Steve Fielding

Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott might have turned into cardboard cut-out versions of themselves but there’s still plenty of life left in this election campaign.

It’s always guaranteed to come from the strangest quarters and you can bet it’s the most junior person in the office, or a gung-ho volunteer, who sets the cat amongst the pigeons.

Today’s gem comes from an administrative assistant for the ultra-conservative Family First party, who took it up himself to approach the Sex Party about a preference deal.

Continue reading "Election Sideshow Alley: Where campaign colour lives" »

Yesterday was personally one of the toughest days I have had since I was elected to the Senate. It ended with me confronting a demon which I have lived with for 48 years.

That demon is that I have a specific learning disability, which means I’m not always the best public speaker or speller.

This is something which I don’t like talking about as it cuts pretty deep. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me; rather I more want people to understand who I am and how you can still be successful even if you have problems articulating yourself.

Continue reading "Lost for words: my secret battle with language" »

Tougher penalties for alcohol-related offences were the most popular response to a call from Family First Senator Steve Fielding for new ideas on tackling binge drinking in Australia.

But that was from those who agreed it was a problem in the first place. Many were also of the view Australia’s relationship with alcohol is just fine, and there was some mirth at Senator’s shock at a staff member who confessed to drinking 12 “jagerbomb” cocktails the night before playing cricket.

“12… 12… IS THAT ALL HOW SOFT ARE YOU!” was the response of one proud binger.

Continue reading "10 of your ideas for dealing with binge drinking" »

In his first appearance on The Punch, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd blogs on climate change. This piece also appears on his new blog at www.pm.gov.au.

I decided to kick off my blogging career with a focus on climate change. The latest scientific research on climate change confirms our worst fears.  Climate change is happening faster than we previously thought, creating a more serious threat to our economy, our environment and to future generations. 

I recently returned from a meeting of leaders of the world’s major developed and developing countries in Italy, where our discussions focused on our global efforts to tackle climate change.

This meeting - the Major Economies Forum on Climate and Energy – made some important progress. In particular, it recognised the clear message from climate science that the increase in global average temperature must not exceed 2°C.

Continue reading "Here’s why Fielding should support us on climate" »

Climate change is real. Yes that’s right, contrary to the misreporting in the media,  I do believe in climate change.

That might come as a shock to some of those on the left side of politics, but it’s the truth.

The question that concerns me, however,  is what is driving it? Is it increasing levels of human made carbon dioxide emissions, variations in solar radiation or something else?

Continue reading "The real reason I’ll fight in the Senate on climate change" »