Power Failure: The inside story of climate politics under Rudd and Gillard

by Philip Chubb

One of the most bitterly contested political issues of recent times has been climate change, and how – or indeed whether – Australia should act to mitigate its effects. Different policy approaches have been developed and discarded by both major parties. The leaders who promoted or blocked these attempts have themselves become casualties. According to some observers, Australia's dependence on coal makes climate policy failure inevitable.

Philip Chubb interviews the key political figures in the struggle, including Julia Gillard, Wayne Swan, Greg Combet and Penny Wong. He examines the tenacity of fossil fuel interests and he analyses the political strategies employed by prime ministers Rudd and Gillard as they tried to overcome the structural obstacles created by Australia's carbon-intensive economy.

The result of these investigations is Power Failure, a compelling study of Australian leaders' successes and failures in climate policy, and the strategies they must employ for the future.

Genres: Climate Change, Politics, Nonfiction, Australia

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 2014

Reviews

[Tad Tietze · Rating 2 out of 5]

A history of the elite process around climate action under Rudd and Gillard, which shines some light on the conflicts within the government. However, it is marred by almost complete acceptance of wonkish insider views of how politics works, which leads to extreme hostility to Rudd (whose every move is seen as bad leadership that deserves to fail) and unwarranted sympathy for Gillard (who is seen as a victim of forces arrayed against her and her occasional missteps in bravely trying to hold them at bay). To sustain this case the author continually disconnects climate politics from other domestic and international political developments, especially the long-run problems of the Labor party, except when it suits his overall case.

Nevertheless, there is much useful factual information about behind the scenes arguments and process once one gets past the author's insider preferences.

[Gervy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. I'd have to say I became completely disillusioned with Australian climate change policy when the CPRS legislation failed to pass in 2010; conveniently I had a new baby to distract me. This is a very good overview of Australia's "climate wars" from 2007 until 2013. Gillard and Combet come out looking OK; Rudd, Wong and the Greens, not so much. Ultimately, Chubb pins the failure of climate policy reform on Rudd's leadership style as well as the lack of a strategic communications campaign to bring the Australian public along and counter the very effective communications of the "Greenhouse Mafia" and climate change skeptics.