Mediaboss Marketing

Posted December 21, 2019 05:00:59

Some Liberal MPs are becoming frustrated with the Federal Government's inability to sell its climate change policies and believe the chief salesman, Angus Taylor, is part of the problem.

In the midst of a seemingly relentless drought, record-breaking heatwave and bushfire crisis that's choking cities with smoke, debate about Australia's role in tackling the global challenge has become even more supercharged than usual.

People are getting anxious and "this is not normal" the phrase employed by New South Wales Liberal Minister Matt Kean to describe the apocalyptic skies above Sydney could well become the catch cry of this summer.

Liberal insiders know it is a hot issue and they know voters are increasingly looking to the Government to do something "more".

At a recent meeting of Liberal MPs and senators, the party's federal director Andrew Hirst identified climate change and the economy as the biggest issues confronting the country.

It was an obvious statement but one that carried an important message to the sceptics in the room: don't get caught flat-footed.

"It is a massive issue and we have got to engage on it," said one Liberal who was in the meeting.

Another echoed that sentiment, telling the ABC "we need to demonstrate to the community that we take climate change seriously".

"We've been all over the place on climate change for the past decade," the MP said.

Comparisons have been made between the current circumstances and the "perfect storm" which confronted then prime minister John Howard in 2006, when growing community concerns forced him to reverse his government's stance on climate change.

It was seen as too little, too late and Mr Howard went on to lose government, and his seat, at the following federal election.

The Morrison Government is under pressure to develop a more coherent policy, possibly through a market mechanism, and adopt a more ambitious emissions reduction target (beyond the promised 26 per cent cut by 2030).

But having ruled out so many measures, the Government's options from here are limited and even those MPs pushing for stronger action are not exactly clear on what that action should be.

Notwithstanding the bungled handling of his pre-Christmas family holiday to Hawaii, Scott Morrison has been careful in his language.

As Treasurer, he famously (or infamously) brought a lump of coal into Parliament, proudly holding it up in Question Time to demonstrate his support for the industry.

As Prime Minister, he has acknowledged that climate change is a "factor" in the current bushfire crisis, and insists Australia is cutting emissions in line with its targets, and "playing its part" in the global challenge (emphasis on "global").

That message, according to many of his colleagues, is either not cutting through or not well understood, and they lay at least part of the blame at the feet of the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor.

"I think the biggest problem we face is not so much our suite of policy measures, it's our credibility and sincerity and spokespeople," said one Liberal.

"Angus doesn't have the ability to sell a positive climate change message."

Another MP said Mr Taylor was "not the best person" to be selling the Government's policies, because he was seen (rightly or wrongly) as a "pro-coal climate change denier" who played a key role in the downfall of the Turnbull government's energy policy (which was designed to curb emissions).

The Minister has publicly denied being a climate change sceptic, and he has his defenders who believe the Rhodes Scholar is well credentialed to run the energy portfolio (his grandfather helped build the Snowy Hydro Scheme).

But he has also become a distraction for the Government and ended the year by inflicting enormous damage on himself, using doctored figures to attack the City of Sydney's commitment to tackling climate change.

So far, Mr Morrison has stood by Mr Taylor, refusing to give Labor a political "scalp" so early in his Prime Ministership.

But when the 112 Coalition MPs and Senators return to Parliament having spent Summer listening to their constituents' concerns, Mr Taylor will likely come under serious pressure from his colleagues to devise a more compelling Coalition strategy if not policy on climate.

Topics:government-and-politics,federal-parliament,federal-government,climate-change,liberals,australia

Read more from the original source:
As the nation breaks new heat records, the Government is facing its own perfect storm - ABC News

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, seen here in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press in Ottawa on Dec. 18, 2019, defended his conduct while acknowledging he could have handled the SNC-Lavalin file better.

Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

The Liberal government says it played no role in the settlement of criminal charges against SNC-Lavalin 10 months after a political scandal over the prosecution of the Montreal engineering giant ensnared Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his inner circle.

The Prime Minister defended his conduct Wednesday while acknowledging he could have handled the SNC-Lavalin file better.

Obviously, as we look back over the past year and this issue, there are things we could have, should have, would have done differently had we known, had we known all sorts of different aspects of it, he said in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press. This process unfolded in an independent way and we got to an outcome that seems positive for everyone involved, particularly for the workers.

