“Lipstick On A Pig” Malcolm Turnbull Heads War Criminal And
Climate Criminal Australian Coalition Government After Parliamentary Coup
By Dr Gideon Polya
23 September, 2015
Countercurrents.org
In
In September 2013 Australia elected a new extreme right wing, pro-war, pro-Zionist, anti-environment, anti-science, US lackey, war criminal, climate criminal Liberal Party-National Party Coalition Federal Government headed by PM Tony Abbott. This extreme right wing Coalition Government was held in check in the bicameral Australian Federal system (House of Representatives plus a Senate house of review) by a Labor plus Greens plus minor parties (so-called “cross-benchers') majority in the Senate.
The main opposition to the Coalition Government comes from the pro-peace, pro-environment, pro-refugee, pro-science, pro-human rights Greens. The Australian Labor Party (the ALP) represents the formal Opposition but under right wing Opposition Leader Bill Shorten the neoliberal, pro-war, pro-Zionist, pro-coal, pro-gas, anti-environment, anti-science, US lackey Labor (the Labs) is very similar, rhetoric aside, to the neoliberal, pro-war, pro-Zionist, pro-coal, pro-gas, anti-environment, anti-science, US lackey Liberal Party-National Party Coalition (the Libs).
The neoliberal Australian Labor Party (ALP) has lurched to the right, like the British Labour Party under warmonger Tony Blair, to become an Alternative Liberal Party, Another Liberal Party, an American Lackey Party, an Apartheid Labor Party, an Apartheid Israel-supporting Labor Party, an American Lackey Party, and an Australian Lying Party. However in terms of current voter preferences the ALP is the only alternative to form government at the next elections in 2016.
Right wing Labor was deeply unpopular because a right wing, pro-Zionist faction of the Labor Party removed popularly elected PM Kevin Rudd in an overnight US-approved, Mining Industry-backed and pro-Zionist-led Coup on 24 June 2010. His successor from this pro-Zionist-led Coup, PM Julia Gillard, was forced to form a Minority Labor Government with Green and Independent MPs after the 2010 Federal Election. PM Julia Gillard and was ferociously attacked by the Coalition Government , especially because while she had promised pre-election that “There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead” – but with Greens support Labor had legislated post-election for a Carbon Tax that would transmute into an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2015. PM Julia Gillard was removed as PM and Kevin Rudd re-installed on 26 June 2013 in an attempt to improve Labor's disastrous electoral support, with a key player in her downfall being right wing, pro-Zionist Bill Shorten who had also played a key role in the 24 June 2010 Coup against PM Kevin Rudd.
In the aftermath of the 2013 Federal Election in which the successful Coalition benefited greatly from Labor disunity, Labor elected right-wing, pro-Zionist Bill Shorten as the new Opposition Leader by a narrow margin under new rules whereby 50% of the votes came from Federal Labor MPs (about 60% voted for Shorten) and 50% from Labor Party members (of those who voted, about 60% overwhelmingly rejected right winger Shorten). However it was clear that if neoliberal Labor did not sufficiently differentiate itself from the neoliberal Coalition and meet the aspirations of its own members, then the Coalition would get a second term.
Nevertheless extreme right wing PM Tony Abbott managed in 2 years to turn a major electoral victory on 7 September 2013 and accession as Prime Minister on 18 September 2013 into a humiliating defeat at the hands of his own Liberal Party when he was removed from office in a Turnbull-engineered Coup on 15 September 2015.
Abbott was extremely unpopular with the Australian public because of: his aggressive negativity and simplistic sloganeering (that served him well in Opposition but not in leading the country); his massive breaking of major election promises not to cut pensions, the health budget, the education budget or the funding of the taxpayer –funded ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia's equivalent of the UK BBC) and SBS (Australia's multicultural, taxpayer – and advertising- funded Special Broadcasting Service); and a 2014 “horror budget” that not only included massive cuts to key services but also proposed an attack on Australia's Medicare public health system, a 6 month wait for unemployment relief for young unemployed, and massive defunding deregulation of Australian universities with “$100,000 degrees” for already impoverished university students, and massive cuts to foreign aid.
