John Roskam dumps on direct action
Only months after an effusive Tony Abbott compared him to Jesus Christ, free-market think tank leader John Roskam has dumped on the government's direct-action policy and accused the Prime Minister of not being a true believer in the need for climate change action.
''I don't think we should have direct action because the Coalition hasn't explained what, if any, changes to the world's temperature it will provide,'' said Mr Roskam, who is the executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs.
Asked whether Mr Abbott's earlier position on the science of climate change - namely, as he notoriously declared in 2009, that it was ''absolute crap'' - suited the PM better than direct action, Mr Roskam agreed.
''Yes, and isn't it interesting how climate change gets people to say things they don't really believe? I've yet to be convinced that Tony Abbott is doing any of this for anything other than political purposes. I think he would be much better off, as any politician would, telling us what he genuinely believed.''
Mr Roskam makes no bones of his scepticism over human-induced climate change, and has campaigned through the IPA against any form of climate action. At its 70th anniversary dinner in April, then-opposition leader Mr Abbott lauded Mr Roskam and marvelled at the IPA's work in defence of Western civilisation, and against the Labor government's push for greater media regulation and a bill of rights.
''John, you've done very well with just 20 staff,'' Mr Abbott said at the time, ''but remember what Jesus of Nazareth did with just 12, and one of them turned out to be a rat.''
Mr Roskam made his attack on the direct action policy while praising the efforts of his long-time friend, Environment Minister Greg Hunt, in ''managing the different threads'' within a Coalition party room still sceptical of climate science.
Asked whether Mr Hunt, like Mr Abbott and John Howard before him, felt he had to be seen to be doing something about climate change, Mr Roskam pulled no punches.
''You're putting your finger on a key question, which I can't answer, because I don't know … why Tony Abbott feels he has to do something that is expensive, and that is going to make practically no difference … I think it's completely unnecessary.''
The Prime Minister's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-backer-john-roskam-dumps-on-direct-action-20131129-2yh0t.html#ixzz2m5Ot85t8
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