Julia Gillard's new minority government in Australia means that the country's green party will take a pivotal position in the nation's politics for the first time.Like the UK and Germany, a surge in popularity has given the environmental movement an unprecedented parliamentary presence in Australia this year, prompting suggestions that electorates are punishing mainstream parties for failing to act decisively on climate change.
Julia Gillard's new minority government in Australia means that the country's green party will take a pivotal position in the nation's politics for the first time.
Like the UK and Germany, a surge in popularity has given the environmental movement an unprecedented parliamentary presence in Australia this year, prompting suggestions that electorates are punishing mainstream parties for failing to act decisively on climate change.
The Greens can block any legislation they please in the Senate. Now they have a Lower House seat, they can also propose legislation.
Labour is relying for its lower-house majority on a couple of "independents", former Coalition MPs who left the nest because of personal emnities. Their support has been secured through pork-barreling : public works in their electorates and the like. These guys will be very vulnerable to being flipped by the mining industry, by any and all means including outright bribery.
So I'm not exactly expecting strong climate-change legislation to pass any time soon... but watch this space. It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
