Prize Luvvies

HOW does the New Establishment look out for its own? With money extracted from the ignorant, dim, knuckle-dragging rest of us, that’s how. Case in point, another of Alene Composta’s supporters, the warmist blogger John Cook, is up for the $10,000 prize administered by Australian Museum as a token of appreciation for those shedding the most light on the climate debate. But only a certain kind of light, as the entry details make clear: 

Australia's average surface temperature has risen by 0.9° C since 1910 and 2009 was the hottest year on record in the Southern Hemisphere. The evidence is clear - our climate is changing. The consensus is that the main cause is human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, mining, agriculture and land clearing. So, decisive action now is one of the most important steps we can take to reduce the risks from global warming.

The Children’s Climate Crusade also gets a berth in the category’s list of finalists, possibly because the judges believe that rudeness in support of a cooler planet is no vice.

What may surprise NSW voters, who recently winnowed the ranks of the former Labor government’s incompetents, is that the prize money is offered in the name of Premier Barry O’Farrell and his colleagues. No doubt arrangements were locked in long before the Coalition took charge of Macquarie Street, but it would be hugely re-assuring to hear O’Farrell announce that next year’s awards will need to find another sponsor.