Story continues below advertisement

Justice Minister David Lametti said he learned of the settlement this week.

He said Kathleen Roussel, the director of Public Prosecutions Service Canada (PPSC), informed him on Tuesday that a division of SNC-Lavalin had agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of fraud and will pay a $280-million fine and abide by a three-year probation order.

Editorial: SNC-Lavalin got what it wanted. Its still a win for the rule of law

Opinion: SNC-Lavalins plea deal leaves no winners, only losers

This decision was made independently by the PPSC, as part of their responsibility to continually assess and determine the appropriate path for cases under their jurisdiction, Mr. Lametti said Wednesday. Canadians can have confidence that our judicial and legal systems are working as they should.

The case was resolved without the deferred prosecution agreement that the Prime Minister and his top aides had aggressively pushed when they claimed it was necessary to save the company from a ruinous criminal prosecution that could have barred the company from bidding on federal contracts for up to a decade.

The company said Wednesday it does not anticipate that the [guilty] plea will have any long-term material adverse impact on the companys overall business.

The department of Public Services and Procurement did not immediately answer whether the settlement means SNC-Lavalin is spared from a ban on bidding for federal contracts.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pleased that workers at SNC-Lavalin won't suffer as a result of the company's guilty plea to a criminal charge in a Montreal court Wednesday. It would have been good to know how this would play out a year ago, before a scandal over the attempt to get the company a different deal rocked his government, he says, but there are no do-overs in politics. The Canadian Press

University of Ottawa law professor Jennifer Quaid said its her understanding Wednesdays court decision does not trigger a federal ban on SNC-Lavalin bidding on contracts because the offence to which its division pleaded guilty fraud against an entity other than the Crown is not one of the crimes that would result in such a debarment.

Story continues below advertisement

The bribery charge that SNC had previously faced would have triggered a ban on federal bidding but it was dropped by the federal prosecution service as part of this plea settlement, she said.

The prosecution of the Quebec company triggered a political crisis for the governing Liberals after The Globe and Mail reported that then-attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould was pressed by Mr. Trudeau and senior staff to settle bribery and fraud charges against SNC-Lavalin without a trial, using a new legal measure known as a deferred prosecution agreement.

The guilty plea by SNC without a DPA is proof that Jody Wilson-Raybould was right to stay the course and that the relentless pressure from Prime Minister Trudeau and his surrogates amounted to interference, Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin OToole told The Globe.

The Conservatives have accused Mr. Trudeau and his top aides of trying to obstruct justice.

In the new minority Parliament, the opposition parties could force a parliamentary inquiry into SNC-Lavalins efforts to avoid a criminal prosecution for fraud and bribery charges and the role played by the Prime Ministers Office.

The justification for either the justice committee or the ethics committee to investigate is pretty overwhelming," Conservative MP Peter Kent said. "One would hope the Bloc Qubcois and the NDP would support the Official Opposition in getting it done.

Story continues below advertisement

On the eve of the fall election, the RCMP sought and were denied access to cabinet documents and key witnesses involved in the SNC-Lavalin affair with the Trudeau government citing cabinet privilege and confidentiality.

The RCMP would not say Wednesday if they are still examining whether to launch a criminal investigation into obstruction of justice.

Ms. Wilson-Raybould paid a heavy price when she refused to buckle under political pressure from the Prime Ministers Office to grant a deferred prosecution agreement to SNC-Lavalin.

On Wednesday, she said on Twitter: 2019 began with very public questions about the rule of law in our country. I am glad to see it end with that principle being upheld. The justice system did its work. It is time to move forward and for the company to look to its future.

The Quebec engineering and construction giant had heavily lobbied Mr. Trudeau and the PMO to bring in DPA legislation and renewed its efforts after Ms. Roussel refused to to drop the bribery and fraud charges against the company and allow it to pay fine, without acknowledging any guilt.

When Ms. Wilson-Raybould refused to override Ms. Roussel, the Prime Minister demoted her to veterans affairs minister.

Story continues below advertisement

In the fallout from The Globe revelations, Ms. Wilson-Raybould and colleague Jane Philpott resigned from cabinet. Mr. Trudeau later kicked them out of the Liberal caucus and party. Both ran as independents in the Oct. 21 election with Ms. Wilson-Raybould winning her Vancouver Granville riding and Ms. Philpott losing her Ontario seat.

