Published in New Matilda 19/10/2018
By Liam McLoughlin 18/10/2018
A recent ReachTel poll commissioned by Greenpeace Australia found that for the voters of Wentworth – former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s old seat – tackling climate change was their number one priority. With the Wentworth by-election to be staged on Saturday, Liam McLoughlin thought it timely to help the good voters of the eastern suburbs focus their minds on the Liberal Party’s action on climate change over the last five years. It’s a long list… actually, it’s a long Shitlist.
Tony Abbott eats an onion. Just because.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott*
Abolishes key ministerial positions of climate change and science – 16 September 2013
Abolishes the Climate Commission – 19 September 2013
Denies there is a link between climate change and more severe bush fires and accuses a senior UN official of “talking through their hat” – 23 October 2013
Abolishes the Antarctic Animal Ethics Committee which ensured research on animals in the Antarctic complies with Australian standards – 8 November 2013
Cuts 600 jobs at the CSIRO – 8 November 2013
Abandons Australia’s emission reduction targets – 12 November, 2013
Downgrades national environment laws by giving approval powers to state premiers – 9 December 2013
Removes the community’s right to challenge decisions where the government has ignored expert advice on threatened species impacts – 9 December 2013
Approves the largest coal port in the world in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – 10 December 2013
Approves Clive Palmer’s mega coal mine in the Galilee Basin which opponents say will severely damage Great Barrier Reef – 11 December 2013
Overturns the “critically endangered” listing of the Murray Darling Basin – 11 December 2013
Scraps the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water – 13 December 2013
Starts dismantling Australia’s world leading marine protection system – 13 December 2013
Axes funding for animal welfare – 17 December 2013
Defunds the Environmental Defenders Office which is a network of community legal centres providing free advice on environmental law – 17 December 2013
Scraps the Home Energy Saver Scheme which helps struggling low income households cut their electricity bills – 17 December 2013
Cuts funding to the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Programme which makes it mandatory for large- energy-using-businesses to improve their efficiency –17 December, 2013
Requests the delisting of World Heritage status for Tasmanian forests – 21 December 2013
Breaks his promise to provide a customs vessel to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean – 23 December 2013
Defunds all international environmental programs, the International Labour Organisation and cuts funding to a range of international aid programs run by NGOs such as Save the Children, Oxfam, CARE Australia and Caritas – 18 January 2014
Exempts Western Australia from national environment laws to facilitate shark culling – 21 January 2014
Appoints a climate change skeptic to head a review of our renewable energy target – 17 February 2014
Blames carbon pricing for the closure of Alcoa smelters and rolling mills and the loss of nearly 1000 jobs, despite the fact the company states it had no bearing on their decision – 19 February 2014
Axes funding earmarked to save the Sumatran rhinoceros from extinction – 28 February 2014
Cuts 480 jobs from the Environment Department which help protect places such as Kakadu, Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef – 7 April 2014
Scraps the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) which was set up to support new and emerging renewable technologies and in doing so breaks an election promise – 13 May 2014
Axes industry and community clean energy programs including the Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund, the National Low Emission Coal Initiative, Energy Efficiency Programmes, the National Solar Schools Plan, Energy Efficiency Information Grants and Low Carbon Communities – 13 May 2014
Cuts Australia’s Animal Welfare Strategy – 13 May 2014
Rips a further $111.4 million over four years out of the operating budget of the CSIRO – 13 May 2014
Reduces funding to the Australian Institute for Marine Science – 13 May 2014
Breaks a promise to have one million more solar roofs across Australia and at least 25 solar towns – 13 May 2014
Breaks a promise to spend $2.55 billion on the Emissions Reduction Fund by committing less than half this amount in the budget – 13 May 2014
Terminates the Office of Water Science research programme – 13 May, 2014
Slashes the Biodiversity Fund – 13 May, 2014
Scraps the National Water Commission – 13 May, 2014
Axes the carbon tax with no viable policy to address climate change or Australia’s emission targets – 17 July, 2014
Repeals the mining tax on the profits of big coal and iron ore companies – 2 September 2014
Cuts spending on science and innovation to the lowest levels since the data was first published – 07 October, 2014
Describes coal as “good for humanity” while opening a coal mine in Queensland 13 October, 2014
Refuses to contribute to the fund Green Climate Fund, which Abbott described the year before as “socialism masquerading as environmentalism” – 17 November, 2014
