Australian Politics 2014: Der Führer marches on and on

On 19 March 2014 it is expected that Australia’s own little führer will present to Parliament the as yet unsighted Omnibus Red Tape Repeal Bill and a series of specific bills proposing the repeal of an estimated 8,000 legislative instruments.

These bills will be passed by the House of Representatives because the Coalition has the voting power to do so easily.

As yet there is no indication as to what specific regulations will be abolished, however the financial sector, road transport industry, coastal shipping, education, agriculture, environmental approvals and trading hours have been mentioned in the media today.

The only certainty is that, with Abbott Government’s track record, one can be sure that any and all negative impacts of this mass repealing will fall heavily on the shoulders of ordinary wage earners and the poor, allow foreign multinationals further access to Australian markets, possibly lead to job losses in some industries and limit measures protecting Australian consumers and workers.

The Murdoch press reports:

The repeal day comes after Mr Frydenberg, who has been charged with implementing the government's deregulation agenda, conducted more than 100 meetings and a string of roundtable forums over the past three months with sharemarket-listed companies, multinationals, big private companies and business lobby groups to determine the pieces of regulation that need to be scrapped.

They include firms such as Westpac, Wesfarmers, IAG, Ten Network, Aldi, Dow Chemical, Incitec Pivot, the big four accounting firms and lobby groups such as the National Farmers Federation and the Minerals Council of Australia.

Mr Frydenberg has also had meetings with the likes of Rio Tinto, Orica, BHP Billiton, BG Group, Telstra, Medibank Private and Credit Suisse, as well as Woolworths chief executive Grant O'Brien, Coles managing director Ian McLeod and food group Goodman Fielder's Chris Delaney.

The Abbott Government asserts that it has also consulted with the not-for-profit- sector. This alleged consultation appears to be solely in relation to regulations concerning this sector’s funding applications and grant provisions.

  

The Abbott Government And The Environment

THE ABBOTT GOVERNMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

PART 1:  SOME ASPECTS OF GOVERNMENT MOVES ON CLIMATE POLICY

All has not gone as smoothly as Prime Minister Abbott would have hoped in dealing with climate change policy since he took over the reins of government.

Abolition of the carbon tax was one of the new Prime Minister's early priorities. He indicated that he fully expected the parliament to enable him to fulfil his election promise immediately.  This was an unrealistic expectation given that the Government does not control the Senate.  Threats that Senate non-compliance could be used to trigger a double dissolution election unsurprisingly have not produced the cooperation Abbott demanded.  Despite the threat, a double dissolution election is extremely unlikely for a number of reasons including the expectation that the new Senate, to be installed in July, will pass the legislation - which means the Government just has to be patient.  Furthermore, the Government's position in the polls does not suggest another election as a viable option. 

The new Government's changes to climate change policy extend beyond the abolition of the carbon tax and its replacement with their "Direct Action".

There is no longer a Climate Change Minister or Department of Climate Change. The responsibility for climate change policy has been taken over by the Department of the Environment under Minister Greg Hunt. Mr Hunt made his mark early in his ministerial role during an interview with a British journalist by using a statement from  Wikipedia to support his claim that there was no link between the severe Blue Mountains bushfires and climate change (because  bushfires have always been a feature of Australian life since European settlement).  The use of such an authority as the basis for a serious public statement by a federal Minister subjected Mr Hunt to considerable ridicule both at home and abroad.

 

Beyond checking Wikipedia, Mr Hunt has moved on a number of climate bodies which have either been abolished or slated for abolition.  Three of these bodies are the Climate Change Authority, the Climate Commission and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

The Climate Change Authority (http://climatechangeauthority.gov.au/ ) was established to advise on Australia's emissions targets and to analyse the effectiveness of policies designed to meet those targets.  According to Mr Hunt this advice will, following the Authority's abolition, be provided by the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO.  As these agencies obviously have other commitments, it will be interesting to see just how much of the CCA's work they will be able to take over. It will also be interesting to see whether the Government is prepared to provide them with additional funding to assist with their new roles.

However, the Climate Change Authority can only be abolished through an act of parliament.  While the relevant act has passed the House of Representatives, it has been blocked in the Senate. So it is likely the CCA will continue to operate until July 2014.

