This is the heading in a New Zealand
Herald report. Australians, it states, could be forgiven
for wondering if the Abbott
government elected in September is the most conservation –hostile in living memory . The article says critics warn moves by Tony
Abbott and his Environment Minister, Greg
Hunt, will not only degrade
the country’s most outstanding assets , but make Australia an international laughing stock.
Compounding the right –wing government's apparent disregard
for the unique environment , conservationists and scientist
say is its
resistance to any meaningful action to
tackle climate
change.
In Queensland,
it continues, the
health of what is widely considered
Earth’s greatest reef is being risked
so that Australia
can ship yet more coal to China and India , fueling greenhouse gas emitting industries. In
respect of approval for
expansion of Abbot
Point coal export terminal , which would make it
the biggest port of its kind in the world, it points out it involves dumping millions of tonnes of
sludge from massive dredging
operations on the reef.
In Europe there
is growing
concern and head shaking about the actions
of the Abbott Government in respect of global warming and conservation , especially after the axing of three
key agencies. Just this week, the Suddeutsche Zeitung
, the largest
German national daily newspaper
, with a strong
overseas readership , ran a full page
on the impact of
global warming on
coral reefs , with specific mention
of the threats
facing the Great Barrier
Reef from the Abbott regime. . The paper
, with
a
readership of 1.1 million , is regarded
as a liberal
publication , centre of Left.