Cuts CSIRO funding, which means that CSIRO will lose 1/5 of its workforce – 24 November, 2014
Cuts the Climate Adaptation Outlook Independent Expert Group – 15 December 2014
Cuts the Biological Diversity Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014
Abolishes the Subcommittee on Animal Health Laboratory Standards – 15 December 2014
Abolishes the Antarctic Science Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014
Abolishes the Emissions Intensive–-Trade Exposed Expert Advisory Committee –15 December 2014
Disbands the Commonwealth Environmental Water Stakeholder Reference Panel – 15 December 2014
Abolishes the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water – 15 December 2014
Abolishes the Bureau of Meteorology Water Accounting Standards Board – 15 December 2014
Abolishes the National Marine Mammal Scientific Committee – 15 December 2014
Disbands the National Marine Mammal Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014
Abolishes the National Landscapes Reference Committee – 15 December 2014
Abolishes the Technical Advisory Committee for the Coal Mining Abatement Technology Support Package – 15 December 2014
Appoints a climate skeptic who praised Rupert Murdoch as the “starting point for green innovation” to the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment – 21 December 2014
Cuts $12.5 million from the National Heritage Trust – 12 May 2015
Establishes a Commissioner for Wind Farms – 24 June 2015
Slashes the renewable energy target – 24 June 2015
Intense lobbying keeps Great Barrier Reef off UNESCO’s world heritage in-danger list despite many government decisions which threaten it – 2 July 2015
Directs the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to stop investing in wind power – 12 July 2015
Bans the Clean Energy Finance Corporation from investing in roof top solar panels and other small scale solar energy – 12 July 2015
Reduces Australia’s carbon emissions reduction target – 11 August 2015
Tries to introduce laws to stop citizens exercising their legal rights to stop big developments that damage the environment – 19 August 2015
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
Approves Carmichael coal mine – 16 October 2015
Environment Minister Greg Hunt claims selling India Australian coal will cut carbon emissions – 10 Dec 2015
Approves Abbot Point Coal Terminal expansion – 22 December 2015
Presides over a drop in Australia’s ranking on the Environmental Performance Index of 10 places – 28 January 2016
Approves logging in Murray Valley National Park – 28 February 2016
Tries to loan Adani $1 billion to build a railway link to the Carmichael mine and promises to “fix” native title problems – 11 April 2017
Describes Labor’s emissions trading scheme as “jobs destroying”, a handbrake on the economy, leading to “much higher energy prices.” – 27 April 2016
Says coal will be important for “many, many decades to come” – 25 October 2016
Seeks changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to stop conservation groups challenging environmental ministerial decisions – October 31, 2016
Says “if anyone had a vested interest in showing you that you could do really smart, clean things with coal, it would be us” – 1 February, 2017
Opens $5 billion infrastructure fund for “clean-coal” power stations – 3 February 2017
Hires Sid Marris, former head of climate and environment at the Minerals Council of Australia, to be his climate and energy adviser – 3 February 2017
Scott Morrison brings a lump of coal to question time and says “This is coal. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be scared.” – 9 February 2017
Ignores advice that renewable energy was not to blame for South Australian blackouts – 13 February 2017
Oversees 3.4% rise in emissions within 12 months and 7.5% increase since the Abbott-Turnbull government scrapped the carbon price – 01 March 2017
Diverts funds from Clean Energy Finance Corporation to fund coal with carbon capture and storage – 31 May 2017
Stops releasing pollution data that used to be announced on a quarterly basis – 7 July 2017
Attacks South Australian renewable energy policy as “ideology and idiocy in equal measure” – 14 August 2017
Lobbies AGL to delay closure of ageing Liddell coal power station for another five years – 5 September 2017
Dumps Clean Energy Target – 17 October 2017
Plans to reduce environmental spending to less than 60% of 2013-2014 budget – 13 December 2017
Data released in the week before Christmas shows highest greenhouse gas emissions on record when land use change emissions excluded – 19 December 2017
This data shows emissions increasing to 2030 and beyond – 19 December 2017
Declares climate policies are a big success – 19 December 2017
Climate policy review loosens the safeguard mechanism that sets limits on pollution – 19 December 2017
Government fails to list a single piece of critical habitat for protection despite 1800 species and ecological communities being identified as threatened in Australia – 6 Match 2018
Backs Pauline Hanson’s motion for new coal-fired power stations – 27 June 2018
Turnbull’s signature emissions reduction policy, the National Energy Guarantee, described as having ‘no benefit’ to emissions – 18 July 2018.
Personally approves $443m fund for Great Barrier Reef Foundation, an organisation with ties to BHP, Shell and Peabody Energy – 31 July 2018.