The Government probably did not appreciate the Climate Change Authority's most recent report  (October 2013) on emissions targets  - Targets and Progress Review Draft Report (http://climatechangeauthority.gov.au/Node/100  ) – which concluded that the 5% reduction in emissions by 2020 was insufficient and that Australia should be  looking at a reduction between 15% and 25% on year 2000 emissions.  Mr Abbott's Government (along with the former Labor Government) committed to the 5% reduction on year 2000 levels. It has costed this and has stated that this is the only funding available for this purpose.  So it is extremely unlikely that the Government will commit to a stronger reduction target.  The Authority's Final Report, with its emissions target recommendation, will be delivered to the Government by 28 February.

The Climate Commission was abolished on 19 September.  Minister Hunt claimed that the closing down of the Commission was "part of the Coalition's plans to streamline government processes and avoid duplication of services" and that the Commission's "function to provide independent analysis and advice" would be continued by the Department of the Environment.  It is quite obvious that Mr Hunt has no understanding of the term "independent analysis and advice".  The level of independent analysis and advice a Government department will provide is likely to be rather different to that provided by a body at arms-length from Government as the Climate Commission was. Furthermore the capacity of that Department to provide analysis and advice of an equivalent standard to that of Climate Commission would depend on factors such as the expertise of departmental staff and whether they had the time to undertake the necessary research – and whether the Government provided funding additional to current provisions to enable this.  All highly unlikely.

A considerable segment of the community, unimpressed with the Government's Climate Commission decision, was prepared to do something about it.  This led to a "crowd funding campaign" to replace the Commission with a group independent of the Government.  Over $1 million was raised in a little over a week and the Climate Commission was re-formed as the Climate Council. (http://www.climatecouncil.org.au/  ) Perhaps this is an early warning that Mr Hunt and the Government should think carefully about the way they deal with climate change and providing the community with information on this important issue.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation ( http://www.cleanenergyfinancecorp.com.au/   ) which commenced operation in July last year is responsible for making co-investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency programs in the commercial sector. At the end of November last year $536 million had been invested in renewable energy, energy savings and low-carbon technologies.  According to the fund's board, for every dollar the CEFC invested, the private sector had invested three and the fund had generated carbon emissions savings of 3.88 million tonnes.

 

This is another planned abolition which has been foiled by the Senate for the time being.  It is interesting that a number of supporters of the CEFC and its work have pointed out to the Government that this body is actually the epitome of real direct action.  Unsurprisingly, this has not made any impression on Abbott's ideologically-driven Government.

The Coalition's commitment to acting effectively on climate change was open to question before it won the election.  Tony Abbott 's attitude (his 2009 comment about climate change being crap remains to haunt him)– and that of many of his Liberal-National Party colleagues - to the reality of climate change has for years been equivocal at best.

Concern about this commitment has only increased since Mr Abbott became Prime Minister. Factors such as Mr Hunt's unsatisfactory statements about how both the Climate Change Authority and Climate Commission roles will be filled following their abolition have only increased the concern of those who see an urgent need for effective action on climate change.

There continue to be serious questions about the likely effectiveness of the Coalition's "Direct Action" policy. The major component of "Direct Action", which is to replace the carbon tax, is the payment of polluters to stop them from polluting – the carrot rather than the stick - taxpayer funded in order to ensure the right behaviour.  The Senate has referred to the Government's Direct Action policy to the Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications  - which must be a further irritation to the Government.  The Report on this inquiry is due on 24 March.  (Information  on this Senate Inquiry can be found at : http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Direct_Action_Plan)

A rather unexpected sideshow occurred recently when Maurice Newman, head of the Prime Minister's new Business Advisory Council, claimed that climate change is "a scientific delusion".  To have someone heading what is presumably an influential Government business group espousing such a view lends further credence to the suspicion that climate change is not being taken seriously by the Government.

The next few months should prove interesting on the climate change front.  It is highly likely that the Government will feel increased pressure from the Opposition and the Greens as well as those in the community who want an effective climate policy.

 Hildegard

Northern Rivers

Spot the difference

Readers of APN newspapers, including The Daily Examiner, are very excited because the publications are running their "Spot the Difference" competition again. 

