A " Middle " Course !

Australia has waited with trepidation to see how Clive Palmer and his PUP party would react when they assume the balance of power pivot in the Senate on July 1.   This week he strode into the limelight - accompanied by climate change guru Al Gore - and announced a totally new line of approach which left the government, the opposition - and even the Greens - totally gobsmacked !

PUP will vote to abolish the carbon tax - and tack on several amendments to the bill that may be negotiable with all sides of parliament.  Clive Palmer insists that the carbon tax be replaced by an Emissions Trading Scheme ( ETS ) with a carbon price set at - zero.

This innovative approach means that Australian industry will remain competitive with the rest of the world - until the US, China, Korea, Japan and Europe adopt a similar scheme and a common price for carbon comes into play.   In effect, Australia will move in lockstep with the rest of the world in reducing carbon emissions but not go it alone and suffer unsustainable damage to our export industries.

Palmer also demands that we retain the $ 10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Renewable energy target.  Few will argue with that because both are practical measures to develop less polluting energy sources - which is a point of general agreement.  He also insists that savings from the repeal of the carbon tax be specifically directed at the electricity and gas bills of Australian consumers - and that will certainly get immense public support.

Most Australians will greet this policy statement with a sigh of relief.   The direction that PUP would take on passing or blocking bills was a complete mystery.   This was a political party that burst on the scene without a shred of policy and it looked like decisions would be made on the run.  It was possible that PUP would develop into something akin to the Greens, obstinate and with an obsession with issues of the ecology that clashed with job creation and this country's financial welfare.

It is early days - and this first policy decision may not herald a general tone of moderation and reason, but it is certainly an impressive start.   What we obviously need is a " middle course " that threads between the implacable divisions of the Conservatives and Labor - and which can become a mutually acceptable position if both sides are prepared to negotiate in good faith.

If PUP takes that middle road, there is every chance that it may quickly replace the Greens as the alternative for those who no longer support the two major political parties !