Author: Neville

‘Invasion day’ rant from MP

GEMMA JONES, POLITICAL REPORTER
The Daily Telegraph
January 28, 201312:00AM

Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size
Print
Email
Share

0

Labor MP Steve Gibbons has made some controversial statements about Australia Day. Source: Supplied

A LABOR MP has sparked outrage by describing Australia Day as “invasion day” and accusing Australians of celebrating “by throwing bits of dead animals on a cooking fire just like the people we dispossessed”.

Victorian MP Steve Gibbons, who has previously used Twitter to label Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop a “narcissistic bimbo,” Tony Abbott a “douchebag” and Kevin Rudd a “psychopath,” tweeted the remarks late on Australia Day.

When contacted about his tweets Mr Gibbons, who is retiring at the next election, said “I am not interested in talking to you” and hung up. After a backlash on Twitter, Mr Gibbons responded: “It seems I have upset a few Lib Rednecks. I’m shattered!” while he told one follower “you people will never understand the truth is seldom pretty!”

He lashed out at a Labor supporter who pleaded “Steve, you may be retiring, but we want to retain Bendigo. This stuff is unhelpful”.

Mr Gibbons responded: “I doubt you would have any idea about being helpful.”

Opposition spokesman for citizenship Scott Morrison yesterday said Mr Gibbons’ tweets were “childish”.

“They are the rantings of someone who is increasingly losing touch,” he said.

Mr Gibbons was rebuked by Prime Minister Julia Gillard late last year for his remarks about Ms Bishop.

He later apologised.

Nicholas Stern: ‘I got it wrong on climate change – it’s far, far worse’

Author of 2006 review speaks out on danger to economies as planet absorbs less carbon and is ‘on track’ for 4C rise
Share3382

inShare.59
Email

Heather Stewart and Larry Elliott

The Observer, Saturday 26 January 2013 20.24 GMT

Jump to comments (353)

Lord Stern now believes he should have been more ‘blunt’ about threat to economies from temperature rises. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

Lord Stern, author of the government-commissioned review on climate change that became the reference work for politicians and green campaigners, now says he underestimated the risks, and should have been more “blunt” about the threat posed to the economy by rising temperatures.

In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Stern, who is now a crossbench peer, said: “Looking back, I underestimated the risks. The planet and the atmosphere seem to be absorbing less carbon than we expected, and emissions are rising pretty strongly. Some of the effects are coming through more quickly than we thought then.”

The Stern review, published in 2006, pointed to a 75% chance that global temperatures would rise by between two and three degrees above the long-term average; he now believes we are “on track for something like four “. Had he known the way the situation would evolve, he says, “I think I would have been a bit more blunt. I would have been much more strong about the risks of a four- or five-degree rise.”

He said some countries, including China, had now started to grasp the seriousness of the risks, but governments should now act forcefully to shift their economies towards less energy-intensive, more environmentally sustainable technologies.

“This is potentially so dangerous that we have to act strongly. Do we want to play Russian roulette with two bullets or one? These risks for many people are existential.”

Stern said he backed the UK’s Climate Change Act, which commits the government to ambitious carbon reduction targets. But he called for increased investment in greening the economy, saying: “It’s a very exciting growth story.”

David Cameron made much of his environmental credentials before the 2010 election, travelling to the Arctic to highlight his commitment to tackling global warming. But the coalition’s commitment to green policies has recently been questioned, amid scepticism among Tory backbenchers about the benefits of wind power, and the chancellor’s enthusiasm for exploiting Britain’s shale gas reserves.

Stern’s comments came as Jim Yong Kim, the new president of the World Bank, also at Davos, gave a grave warning about the risk of conflicts over natural resources should the forecast of a four-degree global increase above the historical average prove accurate.

“There will be water and food fights everywhere,” Kim said as he pledged to make tackling climate change a priority of his five-year term.

Kim said action was needed to create a carbon market, eliminate fossil-fuel subsidies and “green” the world’s 100 megacities, which are responsible for 60 to 70% of global emissions.

He added that the 2012 droughts in the US, which pushed up the price of wheat and maize, had led to the world’s poor eating less. For the first time, the bank president said, extreme weather had been attributed to man-made climate change. “People are starting to connect the dots. If they start to forget, I am there to remind them.

“We have to find climate-friendly ways of encouraging economic growth. The good news is we think they exist”.