Here's DEX's effort (Saturday 11/1/2014) :

And here's GoComic's version:

Readers' entries can be sent  to DEX's editor at newsroom@dailyexaminer.com.au

Images from DEX digital edition and Gocomics.

United Nations asks Abbott Government to explain

ABC News 11 January 2014:

The UN refugee agency says it is awaiting an explanation from the Australian Government over reports asylum seeker boats have been forcibly returned to Indonesia.

Earlier this week, Indonesian police told the ABC that a second boat carrying asylum seekers had been forced back to Indonesian waters by the Australian Navy.

The first boat was found shortly before Christmas on the island of Rote, in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara region.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is warning such actions may place Australia in breach of its obligations under international law.

"UNHCR is seeking details from the Australian parties about these recent reports," said spokesman Babar Baloch.

The agency is also investigating reports of plans to provide lifeboats for asylum seekers for future push-backs.

"For the UNHCR it's a very concerning policy or practice if it involves pushing asylum seeker boats back out to sea without proper consideration of individuals who need international protection," said Mr Baloch.

"Any such approach would raise significant issues and potentially could place Australia in breach of its obligations under the Refugee Convention and international law.

"If people who are in need for international protection seek a country's safety, then they must be allowed to go through a process which helps to determine if these people are in need."

Media reports indicate that up to five asylum seeker boats were towed back/pushed back in recent months and, it is possible that as many as 361 asylum seekers may have been involved since 18 September 2013.

NSW Shooters and Fishers Party brags online about weakening state gun laws

The NSW Shooters and Fishers Party intends to contest the 2015 state elections.

This is the damage this fringe group has done so far:

S&F Achievements

* The introduction of a new management plan for a NSW Marine Estate

* The Game Council of NSW now has access to over 4 million acres across the State

* Introduced legislation to make "Try Shooting" easier for everyone

* Changed the rules regarding purchase of a second firearm

* Shooting clubs have received $6.5 million under the MACOSC Grants Scheme

* Introduced a moratorium on the creation and expansion of Marine Parks until an independent scientific review is completed

* We will negotiate further amendments to the Firearms Act to remove unnecessary red tape

* Expand the successful Game Council Feral Animal Control Program to National Parks

and more

This is the damage the party intends if its sitting members are re-elected in 2015:

The Shooters and Fishers Party commits to:

* Ensure the NSW Department of Education and Training recognise Shooting and Fishing as

'appropriate' cultural activities and sports for all public schools.

* Re-assign the compliance and enforcement functions for animal welfare matters from charitable

organisations to a relevant Government agency.

* We will respect the cultural activities of Hunting and Fishing by having them enshrined in NSW

Law. We will propose a Bill that will recognise the fundamental importance of these activities to

the well being of our society.

* We will oppose all government legislation that seeks to support the removal of the significant

social advantages that cheap coal offers NSW.

* We will propose a Bill to abolish Ethics classes in NSW public schools.

* We will support moves to remove the trial Homophobia education program being run in the NSW

schools.

* We will move to review Department of Education procedures for staff acquisition and curriculum

setting.

Reviews of "Thoughts from the Lunar Right" (aka "The Conservative Revolution ")

It seems the masses are not exactly queueing up to purchase Senator Bernadi's book. 

Perhaps reviews like those below explain why.

Dorothy Parker wrote:
This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force. Will be a welcome addition to any bookstore's remainder bin. 

The thoughts of Joshua MacLennan:
 From the front bench to the back bench, they're funny, they're thick, they are the Liberals! One man's lonely fight against everything since the Enlightenment. Lurching from one piece of buffoonery to another, Corey proves yet again he is not fit for the 21st century. So shrill you can hear the lump of coal in is butt being converted to a diamond.

Tim Bell had this to say:
Let me be upfront from the start: I didn't buy this book.

It's only 178 pages long, and at the current price of just under $27, it's quite expensive as well. So already one's expectations are for a good quality product, given that it costs over 15 cents per page (or 30 cents per sheet, in other words).

Just for comparison, my local Woolworths has toilet paper on sale for 20 cents per ONE HUNDRED sheets, or less than 1% the price per sheet of this book!!

