This was the week that I lost faith that the Rudd Government might really be different. With their pathetically inept announcement of emissions reduction targets that have confirmed the death of the Great Barrier Reef and the Kakadu wetlands, this Government can now be compared to the lost years of the Howard Administration. In my view, that is not something to be proud of.

These emissions reduction targets show a frightening lack of leadership. My first thought was that the announcement comes across as nothing but a political decision, designed to please everyone and offend no one. However I am encouraged by the tidal wave of response from environmental groups and various media across the country who are deeply offended at the Government’s cowardice.

The world needs more than this. The problem with pleasing people, again the polluting industries, is that you might get people onside for a time, but in the end nothing actually improves.

The only conclusion one can draw from this announcement is that the same lobby groups that John Howard was enslaved to, now have Kevin Rudd firmly in their grip. It would be interesting to hear some inside reports about this, in the same way that Guy Pearse, a Liberal, heroically tried to bring down John Howard.

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