Tweet

David Ritter

7 Mar, 13 tweets, 5 min read

@OECD

As a candidate for general secretary of the @OECD Mathias Cormann deserves to be judged on his record. So, for ease of reference, here is a thread setting out some of Mr Cormann’s record of using his position of power to thwart effective action on climate change:

Back in 2009, when the Liberals were in opposition, Mr Cormann opposed any support for a national emissions trading scheme in the absence of a global agreement: abc.net.au/4corners/malco…

In 2011, again from opposition, Mr Cormann claimed to parliament that the Gillard government's “push to put a price on carbon on the basis that it would help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions [was] a very expensive hoax": bit.ly/2MVsIVn

In 2014, Mr Cormann participated in the Abbott government’s abolition of Australia’s carbon pricing scheme - the first time a nation had done such a thing anywhere in the world: abc.net.au/news/2014-07-1…

Mr Cormann was a forceful supporter of the abolition of the carbon pricing scheme, which he claimed was “an act of economic self-harm which does nothing to help reduce global emissions”: bit.ly/3kVdUlW

In 2014, as Finance Minister, Mr Cormann attempted to abolish Australia’s clean energy finance corporation: bit.ly/3ejpE0C

In 2014, as Finance Minister, Mr Cormann attempted to abolish the Australian Renewable Energy Agency: bit.ly/38ie2Hs

In 2015, as Finance Minister, Mr Cormann participated in the formation of a federal budget that maintained fossil fuel industry subsidies of over US$26 billion per year. newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/social-af…

In 2017, as Finance Minister Mr Cormann described the decision by private banks to place tougher restrictions on lending to new coal projects as ‘strange’ and ‘very, very disappointing’: bit.ly/38iqWox

Throughout his time in parliament, Mr Cormann’s voting history in the Senate demonstrates a consistent and constant pattern of voting against climate action, or being absent from the chamber: theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/…

Also significant in context is that as Finance Minister, Mr Cormann saw Australia’s foreign aid budget cut to an historic low: lowyinstitute.org/issues/austral…

According to the OECD itself Australia will fall short of its 2030 emissions target and lack any effective climate and energy strategy. As one of the most powerful figures in Australian government over the last decade, Mr Cormann is culpable: oecd.org/environment/au…

All of which is why last week a coalition of humanitarian, climate and environmental groups wrote to the OECD opposing Mr Cormann's candidacy for Secretary-General: sbs.com.au/news/mathias-c…

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More from @David_Ritter

David Ritter

@David_Ritter

31 Jan 20

@ScottMorrisonMP

This week at the #NationalPressClub, Australia’s Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP outlined his new vision for the nation in the face of catastrophic fires.

Let’s call it the ‘Shonk Doctrine’.

Here’s a thread on the ‘Shonk Doctrine’ and how it works.

#auspol #shonkdoctrine

@NaomiAKlein

Morrison’s Shonk Doctrine combines elements of what @NaomiAKlein called ‘Shock Doctrine’ with a whole lot of our Prime Minister’s characteristic shonkiness.

It is a dangerous combination.

Naomi Klein coined the expression ‘Shock Doctrine’ to describe the phenomenon of vested interests using moments of ‘shock’ (eg wars & disasters) to force through aggressive neoliberal policies targeting ordinary people and the public domain:

theguardian.com/books/2007/sep…

Read 16 tweets

David Ritter

@David_Ritter

14 Jan 20

1/12. The #Australianfires have been an absolute disaster for wildlife and nature. But there is an important background story: even before the fires, the Coalition government had declared War on Nature.

Here’s a thread:

2/12. The Coalition government’s #WarOnNature has been prosecuted through funding cuts, attempted law changes, support for disastrous projects and attacks on environmental defenders.

Here are 7 examples:

@EDOLawyers

3/12. In December 2013, the newly elected federal Coalition government slashed $10 million in funding from the public-interest Environmental Defenders Offices.

@EDOLawyers

abc.net.au/news/2013-12-1…

Read 12 tweets

David Ritter

@David_Ritter

5 Jan 20

There are various different kinds of negligence and failure for which Australia’s political leaders should be held accountable in relation to the #bushfirecrisis. Here’s a thread.

#AustraliaFires #AustraliaBurns

1. Despite at least 18 warnings since 2013 (and plenty before that) linking rising emissions to catastrophic fire risks, no serious action has been taken to reduce Australia’s emissions. We are literally the worst on climate policy: google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theg…

2. Specific expert warnings about the fire risks for the 2019-2020 summer and recommendations for better preparations were all ignored, as were requests for further meetings by experts: google.com.au/amp/amp.abc.ne…

Read 11 tweets

David Ritter

@David_Ritter

16 Dec 19

@QRCouncil

Hey, peak business bodies, I notice you've been pretty quiet about the #bushfirecrisis but you own some of this...

Here are 15 times in the last 9 years when peak business bodies opposed emissions reduction in Australia:

@QRCouncil @BCAcomau @MineralsCouncil @APPEALtd @NSWMC

@QRCouncil

1. 2011 @QRCouncil - “the QRC urged federal and state parliamentarians to heed the warning of the impact of the proposed carbon tax on the economy and the resources sector.”

qrc.org.au/policies/prici…

@BCAcomau

2. 2014 @BCAcomau - The BCA openly called for a repeal of the carbon price: “Next week we hope to finally get rid of a piece of badly designed public policy that has placed a serious drag on our economy – the carbon tax.”

bca.com.au/repeal-carbon-…

Read 16 tweets

David Ritter

@David_Ritter

9 Dec 19

The sun is red and the #sydneysmoke is thick in the sky this morning. Vast areas of the country are ablaze.

So, what should our political leaders do in the crisis?

Here are seven suggestions:

1. Protecting Sydney's kids shouldn’t be a lottery of who happened to get to Bunnings first. The government should be procuring and distributing free face masks to all children.
abc.net.au/news/2019-12-1…

2. The heat and smoke is a direct threat to the lives and wellbeing of the homeless, aged and sick. There needs to be urgent provision of extra care for the most vulnerable. We must look after our own.

Read 10 tweets

David Ritter

@David_Ritter

21 Nov 19

@ScottMorrisonMP

.@ScottMorrisonMP I notice you just said that there is no evidence that links Australia's carbon emissions to bushfires? That's just not true. Here are 18 warnings by experts since the Coalition was elected in 2013, all of which have been ignored. #fires

theguardian.com/australia-news…

@ClimateExtremes

Director Prof Andy Pitman - @ClimateExtremes 2013: “Failure to accept a link between global warming and fire risk... leaves all management of the risk to NSW state agencies and mitigation by Rural Fire Service employees and volunteers.”

climatescience.org.au/content/395-li…

@UNFCCC

.@UNFCCC 2013: “What is absolutely clear is the science is telling us that there are increasing heat waves in Asia, Europe and Australia; that they [bushfires] will continue in their intensity and in their frequency." - Christiana Figueres @CFigueres

edition.cnn.com/2013/10/23/wor…

Read 20 tweets

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