Suzuki cranks up Labor's environment credentials

In the letterbox this morning were several, mostly Labor, letters and leaflets, including a very glossy one featuring David Suzuki (including a photo with his right arm draped around the member for Norwood Vini Ciccarello and his left hand holding a weighty Bob Ellis tome and some other papers) . The leaflet reprinted an Advertiser article from earlier this week.

Here is an extract:

My good friend, Premier Mike Rann, has shown particular vision on this issue. Echoing the world's top scientists, your Premier calls climate change a greater threat than terrorism. He understands the urgent need for a massive switch from polluting coal power to clean, renewable energy. And he's followed through with concrete action: your state now leads Australia in solar and wind power, and looks set to meet Mr Rann's clean energy target – 15 per cent by 2014 – about seven years early. And just last week, Mr Rann announced he intended to introduce legislation to back up his 60 per cent greenhouse cut target.

Good for Mike. I hope he lives for another hundred years, but even he won't be around to get the credit or blame for meeting or missing the goal. We need to have concrete targets that keep us on that road to 60 per cent. That's why environmental groups are demanding a legislated 25 per cent clean energy target by 2020, so the clean energy revolution is not held hostage to political whims.

I wonder how much Dr Suzuki's trip from Canada cost (including whether he flew business class), who paid for it, whether he was able to offset these expenses with other paid engagements.