The Ruddy climate cop-out

As she edges ever closer to the right, it’s clear that Julia Gillard is less red than she seemed, and even less green.

The mining tax cave-in wasn’t some huge curtsy to corporate Australia. It was the tidying up of a mess that had to be done. But the Half-Assed New Pacific Solution is hardly going to win over the swinging Penrith vote. Maybe something more nuanced, like free “Speak English or Die” t-shirts fired out of air cannons by netballers at the Bathurst 1000.

It’s easy to criticize a leader for failing to show leadership, but much harder to quickly sack him in a bloodless coup and bring in a raft, or even a boatload, of new ideas. The Labor Party has had the courage to install new forward-looking leadership. The bravery is clear in their newly announced climate change decision to maintain their old and massively unpopular decision, namely to make no decision for at least two years – even though we thought we’d already decided in 2007.

Kevin2’7″ promised action and delivered discussion papers. Julia is promising cold efficiency and as long as she can deliver that, with a bonus hint of compassion it will be a monument to Australian administration.

There are two advantages to Labor’s 2012 commitment to no commitment.

Firstly, it gives them two years to completely redesign the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. A scheme so bad that even Bob Brown couldn’t vote for it.

Secondly, if the Mayan calendar is to be believed and the world really does end in December 2012, at least carbon taxes won’t bite too hard before the apocalypse properly kicks in.

Visionary.