As I confessed at the start, I haven't actually bought this book, so I just have to assume that it's printed on the same kind of paper that most paperbacks are printed on. If you're like me, and have occasionally wiped your nether regions with a sheet of an old Agatha Christie murder mystery, or maybe a Deepak Chopra self-help title, you know that it's a poor substitute for a good-quality piece of toilet tissue. So, without any evidence or claims to the contrary, I have to assume that this paperback is the same, with rough, untextured and single-ply pages that irritate, and (let's be honest) don't actually do as good a job at wiping as proper toilet tissue.

So that's really all there is to it: it's overpriced, and inferior to competing products, so why would you buy it? The Kleenex and Scott products are much better value for money, more effective, and so much more pleasant to use. 

 Read what others have to say about the publication here.

Abbott cuts a rug

On 8 January 2014 News Ltd informed the world that the Prime Minister’s official Sydney residence Kirribilli House was getting a taxpayer-funded $12,915 family room rug from Milgate interior designs.

Now the only floor coverings carried by Milgate appear to be of either English or French design, materials and manufacture.

If the Abbott family’s taste in carpets matches its political sense of entitlement, one wonders what the family room will look like.

Perhaps something to match his plans for a $250 million VIP jet?

A classic Braquenié Napoleonic design might be appropriate for our vertically challenged prime minister?

So exactly where is the Australian Navy's favourite asylum seeker dumping ground?

This is Rote Island, just off the tip of West Timor in Indonesia. It is approximately 500kms north-east of Australia, has a population of a little over 100,000 people and appears to be the Australian Navy’s preferred dumping ground for those asylum seekers the Abbott Government rejects out-of-hand without interview or assessment.

Click on image to enlarge

This is where Rote Island is positioned in relation to Australia’s Maritime borders and Australia-Indonesia treaty boundaries:

Click on images to enlarge

On 10 January 2014 The Australian reported:

Immigration and Border Protection Minister Scott Morrison issued a statement yesterday saying he would not comment on operations "on water", but he indicated that if Australian warships or Customs patrol boats had towed asylum-seeker vessels, they did not enter Indonesia's 12-nautical-mile territorial limit.

If this statement is correct in relying on territorial waters as the only significant boundary, then it is possible that the Australian Navy had control in international waters of one or more of the five vessels suspected of being turned around/towed back. A rather dubious proposition.

However, the situation worsens, for one televised media report suggests that Australian Navy personnel deliberately disabled an asylum seeker boat on the open sea and then abandoned it:

http://youtu.be/jXF0fqDtnlg

Despite the Abbott Government refusing to give any details of these turn around/tow backs, reports are emerging that Indonesia is not happy with the situation.

The Sydney Morning Herald 10 January 2013:

Australia's turning back of at least one asylum-seeker boat to Indonesia has sparked political anger in Jakarta, with senior politicians warning it could further damage the already fraught relationship.

The anger came as video emerged of Royal Australian Navy personnel boarding an asylum-seeker boat whose passengers claim they were intercepted near Darwin and towed back to Indonesia over a period of six days....

Mahfudz Siddiq, head of the Indonesian parliament's foreign affairs committee, demanded Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop sit down with her Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa ''as soon as possible'' to explain.

Advertisement 

''The situation is not helpful. It will get worse for our bilateral relations,'' he said. ''Unless the situation is handled soon, I fear it will deteriorate further after the spying affair and the end of our military co-operation. I worry if the issue of people-smuggling is not resolved … it will inflame [this].''

Susaningtyas Nefo Handayani Kertopati, a member of the Indonesian parliament's oversight commission on international affairs, urged Jakarta to make a stern response to Australia, which she accused of having an ''extreme attitude'' on people-smuggling. ''The government should not be ambivalent or hesitant in addressing Australia's extreme attitude. It must deal with it seriously,'' she said.

Seven News on Thursday night aired mobile phone footage purportedly filmed by asylum seekers of Royal Australian Navy personnel boarding their boat.

The asylum seekers claimed they were intercepted near Darwin on January 1 and towed for six days back to Indonesian waters. Some have said they were mistreated....

Given that up to five more asylum seeker boats were allegedly heading towards Australia in December 2013-January 2014 than were reported in Operation Sovereign Borders media releases, then this situation also makes a mockery of Abbott's claims about asylum seekers numbers.