Removes emissions reduction target from National Energy Guarantee – 20 August 2018
Scott Morrison sworn in as the 30th Australian Prime Minister
Prime Minister Scott Morrison
Appoints Angus Taylor, long-time campaigner against the Renewable Energy Target and a fierce critic of wind energy, as Minister for Energy – 26 August 2018
Appoints Melissa Price, a former general counsel for Crosslands Resources, which owns the Jack Hills iron ore project in Western Australia, as Minister for the Environment – 26 August 2018
Appoints Matt Canavan, who doubts the importance of climate change mitigation and is a strong advocate of Adani’s Carmichael coal mine but dismisses the battery storage facility, the Hornsdale Power Reserve, as the “Kim Kardashian of the energy world”, as Minister for Resources – 26 August 2018
Angus Taylor indicates more taxpayer money for existing coal and gas – 30 August 2018
Revealed that the Marine Park Authority had to scale back surveys in 2017, a year of massive coral bleaching, due to lack of government funds – 2 September 2018
Angus Taylor says there is too much wind and solar in the electricity grid – 5 September 2018
Tries to water down climate change resolution at Pacific Islands forum – 6 September 2018
Union tells Senate inquiry that 87% of members who work in threatened species management in the environment department and other government agencies thought Australia’s effectiveness in protecting critical habitat was poor or very poor – 7 September 2018
Resources Minister Matt Canavan says Paris agreement “doesn’t actually bind us to anything in particular” and doesn’t stop Australia building new coal plants – 7 September 2018
PM says National Energy Guarantee “is dead” – 8 September 2018
Tony Abbott advocates scrapping of renewable energy subsidies – 11 September 2018
Report shows Australia’s transport emissions rose 3.4% from December 2016-December 2017 – 13 September 2018
Angus Taylor announces Morrison government won’t be replacing the renewable energy target “with anything” beyond 2020 – 18 September 2018
Approves private tourism development with helicopter access in Tasmanian world heritage wilderness – 31 August 2018
Morrison says Australia will meet its Paris emissions targets “at a canter” despite no emissions reductions policies and statements from the Energy Security Board to the contrary – 5 September 2018
Australia receives bottom three ranking for environmental policy among wealthy nations – 18 September 2018
Government tells Great Barrier Reef scientists to focus on projects which make the government look good and encourage more corporate donations – 26 September 2018
Releases data showing March quarter increase in emissions of 1.3% on a Friday afternoon, which was a public holiday in Victoria and the same day as the release of the banking sector royal commission interim report – 28 September 2018
Describes $444m Great Barrier Reef Foundation grant as the “right financial decision” – 1 October 2018.
Data reveals 770,000 hectares (three times the size of the ACT) of forests in the Great Barrier Reef catchment zone have been cleared since Tony Abbott was elected in 2013 – 4 October 2018.
Senate inquiry into threatened species told Australia’s environment laws have been “white-anted with loopholes” and hears of “massive and pervasive non-compliance with legislation” – 8 October 2018
PM rules out providing more money for global climate conferences and “all that sort of nonsense”– 8 October 2018
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack says Australia should “absolutely use and exploit its coal reserves” despite IPCC warnings of climate catastrophe and says Australia wouldn’t change climate policy because of “some sort of report” – 9 October 2018
Matt Canavan responds to the IPCC calls for phasing out coal by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change by saying “many argue that coal markets are in structural decline when nothing could be further from the truth” and “our coal is the envy of the world and we should promote it proudly” – 9 October 2018
Melissa Price responds to the IPCC report by saying “every year there’s new technology with respect to coal and what it contributes to emissions. So I think to say it’s got to be phased out by 2050 is drawing a very long bow” - 9 October 2018
Angus Taylor says the government would “not be distracted from our goal of lowering power prices for Australian households and small business” and “coal will continue to play a vital role in our energy mix, now and into the future” – 10 October 2018
Former Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg responded to the grave IPCC warnings with “If we take coal out of our energy system, the lights will go out on the East Coast of Australia” – 9 October 2018
Chairman of Coalition’s backbench energy committee Craig Kelly says the government needs to axe renewable energy subsidies – 16 October 2018
Melissa Price reported to have told the former president of Kiribati at a dinner in Canberra ““I know why you are here, it’s for the cash. For the Pacific, it’s always about the cash. I have my cheque book here, how much do you want?” then accused of misleading Parliament over it – 17 October 2018
To be continued…
* Full credit to Sally McManus for this section thanks to her work on Tracking Abbott’s Wreckage