 |
|
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21200858-952,00.html LOST THE PLOT This man wants to kill off 20,000 Queensland jobs, exports worth $24 billion and the lifeblood of countless towns and ports . . . Greens leader Bob Brown in Canberra yesterday. GREENS Senator Bob Brown is calling for the death of Queensland's $24 billion coal industry and thousands of jobs, demanding an end to all coal exports within three years.  Bob Brown - Economy Killer The Tasmanian senator's proposal – which comes amid growing debate about the cost of climate change – would cripple the Queensland economy, and put an end to Australia's single largest export industry. "We are exporting to the rest of the world what is effectively a deadly threat to the whole planet and our children," he said yesterday. Federal Industry and Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane said Senator Brown had "lost the plot", warning Australia would become an industrial backwater under such an unrealistic plan. "Ordinary Australians realise we have to clean up coal but what he is presenting only frightens people," Mr Macfarlane said. The plan also has the potential to cost the Greens votes at the next federal election. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,21201445-953,00.html Backwater Road Rejected By Lachlan Heywood February 09, 2007 11:00pm GREENS leader Bob Brown yesterday set a three-year deadline for a total ban on coal exports and coal-fired power generation to tackle climate change. The radical proposal would cost an estimated 20,000 Queensland jobs, cripple the state's economy and cause the closure of entire regional towns. But an unrepentant Senator Brown said displaced coal miners and those who lost their jobs in associated industries could find jobs in new renewable energies. "To suddenly ban coal exports would be massively dislocating but we have got to do it and we have to do it within a period of government," he said. "We are exporting to the rest of the world what is effectively a deadly threat to the whole planet and our children." The Tasmanian senator's comments, similar to remarks by scientist and Australian of the Year Tim Flannery, have poured petrol on the politically charged climate change debate in Australia. They also have the potential to undermine support for the Greens at the next election from more moderate voters. Prime Minister John Howard spent the first week of Parliament defending his Government's record on global warming against attacks it had chased jobs and a booming economy at the expense of the environment. But an angry backlash yesterday to Senator Brown's proposal to close down the coal industry had the Greens on the backfoot. Industry and Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane said Senator Brown had "lost the plot", warning Australia would become an industrial backwater under his unrealistic plan. "Australia currently relies on the coal industry for 80 per cent of its electricity. If we were to shut it down, the lights would literally go out," he said. "Ordinary Australians realise we have to clean up coal but what he is presenting only frightens people." Peter Freeleagus, a miner and mayor of the rich coal mining shire of Belyando in central Queensland, said Senator Brown needed to "come down from the trees" in Tasmania and visit the coalfields in Queensland. "We are mindful of the environment but to jump from one scenario to another is not viable," he said. "In one foul blow, he would cripple the economy and we would become a third-world country." Labor's treasury spokesman Wayne Swan said calls to ban Australia's coal exports were absurd and ill-informed. "As the Stern report recognised, coal will continue to play a role in the world's future energy needs," he said. Queensland Nationals' Senator Barnaby Joyce said Australia should be pursuing clean coal technology instead of shutting down a $25 billion industry. |
|
