'The Great Moral Challenge of Our Generation'
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‘The great moral challenge of our generation’: The language, discourse and politics of the climate change debate in Australia 2007-2017 Myra Claire Gurney School of Humanities and Communication Arts Western Sydney University ‘The great moral challenge of our generation’: The language, discourse and politics of the climate change debate in Australia 2007-2017 by Myra Claire Gurney B.A. (Hons), Diploma in Education, University of Sydney (1981) M.A. (Communication & Cultural Studies), University of Western Sydney (2002) This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (by thesis publication) School of Humanities and Communication Arts Western Sydney University, 2017 © Myra Claire Gurney 2017 All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. Dedication This work is dedicated to my late parents, Alan and Cathie Cattanach. Growing up in working class families during the Great Depression, neither had the benefit of much formal schooling. However, they both knew the importance of education and their love, encouragement and belief in my abilities drove me to constantly push my personal boundaries. Acknowledgements The submission of this thesis comes at the end of a long period during which, like many others, I have juggled the demands of full time university work and family commitments. This would not have been possible except for the help, encouragement, patience and indulgence of a number of people. Firstly, thank you to my supervisors Dr Maria Angel, Professor Bob Hodge and Dr Roumen Dimitrov. As a friend and colleague, Roumen was instrumental in helping me shape the focus of my ideas during the early period of my candidacy. Maria has been with me for the whole journey and her advice, constant encouragement, not to mention her editing skills, have been invaluable. Bob Hodge of course is a legend and, along with Maria, his experience, unique insights and expertise have been instrumental in allowing me to complete this work. I feel hugely privileged to have had their counsel and friendship. The support of my colleagues from the School of Humanities and Communication Arts also needs to be acknowledged. Special thanks to Drs Asha Chand, Ray Archee, Rachel Morley and Professor Hart Cohen for their ongoing advice and for sharing their own PhD experiences. I also owe a large debt of gratitude to the wonderful Kaysha Russell from the Western Sydney University Library for helping me navigate the databases and deal with the quirks of Endnote. Thanks must also go to my good friend and former teaching colleague, Annette Browne, for our many discussions and for her constant refrain of ‘why are you not writing, writing, writing?’ which certainly had me sticking to the task. Finally, my love and thanks to my family. My sons Tom and Stuart have always indulged mum’s obsessions and Bill, my husband and partner of 35 years, has kept me grounded with his good judgement, sense of humour and common sense – you continue to be the steady bedrock on which I operate. Statement of Authentication I, Myra Claire Gurney, declare that the work presented in this thesis is to the best of my knowledge and belief, original and my own work except where acknowledged in the text. This material has not been submitted, either in whole or in part, for a degree in this or any other university. Signed: Myra Claire Gurney August 2017 Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................ iv List of Tables ............................................................................. iv ABSTRACT . v PREFACE . vi. CHAPTER 1: Overarching statement . 1. Introduction: From ‘great moral challenge’ to ‘climate change is absolute crap’ – how did we get here? ....................................................2 Why are we so conflicted about climate change? An overview of the underlying issues ....................................................5 Climate change as the most significant scientific and environmental challenge of our time .................................................................5 Climate change and the role of science . 7 Climate change and the role of economics ............................................9 Climate change and the role of human’s relationship with the environment . 11 Climate change and the nature of power and political structures ...................13 Climate change and the role of media in political debate ............................15 Climate change as a significant ethical issue ........................................17 Australian political context 2007-2017: The ‘diabolical challenge’ ....................21 Methodology and its underpinning theoretical constructs .............................24 Overview and rationale for the use of CDA .........................................24 Overview and rationale for frame analysis . .26 Specific methodological approaches: Text case studies, ‘distant reading’ and the use of Leximancer ..........................................................28 An overview of the papers ...............................................................32 Whither ‘the moral imperative’? The focus and framing of political rhetoric in the climate change debate in Australia . .32 ‘The choice between progress and the planet’: Economics, ethics and political discourse in the Australian climate change debate ........................33 ‘Missing in action’: The ‘non’-climate change debate of the 2013 Australian federal election ......................................................................34 Andrew Bolt and the discourse of ‘scepticism’ in the Australian climate change debate: A ‘distant reading’ approach using Leximancer ............................35 Conclusion: Where to now for the ‘climate wars’? ......................................36 References ................................................................................38 i CHAPTER 2: Whither ‘the moral imperative’? The focus and framing of political rhetoric in the climate change debate in Australia . .50 Abstract ...................................................................................51 Keywords .................................................................................51 Introduction ..............................................................................51 The role of framing in the climate change debate ......................................53 What is the ‘moral imperative’? .........................................................55 Approach ..................................................................................57 Results ....................................................................................58 Kevin Rudd and ‘the great moral challenge’ . 58 Tony Abbott and ‘A Realist’s Approach to Climate Change’ ....................... 60 Julia Gillard and the ‘Clean Energy Future’ . .63 Conclusion ................................................................................64 References ................................................................................66 CHAPTER 3: ‘The choice between progress and the planet’: Economics, ethics and political discourse in the Australian climate change debate . .70 Abstract ...................................................................................71 Keywords .................................................................................71 Introduction ..............................................................................71 What happened to the ‘great moral challenge’? .........................................72 How is climate change an ethical issue? ................................................75 Framing the climate change debate .....................................................76 It’s the economy, stupid: The ‘trance of the market’ ....................................79 Economics: A ‘value-free zone’? .........................................................85 The role of competing values ............................................................87 Conclusion ................................................................................89 References ............................................................................... 90 ii CHAPTER 4: ‘Missing in action’: The ‘non’-climate change debate of the 2013 Australian federal election . 97 Abstract ...................................................................................98 Keywords .................................................................................98 Introduction ..............................................................................98 From ‘the great moral challenge of our generation’ to ‘axe the tax’ ...................99 Does the tail wag the dog? The role of media in driving the political debate around climate change policy ...........................................................101 Was climate change ‘missing in action’? ...............................................102 The campaign launch speeches: ‘Don’t mention the climate …’ ...................... 104 Framing climate change during the 2013 federal election ........................... 106 Mapping the focus of climate change reporting during the 2013 federal election using Leximancer ..............................................................108 The spatial connection between the themes and concepts ..........................108 Exploring the ‘carbon tax’, ‘Labor’ and ‘climate change’ concepts .................110 What do the ‘concept