Senate candidates debate climate change at the Canberra Club

Did they debate the impact on the environment of Lin driving around in her big 4WD?

Gazza did a no-show as he is unwell. Pity – spoiled all the fun really.
What was left was all a bit too predictable (as suggested). Couldn’t even bother staying til the end.

That’s not a climate change debate – thats a love fest. Where are the realists?

You’re not nearly cynical enough, Al:

Gary: Political expediency demands that the job of an opposition is to oppose, so in opposition we’ll find a reason to oppose anything the Government puts up. If we end up in Government, the Nationals want us to implement a bunch of rural porkbarelling in the name of emissions reduction.

Kate: Political expediency demands that whatever we put in place, we do so with the agreement of the Coalition rather than the Greens; otherwise the Coalition will be able to complain and bash us mercilessly with it.

Lin: Political expediency demands that we differentiate ourselves from the other parties, since this is one of our core issues. We must always have policy that is Greener than anyone else, and we can negotiate but must always find their policy just not Green enough to support in the end.

Huh. Unfortunately GCC has its meeting on tonight also, looking at the vexed issue of Monash Drive.

My summary in advance, in three sentences:

Gary: I believe in it, but my party believes in doing as absolutely little as possible, so I’ll toe the line and try to explain away how doing nothing is really a whole lot of really wonderful stuff.

Kate: We had a great plan that was just a little (huge) bit hard to explain, and was then bastardised by Malcolm to keep all the polluters happy(ish) but it was still completely wonderful and how dare the Libs welch on their deal, but now we just need to make the issue go away until after the election, and everything will be sweet – don’t you worry about that.

Lin: Kevin wouldn’t talk with us so we weren’t attaching our name to the sow’s ear he and Malcolm and all his polluter mates came up with, and now Julia won’t talk with us even though the carbon tax we’re trying to get them to talk about is so simple even I-don’t-know-nothing-about-broadband Tony Abbott could understand, and if I get voted in we’ll have the balance of power straight away and we could deliver it by Christmas.

(I’m picturing a TV ad with a big black balloon with Xmas ribbon around it…)