Poor old Tony Abbott. Thrust into the limelight of hosting the world’s biggest economic meeting, and his true colours come out for everyone to see. Here’s the Los Angeles Times:
For Australians it’s not so bad — most of the time — to be so far away, so overlooked, so seemingly insignificant as to almost never factor in major international news. The lifestyle makes up for it.
But occasionally, there’s an awkward, pimply youth moment so embarrassing that it does sting. Like when 19 of the world’s most important leaders visit for a global summit and Prime Minister Tony Abbott opens their retreat Saturday with a whinge (Aussie for whine) about his doomed efforts to get his fellow Australians to pay $7 to see a doctor.
And then he throws in a boast that his government repealed the country’s carbon tax, standing out among Western nations as the one willing to reverse progress on global warming — just days after the United States and China reached a landmark climate change deal.
The Group of 20 summit could have been Australia’s moment, signaling its arrival as a global player, some here argued. But in all, the summit had Australians cringing more than cheering.
Ouch.
And, for a domestic perspective on the cringe around Abbott’s climate change stance, here’s The Age’s political editor Michael Gordon:
But climate change, not economic growth, was the subject that captured imagination on the summit sidelines and, for too log, Abbott sent a defensive signal that it was simply not a priority for discussion.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it “the defining challenge of our times”. Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, (who will chair next year’s summit), dubbed “the biggest challenge to all humanity today”. And Obama delivered his clarion call to young Australians to make their voices heard.
Yet the climate change reference in the declaration was squeezed in at number 19 of 21 paragraphs and the endorsement of the Green Climate Fund being championed by Obama was equivocal…
Not a happy weekend for Tony Abbott and, by extension, for Australia. Sadly, I think many Australians are getting used to that.
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