She said much of the brief of evidence related to Petersen's remaining charges, which he was not asked to enter a plea to today.

Petersen today withdrew an application he had made for bail and Ms Bakos remanded him in custody to face the Victorian County Court on December 8.

Source