Liberal Party Senator Cory Bernardi gets a few rollicking reviews

Former parliamentary secretary assisting then Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Liberal Party attack dog, Senator Cory Bernardi, has written another book.......

These are Amazon’s Most Helpful Customer Reviews.....

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful

Poor value, and very rough on the nether regions

By Tim Bell on January 6, 2014

Let me be upfront from the start: I didn't buy this book.

It's only 178 pages long, and at the current price of just under $27, it's quite expensive as well. So already one's expectations are for a good quality product, given that it costs over 15 cents per page (or 30 cents per sheet, in other words).

Just for comparison, my local Woolworths has toilet paper on sale for 20 cents per ONE HUNDRED sheets, or less than 1% the price per sheet of this book!!

As I confessed at the start, I haven't actually bought this book, so I just have to assume that it's printed on the same kind of paper that most paperbacks are printed on. If you're like me, and have occasionally wiped your nether regions with a sheet of an old Agatha Christie murder mystery, or maybe a Deepak Chopra self-help title, you know that it's a poor substitute for a good-quality piece of toilet tissue. So, without any evidence or claims to the contrary, I have to assume that this paperback is the same, with rough, untextured and single-ply pages that irritate, and (let's be honest) don't actually do as good a job at wiping as proper toilet tissue.

So that's really all there is to it: it's overpriced, and inferior to competing products, so why would you buy it? The Kleenex and Scott products are much better value for money, more effective, and so much more pleasant to use.

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful

Won't anyone think of the dachshunds?

By Simon666 on January 6, 2014

As a dachshund, I can't actually read this book or any other, but I thank Corgi Bernardi from the bottom of my heart for stopping gay marriage, and the widespread cornholing of both urban and rural animals that would have occurred should such a thing have eventuated. Like Corgi, I get all my information from fringe US-based religious websites, and so I must apologise for any misspelling that occurs in this post. As I've said, I am a dachshund and can't read, but Corgi looks very Karl Marx on the cover of his revolution book, just with better skin! As he doesn't have much future in politics, he might want to consider a career in infomercials, if there are any products that need angry stupid people in them. I mean, I'm a supporter (and would vote for him if I lived in South Australia), but let's say that Corgi isn't exactly from the highest branch. Also, I think Corgi will be offended by the "flip to back" function below his photo on this page - it's just not natural! Thankyou for reading.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

Does not do what it says on the cover

By Richard L. Watts on January 6, 2014

I read this book hoping to find advice on how to successfully overthrow a tyrannical warmist regime. But there is no details within on how to make gunpowder or bombs contained - not even contact numbers for my local far-right militia! Fail! Nor does THE CONSERVATIVE REVOLUTION contain the sort of information I have expected from Mr Bernadi such as graphic details on homo-beast sex or handy drawings explaining why step-families are inferior to Adam and Even normal red-blooded hetero families. Why have you failed me Corny? In short don't bother buying this book - I swapped it for a copy of ATLAS SHRUGGED that was missing half its pages and feel I have the better end of the bargain.

Comment  Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful

The contents are sader

By Charles Esson on January 6, 2014

The man on the front looks sad; is sad. The contents are sadder. If your from a blended family have step sisters and brothers you love and admire, this is not the book for you.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

Absolutely awful. Embarrassing to Australians. Misogynistic. Homophobic. Reactionary. Drivel.

By Sandra Bekin on January 6, 2014

These are views that would be right at home in the Deep South of the USA or the Southern Baptists. They are not even Conservative views. (Non Australians please note: The Liberal Party of Australia is a Right Wing party, the Left is the Australian Labor Party. There are no liberals in the Liberal Party.)

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD

By Steven J Darlington on January 6, 2014

The Dark One hungers. In his pit of eternal hatred he squats in the darkness feeding on the screams of the weak. Soon, his blood tide reaches a peak and he will scourge the unbelievers. Cory Bernardi claims he feels the hunger and screams for the blood of innocents, but his devotion to slaughter is not as strong as he would have you believe. His altars are empty. His axe is not stained wtih blood. This is not the Old Ways, Brother Bernardi. You know nothing of our dark rage. You barely even call for the murder of the pregnant women. NNGU'THALI-SZACTA!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

Promised much. Delivered little

By Amazon Customer on January 6, 2014

Cory Bernadi is a giant of a fish in the tiny pond we call Australia. He is single-handedly responsible for numerous Australian achievements, from the stump-jump plough and Hill's hoist (mistakenly named after a neighbour) to the recent 5-0 defeat of England in the Ashes test series.