Multimillionaire former barrister and Goldman Sachs banker, Malcolm Turnbull, was the former Coalition Leader who was deposed by extreme right wing and climate change denialist MPs in 2010 over the issue of action on climate change. Turnbull wanted bipartisan action with the Labor Government via a dodgy Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) but with a bare majority of 1 vote his Liberal Party colleagues rejected him in favour of effective climate change denialist Tony Abbott. Turnbull almost quit politics but was advised otherwise, bided his time as Communications Minister and, when poor polling results alarmed Liberal MPs, did not declare himself as a contestant for the Prime Ministership in February 2015 when a “leadership spill motion” of Federal Liberal Party MPs saw Tony Abbott remain as PM by 61 votes to 39. However Abbott remained deeply unpopular with voters while the charming, intelligent and articulate Malcolm Turnbull remained extremely popular with voters.
Finally, after a run of disastrous gaffes by Abbott and his colleagues and a succession of about 30 polls showing that Labor would win the next election with a 2-party-preferred vote of 53% to Labor as compared to 47% for the Coalition, Turnbull struck on 15 September 2015 and secured 55 to 44 support from his Federal Liberal MPs colleagues to replace Tony Abbott as PM. The next voter polling showed a dramatic immediate reversal of Coalition fortunes with a 2-party-preferred 53% for the Coalition as compared to 47% for Labor (noting that a few days later this Coalition lead was maintained but with 51% for the Coalition as compared to 49% for Labor).
However the charming “lipstick on a pig” Turnbull evidently has had to pay a heavy price for the Prime Ministership that includes the following appalling concessions to extreme right-wing Liberal MPs and National Party (farmers' party) MPs of the ruling conservative Coalition as outlined below.
(1) Delayed decision on same sex marriage. Even though polling reveals that over 70% of Australians support marriage equality and that 80% want a conscience vote for MPs, and even though Turnbull himself supports same-sex marriage and a conscience vote for MPs on the matter, “flexible Catholic” Turnbull has pragmatically accepted the contrary conservative Catholic Abbott position that there will be no conscience vote for Coalition MPs and thus instead of putting the matter to a vote in Parliament at the cost of half an hour of Parliamentary time, the proposition will now be put to a national Plebiscite costing an outrageous $158 million and to be held after the next elections (September 2016) and possibly as late as September 2019 i.e. delaying a decision overwhelmingly supported by over 70% of Australians by as many as 4 years [1, 2].
In supporting a $158 million Plebiscite up to 4 years hence and rejecting the results of repeated expert polling, non-scientist PM Malcolm Turnbull either doesn't understand or pretends he doesn't know of expert sampling that is crucial for scientific research in all areas of science but notably in ecology, physiology, medicine, pharmacology, epidemiology, psychology, criminology and the social sciences. Thus, for example, expert sampling in research costing circa $1 million has established that up to 25% of adult Australians (i.e. 4.4 million Australians) have been sexually abused as children but the present Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse at a cost of $500 million is only addressing about 1% of the general problem of the entrenched child sexual abuse epidemic in Australia [3-13].
(2) Substantial climate change inaction. Even though he apparently wants effective action on climate change, Turnbull has had to accept the effective climate change denialist climate change inaction “Direct Action” policy of the previous Abbott Coalition Government. Direct Action crucially and absurdly involves a limited budget for paying polluters for polluting less (just imagine an anti-crime policy of paying robbers to rob less or paying murderers to murder less) as opposed to a damage-related Carbon Price as advocated by scientists, activists and by no less than science-trained and science--informed Green left Pope Francis who has demanded that the environmental and social cost of pollution be “fully borne” by the greenhouse gas (GHG) polluters (Section 195, [14]; [15-17]) . This damage-related Carbon Price has been costed by climate economist Dr Chris Hope of 90-Nobel-Laureate
One notes that in exact agreement with Pope Francis' call for urgent action “without delay”, the Synthesis Report of the 2,500-delegate March 2009 Copenhagen Scientific Climate Change Conference concluded that “Inaction is inexcusable” [22] and a 2010 Open Letter by 255 members of the US National Academy of Sciences, including 11 Nobel Laureates, concluded: “Delay is not an option” [23].