I have long believed in the essential necessity of our judicial system operating as it should based on the rule of law and prosecutorial independence, and without political interference or pressure, Ms. Wilson-Raybould said of Wednesdays court settlement.

NDP MP Charlie Angus said Ms. Wilson-Raybould deserves the countrys gratitude for refusing to give into the snake like behaviour of the Prime Ministers Office to try cut a deal for SNC-Lavalin.

I have seen people kicked out of caucus for all manner of things but I have never seen anyone kicked out caucus and a party for standing up for the rule of law, Mr. Angus said. If she hadnt done that, who knows what kind of deal would have been shaken down for SNC-Lavalin.

Mr. Angus said the Prime Minister and his top aides kept saying the company could go under and that 9,000 jobs could be lost, which never happened.

In a report released in August, Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion said Mr. Trudeau and senior officials violated the Conflict of Interest Act by improperly pressing Ms. Wilson-Raybould to order the Public Prosecution Service to grant a DPA to SNC-Lavalin.

Read this article:
Liberal government says it played no role in SNC-Lavalin court settlement - The Globe and Mail

While Premier John Horgan says his government needs to renew and refresh itself, the same can be said of the BC Liberals sitting in opposition.

It can be argued its the Liberals who are most urgently in need of a shake-up that injects new life into the party. And if that isnt done before the next election, the party will likely find itself stuck in opposition for another long four years.

Winning the most seats in 2017 election yet being unable to form a lasting government was a wrenching experience for the BC Liberals

The shift out of power was a psychological blow for many and it has taken time for many of them to recover.

The only real way for the party to renew itself and offer a fresh vision to voters is to inject itself with new blood.

And that means veteran MLAs may be pressured by some in the party to consider stepping aside to allow a younger and more diverse group of candidates to become the new face of the party going forward.

So far, four incumbent BC Liberal MLAs have said they wont seek re-election. They are: Linda Reid (Richmond South Centre), Steve Thomson (Kelowna-Mission), Linda Larson (Boundary-Similkameen) and Ralph Sultan (West Vancouver-Capilano).

The Kelowna and West Vancouver seats are considered virtual locks for the BC Liberals to hold in the next election, while the party has to be considered a strong favourite to win the other two seats as well.

So it is a safe bet that four new faces will be part of the next BC Liberal caucus after the election. But many in the party will tell you that is not enough.

The partys internal spotlight continues to shine on other long-term MLAs who have accumulated enough political baggage over the years to wear the party and other candidates down come the next campaign.

So there is speculation that 23-year veteran Rich Coleman (Langley East) will be pressured to give up his safe seat and make way for someone new. His record in government, particularly in regards to the gambling file, makes him an easy target for the NDP.

It is also unclear whether fellow veterans Shirley Bond (Prince George-Valemount), Mike de Jong (Abbotsord West) and Mary Polak (Langley) will run again, although I would argue both have emerged as solid critics after years as cabinet ministers.

But Bond and de Jong aside, the BC Liberal caucus hasnt really found its sea legs in opposition. With the exception of rookie MLAs Peter Milobar and Jas Johal, and veterans such as John Rustad and Jane Thornthwaite, no one has really shone.

The party is in urgent need of new talent. Horgan thinks his side needs to press the restart button, but it would seem BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinsons party may require more of a general makeover.

Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC.

Read more:
Opinion: Pressure is on for some veteran BC Liberal MLAs to quit - Burnaby Now

LONDON British lawmakers on Friday finally voted to back a plan to withdraw from the European Union.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's bill, backed by a huge parliamentary majority, will take the country out of the 28-member bloc on Jan. 31, and lays the groundwork for sweeping foreign and trade policy shifts.

The 358-234 vote marks a significant breakthrough for Johnson, who stormed to electoral victory last week on a pledge to get Brexit done. The former mayor of London won the largest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher in 1987, confirming his position as prime minister after he took over from Theresa May in July.

Johnson's majority of 80 seats in the House of Commons meant he was able to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill legislation that will implement the divorce deal hammered out with the European Union (EU).

The announcement of the result was met with cheers, as well as some jeers, in the packed chamber where many lawmakers were forced to stand due to limited space.

Britain joined the European Economic Community, a precursor to the European Union, in 1973. After the U.K. voted to leave the bloc in June 2016, May failed on three occasions to win support for a deal she had agreed to with the EU, leading her to step down in June.

Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.

In October, Johnson was forced to break his own "do-or-die" deadline to lead Britain out of the EU after lawmakers rejected his proposed timetable to get the Withdrawal Agreement Bill through parliament, meaning he had to request a Brexit extension from European leaders.

The bill dubbed WAB by Brexit-watchers commits Britain to leave the EU on Jan. 31 and to conclude trade talks with the bloc by the end of 2020. The final stages of ratification will take place after Christmas.

Ahead of the vote, Johnson told Members of Parliament that his bill "ensures Brexit will be done" and "it will be over."

He added that passing it would end the acrimony and anguish that has consumed the country since it voted to leave and struggled to negotiate terms of its departure.

The sorry story of the last 3 1/2 years will be at an end and we will be able to move forward together, he said.

Now is the time to act together as one reinvigorated nation," Johnson added.

After winning the vote he tweeted: "We are one step closer to getting Brexit done."

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn told Parliament that his Labour Party still believed Johnson's Brexit deal was "terrible."

"There is a better and fairer way for this country to leave the EU," he said.

However, this should not be confused with the end of Brexit as the U.K. is only nearing the end of stage one.

Much of the angst over Brexit since Britain voted to leave has centered on the divorce itself. With that endorsed by Parliament on Friday, the U.K. must now pivot to negotiating what Brexit will actually look like for citizens and businesses alike.

Britain will first enter a transition period that lasts until December 2020 in which it will continue to act like a member of the European Union. In the meantime, top of the agenda is defining the nature of Britains future relationship with the European Union post-divorce.

By most accounts, 11 months to strike a trade deal is ambitious but Johnson has insisted that he wont agree to any more delays. The pledge has set off alarm bells among businesses, who fear Britain could crash out of the European Union with no future trade arrangement in place at the beginning of 2021.

A no deal Brexit is widely considered a nightmare scenario raising the possibility of shortages of food and medicine, civil unrest, and conflict in Northern Ireland.

Saphora Smith is a London-based reporter for NBC News Digital.

Associated Press contributed.

Follow this link:
Parliament backs Brexit deal in decisive step toward leaving the E.U. on Jan. 31 - NBCNews.com

The EU is facing embarrassment over claims that its new Europa headquarters, also known as the Space Egg building, was built with the help of undocumented migrant workers who at times went without pay.

The European council building in Brussels, which contains an ovoid glass structure, was opened in 2016 at a cost of 300m.

At its unveiling it was said to symbolise all that is best about the union. But EU officials are now facing claims from the Belgian newspaper De Standaard about the business practice of subcontractors who worked on the project.

One subcontractor, known as Group Diamond Services, which was subsequently declared bankrupt in 2015, was investigated by prosecutors after claims by Bulgarian workers, the paper reports. The men claimed to have gone without pay.

The investigation was closed in October because of insufficient evidence, but De Standaard found that in reality the file had been lost by prosecutors at some point in the four years since the inquiry started.

The paper carries interviews with some of the workers, including Beyhan Dzhelilov, 43, who was the head of a team of eight iron casters on the Europa building project.

He told the paper: Several team members did not have Belgian residence papers. None of us got a contract, we were not insured.

The main companies, Interbuild and Jan De Nul, who won the tender for construction of the Europa building, told De Standaard they were unaware of any exploitation of workers by subcontractors.

A spokesman for Jan De Nul told the paper that GDS was taken off the project early as the company did not comply with contractual planning and technically did not perform the work correctly.

The spokesman added: Every employee from all subcontractors was checked for possession of the necessary documents. This also applied to the employees of subcontractors who acted on behalf of a subcontractor or a sub-subcontractor.

Only after this preliminary inspection did the approved employees of subcontractors gain access to the site. For that they received a personal badge with passport photo. The yard was completely closed off from the area and only had two access gates with a badge system. Unauthorised persons could not enter the yard.

The Council of the European Union has been contacted for comment.

An EU official working at the council said the Belgian state was the prime contractor for the Europa building.

He added: The Council itself has not been informed by the Rgie des btiments [the building regulations office] of any issues related to the working conditions of their contractors or sub-contractors

All building and maintenance contracts undertaken directly by the Council are in line with the Belgian labor legislation.

Read the rest here:
EU headquarters built by undocumented migrants, workers claim - The Guardian