And really, that's why this book is such a disappointment.

Turns out, Bernadi is just a bit of a tool.

965 of 1,034 people found the following review helpful

Take extreme caution.

By May Kadoody on January 6, 2014

A good friend and I perform an annual gift exchange, where we purchase each other the least suitable present imaginable. This year my friend received merkin underpants and I unwrapped "The Conservative Revolution". I congratulated her on winning this round, and threw the book in my drawer ne'er to be seen again.

Or so I thought.

Two weeks ago I hosted a dinner party at my apartment. We discussed how luscious Sarah Hanson Young's hair is whilst dining on miso glazed tofu, then retired to the sitting room for port. I entered the room to find guests whispering worriedly; as I approached my heart leapt into my throat - Bernardi's book was lying on the coffee table. Despite assurances it was a joke gift, my friends left hurriedly. I glared at the offending paperback and tossed it in the bin, confused and angry.

My life started to spiral out of control after this, everytime I met up with friends "The Conservative Revolution" would inexplicably be on my person. After I was nearly mobbed at a Newtown cafe, my friends asked that I stop calling. I tried leaving the book in a Salvation Army bin, on a bench, in a skip, but it would always be back in my loungeroom or bag. I even tried to burn it: the darkness behind Bernardi on the cover grew deeper - as though it absorbed the flames, but the remainder of the book wasn't even singed. Yesterday I returned home to find my collection of Sarah Waters novels thrown off the balcony, and a giant portrait of Julie Bishop painted on the wall. I feel as though Cory is watching me with those fanatical eyes, judging my sinful lifestyle.

If anyone knows an atheist celebrant I can hire to perform a conservative exorcism, please let me know.

Okay, it's school holidays ....

... so who let the kids loose at APN?

Climatology 101 sees students provided with locations' air pressure readings and then requires them to prepare synoptic charts that involves joining places of equal air pressure - the lines drawn are called isobars.

Seems some bright spark at APN is doing a bit of in-house child minding during the school holidays. Well, that's the conclusion this reader arrived at after reading The Daily Examiner's weather reports lately. The evidence? Look at the weather maps (below) that appeared in The Examiner this week.

Here's DEX's map for Friday it (appeared on Thursday January 9):

And here's the BOM's map:

Need more evidence?

Here are more efforts provided by APN in DEX this week.

Since when have isobars been drawn using a ruler, and thus appearing as straight lines? 

Seems someone at APN gave their kids new pencils and rulers for Christmas and headed them in the direction of the weather page.

Images from The Daily Examiner (digital edition) and Bureau Of Meteorology.

Remember when Tony Abbott was......

Edwards v Ibbotson - Round One Thousand & One

John Ibbotson of 24 Rosella Road, Gulmarrad (author of a ‘vanity press’ book denying climate change) has a heavy dose of irony poured over his head in a letter to the editor in The Daily Examiner  on 28 December 2013:

Ice storms in 'hoax'

News from the US (December 24) provides more evidence to the Gulmarrad branch of the Flat-Earth Society, allowing them to expose the clever hoax being perpetrated on the human race by climate change advocates.

News from the US read: "Ice storms wreak Christmas travel chaos from Canada to US mid-west with dangerous storms stretching from Texas to Nova Scotia, leaving 15 killed and more than a million without power. This extraordinary winter weather brings deadly ice storms, flooding and tornadoes, caused when a bitterly cold air system from the west smashed into an unseasonably warm bubble of air moving up the Atlantic coast, creating a swath of dangerous storms."

"This is truly one of the worst ice storms we have ever seen here in Ontario," said Anthony Haines, chief executive of Toronto Hydro. New York governor Andrew Cuomo declared an emergency upstate as a result of the winter ice storm.

Meanwhile, a woman was killed when a "rare winter tornado zipped through Arkansas" with 130mph winds. Five were killed in flooding in Kentucky, and six people perished on the icy roads.

