Prime Minister John Howard says terrorism is a more immediate security threat than climate change, but both are major issues facing Australia.I find this line of argument from Howard and the coalition quite offensive.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has rejected Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty's view that global warming is the greatest challenge to Australia's national security, instead naming terrorism as the key threat.
Mr Howard told Southern Cross Radio he does not automatically agree with Mr Keelty's assessment of the scale of threat posed by climate change.
"They're both big issues," he said.
"I think terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism are far more immediate threats to Australia than the mass movement of people in China as a result of water storage and water shortage.
"But both of them are important, and I don't think that it's a question of an either or.
"They're both big challenges and they're both things that we should worry about."
First of all, there is no "choice" between engaging one and not the other. Both threats need to be handled correctly.
Secondly, the Howard government's concern for terrorist attacks led us into an illegal and immoral invasion of a sovereign nation which has made the world even more threatened by terrorism.
Thirdly, the Howard government has only just recently decided that climate change is actually happening, having moved from scepticism to acceptance faster than you can say "election soon".
What this tells me is quite clear - the Howard government has been reactive, rather than proactive, on both issues, and have failed to address either of them constructively.
No comments:
Post a Comment