Dear Senator Minchin

Dear Senator Minchin,

I was listening to you on the radio this morning, and I heard you remark that the ETS "can wait." Having the establishing legislation passed by the Senate before the Copenhagen conference was unnecessary, you argued. You claim it was forefront on the ALP’s legislative agenda for no other demonstrable reason than the inflation of the Prime Minister’s already considerable ego, permitting him to strut the world stage with confidence and aplomb.

You, your colleagues, and especially Barnaby have oft repeated these or similar sentiments throughout this ETS saga. You are wrong. And even if you’re right, that’s not a bad thing.

Firstly, consider this. We Australians, 22 million of us, comprise approximately 0.3% of the 7 billion strong swathe of human beings. Yet our carbon footprint is considerably more substantial: 1.3% of global emissions originate in the antipodes. All sources put us in the top 5 of per capita emitters. To put that in perspective, we emit roughly the same amount of CO2 has Britain and France: nations with three times our population.

Giving the Australian delegation to Copenhagen a shiny new ETS to show off is not a hollow gesture. It is an important demonstration that we, as one of world’s worst per capita emitters, are committed to combating rising levels of carbon dioxide.

Waiting to see what “everybody else does,” a strategy you have recommended is a deeply flawed plan. Why try and hatch a scheme whereby our economic interests are protected, simply to watch the planet burn around us? The only jobs you’re really protecting are those in the air-conditioning industry.

Furthermore, you seem to view these negotiations as some bizarre global poker game. But in this game Nick, we cannot wait to see who is bluffing, who has a bad hand and who has a good one. World leaders cannot sit around a table staring each other in the eye waiting for someone else to blink. We have to lay our cards down on the table for all to see. Otherwise nothing will ever get done.

Which brings me to my next point. If Rudd wants to strut across the world stage, proudly showing off the ETS, then I commend that. The world has been sluggish, at best, in coordinating and formulating a response to global warming. We need leaders who will inspire others to act. And the thought that that leader might be an Aussie, be they Labor, Liberal or Green, makes me proud.

Oh, I forgot. You don’t even believe in climate change, do you? So why insult Rudd? Be a man Nick, and be honest about the motivations for your opposition.