Kim said there would be no solution to climate change without private sector involvement and urged companies to seize the opportunity to make profits: “There is a lot of money to be made in building the technologies and bending the arc of climate change.”

Article history

Environment
Climate change ·
Nicholas Stern

Science
Climate change

Business
Davos ·
Global economy ·
Economics

UK news

More news
Share

inShare.
Email

What’s this?

More from the Guardian

CCTV reveals store’s treatment of teenage shoplifter25 Jan 2013

Food shopping is full of ethical grey areas. Be careful what you buy – or fish will be a luxury27 Jan 2013

Why women look old. Why January is gloomy. Why the media push this guff24 Jan 2013

How climate change spells disaster for UK fish industry26 Jan 2013

David Cameron’s EU speech is grave news for our environment25 Jan 2013

What’s this?

More from around the web

How a random idea became a smart phone sensation (Global Connections)

Snap-Happy Astronaut Shoots Australian Bushfires From Space (Pedestrian TV)

The 7 Things Pet Owners Do That Drive Veterinarians Crazy (Vetstreet)

Researchers Say They Have Found Genetic Switches for Homosexuality (redOrbit)

Gmail’s solution to email chaos (Inc.com)

Ads by Google

KPMG @ Davos

Our New Thinking & Business Models Coverage From the WEF

www.kpmg.com/wef

Get 3 Free Solar Quotes

Get 3 Free, No Obligation Quotes from Local Solar Installers Now!

www.solarmarket.com.au/

Brain Training Games

Improve memory with scientifically designed brain exercises.

www.lumosity.com

We Own The Weekend

Celebrate the Guardian and Observer Weekend by signing up to receive £1 off the Saturday Guardian and £1 off the Observer for two weekends. Watch our video and get your vouchers

Online science writing Masterclass

In this digestible online video, former Guardian Science Editor Tim Radford reveals his approach to science writing. Find out more and watch now

Today’s best video

Egypt’s revolution two years on

A shopkeeper and amateur football coach, Sameh says Egyptians are impatient for change
151 comments

Bradley Wiggins: ‘I would love to win a second tour’

The Olympic gold medallist gives his thoughts on the upcoming season and doping in cycling

Activists destroy CCTV cameras in Germany

Protesters from the group Camover in Germany destroy CCTV cameras

Super Bowl 2013 preview: 49ers v Baltimore Ravens

Coaches and players look ahead to 3 February, when the teams play each other in New Orleans

Guardian Audio Edition

This Week

Peter Beaumont reports on the crisis in Algeria; Guardian Editor Alan Rusbridger writes on securing the release of Guardian correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad during Libya’s civil war; cycling champion Nicole Cooke talks to Simon Hattenstone about inequality in her sport.

On Environment

Most viewed
Latest

Last 24 hours
1. Nicholas Stern: ‘I got it wrong on climate change – it’s far, far worse’
2. Quinoa: good, evil, or just really complicated?
3. Why photos of One Direction won’t save us from global warming
4. How climate change spells disaster for UK fish industry
5. The week in wildlife – in pictures
More most viewed

Guardian business journalists

Follow the latest business news, comment and analysis on Twitter

dominicru: Tim Geithner: banking bailouts looked like ‘giving aid to the arsonist’ http://t.co/gDMGzoxw #business
about 1 day, 19 hours ago

jilltreanor: UK economy shrank 0.3% in fourth quarter of 2012 – City been expecting about a fall of 0.1% #business
about 2 days, 2 hours ago

dominicru: Starbucks celebrates record revenues after David Cameron’s ‘tax attack’ http://t.co/byhQ7pkM #business
about 2 days, 11 hours ago

• Follow our journalists on a Twitter list

Find the cheapest gas & electricity deals

Compare 1,000s of tariff deals from top suppliers

Enter your postcode:
Select your usage: Low Medium High

This week’s bestsellers
1. How to Build a Habitable Planet
by Langmuir £22.36

2. London’s Lost Rivers
by Paul Talling £7.99

3. Structural Geology
by Haakon Fossen £40.00

4. Pocket Book of Weather
by Michael Bright £8.00

5. Teach Yourself Geology
by David Rothery £10.39

Search the Guardian bookshop

Search

Related information

Science
Climate change
·
Business
Davos
· Economics
· Global economy
·
UK news

Environment
Climate change
· Nicholas Stern
·

David Cameron’s Davos keynote speech targets tax avoiders

25 Jan 2013

Prime minister strongly attacks companies that avoid paying fair share of tax as he lays out trade-focused agenda for G8 summit