The Abbott Coalition Government has pledged the
There is a current bipartisan Coalition and Labor (aka Lib-Lab) climate inaction policy of derisory “5% off 2000 GHG pollution by 2020” (equivalent to a saving of an estimated 126 Mt CO2-e of savings in 2020) [21]) and unlimited coal, gas and iron exports that means that Australia will exceed by a factor of three (3) the whole world's Terminal Carbon Budget 600 billion tonnes of CO2 that cannot be exceeded if the world is to have a 75% chance of avoiding a catastrophic 2C temperature rise. .
In August 2015 the Coalition Government offered a 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution "target" of "26-28% off 2005 GHG pollution by 2030" i.e. about 423 Mt CO2-e of Domestic GHG pollution in 2030 [27]. If due to international pressure Australia's 2030 Exported GHG pollution remains at the level predicted for 2020 (1,950 Mt CO2-e) then Australia's 2030 Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution will be 423 + 1,950 = 2,373 or 112% of the 2015 value and 164% of the 2005 value i.e. Australia is promising the World that its 2030 Domestic plus Exported GHG pollution will be 1.1 times bigger than that in 2015. Climate change action means decreasing - not increasing - GHG pollution. Thus for all his charm, intelligence and ostensible reasonableness, PM Malcolm Turnbull promises that Australia will remain a per capita world leader in GHG pollution and a world leader in climate change inaction – an immense betrayal of himself, Australia and the World.
Although neoliberal Malcolm Turnbull believes fervently in the market, his espousal (with Labor) of a market-based Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2009 led his removal as Leader of the Liberal Party and Coalition Leader of the Opposition by the Abbott-supporting climate change deniers and effective climate change deniers of the extreme right of Liberal Party. In 2015 “lipstick on a pig” Turnbull has accepted the Abbott climate inaction policy as a part price for being Prime Minister. Sadly, Turnbull's faith in an ETS was sorely misplaced – numerous scientists, economists and science-informed climate activists have variously rejected the ETS approach as empirically ineffective, consequently counterproductive, highly susceptible to dodgy market manipulation, and utterly fraudulent through particular governments (e.g. climate criminal Australian Governments) selling licences to pollute the one common atmosphere and ocean of all nations [28].
(3)
(4) Business as usual (BAU) all the way with the
Australia under a Turnbull Coalition Government is engaged in its Seventh Iraq War and its Third Syrian War of the last 100 years; in the ongoing Afghan Genocide; and in crucially targeting illegal and war criminal US drone strikes in Libya., Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan via the Australia-US joint electronic spying and nuclear terrorism facility at Pine Gap in Central Australia [31].
The last significant international act before the Turnbull Coup of Julie Bishop ( Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and Foreign Minister under Tony Abbot and thence under Malcolm Turnbull), was to trash Australia's international reputation further by joining with the US,
The ultimate, fundamental war crime is invading other countries. Mostly as a UK or US lackey, Australians have invaded 85 out of 203 present-day countries (195 UN-recognized nations and 8 non-UN-recognized self-governing countries) , as compared to the British 193, the US 70 , France 80 , Germany 38 , Japan 30, Canada 24, Apartheid Israel 12 , Russia 24 , and China 2 . Indeed
Australia under the Turnbull Coalition Government is variously involved through diplomatic, financial and/or military support in the ongoing atrocities (dates and deaths from Western violence or Western-imposed deprivation in brackets): the Palestinian Genocide (2 million, 1917 onwards), the Iraqi Genocide (4.6 million, 1990 onwards; 9 million since 1914), the Syrian Genocide (0.4 million, 2011 onwards), the Somali Genocide (2.2 million, 1992 onwards), the Muslim Genocide (13 million, 1990 onwards) and the generation of over 30 million Muslim refugees [30, 38]. However as a world leader in annual per capita GHG pollution and climate change inaction, Australia under the Turnbull Coalition Government will continue to be complicit in a worsening Climate Genocide – currently 0.5 million people die from climate change each year but unaddressed climate change may see the worsening Climate Genocide kill 10 billion people this century i.e. an average of 100 million such deaths annually [26]. Under Coalition policies, 83,000 Australians die preventably each year and of these 10,000 die from carbon fuel burning pollutants. Globally, 7 million people die from air pollution each year (WHO) and 75,000 of these die from burning of exported Australian coal [39].
