Look forward to good news November 24

Australians go to the polls on November 24 to elect a new federal government. The Globe and Mail editorial on October 29th expressed disbelief that the government of Australian Prime Minister John Howard appears set to lose the election. The editorial claimed "Australians have rarely had it so good." That will come as a surprise to Australians. Their newspapers are filled with the grim tidings of a "one in a thousand year drought." After seven years of persistent drought, the government has provided $3 billion emergency aid to farmers with another billion on the way, there are predictions of 300% increased risk of bush fires, and of significant concerns of running out of water in major cities. Mr. Howard's anti-Kyoto policy is on the line. As he pleaded to voters in September: "Even the most pessimistic predictions about climate change, which I don't necessarily share... don't say that it will never rain again in rural Australia." What a campaign pledge! In the spring, I met with Tim Flannery, the Australian scientist and author of The Weather Makers. He spoke of the acute concern that major cities, including Sydney, could actually run out of water. When looking for the reason Mr. Howard is about to be trounced at the polls, look at his government's bullying refusal to act on the climate crisis. Meanwhile, Australian Greens are doing well and are expected to work with the Labour Party, currently slated as likely to win. Back to one of last week’s blog, Peter Garrett, former lead singer of Midnight Oil, Garrett is a Labour Party MP and critic for Climate Change. If the election goes as expected, Garrett would be playing a key role in the shift to Australia moving from Kyoto-basher to a last minute ratifier. It means George Bush would lose one of the only national leaders taking his approach of doing nothing to reduce emissions while touting “clean coal” and nuclear. Bush will be back to having only one pal on this front – Stephen Harper. And soon Bush will be gone and Harper will stand alone. Unless Canadians can defeat Harper at the polls before Bush’s term ends in 2008.