Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been accused of failing her own leadership test after she launched the Labor Party’s latest climate change policy, confirming a further delay to the introduction of carbon trading.
Speaking in Brisbane this morning, Gillard set out the party’s climate change election policy, which pledged to convene a Citizens’ Assembly to discuss action, rather than introduce a price on carbon pollution.
The assembly will take one year to form an opinion on what action the government should take on climate change.
She also promised to boost Australia’s renewable energy resources and said that all new coal fired power stations would have to be built with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in mind.
The policy drew immediate criticism from a group of Friends of the Earth protesters outside the event, who reportedly shouted throughout the speech. One protester also tried to gatecrash the speech, but was held back by security guards.
In a statement, Friends of the Earth Australia criticised Gillard for delaying action on climate change and drawing up an outdated policy.
“Her intention to appoint a ‘citizen’s panel’ to discuss climate change policy and ‘gauge the strength of consensus’ on the issue marks a dramatic failure of leadership on this most pivotal of issues” said FoEA national liaison officer Cam Walker.
“The tangible elements of the policy – such as the requirement that new power stations be ‘CCS ready’ - looks like a climate policy from five years ago,” he added.
Her policy also drew criticism from coalition climate spokesman Greg Hunt, who said Gillard had failed her own test of leadership.
“Last year she said ‘no more inquiries’. Last year she said ‘delay is denial’. What we have now is 150 names randomly selected from the phone book,” he said.
“There is a real choice for Australia now, the Coalition’s Direct Action approach […] versus a Prime Minister who wants to change, who wants to increase electricity prices – but simply doesn’t have the courage to say so.”
Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd as prime minister last month, who’s government had been sliding in the polls, partly as a result of his U-turn over plans for an carbon emission trading scheme.