Just to make the hoax even more imaginative, the conspirators arranged well-above-average temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic states, where "New York City and Washington DC experienced unseasonably mild weather, with temperatures hitting a record 71 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit respectively in those cities".

Those tricksters, hundreds of top climate scientists from around the world, even came up with an imaginative explanation for it all, saying it was the result of changing jet streams.

Aren't we lucky there are some level heads around to alert us to this hoax.

John Edwards

South Grafton

Ibbotson replied with his usual farrago of half-truths on 3 January 2014:

Altered mindset

VIV Forbes' "Termite generation" (DEX, 28/12) was a to-the-point letter, which described where Australia has been and where it is going.

We've gone from having a mentality of working hard and productively, developing resources and industries, and building a country to be proud of to a land where the only productive thing being done is to destroy this legacy and put us on the scrapheap.

Whether we like it or not, we need to be working on how we are going to provide for a healthy, wealthy, society of 50million people (including our future generations as the warmers like to remind us).

Paradoxically, the other letter, John Edwards's rambling ice-storm in "Hoax" (DEX, 28/12) was nothing but a weather report of a typical NE US December. I lived in New York City for a number of years and the kind of weather John described is typical of December in the US.

The US is subject to wild extremes of weather because it can have hot +30C winds blowing up from Mexico and -30C winds blowing down from Canada. Where the winds meet, the temperature differential over a few miles can be amazing.

Next John will be telling us that the research ship stuck in ice is just a figment of the sceptics' imagination or just another example of anthropogenic global warming. How could this be when Douglas Mawson's ship, a wooden schooner with auxiliary engine power made its voyage in 1911, but a modern ice-strengthened ship full of global warming advocates is stuck in 3m of ice, when the world has supposedly warmed?

Not only that, but the ice was too thick for a Chinese icebreaker to reach them, so rescue is now up to an Australian icebreaker, which is designed to go through only 1m of ice and had itself been trapped in ice for three weeks in November.

Maybe all this is really due to the fact that the Antarctic ice has been increasing for 30 years, sea ice has increased by one million square km and is currently +2 standard deviations (which is a lot), above the 1980-2010 average and last year they measured the coldest ever world temperature of -138.8C. .

John Ibbotson

Gulmarrad

NOTE

Department of the Environment Australian Antarctic Division, last modified 6 December 2013:

The western Antarctic Peninsula region has shown a decline in sea ice extent, particularly in the Bellingshausen Sea, consistent with the recent change to more northerly winds and surface warming observed there. In contrast, sea ice in the Ross and Weddell seas is expanding. These changes involve both changes in sea ice extent and in the length of season during which sea ice is present each year......

An ensemble of numerical climate models predicts that Antarctic sea ice area will reduce by a third by 2100. Such reductions will be a result of feedback changes between the sea ice and oceanic and atmospheric circulation. Changes in sea ice seasonality (the timing of annual sea ice advance and retreat) are also expected, which will impact on the ecosystems of the Southern Ocean including its wildlife......

In the western Antarctic Peninsula, sea ice decline has largely been driven by an intensification of more northerly winds during autumn-spring, leading to wind-induced ice compaction. The sea ice changes are also coincident with an increase in average winter air temperature of 5.8°C between 1950 and 2005, attributed to climate change.

In the western Ross Sea region the increase in sea ice has been attributed to both a strengthening of westerly winds and a more frequent southerly outflow of winds from the continent, associated with the persistence of a deep low-pressure anomaly in the Amundsen Sea.

Intensive research is continuing using both modelling and observations to better understand changes in the large-scale patterns of atmospheric circulation around Antarctica, their complex impacts on observed changes in sea ice, and possible feedback mechanisms involved, as well as connections with atmospheric processes in other parts of the world.

UPDATE

The Australian 11 January 2014:

Satellite and aerial reconnaissance by the British Antarctic Survey shows that four colonies of emperors have been forced to forgo the usual sea-ice breeding grounds and repair to firmer ice shelves that jut from the continent.

This is what Japan's 'scientific' research in the Southern Ocean looks like

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/photos-show-japanese-boats-whaling-in-internationally-protected-area-9041112.html