Sorry guys that I’ve have not posted earlier today. I’ve been digesting Professor Ross Garnaut’s final Climate Change Review.
Professor Ross Garnaut
If you live in Rural and regional Australia it’s pretty grim reading. Rural & Regional Australia has been the casualty in the last two decades as Australia has removed import barriers and persued free trade.
Granted that free trade policy has allowed Australia to prosper via the resources boom, however it is widely agreed that Rural & Regional Auistralia has paid the price.
Ross Garnaut acknowledges that fact in his report but warns that once again it will be Rural and regional Australia that will be impacted much harder by the ETS than folk in the cities.
In Chapter 16 of His Report – “Sharing The Burden in Australia”:
Bear in mind he is not talking about the impacts of climate change here he is talking about the impacts of an emissions trading scheme.
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From the commencement of an emissions trading scheme, costs of agricultural inputs-electricity, liquid fuel and fertiliser-will rise. This will particularly affect parts of the sector where energy costs and energy-dependent costs are a large proportion of total costs.
Regional communities and industries are likely to be more vulnerable to these impacts than urban centres, due to their reliance on agriculture and other natural resource-based industries, and low levels of infrastructure stock.
Regional communities, in particular farming regions, have already been subject to structural change to a much greater extent than metropolitan centres in recent history (Productivity Commission 1998).
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And Garnaut’s only response to helping farmers & rural people:
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“These are issues for policy in the longer-term future”
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In other words Rural & Regional Australia is once again treated as expendable by policy makers. From a Rural perspective the whole report is grim – I’ll write more about that in another post later this evening.
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Have Your say!
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October 28, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Yesterday, while I was at work, my sister stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a 30 foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My apple ipad is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is totally off topic but I had to share it with someone!
October 1, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I suppose you think one of his sensible recommendations is that we graze kangaroos instead of cattle.
The ABC is in bed with Garnaut and the government with this whole global warming garbage. On the country hour today all they talked about was carbon trading and farming kangaroos.
What a lot of idiots and clowns.
October 1, 2008 at 11:59 am
Some doom-and-gloomers may be heartened by this article:
“No point going it alone on climate change: Garnaut”
TO me the guy has managed the impossible… he has investigated the science, been clear about what is needed, assessed the impacts on Australia’s economy, and made sensible recommendations based both on economic and scientific reality.
October 1, 2008 at 8:05 am
Why are so many ridiculous air-heads, clowns , villains and truly revolting people telling us what to do – how did we let it get so bad – we really do live in crazy times.
I think we’ll just stick with the cattle thanks Garnaut nerd – I do like having a few kangaroos around the property ‘cos that is what makes Australia beautiful.
October 1, 2008 at 7:33 am
I hear he suggests swapping cattle and sheep for roos. Just walk down the street in Gympie and ask a couple dozen people if they want to swap their roast lamb or fillet steak for roo, that will tell you if it is possible, just a small question of the lead time and r and d needed to get an intensive roo industry going. Where did you say this bloke lives, is it inside some computer program?