NZ Dumped From BBC Global Debate on Climate Change; We Tell You Why

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COPENHAGEN, DENMARK : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd hold a bi-lateral talks on December 15, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. World leaders have started arriving today to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 that runs until December 18. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/WPA PoolGetty Images)

Key dumped from BBC Copenhagen debate

By Eloise Gibson

Updated 8:30 AM Thursday Dec 17, 2009

John Key was dumped in favour of Australian PM Kevin Rudd.

Prime Minister John Key has been bumped at the last minute from a worldwide televised climate change debate – in favour of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

The BBC World news debate today – dubbed The Greatest Debate on Earth – has been billed as the media highlight of the Copenhagen climate talks and the Prime Minister had announced he would be in it.

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With all respect to the New Zealand Prime Minister, his dumping is no surprise to pacificEyeWitness.org. What was a surprise was that the BBC had initially included him. Because climate change talks between world leaders have seldom included New Zealand since  the change of government at the end of 2008. John Key is not a player on climate change. He never has been.

On the world leaders stage, it was New Zealand’s  former Prime Minister Helen Clark who was a key player on climate change globally. Unfortunately, news coverage in New Zealand sometimes makes New Zealand appear more a player than it actually is when it comes to climate change.  It is not an example to the rest of the world. That should give you a clue about  how un-climate friendly the New Zealand Government’s Climate Change Bill really was. It benefits polluters, not consumers. But most New Zealanders did not know that until after the Bill was passed into law.

What the Prime Minister’s initial inclusion in the BBC debate reveals, however, is how well connected his press secretaries are with the rest of the world’s media. They would have talked him up and made him out to be more  concerned about climate change than he really is. But actions speak louder than words. And sooner or later,  BBC’s research and talking to other world leaders, its producers would have quickly worked out that New Zealand’s Prime Minister was the wrong guy to put on the debate.  Because New Zealand, and the Prime Minister, are not key players at all on this issue. That changed at the change of government last year.

All things considered, Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd could be the only choice of the two. Let’s look at why Rudd was chosen over Key for BBC’s global panel on Climate Change:

• Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is one of the lead negotiators behind, and in front of, the Copenhagen Climate Change talks, along with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Danish Prime Minister who are key movers and shakers at Copenhagen.Did you see John Key sitting at that table? No, of course, you didn’t.
• Rudd, not Key, was also part of the press conference on climate change at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Trinidad and Tobago, along with the same key movers and shakers at Copenhagen.Did you see John Key at that table? No, of course, you didn’t.
• Rudd, not Key, who was called to the White House after CHOGM to give Obama an update and further climate change talks ahead of the Copenhagen Leaders.  We brought you the pictures on this site so use the search tab to find them.Did you see John Key at that meeting to discuss climate change with Rudd and Obama? No, you didn’t, because he wasn’t invited.
• Rudd, not Key, spoke up in support of Pacific island nations affected by climate change at this year’s Pacific Island Leaders Forum in August. That was duly noted by the United Nation’s Copenhagen organisers. They make mention of it on the official website. Again, those stories about Rudd’s support received coverage in Australian media, but not New Zealand.

So, in light of this information, was BBC right to dump Key from the panel in favour of Rudd? Exactly.

Here’s one piece of the photographic evidence(you can go to the search tab here to find the rest):

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PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO – NOVEMBER 28: (L-R) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussenm, Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning, and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd hold a press conference on climate change during the second day of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at the Hyatt Hotel on November 28, 2009 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad And Tobago. CHOGM is held every 2 years, bringing together world leaders to discuss key issues of a global and Commonwealth nature, and key policies and initiatives. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images).