We enter a new year, a new decade, a new reality. I never imagined a climate-induced tipping point would be reached so decisively and find us so ill-prepared. Images of special places and communities burned to the ground mix with those of burned wildlife. Fire fighters report the horrific screams of wildlife as forests blaze.
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Not everyone was caught out. Former fire chiefs sounded the alarm early but requests to brief the Morrison Government fell on deaf ears. The Bureau of Meteorology put out data faithfully and was ridiculed. Climate scientists were ignored. Protesting children were told to go back to school.
So we weren't ready when the fire storm hit. We were distracted. We'd been lied to, distracted, wedged and divided. We re-elected the most climate denying government in Australia's history because we'd rather the PM pander to our self-interest than listen to expert advice and respond decisively.
As Australia burns, Tony Abbott, the guy who started the rot, shifted his mantra from climate change is "crap" to climate change is "a cult". He was not at the end of a hose. He was not even in the country.
Australia is the canary in the mine shaft for the world. The shape of the planet's future is beginning here if we continue to delay decisive action at home and globally. Angus Taylor, the likely architect of the LNP's no-climate policy, got us off the hook at the Madrid climate talks. The fires have put him and his government on notice.
People are demanding that Morrison lead. He cannot. His cabinet has worked to discredit and disparage fire experts and scientists for over a decade. Where will they find a new batch of donors to fill the Liberal coffers at the next fundraiser if they change tack? What will they do about Alan Jones? We've long lamented a hung parliament. But when Labor under Julia Gillard was forced to negotiate with the cross bench and the Greens we achieved significant emission reduction. We need bipartisanship and cooperation from Parliament. Australia's leadership requires more than a tweak.
If 2020 is the year we face how we've wrecked the place then it can be the year we turn things around. We have the knowledge and technology to cut emissions in every sector. It will take a decade or two to achieve but we can do it. The baton for driving change will have to be bipartisan and last beyond each election cycle.
We have the chance to shift jobs in coal to nickel and lithium and start our own battery industry. There could be a hydrogen and renewable energy export market to Asia. We can fast track the pipeline of wind and solar projects, ramp up rooftop solar and energy sharing schemes. We need all levels of government to ensure that the rebuild of homes, businesses and schools is to the highest building standards. All this will revitalise the construction sector and our sluggish economy. We can shift educational priorities to climate proof agriculture, reduce and recycle waste, safeguard our water, rehabilitate soils and repair ecosystems. We can invest in a future where everyone participates and job options increase. Everyone in - no opting out.
2020 can be the beginning of a saved future or the beginning of the end. Is this government capable? Can a climate sceptic lead the effort and heal our divisions? Can the PM admit he and his cabinet have been wrong all along? Can the Opposition, minor parties and cross benches lay their animosities aside to cooperate in a Parliament of National Unity urged by Ian Dunlop? Will we all rise to the challenge with the same determination and grit shown by those at the end of the hose?
The risks in not doing so have never been higher. We'll know soon enough.