Well, seems like Australia’s Liberal Party is determined to follow in Britain’s Conservative Party’s footsteps down the path of self-disruption, if not self-destruction. Following opposition to a deal made with the government over an emissions trading scheme, they narrowly voted out Malcolm Turnbull in favour of Tony Abbott.
Abbott has pledged to push for the bill to be sent to committee in an effort to delay (or presumably kill) its introduction. But the wafer-thin margin of his victory highlights how deeply divided the party is. And while the climate debate elsewhere — notably the US — has gradually shifted from denying the science to debating whether certain sacrifices are worth it, a rump of the Australian opposition appears to think there is mileage in being a denier. Yes, I’ll use the word ‘denier’ despite the alleged anti-Semitic/racist connotations (see my blog yesterday for an explanation of this absurdity.)