The green vote

I have been pretty clear that there are three main election issues for me:
1) Humane treatment of asylum seekers
2) The environment
3) Paid Parental Leave

(18.3.13 - Which straw man to vote for?)

The two main parties are very similar on issues 1 & 3 (will discuss later). Issue two, the environment, is one that is coming across as the issue that will sway my vote.

I want to reinforce that I am not a member of either party.  I equally distrust both parties.  However, it greatly disturbs when I read that Tony Abbott, the opposition leader, who has, in the past, denied climate change, would straight out speak something as per this article, misrepresenting the carbon tax, clearly not understanding an emissions trading scheme and suggesting that an expensive, ineffective "direct action" of financing limited, outdated fossil fuel technology to stop polluting will actually benefit the environment.

See article below:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-03/llewellyn-smith---abbott-climate-change/4931534

It is amazing that we should comprehend the "direct action" strategy when it looks like it won't work - even confessed by the Coalition themselves.
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/carbon-target-may-be-missed-abbott-20130902-2t16g.html?rand=1378166667641

Then, to read, four days before the election, that the Coalition will sponsor coal seam mining has really tipped me over.

Now I am not a card carrying greeny. I do not campaign or march. I am not an "activist" in that regard. But, the logic of trying to rely on very limited, polluting, fossil fuels instead of investing in renewable energies seems to be beyond the comprehension of the opposition party.

See article here: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/election-2013/use-or-lose-offshore-gas-leases/story-fn9qr68y-1226710075172

What annoys me is that this news doesn't even touch on the sensitivities of coal seam mining - the environmental risk, the loss of farming land, the impact of small communities. It's a throwaway election promise that has some awful consequences.

I do not mean to be so bias in my blogs, but I feel that this issue might be the one that helps me decide where to put my numbers on Saturday.