Stop laughing; they're serious about national carbon trading!

The Liberals Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott and Greg Hunt approve of an national emissions trading scheme and, rather belatedly, so does their leader Brendan Nelson.

However, the Rudd Government timeline for implementation is just too, too fast for these gentlemen.
Start up in 2010? No, no, and no.

It's hard not to laugh at these Coalition politicians, who complain bitterly of matters being rushed.
None of the four seem to think that voters can count.
Nelson, Turnbull, Abbott and Hunt have all conceded that the Howard Government actually received advice that it could commence such a scheme by 2011 if it so desired (with the bureaucrats allowing that 2012 might be a better date).

I'm betting that what "too fast" actually boils down to is less than 12 months between the start up date Rudd finally announces and 2011.
Perhaps at little as 6 to 8 months.

Hardly an earth shattering difference and one that doesn't justify the obstructionist position that the Opposition appears bent on taking.
But then, I don't think that the Opposition has taken on board the fact that ordinary Australians (as opposed to business leaders) want to see government begin to tackle climate change mitigation asap.

I suggest that all four MPs take a look at Behavioral Economics and Climate Change Policy, it might give them a small hint about human nature.

But greed and accumulation are only a part of the richness of human behavioral patterns.
These have come to prominence because they have been rewarded through an incentive structure that grew hand in hand with the production bonanza made possible by fossil fuels. Types of behavior conducive to cooperation, doing with fewer material
possessions, and recognizing the necessity of shared sacrifice are also part of the human experience. [Gowdrey, John M,January 2007]