Mood:
brightTopic: election Oz 2007
Peter Debnam MP is a retired navy man. He's a bit like the CS Forester novels of the fictional hero Hornblower - a humble midshipman, wist champion, navigational genius like Cook, implacable foe like Nelson, to become Admiral Hornblower - because Peter Debnam likes a dip at Bondi Beach every morning as part of his fitness regime, just as Hornblower would have the bemused crew hose him down with fresh sea water: Forester had his character dance around like a scolded Native Indian under the force of the bilge pump.
In the swim ... Peter Debnam.
We find Debnam's commitment to rude good health at his age damn impressive while the slovenly (!?) big media generally preferred to satirise (presumably out of envy) the nakedness of the then Liberal Leader in the March 2007 state election.
Debnam holds the local seat of Vaucluse in the heart of much bigger marginal federal seat of Wentworth held by his colleague Malcolm Turnbull. The ex Liberal leader appeared to us of moderate and reasonable disposition (if not policy) at a polling booth way back in the 1996 federal contest. He pulled into line some nasty jackals on the booth from his side of politics, just a pity it was needed. He gave this writer a hearing about these low life perhaps because we took 10% of 'his' vote for a minor party in the 1995 state election and had since become a local councillor.
Picture: Ripples of Cyclone Wati reach Eastern Suburbs beaches some 1,000 km south of the big storm. Taken by this writer 27 March 2006
Yesterday Debnam is reported like this [Greens media release follows]:
NSW minister and shadow agree: clean coal is an oxymoron
Media Release: 19 November 2007
NSW Opposition Energy Spokesperson Peter Debnam has joined Environment Minister Phil Koperberg in stating an important but self-evident truth of climate change. It is time for their state and federal leaders to listen, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
Dr Kaye said: "Last week when Peter Debnam called clean coal an oxymoron, he was echoing Phil Koperberg's condemnation of the technology in September.
"With the future of the electricity industry in NSW hanging in the balance, it is time for the debate to be driven by the realities of low emissions sources, instead of a bunch of convenient untruths peddled by the coal industry.
"Even the most enthusiastic clean coal technologists agree that carbon capture and storage technology is highly unlikely to be available for commercial applications before 2025, if ever.
"The Iemma government cannot now use the clean-coal excuse to build a new coal-fired power station.
"Two 700 MW coal units would pump out 122 million tonnes of CO2 between completion in 2012 and the first possible date at which carbon capture and storage might become commercially available.
"Even then it would be difficult if not impossible to convert the plant into a clean coal power station, if the technology is ever proven to work cost-effectively.
"Peter Debnam and Phil Koperberg have unmasked the myth that clean coal is relevant to the current debate about new energy sources for NSW.
"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released this weekend makes it clear that this state must act immediately to reduce emissions.
"Premier Morris Iemma and Opposition leader Barry O'Farrell should listen to their colleagues and reject the clean coal oxymoron," Dr Kaye said.
For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455
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Given Debnam is effectively thwarted in his ambitions at State level we responded, perhaps too cynically, to his latest surprising political 'dance' routine reinforcing savage criticism of NSW Liberal Party leader PM Howard (for not supporting the Kyoto Protocol) as follows:
"Debnam is deliberately shoring up Turnbull's vote and as insurance for his federal colleague [in] this part of the city against [a] post election bloodbath [in the Coalition]? And maybe as a jump to the federal sphere in some
way?"
In terms of influence on local Liberal aligned voters in Wentworth we wonder if Debnam may also be seeking to gazump this apparent spoiler front page cover in the most recent Wentworth Courier (bottom right hand side of this collage) re Mal Turnbull's predecessor and rival Peter King, a refugee from the same party who may be implying Mal, the govt party and the ALP have all been lazy on local issues:
