In this wise, cleverly constructed article Peter Hartcher cleverly compares Scott Morrison's preparedness to declare the desire for leadership and announce policy steps in the area to the digital economy with his position of relative inaction on climate change.
''He didn't urge Australia to be calm about the misconduct of Big Tech, but he urged the country to be calm about the fires and the choking smoke haze that repeatedly descends on some of Australia's main cities.
Perhaps the saddest of all was hearing the Prime Minister regurgitate the hoary excuse for inaction on climate change - that Australia accounts for only 1.3 per cent of global greenhouse emissions.
This is what the former High Court judge and banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne has described as 'learned helplessness' on emissions. You could make the same excuse on regulating the tech titans. Australia this year accounts for 1.1 per cent of global retail e-commerce, according to Statista. Did Morrison cite this in announcing his plan to assert sovereignty over the digital economy? Did he say, "anything Australia does will not make a difference"? Of course not." .......
The article is rationally and thoughtfully argued, ending with 'The politics of complacency can succeed against the realities of intensifying fires, drought,water shortages and climate change for a while. But not forever. Fire season began in winter this year. This is not business as usual'.
Note: Peter Hartcher's article was written in mid December 2019 - the apocolyptic nature of the bushfires in New South Wales and Victoria over the subsequent month or more was yet to be realised.
BL 19 January 2020