Conclusions.
Malcolm Turnbull is charming, intelligent, and articulate but the price of support for his Prime Ministership has evidently been retention of hardline rightist anti-marriage equality, climate change inaction, ecocidal and pro-war US lackey policies, noting that the continuing climate inaction, pro-fossil fuels and pro-war policies are deadly – 13 million Muslims have died since 1990 from violence or imposed deprivation in the Australia-complicit US War on Muslims [40], and 7 million people die from air pollution each year (WHO), this including 10,000 Australians and 75,000 people worldwide dying annually from pollutants from the burning of exported Australian coal [39].
PM Malcolm Turnbull is full of enthusiasm for a new, smarter
Several weeks after the 2013 election victory of Tony Abbott I published a detailed analysis of 120 reasons why Australians should reject the Abbott-led Coalition, but it is already clear that the same reasons are valid for rejection of the “lipstick on a pig” Turnbull Coalition Government [41]. Sensible, science –informed Australians will quickly see through the spin of the new pro-war, pro-Zionist, US lackey, pro-coal pro-gas, anti-science, anti-environment and human rights-abusing Turnbull Coalition Government, vote 1 Green and put the Coalition last. Similarly, people world-wide should not be fooled by the Turnbull charm and urbanity and should respond to deadly Australian climate criminality and war criminality by Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) as were successfully applied against US-, UK-, Australia-and Apartheid Israel-backed Apartheid South Africa, and are currently being applied worldwide against US-, UK-, and Australia- backed Apartheid Israel and its racist supporters.
References.
[1]. AustralianMarriageEquality.org, “Crosby/Textor same-sex marriage research 2014. 72% of Australians support marriage equality”: http://www.australianmarriageequality.org/crosby-textor-same-sex-marriage-research-2014/ .
[2]. AustralianMarriageEquality.org, “Galaxy Poll: Coalition voters want Abbott to grant gay marriage conscience vote”, 5 December 2011: http://www.australianmarriageequality.org/2011/12/05/galaxy-poll-coalition-voters-want-abbott-to-grant-gay-marriage-conscience-vote/ .
[3]. Gideon Polya, “Horrendous Australian child sexual abuse”, MWC News: http://mwcnews.net/focus/analysis/22859-gideonpolya-sexual-abuse.html .
[4]. Gideon Polya, “Horrendous Child Abuse By Pro-war, Pro-Zionist, Climate Criminal Australian Coalition Governments”, Countercurrents, 4 December, 2013: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya041213.htm
[5]. Gideon Polya, “Horrendous Pro-Zionist, Zionist And Apartheid Israeli Child Abuse Exposed”, Countercurrents, 21 April 2014: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya210414.htm .
[6]. “Little Children are Sacred” Report: http://web.archive.org/web/20070703014641/http://www.nt.gov.au/dcm/inquirysaac/pdf/bipacsa_final_report.pdf .
[7]. Dunne, M.P., Purdie, D.M., Cook, M.D., Boyle, F.M. & Najman, J.M.(2003), Is child sexual abuse declining? Evidence from a population-based survey of men and women in
[8]. Gideon Polya, “Zionist-Perverted Western Mainstream Media Ignore Horrendous US Alliance And Apartheid Israeli Child Abuse”, Countercurrents, 29 April, 2014: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya290414.htm
[9]. Jane Lee, “Child abuse victims live “shorter lives” than other children, Royal Commission hears”, The Age, 25 May 2015: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/child-abuse-victims-live-shorter-lives-than-other-children-royal-commission-hears-20150525-gh8y1d.html .
[10]. Braveheart, “Child sexual assault: facts and statistics”, December 2012: https://www.bravehearts.org.au/files/Facts%20and%20Stats_updated141212.pdf .
[11]. Australian Institute of Criminology (1993). Second Conference on Violence, June 1993.
[12]. David Barrett, “Child sex abuse inquiry could cost hundreds of millions”, The Telegraph (
[13]. Lisa Cox, “Separate poll on same-sex marriage would cost $158 million: Australian Electoral Commission”, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 September 2015: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/separate-poll-on-samesex-marriage-would-cost-158-million-australian-electoral-commission-20150908-gjhd1j.html .
