Summary: This week on Something Wonky, carbon pricing is back on the agenda in an unexpected way. We investigate the popularity of our PM and his cabinet, get carried away with social media outrage, and look at the reaction to putting journalists, but not editors into gaol. GROUP THE FOCUS LAST MINUTE CLIEVSPLOSION as, moments before recording, Clive Palmer (with, bafflingly, Al Gore) announces he’ll vote for the abolition of the carbon tax, but only if there’s an ETS instead (like the carbon tax was supposed to transition into now), and PUP will vote against abolishing the RET, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and the Climate Change Authority. The best laid plans Tony was all ready for the big carbon repeal on July 1st, he’s got the power companies to agree not to charge it… but what’s this? Nick Xenophon reckons two weeks isn’t enough time for the new Senate to consider it properly? And Clive will make a $9m windfall if it’s delayed a short period? Meanwhile his “hand-picked economic modeller” Tony set to evaluate the impact of repealing the Renewable Energy Target (and with strict instructions to ignore any costs of carbon pollution) nevertheless comes back with a report concluding that actually scrapping or reducing the RET will increase energy prices, and the best way to reduce them is to increase the target to 30%. The government then refuses to publicly release the presentation. Certain parts of mining industry thinking maybe we should encourage electric cars after all, as they massively push up the price of Australian-mined graphite Courage The Government remains staggeringly popular, so the Federal Police suddenly have to set up extra, unprecdented protection to keep Ministers in the Abbott govt safe from their adoring public. George Brandis blocks the public airing of submissions to his “free speech” proposals because “free speech”. New Matilda wonders just who he’s protecting, and what they had to say. Julian Assange can forget any help from Australia, as Wikileaks reveals Tony is secretly conducting trade negotiations to fundamentally deregulate our banking and financial services sector PM’s office delays productivity commisison review of Fair Work Act, probably bc of heat from budget. What a funny old fellow is Tony Abbott’s idiotic scheme to delist Tasmanian forest’s heritage status rejected by UN Tony trolls rest of country by telling us he’s “the best friend that workers of Australia have ever had” Tony and some Labor MPs are flying to Sydney to attend a bipartisan event. Labor MPs suggest jet-pooling. Tony says no, piss off, the taxpayers can pay for you to go on a pleb plane. Retiring Liberal senator Sue Boyce suggests that maybe Tony Abbott is a bit sexist, but in a “subtle” way that only millions of Australians can detect. Darn those Greens Greens join Labor and PUP in blocking indexing the fuel excise, because the Libs insist on putting it towards roads, or as the Greens put it a tax on the poor in areas which don’t have access to public transport. (Which prompts the Oz to publish another hilarious editorial aimed at convincing all those wavering Greens voters who trust Australian editorials to abandon the party. Seriously, guys, what’s the point?) Meanwhile Labor joins the Greens in vowing to vote against the chaplaincy program (but only bc they won’t accept any secular workers) Labor asks a Victorian MP who’s fighting the Greens for her seat in Brunswick what they should do about their 2013 election loss - she concludes they should concentrate efforts on attacking the Greens. Social Media ANGRY Opera Australia eventually cancels soprano Tamar Iveri after her support for gay russians being attacked comes to light. Sydney Opera House’s “Festival of Dangerous Ideas” about to host guy arguing “honour killings are morally justified”&
