There is a degree of political schizophrenia within the Labor government.
On Monday, Treasurer Wayne Swan assailed coal magnate Clive Palmer for using his wealth to influence government policy. On Tuesday, Swan attacked environmental organisation Greenpeace for threatening Palmer's wealth. Greenpeace's crime was to announce plans to organise communities to slow down the frenetic expansion of Australia's coal mines and coal seam gas industry.
But the government's schizophrenia runs far deeper than that.
At the same time as the government introduces a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gases and create a low-carbon economy, it is vastly increasing greenhouse gases by expanding Australian coal mines and supporting the coal seam gas industry. Squaring this circle should not be beyond the capacity of a government that is not in the pocket of the coal miners and which has the nation's best interests at heart.
Canberra Times
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