a_unique_person
14th February 2006, 04:10 AM
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2006/s1568867.htm
JANINE COHEN: The latest extreme climate change forecasts for Australia are alarming - more droughts, more bushfires, more cyclones, more heatwaves, more disease.
DR BARRIE PITTOCK, CLIMATE CHANGE EXPERT: I think the government just hasn't yet understood that it's urgent and that there are uncertainties which might be at the high end and which might be disastrous.
JANINE COHEN: But has the Federal Government misunderstood, or is there something else driving the agenda? This man thinks so. A Liberal Party insider, he claims a powerful group of industry lobbyists have hijacked greenhouse policy. Their influence, he says, leads all the way into Cabinet.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: Having found out what I've now found out, I find it impossible to continue with a clear conscience without speaking out.
JANINE COHEN: And speaking out on what needs to be done to combat climate change isn't always a good career move. Eminent scientists claim they've been gagged from the public debate when it reflects badly on government policy.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: I was told that I couldn't say anything that indicated that I disagreed with current government policy, and I presume that meant Federal Government policy.
JANINE COHEN: Tonight on Four Corners - the politics of climate change, how it's impacting on science, and what it could cost Australia.
JANINE COHEN: Guy Pearse is graduating with his doctorate of philosophy. His focus - how special interest groups try to influence government policy. And Guy Pearse knows more than most about the inner workings of government, he's worked for several Liberal politicians.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: I joined the Liberal Party because, at a pretty young age, I decided I wanted to play a role in government in Australia. And in Australia, that means that you really have to be a member of one of the two major parties.
JANINE COHEN: After completing his Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University in 1996, Guy Pearse has mostly worked for government and industry. One of the highlights of his career was working as a speechwriter for a former Environment Minister, Senator Robert Hill.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: It was a great time to be involved in one of the top-priority issues and also, for me, Senator Hill had been a mentor for many years and it was a wonderful opportunity to work for him.
JANINE COHEN: But it was during his time working for government that Guy Pearse first noticed a powerful group from the top end of town. They were lobbyists from the high-energy-using industries who seemed determined to undermine the Environment Department and block any greenhouse reforms. They were well connected to other government departments - but just how well, Guy Pearse didn't realise at the time.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: It wasn't clear to me just how and why they were having such influence, and that only became apparent more recently.
JANINE COHEN: In 2001, Guy Pearse left his job at the Federal Environment Department to research his doctorate. To support himself, he also worked as a consultant for the Business Council of Australia and for industries including sugar cane and timber. But in his doctorate, he focused on business groups with a vested interest in government policy on climate change.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: I've been around the traps in Canberra a reasonable amount of time. I know how government operates from a range of different perspectives, through my interviewees for my PhD research, I think a lot of my naivete was washed away.
JANINE COHEN: What the former government insider discovered surprised even him. After much consideration, Guy Pearse decided to talk to Four Corners.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: I had to weigh up a lot of issues. I've thought long and hard about going into politics myself one day and certainly the opportunities are there, and that might now change.
JANINE COHEN: What, because you're speaking out?
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: Sure. Sure. It might be that I don't get the same level of encouragement that I have had in the past. I also work as a lobbyist here in Canberra and mostly for industry clients and for government. I've got contracts with government and business at the moment, and it may be that I will lose some work over speaking out.
JANINE COHEN: He believes Australia isn't doing enough to reduce emissions because greenhouse policy has been hijacked.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: In my experience, there's no question that this access that the fossil fuel industry has enjoyed and their influence over greenhouse policy in Australia is extraordinary.
JANINE COHEN: The latest extreme climate change forecasts for Australia are alarming - more droughts, more bushfires, more cyclones, more heatwaves, more disease.
DR BARRIE PITTOCK, CLIMATE CHANGE EXPERT: I think the government just hasn't yet understood that it's urgent and that there are uncertainties which might be at the high end and which might be disastrous.
JANINE COHEN: But has the Federal Government misunderstood, or is there something else driving the agenda? This man thinks so. A Liberal Party insider, he claims a powerful group of industry lobbyists have hijacked greenhouse policy. Their influence, he says, leads all the way into Cabinet.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: Having found out what I've now found out, I find it impossible to continue with a clear conscience without speaking out.
JANINE COHEN: And speaking out on what needs to be done to combat climate change isn't always a good career move. Eminent scientists claim they've been gagged from the public debate when it reflects badly on government policy.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: I was told that I couldn't say anything that indicated that I disagreed with current government policy, and I presume that meant Federal Government policy.
JANINE COHEN: Tonight on Four Corners - the politics of climate change, how it's impacting on science, and what it could cost Australia.
JANINE COHEN: Guy Pearse is graduating with his doctorate of philosophy. His focus - how special interest groups try to influence government policy. And Guy Pearse knows more than most about the inner workings of government, he's worked for several Liberal politicians.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: I joined the Liberal Party because, at a pretty young age, I decided I wanted to play a role in government in Australia. And in Australia, that means that you really have to be a member of one of the two major parties.
JANINE COHEN: After completing his Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University in 1996, Guy Pearse has mostly worked for government and industry. One of the highlights of his career was working as a speechwriter for a former Environment Minister, Senator Robert Hill.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: It was a great time to be involved in one of the top-priority issues and also, for me, Senator Hill had been a mentor for many years and it was a wonderful opportunity to work for him.
JANINE COHEN: But it was during his time working for government that Guy Pearse first noticed a powerful group from the top end of town. They were lobbyists from the high-energy-using industries who seemed determined to undermine the Environment Department and block any greenhouse reforms. They were well connected to other government departments - but just how well, Guy Pearse didn't realise at the time.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: It wasn't clear to me just how and why they were having such influence, and that only became apparent more recently.
JANINE COHEN: In 2001, Guy Pearse left his job at the Federal Environment Department to research his doctorate. To support himself, he also worked as a consultant for the Business Council of Australia and for industries including sugar cane and timber. But in his doctorate, he focused on business groups with a vested interest in government policy on climate change.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: I've been around the traps in Canberra a reasonable amount of time. I know how government operates from a range of different perspectives, through my interviewees for my PhD research, I think a lot of my naivete was washed away.
JANINE COHEN: What the former government insider discovered surprised even him. After much consideration, Guy Pearse decided to talk to Four Corners.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: I had to weigh up a lot of issues. I've thought long and hard about going into politics myself one day and certainly the opportunities are there, and that might now change.
JANINE COHEN: What, because you're speaking out?
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: Sure. Sure. It might be that I don't get the same level of encouragement that I have had in the past. I also work as a lobbyist here in Canberra and mostly for industry clients and for government. I've got contracts with government and business at the moment, and it may be that I will lose some work over speaking out.
JANINE COHEN: He believes Australia isn't doing enough to reduce emissions because greenhouse policy has been hijacked.
DR GUY PEARSE, SPEECHWRITER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER, 1997-2000: In my experience, there's no question that this access that the fossil fuel industry has enjoyed and their influence over greenhouse policy in Australia is extraordinary.