Abbottalypse coal and Canning

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From The Australian:

Tony Abbott has escalated his ­attack on anti-coal activists and challenged Labor to stand up for jobs, by moving to ban green groups from using the courts to stop major developments such as the Adani coalmine.

The government used the ­announcement, which would strike out the provision in environmental laws that allows green groups to challenge development consent for major projects unless they have a direct interest in the project, to declare that only the Coalition was standing up for workers.

Labor and the Greens immediately declared they would not support weakening environmental protections.

Well, that’s what matters, wedging Labor and all of that. Not:

  • transparency of process;
  • letting the market determine which coal mines should go ahead, given the news today that coal is now cheaper than water in China owing the glut, and
  • the fundamentals of a coal mine that makes so little sense that the only rationale for the project is resource nationalism and it will only displace other jobs at more efficient mines.

No, wedging Labor, that’s what matters, in all things. As Canning approaches the PM has announced his comprehensive plan to deal with the mounting WA economic disaster, from BS:

The prime minister read the riot act to cabinet ministers and the wider coalition party room on Tuesday as the government’s standing in the polls is battered by a ministerial split over same-sex marriage.

…Mr Abbott said the government will have a strong message to take to the by-election while Labor is talking about “clobbering” jobs by opposing the China free trade agreement and wanting to bring back a carbon tax.

He promised to take a proposal to cabinet soon on how to put the issue of same-sex marriage to a national vote.

Two lies and a loaded plebiscite do not a government make. The writing is on the wall, from Fairfax:

Fairfax Media spoke to a number of nervous Liberal MPs on Monday and Tuesday about the government’s political fortunes, direction and standing.

One senior government MP said there was a developing view in the party that while in February the Prime Minister had been the focus of concern, now people were asking of the leadership team “where are you?”

“Everyone has had a gutful of the leadership team,” the MP said, singling out Mr Abbott, Treasurer Joe Hockey, Employment Minster Eric Abetz and Attorney-General George Brandis.

Put him out of our misery, Canning.

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.