Honeymooning?

[_fustian]

Current Music: News Radio

So:

1. Blocking 2020 climate change goal-setting
   
2. Backing Bush on Hicks
   
3. Expanding the intervention

Afaic, the jury's still very much out on this government.

Comments

[accy]

It's been 18 days since the election. That's less that 3 weeks, of course the Jury is still out.

[crankynick]

I think you're reading too much of the conservative media, Jeremy...

From a comment by Dr Peter Christoff, Vice President of the Australian Conservation Foundation in today's Crikey:

The negotiations here in Bali are NOT about committing individual developed countries, including Australia, to specific and mandatory targets. They are about ensuring developed nations as a whole show sufficient good faith for all countries to proceed to cut emissions together. As required by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Annex 1 (developed countries) group are being called on to promise to do some heavy lifting on emissions reductions during the next Kyoto commitment period (after 2012). In return for this promise, major emergent emitters like China are prepared to commit to "policies and measures" that will curb their rising emissions. Specifically, the debate is about whether or not developed countries will commit, collectively, to negotiating using an aggregate target range of -25 to -40 percent below 1990 emissions

[accy]

It's also worth pointing out that Bali started the same day as Rudd took office. So shifting emphasis is going to be hard given the time frame involved.

[_fustian]

Point taken; apparently the bureaucrats are not fully in tune with the politicians at this stage. We can only hope the politicians aren't trying to snow us.

[_fustian]

the conservative media

Well, I did hear it on News Radio-but here's the SMH quoting Greenpeace.

[strangedave]

1. Overall, it would be facile to suggest that they aren't doing a lot better than the previous government. Not perfect, of course, but do you really think their performance so far isn't a significant improvement

[crankynick]

I dunno - I was in Darwin recently and I still haven't quite calmed down from my tour of the Menzies Health Research facilities.

I'm really not in the mood to forgive any of the last 20 years worth of governments for the state of basic health in northern aboriginal communities. I don't know what truth there is in the accusations of sexual abuse in remote communities, but even on a tourists view of the problem there's no chance that even the worst endemic sexual abuse problems could not have done the damage in those communities that lack of basic health care has done.

[crankynick]

that should obviously read "...problems could have done the damage..."

And I don't mean, in an attempt to forestall the inevitable, to downplay the issue or seriousness of sexual abuse where it occurs, but a couple of hours talking to health researchers in the NT about scabies and otitis media (ear infections) infection rates, and what they're not able to do about it...

Close involvement in politics has probably focused me more on process and achieving what you can, when you can, than feeding the outrage - but I tell you, I got some of the raw anger back on that trip.

[strangedave]

I remember a JJJ story about the absence of simple tooth brushes for the kids, and the resulting dental hygiene problems. Simple, cheap, basic medical treatment.

Yes, the more I learn, the angrier I get.