24 Jan 2013

Davos 2013: David Cameron criticises tax avoidance – video

24 Jan 2013

IMF sees hope beyond the crisis but cuts world growth predictions

24 Jan 2013

IMF cuts world economic growth forecast for 2013

Davos 2013: who will be there

23 Jan 2013

David Cameron, Angela Merkel, Christine Lagarde and Charlize Theron among those set to talk at World Economic Forum

Hot topics
Climate change news
Climate change facts
Green news roundup
Green living
Sea ice

License/buy our content
| Privacy policy
| Terms & conditions
| Advertising guide
| Accessibility
| A-Z index
| Inside the Guardian blog
| About us
| Work for us
| Join our dating site today
© 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
3382Share

Re Warragamba Dam

The dam’s storage level as at 24.1,2003 was 93.3%.
Should this spell of heavy rain continue. it is likely the dam will spill
and cause flooding in the Hawkesbury Basin.
Heavy rainfall on the Blue Mountains south of the rail line flows to the
Warragamba upper catchment area.On the Northern side of the rail
line flows to the Grose Valley river and on to the Hawkesbury river. at
Richmond.

The authorities would possibly release some water to prevent a repetition
of last years spill and resulting flooding.

Diesel fumes more damaging to health than petrol engines

Ministry report says ‘green’ cars contribute significantly to air pollution and lung diseases
Share3

inShare.1
Email

John Vidal, environment editor

The Observer, Sunday 27 January 2013

Jump to comments (2)

Diesel exhaust fumes can contribute to asthma, lung disease and heart attacks. Photograph: Getty

Diesel fumes are significantly more damaging to health than those from petrol engines, according to research which shows that related air pollution contributes to lung disease, heart attacks, asthma and other respiratory problems.

The findings, published by the Department for Energy and Climate Change, are an embarrassment for successive governments, which have encouraged a switch to diesel since 2001 by linking road and company car tax to CO2 emissions. Diesel engines have been billed as “green” by car makers, governments and environmental groups because they are more fuel-efficient and emit less CO2 than petrol. Vehicles with low fuel economy and high CO2 emissions are further penalised by higher fuel duty tax, while diesels with the lowest CO2 emissions are not subject to road tax or congestion charges. Insurance premiums are also affected by cars’ CO2 status. Last year diesel car sales overtook those of petrol-fuelled cars for the first time. Petrol car sales are now 15% lower than in 2011.

The government accepts that air pollution from all sources contributes to about 30,000 deaths a year in Britain. But the research estimates that diesel-related health problems cost the NHS more than 10 times as much as comparable problems caused by petrol fumes. Last year the UN’s World Health Organisation declared that diesel exhaust caused cancer and was comparable in its effects to secondary cigarette smoking.

Anti-pollution groups, already furious that the government has failed to meet EU air pollution legal limits, say no account is being taken of the health damage done by diesel fumes because CO2 emissions are seen as the sole benchmark for environmental responsibility.

Last week Simon Birkett, founder of the Campaign for Clean Air in London watchdog group, accused the government of deliberately exacerbating health problems by in effect subsidising diesel. “Successive governments have known all about the [health] problems of diesel but have failed to react and covered them up. They have known for a long time that diesel is the main source of pollution in cities and have continued to subsidise it,” he said. Air pollution from all sources, including transport, was calculated by the Commons environmental audit committee to cost Britain up to £20bn a year. “Air quality is a hidden killer but it’s not on anyone’s radar and its costs are not factored in by the Treasury. This is the unintended consequence of ignoring it,” said Joan Walley, the committee’s chair.

Partly as a result of the rising number of diesel vehicles, London is regularly failing to meet EU air pollution targets, say experts. “Emission regulations have been ineffective for diesel cars,” said Martin Williams, chair of the UN’s convention on long-range transboundary air pollution. “Levels of nitrogen oxide emissions, for instance, haven’t fallen significantly over the past 20 years.”

A Campaign for Clean Air in London report, due to be published next month, will claim that car company figures for diesel pollution are unreliable and that actual emissions are probably far greater. “Just as most most drivers struggle to match a car’s official fuel economy figures in everyday driving, emissions of air pollutants in real world driving conditions differ from those suggested by the vehicle’s [Euro] standard,” it will say.

