Dutton cribs Cook's 2030 climate target
Plus: WA Labor backbench disquiet, and Tash Peterson caught in deffo triangle
PODCAST: Tilting at windmills
When I heard that locals in my hometown of Bunbury were mobilising around their opposition to a proposed offshore wind zone, I was curious to find out why. On this week's podcast, I speak to South West residents, Curtin University marine scientist Professor Christine Erbe, and Independent MLC Sophia Moermond to try to understand why locals are so angry, and what broader political currents anti-wind activists are swimming in.
Gerard Mazza
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NEWS: Truck protest for Palestine blocks major Perth road
Gerard Mazza
Earlier this week, The Last Place on Earth was on the scene of a major disturbance at Wellington Street in the Perth CBD, where two pro-Palestine protesters climbed on top of the roof of a rental truck, locked themselves to each other, and refused to come down. Their aim was to draw attention to suffering in Gaza.
Spot the difference
The big political news this week is the Liberals walking away from any 2030 emissions target to go all in on nuclear from 2040 in a last-decade dash to hit net zero by 2050. The climate wars are back, just in time for the next election. Just like weaponising some seasonal disturbances in Alice Springs before the referendum, this is supremely cynical politics from Peter Dutton, and likely to be highly effective. After all, it’s not as though Albo has much to lean back on when it comes to Labor’s own action on climate. And it’s hard to be too adventurous when your own electoral furniture is underpinned by the WA government, who remain so hooked on gas that they are all in on the joint venture partnership with Peter Dutton to refuse to enter a 2030 target for WA’s spiralling emissions, as WA Greens MP Brad Pettitt aptly pointed out before Adam Bandt followed suit. For the record - WA emissions are up 20% since 2005 while the rest of the country is 26% down.
And, if you believe the whispers around Parliament, that may partly explain why the number of Labor MPs re-contesting the next election is also significantly down. So far, 13 state Labor MPs have announced they are retiring in 2025. Only one of them, Perth Hills rep Jessica Shaw, has publicly intimated that the government’s inaction on climate is the reason for her resignation. But when an email went around late on Wednesday announcing the last-minute postponement of the hotly anticipated domestic gas inquiry findings, it was followed by a suggestion that the reason for the delay was to keep a lid on backbench disquiet about the government’s lack of ambition to stand up to powerful industry lobbyists. Yet again it was Brad Pettitt calling it out - when Mark McGowan lobbies for Mineral Resources, who want to export gas from the Perth basin (which laws currently prevent them from doing) and Ben Wyatt works for Woodside, it’s easy to see how another delay (the government’s flagship Climate Change bill has also been pushed back twice in two months) could look dodgy.
Alleged defamer alleges defamation
As a controversy-courting activist pursuing an online subscription-based side hustle, I was heartened to read in The West Australian this week that Perth's most notable vegan, Tash Peterson, is able to pull in hundreds of thousands each year on OnlyFans. Peterson's financial interests were laid bare as part of a defamation case being taken against her by two veterinarians and then splashed across the front page of The West. It sounds like there's a chance Peterson could be back in the Supreme Court before too long with a defamation action of her own. She took to her Instagram stories to demand a retraction and call out various alleged inaccuracies in both the plaintiff's case and The West's front-page reporting (relatable).
