The demand was there, and the political class responded. Both Howard and Rudd went to the 2007 election committed to introducing an emissions trading scheme. By 2008 more than 70 per cent of Australians said that they supported an emissions trading scheme. These conditions were as good as it gets for reform - a bipartisan political accord, with strong public support, endorsed by an election. This is surely an exemplar of democratic politics – the people identify a serious problem, demand a solution, and the political parties provide one. How did it fall apart?
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