[14]. Pope Francis , Encyclical Letter “Laudato si”, 2015: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html .
[15]. Gideon Polya, “Pope Francis Demands “Fully Borne” Cost of Pollution (Carbon Price) To Prevent “Millions Of Premature Deaths”
[16]. Gideon Polya, “Green Left Pope Francis Demands Climate Action “Without Delay” To Prevent Climate “Catastrophe”
[17]. Gideon Polya, “Western Mainstream Media Censor Green Left Pope Francis' “Laudato Si'” Message For Urgent Action On Climate Change
[18]. Dr Chris Hope, “How high should climate change taxes be?”, Working Paper Series, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, 9.2011: http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/media/assets/wp1109.pdf .
[19]. Giles Parkinson, “Abbott blows his carbon budget in first Direct Action auction”, RenewEconomy, 23 April 2015: http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/abbott-blows-his-carbon-budget-in-first-direct-action-auction-26282 .
[20]. Daniel Miller, “What is the Coalition's direct action climate change policy, ABC News, 24 April 2014: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-20/coalition-climate-change-direct-action-policy-explained/5067188 .
[21].Adam Morton, “Has Greg Hunt's direct action scheme fixed climate change policy in Australia?”, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 April 2015: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/has-greg-hunts-direct-action-scheme-fixed-climate-change-policy-in-australia-20150427-1muorr.html .
[22]. Synthesis Report of the March 2009 Copenhagen Scientific Climate Change Conference: http://climatecongress.ku.dk/pdf/synthesisreport .
[23]. 2010 Open Letter by 255 members of the US National Academy of Sciences, “Open Letter: climate change and the integrity of science”, Guardian, 6 May 2010: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/06/climate-science-open-letter .
[24]. “100% renewable energy by 2020”: https://sites.google.com/site/100renewableenergyby2020/ .
[25]. “Carbon Debt Carbon Credit”: https://sites.google.com/site/carbondebtcarboncredit/ .
[26]. “Climate Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/climategenocide/ .
[27]. “2011 climate change course”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/2011-climate-change-course .
[28]. “Science & economics experts: Carbon Tax needed NOT Carbon Trading”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/sciennce-economics-experts-carbon-tax-needed-not-carbon-trading/ .
[29]. Jared Diamond, “Collapse” (Viking, 2005).
[30]. Gideon Polya
[31]. Gideon Polya
[32]. Gideon Polya, “Coalition-Ruled Apartheid Australia Backs Apartheid Israel & Rejects Descriptive “Occupied” For The Occupied Palestinian Territories”, Countercurrents, 11 June, 2014: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya110614.htm
[33]. Gideon Polya, “ Racist Zionism and Israeli State Terrorism threats to
[34]. Philip Dorling, “
[35]. Gideon Polya, “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”, that includes an avoidable mortality-related history of every country since Neolithic times and is now available for free perusal on the Web: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com.au/
[36]. Gideon Polya, “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History. Colonial rapacity, holocaust denial and the crisis in biological sustainability” now available for free on the Web: http://janeaustenand.blogspot.com.au/ .
[37]. Gideon Polya, “ Review: “The Cambridge History of Australia” ignores Australian involvement in 30 Genocides”, Countercurrents, 14 October 2013: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya141013.htm .
[38]. Gideon Polya, “Australian State Terrorism - Zero Australian Terrorism Deaths, 1 Million Preventable Australian Deaths & 10 Million Muslims Killed By US Alliance Since 9-11”, Countercurrents, 23 September, 2014: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya230914.htm .
[39]. “Stop air pollution deaths”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/stop-air-pollution-deaths .
[40]. “Muslim Holocaust Muslim Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/muslimholocaustmuslimgenocide/ .
[41]. Gideon Polya, “120 Reasons Why Australians Must Vote 1 Green & Put The Coalition Last”, Countercurrents, 8 November, 2013: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya081113.htm .
Dr Gideon Polya has been teaching science students at a major Australian university for 4 decades. He published some 130 works in a 5 decade scientific career, most recently a huge pharmacological reference text "Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds" (CRC Press/Taylor & Francis,
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