Thirty three years ago, on this day, September 17th, 1992,
Paul Keating does not like carrying out Bob Hawke’s ideas, like the ESD strategies which is one reason nothing has happened since the ESD groups made their reports last November. He also wants to gain green votes without upsetting the business world, and at a meeting in Canberra last Thursday [17th] with green and business lobbies, he listed the government’s new high-priority environment issues, says our Press Gallery reporter.
They don’t include mining or the logging of native forests, which split the community, but they do include: Soil degradation, industrial waste reduction and disposal, air and water quality, the urban environment, feral animals, marine protection and land and water management.
The green and business lobbies told us after the meeting that they were unhappy that Paul had nothing firm to offer them on ESD except the promise of a strategy in November (believed to be part of an Environment Statement) although it was better late than never.
Luker, P. 1992. Things I hear. Greenweek, September 22, p.2.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 356ppm. As of 2025, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. This matters because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat gets trapped. The more heat, the more extreme weather events. You can make it more complicated than that if you want, but really, it’s not. Fwiw, I have a tattoo of the Keeling Curve on my left forearm.
The broader context was that, as Treasurer, Paul Keating had been one of the most effective delayers of climate action, reducing ambition, kicking the issue towards groups that could be guaranteed to gum up the works.
The specific context was that Keating had become Prime Minister in late 1991, toppling Bob Hawke. He then was the only OECD leader not to turn up to the Earth Summit in Rio, and was allowing Federal bureaucrats to shit all over the Ecologically Sustainable Development program.
What I think we can learn from this is that we can get a BOGOF deal for air tickets to the Hague (one way) for Keating and Howard. Just saying.
What happened next – the Australian policy elite have persisted in being depraved planet-slaughering psychopaths ever since. And that is me being generous.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
September 17, 1954 – nuclear electricity will be too cheap to meter – All Our Yesterdays
September 17, 1969 – trying to spin Vietnam, Moynihan starts warning about #climate change
September 17, 1987 – report on “The Greenhouse Project” launch
September 17, 2002 – UK Government announces feasibility study into Carbon Capture and Storage