Left, right, left, right, left, right, left! Think-tanks march on climate change.

After the release of the Government’s Green Paper on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, there has been a great deal of opinion pieces popping up in various news publications. In this post I wanted to reflect upon the sources of these articles, the think-tanks who write and submit the articles, and their importance in the broader sphere of public policy debate.

Aims and Objectives: Weeks, Months, Years

More than slightly indulgent on my part, but I can’t think of a better place to list my aims and objectives for the rest of the year.  Given it is online, there is a little more at stake, for if I don’t achieve said goals, there is public record of my failures.  I have decided to split these into short-term and medium-term.  By medium-term, I am only stretching to 18 months.  I see no reason to hold this off any longer, so here we go.

Bushfire Disaster

The bushfires that engulfed the state over the weekend have devastated Victoria, killing over 170 people and destroying a massive amount of property. As horrendous as the story has been, the response of individuals and corporations in raising over $27 million for the Victorian Governments Bushfire Appeal has been phenomenal. The big banks have all donated $1 million and Wesfarmers have used their retail arms to raise money and awareness of the fund amongst the public, whilst also donating $500,000 directly. 

I can’t think of a better example of the positive effects of the often maligned PR Industry. Few would dispute that the donations are an exercise in corporate citizenship by these big corporations. The donation serves to benefit the victims of this horrible disaster,  whilst also garnering positive press and publicity for the organisations. At the end of many news bulletins, which are packed with horrific stories relating to the bushfire, the good news story of the generosity of Australia’s people is constantly linked to the organisations mentioned earlier. 

On dark days like these, it is comforting to know that the industry we work in can contribute positively to the lives of those who have suffered tremendous loss.