A 2011 test by government to measure emissions from vehicles in everyday use concluded that, while petrol emissions had improved by 96%, “emissions of NOx [nitrogen oxide from diesel cars and light goods vehicles] have not decreased for the past 15-20 years”.

A spokesman for Transport for London said: “The congestion charge was designed to reduce traffic rather than pollution. It is not an overriding objective to reduce pollution rather than congestion.”

Major cities in India and elsewhere have become increasingly aware of the health costs of diesel exhausts and are considering imposing higher taxes on diesel cars or even banning them from city centres.

Article history

UK news
Transport

World news
Road transport

Environment
Pollution

More news
Share

inShare.

Wild storms hit Canberra

ABCJanuary 27, 2013, 8:40 am

tweet

Email
Print

ABC © Enlarge photo

Emergency services in the ACT are responding to hundreds of calls for help after a severe storm swept across the area last night.

The storm dumped up to 65 millimetres of rain in some areas of Canberra with strong winds and rain downing trees and power lines and causing flash flooding and leaking roofs.

Some suburbs in the capital’s north are still waiting for power to be restored after thousands of homes lost power.

The Calvary Public Hospital in Canberra also lost power for about 20 minutes when its backup generator failed to kick in.

A hospital spokesman says water got into the generator and the issue is being investigated.

No surgery was being performed at the time and no patients were adversely affected.

Emergency services received more than 300 calls for help, mostly for flooding, fallen trees and leaking roofs.
The priority calls were dealt with overnight and crews will get to work on the remainder this morning.

Sixth tornado hits southeast Queensland

Date January 27, 2013 – 10:05AM 254 reading now

Read later

inShare.
submit to reddit
Email article
Print

.

Southeast Queensland is on alert for more tornadoes and hundreds of homes are at risk of flooding in the central Queensland cities of Gladstone and Bundaberg.

Four people were injured when a sixth tornado hit the Bundaberg region early on Sunday, tearing roofs from some properties at Burrum Heads.

Those injured include a man who had a tree fall on him at a local caravan park, the ABC reports.

The Department of Community Safety told AAP none of the four people were believed to have serious injuries.

Five other twisters hit the Bundaberg region on Saturday.

Advertisement

There were also reports of tornado activity early on Sunday at Bribie Island north of Brisbane. It’s unclear if that has caused any damage.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned communities including Brisbane and the Sunshine and Gold coasts could be hit by tornado activity on Sunday as the low pressure system spawned by ex-cyclone Oswald moves towards NSW.

The Bundaberg Regional Council is expecting 200 homes and 100 businesses to flood on Sunday if levels in the Burnett River continue to rise, as expected.

About a dozen homes and businesses have already flooded in the city’s north.

At Gladstone, north of Bundaberg, 400 properties have been evacuated near the Boyne River.

Gladstone mayor Gail Sellers says the Awoonga Dam is well beyond capacity and more than eight metres of water is spilling over the dam wall – something never seen before.

“And we’ve still got more to come,” she told the ABC.

Meanwhile, to the north of Brisbane, the Moreton Bay Regional Council has concerns for 4000 low-lying properties that could be at risk from a storm surge on Sunday.

Mayor Allan Sutherland says three evacuation centres have been opened on Bribie Island and at Caboolture to aid residents who might have to leave their properties.

The State Emergency Service received more than 800 requests for assistance in the 24 hours to 5am (AEST) on Sunday, most from Bundaberg south to the Sunshine Coast.

There have been several swift water rescues, with crews still working to save two people from the flooded Widgee Creek near Gympie.

Four homes have also gone under water at Woolooga, west of Gympie, the ABC reports.

In the town of Biloela, inland from Gladstone, more than 40 people were evacuated as water levels there rose.

The chaotic weather has been spawned by a low pressure system that was ex-tropical cyclone Oswald.

It’s currently moving towards the Sunshine Coast, after hovering over Gladstone over the past two days.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe weather warnings for communities from central Queensland down to the NSW border.

Forecaster Amber Young told AAP there was a good chance of ongoing tornado activity, including on the Sunshine Coast, in Brisbane, and on the Gold Coast on Sunday.

Strong low-level winds were feeding into the low pressure system to create conditions that spawned tornadoes.

“Considering those conditions are not only going to maintain, but possibly worsen as well, there’s a realistic possibility of further tornado activity,” Ms Young said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/sixth-tornado-hits-southeast-queensland-20130127-2dehe.html#ixzz2J7sDA085