Abbott’s approach presents the most wonderful opportunity for Labor. If they could only see the absolute imperative in becoming Australia’s environmental and sustainability party, they’d romp it in at the next election… if they did it soon and gave themselves time convince the electorate of their genuineness.

But they’d have to get rid of ‘old-school’ Shorten as leader.

Abbott is bound to flunk out. The electorate will turn to Labor in droves if they can see a new offering, that is significantly different to what has gone before, and which they know the country desperately needs.

A sustainability and environmental platform is bound to strike a very strong chord with the electorate..... if it is seen to be genuine.

Ludwig, I endorse the thrust of your comment and agree that Shorten needs to be replaced.

People in Australia are not dumb. They watch the news and see the extreme weather events. They know that climate change must be addressed.

Abbott is caught in a John Howard time-warp. He doesn't get it! He's yesterday's man.

And Shorten has neither the personality or the leadership qualities to lead anything. Albanese leaves him for dead!

God help Australia!

Ludwig, I think Labour will need a few years to make the transition
that you envisage.
I agree, sustainability is not just desirable but will be forced on us
by natural forces if we ignore it.

I feel pretty certain that unemployment will increase quite significantly
during the Libs/Nat first term.
It will be something the government will not expect because they do
not understand what is going on.
They are expecting to be able to increase growth, but they will as
the Europeans have found, be unable to get growth above a few tenths
of 1% growth.
They will not clamp down on population increase and they have refused
to look at the energy security situation.
The government makes no sign that they see any risk in allowing all
our refineries to be closed.
If there is any crisis overseas, we should at least be able to refine
our own oil and at least ration petrol and diesel to supply 40% of our needs.
I notice that Peter Costello has stated that we cannot pay off the
government debt EVER !
Well I am not sure that is right but it might mean we have to do it
by very great inflation.

It now seems quite certain we will be paying more than $5 a litre
for petrol by 2020 and the effect of that will be to depress the economy.
From after next year we will import 100% of our petrol & diesel.

So Ludwig, to sum up, in a time of high unemployment I cannot see the
Labour party changing its Union based structure and I would suggest
that the Unions are not enamoured of the Greens and would see the
policies you envisage as being green policies.

John Howard now claims he was bullied into making “noises on the need for action on climate change towards the end of his time as PM” by the Left, warmist thugs.

It’s hard to imagine someone as tough and hard as Howard was admitting such a thing, but it is further proof that the extreme Left has won the day in Australia. Forget conservatism; there is no longer any such thing in Australia politics, just as there is no such thing in the UK since the truly appalling wimp, Cameron.

Lady-man Tony will not be “be far more radical at prosecuting an anti environment agenda than his predecessor.” Tony will do what Tony needs to do to stay PM; he is no different from any other politician. The tough talk on illegal boats and the tax on carbon dioxide removal are already looking tatty.

No matter what governments are in place now in the Western World, the Left has the whip hand through their deviousness, lies and scare tactics which primitive voters believe, no matter which mob of useless politicians they vote for.

Cam Walker really does not have to make ridiculous claims like the “Tea Party movement continues to drive government agendas”. What rot!

With Obama and the Democrats doing their best to turn America into a clone of Russia – unemployment, socialist freebies for all, and cities actually bankrupt – the Tea Party is a mere sideshow.

Cam Walker and other stirrers don’t have to worry about conservatives or “NeoCon” factions in the Liberal Party. He and those of his ilk have already won. All the Left has to do is sit back and enjoy what they have caused – the destruction of the West, capitalism and democracy.

There are a couple of assumptions in the article so bold as to make the whole premise complete fantasy.
Firstly, “a considerable number of urban Liberal voters veer towards the Greens”. Of this the author cites no evidence at all. While I support his view that “There is a green tradition within the Liberals” the erroneous assumption that they may go whimpering to the Greens is specious. Environment and the Greens are an anathema.
Which brings me neatly to the second point. The author claims that, “The new government has moved fast to implement a comprehensive anti-environment policy” but he missed a couple of syllables that changes the whole meaning of what is happening … The new government has moved fast to implement a comprehensive anti-environmentalist policy.
Don’t confuse environment with environmentalist – they are two utterly different things and ‘environmentalist’ is where the Greens fit. They have little grasp of the science of climate change – they only like the left-wing bits that will allow them to take from the successful and give to the indigent.
Let’s learn from the good and the bad of what is happening overseas where they have mature, grown-up conversations about renewable energy, forestry and fire mitigation not from the Green environmentalists who offer us nothing.

US "Neocons" and "Tea Party"?

Unfortunately it looks like some are confusing the moderate policies of the Coalition with those of the far right of a foreign country.

It also appears increasingly obvious the Greens should remove Christine Milne and bring in Sarah Hanson-Young as Leader before its too late for the Greens.

The Greens under the previous management used to be worth voting for.

Prior to Copenhagen, there was political consensus, and both sides of politics were committed to putting a price on carbon. This changed hugely when the Copenhagen talks resulted not in the expected global action, but nearly everyone walking away even from Kyoto commitments, and it became clear that Australia would be going it alone.

This in one fell swoop meant that without an equivalent carbon price among competitors, a carbon price would damage industry far more than planned and reduce emissions far less, in other words this changed from environmental action to an expensive gesture. This was a deal breaker.

It's pretty pointless being clean and green if you're broke.

Get the economy going again, reinstate confidence then focus more on climate change.

Not visa versa.

The Greens are not so green.

What have the greens been saying about the 4 main species of Pacific tuna now being at historically low levels?
What were the greens saying in media and parliament while these species were reaching that level?

What have the greens said about marine parks being offshore, 'marine parks' that do not include estuary seagrass food web nurseries that supply food to tuna, whales and birds etc etc ?

Fishermen and farmers are being wrongly blamed.
Evidence of substance shows increased sewage nutrient pollution is causing increase in algae plant matter in oceans and ocean ecosystems.
Algae is killing seagrass, algae is killing the food web, not fishermen.

Consequences include increase in malnutrition and sickness and social and economic collapse among Pacific islands people.
And evidence of substance indicates increased algae plant matter, increased MATTER, is warming areas of oceans via increase in solar photosynthesis.

On Australia's side of that big Coral Sea waterhole out there, Fraser Island has had 7 dead whales in a recent 2 year period. More elsewhere,
Seabirds are presently dead in mass low-population starvation along coast from Queensland to Tasmania and SA.

Australia is now importing over 70% of fish consumed including to feed aquaculture.

Fish are being nicked from waters of under developed countries, virtual robbery that even caused the start of piracy off Somalia.

And T for Tony Abbott has failed to respond to 2 written requests to meet briefly to hear about it and significant employment generating solutions.
To be fair, Rudd also failed to respond.
Like the 'T' party, some leaders appear fully involved in politics and nothing productive.