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Garnaut clearly the wrong man for the job

Climate activist group Rising Tide has expressed serious concerns about the suitability of Professor Ross Garnaut for making adequate recommendations for Australia's climate change policy after his comments yesterday appeared to pre-empt the findings of his report. State and Federal Governments have charged Professor Garnaut with defining the parameters of Australia's climate change policy, but according to Rising Tide, this may leave the interests of the community and the environment playing second fiddle to the powerful mining industry.

Professor Garnaut is the Chair of a highly destructive and controversial gold mining company in Papua New Guinea and caused controversy yesterday by opining that short-term targets to cut greenhouse pollution should be dictated by the market.

“Australia needs to take immediate and effective action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions far below our current levels. That requires strong intervention in the economy, not business-as-usual. 'The market' has had many years to cut greenhouse pollution, and has magnificently failed. Many of the decisions we will have to make may be unpopular in industries that are causing the lion’s share of the greenhouse pollution,” said Rising Tide spokesperson Steve Phillips. “Ross Garnaut’s comments indicate that he does not appreciate the emergency situation that the world is in. If we don't start cutting greenhouse pollution immediately, catastrophic impacts on biodiversity and human societies will become unavoidable.”

“Australia's governments must take climate change advice from climate and environmental scientists, not economists. For the good of all people, we hope that Professor Garnaut does not intend to prioritise economic growth over environmental and social imperatives. Would he prefer to sacrifice human lives, and send species to extinction, than inconvenience heavily polluting businesses?”

Rising Tide has also questioned the appropriateness of appointing Professor Garnaut to the job, given his track record in the mining industry. Prof. Garnaut is the chair of Lihir Gold, a mining company that dumps 89 million tonnes per year of toxic cyanide into the ocean off Papua New Guinea, destroying precious coral reef.

“In its pursuit profit and growth, Lihir Gold is having enormous impacts of the environment and people of PNG. Professor Ross Garnaut is at the helm.”

“Why has a man with obviously no regard for the environment been given the job of defining the parameters of Australia's climate policy?” concluded Phillips.


I believe that the Rudd

Submitted by Garnaut's Neighbour - Within The City Of Yarra (not verified) on 4 June 2008 - 5:12pm.

I believe that the Rudd government is making a mistake by putting all their faith into their man, Professor Ross Garnaut. Firstly, there is just too much at stake to place this enormous responsibility on one individual and if you take into consideration, the fact that Professor Garnaut is an economist and not a scientist, I would say that there is good cause for concern.

Now here is something else that bothers me, mainly because it hits close to home, so to speak: Recent allegations made by ten of Ross Garnaut's neighbours via the media regarding Garnaut's alledged conduct in another matter add another possible dimension to the topic of Professor Garnaut which is not covered in the Rising Tide article. The allegations pertain to Garnaut highlighting his credentials in order to influence a positive outcome with his permit application to the City Of Yarra and have resulted, according to the Herald Sun, in a VCAT hearing. If these allegations were to be proven true it would make for a major downgrading of credibility in my opinion.

For those of you of have not been brought up to speed regarding the allegations, Professor Ross Garnaut is trying to build a large modern structure in a heritage sensitive area and it has been alleged by some of his objecting neighbours that Garnaut claims (within his permit application) that the proposed modern structure would be better able to stand up to hailstones than the traditional heritage buildings normally found in such areas. It is alleged that professor Garnaut used insurance company statistics to back his claim of increasing hailstorm forecasts for Melbourne. These Statistics are claimed by the media to be at odds with those of leading climate change scientists.

Whilst I am certainly not in a position to comment on the validity or otherwise of the above allegations, I do know for a fact that is next to impossible to get privacy screen approved by City Of Yarra in a semi industrial street. I for one would never attempt to obtain a permit to build an entire modern structure in a rich heritage character filled area within the City Of Yarra knowing this.

The fact that Yarra City has approved Professor Garnaut’s application in this case, despite the strong objections of ten neighbours who make a case for stringent heritage policing is just something I cannot fathom.