The Gillard Government should today release Treasury modelling on the price impacts of its proposed carbon tax, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today. Two major reports are due to be released today, and the Government has previously committed also to the release of Treasury modelling: “The Government has…
Labor’s complete mismanagement of the Murray-Darling process has seen reform delayed another five years said Senator Joyce and Senator Birmingham today. It was over four years ago that John Howard announced that the Commonwealth would fix the health of the Murray-Darling. Labor has mismanaged and dragged their feet on this opportunity. “State governments…
KERRI-ANNE KENNERLEY: …on to other stories this morning and, I tell you, one of them has got to be that advertisement supporting the push for a carbon tax and it stars Cate Blanchett, Michael Caton… wow, what a backlash! Let’s have a look at the clip that’s stirring. MICHAEL CATON: What if we say…
Less than two weeks before contract negotiations are supposed to have been concluded for providing Australia’s international TV service, it’s been revealed negotiations are yet to begin, Senator Simon Birmingham said today. The ABC’s current five-year Australia Network contract worth about $20 million per annum with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade…
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, representing the Minister for Water, has refused to allow officials from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) to provide a copy of a contentious email to a Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra today. Peter Cosier from the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists emailed his resignation from a position on the…
LEON BYNER: Now that New Zealand has agreed to allow fresh pork meat into their country, that will set a precedent that an applicant who wants to bring the same pork into Australia would use against us at the World Trade Organisation. Now, Joe Ludwig [Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry] has scoffed at suggestions that…
ASHLEIGH GILLON: Joining me this afternoon on our panel of politicians, Labor MP Ed Husic and the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, Simon Birmingham. Good afternoon to you both. Bob Brown has just held a news conference. We were hoping to bring it to you here on Sky News but had some audio issues with that. We’ll…
People wanting to know more about climate change should dust off their best crockery and polish their cutlery, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today. It follows revelations in Senate Budget Estimates late yesterday that ‘kitchen table discussions’ are to be held as part of a $6 million program of…
The Australian Greens yesterday abandoned any pretence of not sharing power in a Labor-Greens Government or that they care about climate change or both, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today. It follows an extraordinary and unprecedented virtual ‘no show’ from the five Greens Senators for a key Parliamentary scrutiny…
LEON BYNER: . . . because of a likely New Zealand decision to accept pork from countries that might have the PRRS [porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome] disease, which is the equivalent of HIV in humans, we will be obliged to accept, no questions asked, this product, and we don’t even have labelling laws to…