Al Gore to have dinner with Deputy Premier and Queensland movers and shakers
The timing of the “climate reality training” event headed by former US vice president Al Gore is proving very inconvenient for the state government, which has been forced to fast-track Adani’s approvals.
QLD Politics
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GLOBAL warming crusader Al Gore last night dined with Deputy Premier Jackie Trad and a raft of Labor movers and shakers amid calls for the Palaszczuk Government to pull its substantial taxpayer funding from the “climate reality training” event he’ll headline this week.
The multi-millionaire former US vice president and vocal critic of the Adani mine flew into Brisbane yesterday to lead The Climate Reality Project’s Leadership Corps training for three days from today.
The timing of the event is proving very inconvenient for the state government, which has been forced to fast-track Adani’s approvals after Labor was rejected by regional Queenslanders at the federal election.
Mr Gore’s trip has been embroiled in controversy, after The Courier-Mail revealed the climate training event, which was planned before Labor’s election loss and would have likely featured Bill Shorten, would be subsidised by Queensland taxpayers.
The state government has allocated $320,000 for the trip including at least $142,000 to hire the Brisbane Convention Centre and one project co-ordinator.
Festivities started last night with 30 guests, including Ms Trad’s Cabinet colleague Steven Miles and national Labor Party boss Wayne Swan, invited to attend a dinner at the W Hotel.
The University of Melbourne paid for the dinner, with a spokeswoman saying the event was to promote discussion among business leaders about jobs and investment in clean economies.
Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan said he’d like to see Mr Gore answer why he thinks it’s “justifiable to fly around the world using lots of carbon emissions while at the same time hypocritically campaigning for countries to reduce their carbon emissions at the cost of lots of jobs”.
A spokesman for Mr Gore said he fully offset all personal and business travel through a certified carbon neutral program for himself and his staff. “Mr Gore is here at the invitation of Queenslanders and Australians who want to play an active role in the transition to a clean energy economy,” the spokesman said.
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington slammed the Palaszczuk Government for wasting taxpayer funds.
“If the Premier had a backbone she would have knocked this Al Gore taxpayer-funded junket on the head,” she said.
“What a slap in the face for Queenslanders struggling to pay their electricity bills for Labor to throw such an over indulgent event.
“Having a lavish dinner for the Lefty elite while taxpayers are picking up the bill for this lecture tour is out of touch and shows the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s priorities are all wrong.”
Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said the State Government was supporting the program as it did with many other different events.
“In terms of the climate reality training, it is attracting some 800 people into our state,” she said. “About 500 interstate and international guests will be descending on Brisbane.
“That means investment and an injection into our economy.”
In his opening statement to the event this morning, Mr Gore praised the 100,000 Australian school students who took part in the controversial climate change strike earlier this year.
“We are going to win this struggle,” he said.
“This training couldn’t possibly be more timely.
“We’ve got to dig deep and move boldly and swiftly.”
Mr Gore thanked the Queensland Government for “engaging so constructively.”
“I’m very pleased that we have a Queensland Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef,” he said.
“I wish the Queensland Government great success with this impressive series of events.”
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