During the past week the spectre of nuclear power has raised its ugly head with prominent union figures and some ALP politicians suggesting backing its use in Australia. But if you’ve read this mornings daily newspapers then you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Rudd Government is actually moving on producing a sustainable Australia. The sad reality is that Rudd is tinkering at the edges and still obviously fears losing support from the major unions and corporations that helped bankroll the ALP’s election campaign last year.
So it is that some of us, like me, are waiting with baited breath for the release of the Garnaut Review report, which is expected to released this Friday (July 4). There are many that believe the Garnaut report will simply reinforce positions already put by the Rudd Government (especially at the 2020 Summit). The government has already signaled that the recommendations put forward by Garnaut will just be included in the mix of recommendations for tackling climate change.
While Rudd is talking about 20% of power generated from renewable sources, his counterparts are still looking toward new dirty coal-fired power stations. Obviously the rhetoric doesn’t match the reality. And here in lies the rub, in my personal opinion, with several powerful unions putting up nuclear energy as a ‘renewable energy’ source. Even though Rudd has the ambition of 20% power from renewable sources, his Government is yet to demonstrate its commitment through funding. The renewable energy industry (including research) receives $1 for every $47 given to the dirty coal and dangerous nuclear power industries. NB The descriptive words are accurate reflections of the energy source. Burning coal for steam will never be clean enough and nuclear power creates a dangerous waste product with a half-life of hundreds of thousands of years.
It will be interesting to see what Garnaut’s draft report says about the ‘economic’ impact of tackling climate change.
Don’t forget that the Garnaut report will be released later today.
Filed under: Rants & Raves | Tagged: ALP, Bob Brown, Brendan Nelson, environment, federal government, greenhouse gas emissions, Greens, greenwash, Kevin Rudd, Liberals, politics, sustainability, water
