Ever since his election to the office of Prime Minister, Tony Abbott has been riding low in most of the country’s opinion polls. He is now regarded as the least popular prime minister in twenty five years. Proof of that is the Prime Minister’s net dissatisfaction rating of minus 19, which is almost certainly a result of his environmental failures and dated policy.
Environmental failures
One major contributing factor to the public disapproval of Tony Abbott is his many environmental failures within Australia. His policies in the course of his tenure as Prime Minister have continually failed to address the nation’s carbon footprint, which is of particular concern given the global move towards emission reduction and renewable energy technology.
Instead of creating policy that aligns with the economic and environmental benefits of the nation, Abbott has actively treated the environment as an enemy. Abbott’s lack of action on climate change, and resistance to renewable energy power sources have received many critics from governments around the globe.
As proof of that statement, here are 11 significant environmental failures of the Abbott-led Australian government.
-
Repealing the carbon price
Many believe that the repealing of the carbon tax could set Australian climate change policy back more than a decade, considering the global trend towards pricing carbon and implementing large and small scale renewable energy technology through different schemes.
The coalition government proposed a replacement, the direct action policy, but many industry experts have said that it is so ineffective that it could only be proposed by a government that believes global warming is a hoax.
-
Cutting back and freezing or even eliminating the RET
As soon as he took up the Prime Minister’s position, Abbot appointed an RET review panel. This panel, headed by Dick Warburton proposed a dramatic cut back to the RET.
A significant reduction to the RET will effectively shut down the future of Australia’s renewable energy future.
-
Abolishing the Climate Commission
The Climate Commission was created to provide independent, accurate and relevant information to the public regarding global warming. If there is no government body to oversee such essential activities, the march of global warming and its adverse effects in Australia will go uncontrolled. The significant effects abolishing the Climate Commission will have on Australia and the world mean that this is definitely on the list of the Abbott Government’s environmental failures.
-
Attempting to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Renewable Energy Agency
These two agencies were originally created to fast track the development of renewable energy projects. If they are abolished, these projects will die with them.
-
Keeping the subsidies of fossil fuels
The Abbott Government decided to keep $10 billion of annual subsidies to fossil fuel companies. These handouts will serve to encourage more of these companies to implement projects that pollute Australia with energy supply sourced from fossil fuels.
-
Destroying the Great Barrier Reef’
The Government approved the expansion of a coal terminal near the reef. This will increase the number of ships plying the area, which is detrimental to the reef and marine life. This decision will inadvertently have significant negative effects on many industries including tourism within Australia and is one of the more widely criticized of Abbott’s environmental failures.
-
Cancelling the Tasmanian forest deal and trying to de-list the Tasmanian World Heritage Forest
-
Placing the Marine National Reserve under review
-
Trying to give environmental powers to individual states
-
Not providing operating funds to the environmental defenders office
-
Creating an underpaid and careless “green army”
