‘Australia Burning’ is a podcast with my colleague Steven Slaughter from Deakin University in Melbourne Australia.
The recent horrific Australian bush fires appear be largely out – at least for the moment. These bush fires reflect both a sad tale of land burned, and enormous loss of unique wildlife. It also appears to reveal a federal government policy of the current Australian government resistant to dramatic change and a willingness to combat the growing threat of climate change.
As quoted in Damien Cave’s recent piece in the NYTimes (February 15, 2020), Lynette Wallworth, an Australian filmmaker, told a crowd of international executives and politicians in Davos, Switzerland, last month. “What was feared and what was warned is no longer in our future, a topic for debate — it is here.” And Cave added: “Politics have been a focal point — one of frustration for most Australians. The conservative government is still playing down the role of climate change, despite polls showing public anger hitting feverish levels. And yet what’s emerging alongside public protest may prove more potent.”
In the face of these tragic bush fires I sat down with my podcast guest, Steven Slaughter to discuss the fires but more the politics of climate change in Australia. Steven is an associate professor of international relations at Deakin University in Melbourne Australia. He has broad research interests that go beyond international relations to include: international political theory, political and democratic theory and global political economy. He is currently actively working on projects relating to the application of republican thought to contemporary global governance, and the role that the G20 plays with respect to questions of authority, legitimacy and accountability in global governance.
This podcast is Episode 18 of the ‘Now’ series, ‘Australia Burning‘. Come join us as we discuss the politics of climate change in Australia.
The ‘Environmental Story’ doesn’t seem at the moment to have a happy middle or end. But it is hard not to be drawn to the drama that is the global effort to reduce CO2 emissions.
