On a moment's notice, 30-odd gallant BREAZErs gathered outside Catherine King's office to protest at Julia Gillard's failure to deliver an effective policy on climate. The message was delivered loud and clear to Catherine that Julia's "citizens' assembly" was nothing more than a cynical excuse to delay climate action while a couple of members went inside to explain it to her in more detail.

See our media release here.

View photos of the day below.

Media story - http://www.theage.com.au/federal-election/pm-pledges-peoples-assembly-on-climate-20100722-10myh.html

Other Information

BACKGROUND

JULIA GILLARD ON CLIMATE AND DELAY

At the announcement in Brisbane this morning, JG said, “I will act when the Australian economy is ready to act and when the Australian people are ready to act”. Contrast this statement of anemic leadership with her comments from the recent past:

"We all know that our planet is getting hotter – climate change is the biggest social and economic challenge of our generation. The science is overwhelming and after years of inaction, we can no longer sit on our hands and hope that the problem goes away.”

Julia Gillard,
Official opening of the Bond University Mirvac Centre for Sustainable Development, 11 August 2008 http://www.deewr.gov.au/Ministers/Gillard/Media/Speeches/Pages/Article_081030_150449.aspx

"Delay is denial." -- Julia Gillard, Insiders, 29 November 2009

Full text: "Well Mr Turnbull this morning has made an important point that delay is denial; that if the extremists and sceptics take over the Liberal Party and say, oh what we want is a Senate committee and a report in February, what that really means is denial. That means that they are locked in to not acting on climate change." And: "What we are interested in is delivering action on climate change because we understand the consequences of delay."

SO waiting three months means a party is "locked in to not acting on climate change" and "delay is denial".

BUT NOW:
"Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she will not revive the Government's emissions trading scheme until at least 2013."

ABC News, 8 July 2010

MEDIA

Climate change citizens assembly: solution-finder or carbon cop out?
Richard Deniss on RN Breakfast with Fran Kelly
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/breakfast/stories/2010/2961895.htm

New policy, same old delay on carbon price scheme
Lenore Taylor in The Age
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/new-policy-same-old-delay-on-carbon-price-scheme-20100722-10mzs.html

Outline of proposals
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-election/pm-pledges-peoples-assembly-on-climate-20100722-10myh.html

OTHER ACTIONS

Melbourne: Protest PM Gillard and Labor's climate failure 3PM TODAY (July 23)
Treasury Place, Melbourne - http://environmentvictoria.org.au/content/snap_protest

Brisbane action at Gillard's speech: "Gillard feels heat on citizens' assembly plan"
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/23/2962015.htm

Photos

(Click on a small photo to enlarge.)