Helen at Blogger on the Cast Iron Balcony has a nice summary of this week’s brouhaha with the Minister for the Environment reacting badly to criticism from a fellow corporatocrat, Geoff Cousins, about the seemingly fast-tracked approvals process for a new Gunns pulp mill in Tasmania. GetUp has a campaign active aimed at encouraging the Minister to respond to public opinion against the pulp mill:
Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull still has the power to veto the development of the pulp mill, and enough public outcry will put him under real pressure to do so.
Also this week, a publicity opportunity regarding his “green schools” intitiative went tits up when a Queensland state school refused to allow media on the grounds to cover the presentation by Turnbull of a $50,000 cheque. The reason given by the principal and Education Queensland was that the visit was only announced the day before, which didn’t allow time for the proper clearance procedures for media on school grounds to be implemented. Turnbull is crying censorship by Peter Beattie.
Mr Turnbull went to the school with Gold Coast Liberal MP Steven Ciobo to present one of the Federal Government’s $50,000 green vouchers to help buy water tanks and solar power systems, and to talk to students about climate change.
“This is a great step for the environment and it’s a great step towards teaching children about sustainability, but it’s obvious that (Premier) Peter Beattie doesn’t want anyone to know about it, and that’s a disgrace,” Mr Turnbull said after the media was turned away.
These “green schools” cheques, promoted as “rain tanks and solar power”, are interesting in and of themselves. Thanks to information provided by a lurker to me on the day before Turnbull announced his visit to the Surfers Paradise school, it appears that a small wrinkle in the initiative not noted by the corporate media is that the “solar power” actually only means solar hot water systems, which simply are not an issue for the vast majority of State schools which have no shower facilities for students.
As my lurker puts it:
It turns out they’ve specified some of it as being for hot water - which of course excludes nearly all state schools. Who uses hot water? the schools with gyms and showers and pools eg Cranbrook in the heart of Turnbull’s electorate. The rest of the grant is for water, eg rainwater tanks. The thing is, they haven’t actually finalised the guidelines so no one can apply yet - they made the announcement in July, get the green PR without actually giving anyone any money - typical.
Apparently Turnbull’s people are rushing to finalise the guidelines so he can be seen to have given ‘green’ money to schools before the election.
So, it appears that my lurker’s school had been told that the guidelines had not been finalised and therefore the Minister’s office was not receiving applications as yet. Assuming that my source’s information is up-to-date regarding the status quo of the applications process in general last week, then how did this school in Surfers Paradise, in the middle of Liberal MP Steven Ciobo’s electorate, manage to receive a grant when the official line to other schools was that guidelines were not as yet finalised?
Yup, looks like a naked grab for publicity with a pretend cheque. The information from your lurker can be readily confirmed from the website:
and
but if it presents a convenient photo-op for the minister and the sitting liberal member then disregard these bureaucratic niceties!
As for solar hot water systems - wtf? Well, any lingering doubts I had that this government might actually have had some serious green policies have been laid to rest.
Steve Ciobo’s Facebook page lists Iraq War propagandist Arthur Chrenkoff as one of his friends.
‘Nuff said.
Obviously your lurker missed the bit in the guidelines that says that being a marginal electorate overrides all other considerations, including common sense.
The whole concept of Malcolm Turnbull, net worth several hundred million dollars, calling someone else a “rich bully” is so ludicrous it beggars belief. What is he thinking? How disconnected from the electorate can he be? His previous efforts on Climate Change on LateLine were bad enough with his condescending attitude and speech.
On solar water heaters for schools, I think it’s been well written here and elsewhere that most public primary schools have little need for this, but a much greater need to do something about air conditioning (and the electricity/costs to run this) in poorly outfitted demountables.
That’s the strange thing, Russ - Cibio’s seat is safesafe Liberal with a margin of approx 19%.
Pour encourager les autres? Curiouser and curiouser.
Here’s the original announcement, which is rather vague - solar hot water or rainwater tanks?
Here’s Downer’s response, which is strangely similar if not identical to another MP’s response. Both talk about being able to choose solar hot water or rainwater tanks or both. (So private schools with hot water will get most money out of this.)
Here’s the govt website for the program. From this, it looks like the Surfers Paradise voucher-giving was a publicity stunt to announce the availability of this program, as I doubt the school had had time to do this: The payment will be based on a firm quote and delivery timelines obtained by each school to undertake their identified works.
It has the hallmarks of being made up on the run.
Actually it’s interesting because of the Gunns thing keeps festering away. Is there a Franklin moment at the end of it all?
Turncow and HoWARd, facing an election rout desperately try a last second wedgie based on appearing to stand up to Lennon; to “save the little gum trees” ( little rainforests are precious! ).
This forces Rudd and Garett OUT of their boltholes BEFORE the election, and in the true spirit of “me too” these are forced (unwillingly) also to endorse a “Franklin” solution in which science and economics actually become determinants, rather than greed, ideology, redneck prejudice, ignorance, arrogance and corruption.
Yeah, I know. Put the cone DOWN Eugene!
I think we’re all about to find out how much Turnbull wants to be PM. There is no way some pipsqueak premier in the pocket of an industry that has no real future on the island is going to get his/their way.
Will he throw Gunns and Lennon under a bus? You bet.
I heard Peter Garrett on radio yesterday. He was more expansive than the ABC news item. Basically he is saying that Labor favours value adding and if the environmental assessment scrubs up then he’s happy. But he is trying to hold Turnbull to account and is not happy with the assessment he has undertaken.
He was asked why he hadn’t been saying anything, and he says he has. Whether it gets reported is another matter. I understand he’s not too good at the doorstop, but better with a prepared script. This seems to limit his effectiveness.
I understand there is a legal problem with the kind of assessment Turnbull can undertake. They were saying on the radio that in looking at the pollution of the sea, Turnbull could only assess it’s effect on Commonwealth waters.
Andrew Bartlett made two points in his comments on the Traveston Dam inquiry that are relevant here. Firstly it is due to the Democrats that Turnbull has any power at all to knock back proposals such as these under the EPBC Act.
Secondly, “the EPBC Act requires that all the evidence be assessed before a decision is made by the federal Environment Minister on whether to approve an action”.
All Cousins is doing is concentrating his mind. He said as much on TV last night. And Phil could well be right.
Public schools increasingly depend on the Commonwealth grants to upgrade school facilities. Our school got over $100,000 for computers and shading for play areas. That money is just not available anywhere else. We have also had money for environmental and water saving programmes, again money not available anywhere else. With the state governments increasingly strapped for investment money, this is fertile ground for the Commonwealth. I wonder if Rudd will emphasise these kinds of programmes as much?