To the left, to the left

That’s what conservatives are ranting after a (comparatively) progressive week in Australian politics. We’ve seen two key political events in the week that was, both involving federal policy shifting slightly to the left, making those slightly to the right (including the government) a little bit, well, shouty.

First up we saw the Gillard Government’s Clean Energy Future bill pass through the House of Representatives, and given we know it’ll breeze through the Senate thanks to the Greens holding balance of power, we now have ourselves a price on pollution. Albeit a low price, and some dodgy ideas about investing in “low emission technology” (there is no such thing as “clean coal”, folks).

The Government says its plan will “cut pollution and drive investment,” however PM Julia Gillard remains unpopular and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has made a “pledge in blood” to repeal the carbon price should he be elected leader next time around. In fact, he says it would be the Coalitions “first order of business”.

Sustainable Australia may not be too sustainable.

While the nation and its leaders remain divided on climate policy, we should remember it has taken a greener federal parliament, hours of negotiating, and a fallen PM to get to this point.

The other pivotal moment of the political week saw the Government announce it would process people seeking asylum on Australian soil, rather than continuing to push for “solutions” in Malaysia, or Nauru, or… anywhere else in the Asia-Pacific.

Activist group GetUp explains: “The Government announced at long last that it will begin processing asylum seekers who arrive by boat on Australian soil. Sadly, it did so because it was backed into a corner and could not get the support in Parliament it needed to amend the Migration Act.”

For those playing catch up: the High Court ruled Gillard’s idea about sending asylum seekers to Malaysia illegal. Instead of accepting the ruling, Gillard wanted to change the law. Abbott wouldn’t agree.

After the announcement, Gillard first blamed Abbott, and then continued to warn about the “risk of more boats”, and the danger of people smugglers. The PM then audaciously spoke of how generous and compassionate we are as a nation.

In a statement best directed toward her own party and its friends in the Coalition, Gillard said: “It is not a matter of blaming the people who are on the boats for these circumstances.”

Thousands of Australians have been rallying around the nation for years calling for an end to the policy of attempting to shift responsibility to smaller neighbouring nations to lock up every person that arrives here seeking refuge from war and poverty. It’s not us that need convincing of the plight of those on the boats, it’s our parliament.

Of course neither of these policy measures were ever going to come about uncontroversially. After all, it is “global warming” and “boat people” we’re discussing. And unfortunately for some, the debate is still at “it doesn’t exist” or “they shouldn’t exist”.

So that was Australia last week, a little more progressive, despite the two old parties, not because of them.