tijaco

a method for turning the narrative.

The Liberal National Party’s notion that we need to be saving jobs in the coal mining sector in the face of the greatest threat known to humankind is widely known to be a thinktank-concocted story. A story by an oligarchic media to convince voters to elect a party which leading intellectual Noam Chomsky sees as one of the most dangerous on the face of the Earth. The statistics bear out that the mining sector is in fact quite a small employer in our economy and common sense dictates that those jobs are likely to be eradicated in the next decades anyway. Executing a moral argument to a population is difficult, but to deal with the plights of real workers and dealing with their own immediate interests has the potential for overwhelming the Liberal Party narrative.

As was noted in the recent Grattan Institute report Start with Steel, there is evidence that key swing voters in Queensland were not voting against climate action but instead were simply voting to save their own carbon-based jobs. This begs the question; had these voters been offered a clear and concise plan around how those jobs would be replaced and how their community would be supported through the inevitable transition, would they have voted differently? The Murdoch-controlled media and a certain pudgy billionaire might have had an argument to the contrary, but the question can still be raised.

The LNP and Murdoch papers are known for their scare tactics throughout election campaigns or even during global pandemics. The recent red-baiting of Daniel Andrews shows the extent to which the media machine and the Liberal Party will go, even in a situation where the Premier can objectively be seen to have a world-leading response. I believe it high time for the Labor Party to bring out the gloves themselves, whether it be Andrews himself using his peaking popularity to speak at a national level or, more likely, Anthony Albanese outlining his own approach.

All of this talk about coal mining jobs being so precious has created a false dichotomy that is clear to any who are paying attention; that we must choose between the carbon workers and climate action. This is a false dichotomy on various levels, one of those being that there is no such choice. Not on ethical, moral, environmental grounds, but based on pure economics. The demand for Australian coal will decline as countries move towards renewable energy. These jobs will not be around in 10-15 years and it is simply irresponsible for the current government to offer no transition plan for those 55,000 workers. In this way, the Labor Party has the opportunity to use the power of the carbon workers media narrative and turn it on its head.

As any good political campaign does, this will also require some vision. They need not look further than Ross Garnaut and his book Superpower which expertly outlines the potential for Australia to become a powerhouse of energy-intensive industry with our abundant renewable energy resources. With countries throughout the world moving towards green industries regardless of our own actions, it would be irresponsible not to take action to save our fossil-fuel dependent economy.

With COVID-19 pushing the economy off a cliff that very poor economic management created, interest rates are at all-time lows. This means that it has never been a better time for renewable energy projects which are known to be initially capital-intensive (and jobs-intensive) while being cheaper in the medium- to long-term. In an economy which is facing mass unemployment, this renewable energy jobs boost would be more than welcome.

Australia stands to lose out the most if we do not address the climate crisis. Much of our economy is based on coal exports whose demand will soon dry up. The developing countries in South East Asia and the Pacific will be some of the worst affected by climate change in the coming years. If there are concerns in Australia when a few tens of boat people are arriving on our shores, there’s plenty of reason for action simply based on the conceivable millions of climate refugees at our doorstep.

These weaknesses can soon be turned to strengths. Those same South East Asian countries who are most vulnerable to climate change also have weak renewable resources and many rely on Australian coal. With projects like Sun Cable planning to export renewable energy from Northern Australia to Singapore over the next decade, it could be a sign of things to come. We have a massive supply of very cheaply generated energy and South East Asia has a massive demand for it – no wonder Mike Cannon-Brookes and former mining magnate Peter Forrest are on board.

Australia has huge potential in a decarbonised world economy and yet a huge risk exposure if we do not act quickly. A mix of justified alarm bell ringing and a clearly communicated vision seems like a perfect combination for a successful political campaign.