I have never before in my life seen such treachery in any government and am astounded that we have all been led up the garden path by this government on carbon trading.

Read this and weep at how gradually from non Labor sources we gather bits and pieces of what Labor should have told each and every person who votes up front.
What else is to come?

[b]This ETS bill being reintroduced again by the government in 2010 if passed can never ever be revoked as it is an International agreement.[/b]

Did someone earlier mention treason?

Putting a country into a position of paying a huge TAX on something which no one has proved will in any way stop climate change and also something no one has really bothered to explain fully nor the full cost to each household we just get bits and pieces like Tuckey saying $1100 per household on your electricity account and nothing from Labor saying he told a lie.

Not good enough and do we really have a democratic system if a government can put us into an untenable position without any mandate - they say they have one but we did not vote on a single platform containing only AGW - as it was back then and the ETS wasnt even put together at that stage.

[quote]Senator Chris Back from Western Australia

I want to thank you again for the interest you have shown in the ETS debate and the events occurring in Canberra in recent days.
In the Chamber on 1st December I addressed the issue of risk management. The risk was in getting the ETS legislation wrong.
The likelihood of that was, in my view, HIGH and the impact on Australia if Labor got it wrong was also HIGH.
[b]…I make this point as a person who has come out of the emergency services industry: the Australian and New Zealand standard on risk management is pertinent to this debate. What is that? It simply looks at the question of what the risk is in this particular issue. The risk is that we make a mistake; that we get it wrong. That is why I have sat here for four days, because I am concerned about the risk of us getting wrong. This is legislation that, if passed, can never be revoked. We cannot get it back. With every other piece of legislation that has come before this parliament, however long it has been debated, it is always possible for a future parliament to reverse it. This one, because it relates to international carbon trading permits, can never be reversed once passed. Remember that: we cannot reverse it…

The fact that a future Parliament could never reverse this legislation once passed had a significant influence on me. This would have been a “first” for legislation before the Australian Parliament. [/b]
We had to consider our action very carefully. The Senators needed more information before an informed decision could be made.
It is interesting that respected company director Mr Dick Warburton picked up on the same theme in an ABC Lateline Business interview the same evening. It makes for interesting reading. The link is: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/02/2759460.htm
In speeches in the Senate since June, I have urged, begged and demanded that the Labor Government provide more information to the Senate and the community. Minister Wong has consistently refused.
We had the nonsensical situation that she would not release Treasury modelling nor allow the release of economic analysis by CSIRO economist Dr Clive Spash. Nor did we get access to Frontier Economics advice on the impact of the proposed amendments.
[b]…There is information required in two areas. The first is in the science. We could have argued up until some time ago that the science was not decided and that there was as many for as there were against. Only in the last week and a half have we had the acknowledgment of a complete fraud out of the Climate Research Unit at Hadley. I have spoken to the people in regard to this. I understand that the director, Dr Philip Jones, has not refuted that range of emails that have now been circulated round the world and that show clearly that the data that has come out of that institution has been filtered, doctored, changed or poorly reviewed. Why does it matter? Because it is the outcome from Hadley upon which the IPCC has based so much of its science. That is now questionable...[/b]

The widespread ignorance of the ETS and the climate issue generally within the community is unacceptable. If the events in our Party over the last fortnight have done one thing, it has been to focus the attention of the wider community for the first time on climate and the flawed ETS.

I could not vote for legislation when information was denied us, in a timeframe for which there simply was no justification before the Copenhagen conference.

Be under no illusion: federal Liberal parliamentarians are UNANIMOUS in our resolve to put forward a strong policy to address climate issues.

[b]But it will not be a flawed energy taxing scheme which would have made NOT ONE iota of difference to the environment but would have affected families, workers, businesses and the Australian economy.[/b]

I have and will continue to urge for policies towards a sustainable environment, assisting the development of new technologies and moving in synch with our trading competitors and regional neighbours to ensure competitive neutrality for business.
I wish you all the best for the festive season and thank you again for your interest.
If you would like to receive regular updates on activities in the Senate, please send your name, email address and the state you live to Linda.back@aph.gov.au
Yours sincerely[/quote]