--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Australia was once a leader in taking…" description: "\"Australia was once a leader in taking global warming seriously. The former PM [Kevin Rudd] called it 'greatest moral challenge of our time'. But in the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/tim-winton-3739_australia_australia-was-once-a-leader-in-taking-gl_2275333.png" --- # Australia was once a leader in taking global warming… ![“Australia was once a leader in taking global warming seriously. The former PM [Kevin Rudd] called it 'greatest moral challenge of our time'. But in the past couple of years the national consensus has been eroded and Australians are being encouraged by the polluters and their mates in Parliament to…” quote by Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/tim-winton-3739_australia_australia-was-once-a-leader-in-taking-gl_2275333.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/tim-winton-3739_australia_australia-was-once-a-leader-in-taking-gl_2275333.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/tim-winton-3739_australia_australia-was-once-a-leader-in-taking-gl_2275333.png) > “Australia was once a leader in taking global warming seriously. The former PM \[Kevin Rudd\] called it 'greatest moral challenge of our time'. But in the past couple of years the national consensus has been eroded and Australians are being encouraged by the polluters and their mates in Parliament to forget it was ever mentioned. It's heartbreaking.” [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Australia shifted from leading climate action to denial, driven by political and industrial influence, causing disappointment and concern. **In simple terms:** Australia moved from climate leadership to denial. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist climate misinformation. Themes environment politics public opinion leadership Mood disheartened determined concerned Type political environmental reflective When to use this quote - policy debates - community activism - education campaigns - voting decisions Key Concepts climate change moral responsibility media influence Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens counteract political climate denial? - What role should media play in climate truth? A Different Perspective Economic interests may resist change despite moral urgency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Australia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/australia/) [Australia Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/australia-leader-5289252/) [Australians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/australians/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Consensus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus/) [Couple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couple/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-it/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Global warming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-warming/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Heartbreaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartbreaking/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kevin/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kevin-rudd-1586727/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Mates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mates/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Our time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-time/) [Parliament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parliament/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Pms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pms/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Way back in October 2007, I had urged thousands of Australians to vote for Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett's Labor Party. Why? Because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/way-back-in-october-2007-i-had-urged-thousands-of-australians-to-vote/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [ Government will not nominate the former Labor prime minister \[Kevin Rudd\] to be the UN's next secretary-general. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/government-will-not-nominate-the-former-labor-prime-minister-kevin/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) > [You know, in the WikiLeaks cables, the Chinese discovered that Kevin Rudd was urging the Americans to keep the military option open against them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-keating/you-know-in-the-wikileaks-cables-the-chinese-discovered-that-kevin/) [Paul Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-keating/) > [A Labor prime minister, Julia Gillard, who does believe in climate change, nevertheless advised her predecessor, Kevin Rudd, to abandon his emissions trading scheme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/a-labor-prime-minister-julia-gillard-who-does-believe-in-climate/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [I am not being negative, I am simply being factual when I say Kevin Rudd is the best friend the people smugglers have ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-am-not-being-negative-i-am-simply-being-factual-when-i-say-kevin/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [“change was very difficult,’ he says. ‘But I think the best way to try to protect the legacy and the accomplishments of the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-bramston/change-was-very-difficult-he-says-but-i-think-the-best-way-to-try-to/) [Troy Bramston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-bramston/) > [I think theatre is by far the most rewarding experience for an actor. You get 4 weeks to rehearse your character and then at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-eccleston/i-think-theatre-is-by-far-the-most-rewarding-experience-for-an-actor/) [Christopher Eccleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-eccleston/) > [An average working day begins at 8 or 9 am, includes an hour for lunch, and ends at 5 or 6 pm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-straub/an-average-working-day-begins-at-8-or-9-am-includes-an-hour-for-lunch/) [Peter Straub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-straub/) > [Lord Kane," the king acknowledged. "Before the proceedings begin, we must say how thrilled we were to meet your PMS." Uh..."My what?" "Your personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/lord-kane-the-king-acknowledged-before-the-proceedings-begin-we-must/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [The most significant visions are not cast by great orators from a stage. They are cast at the bedsides of our children. The greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/the-most-significant-visions-are-not-cast-by-great-orators-from-a/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [My mother taught me this trick: if you repeat something over and over again it loses its meaning, for example homework homework homework homework…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-mother-taught-me-this-trick-if-you-repeat-something-over-and-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I brought Bhagawad Gita as a gift for the Japanese PM...I don't have anything better than Gita to give & nor does the World…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/i-brought-bhagawad-gita-as-a-gift-for-the-japanese-pm-i-don-t-have/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [I am fundamentally happy. Everyone has experiences that makes them cynical, jaded or unhappy - you just have to fight those things off. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/i-am-fundamentally-happy-everyone-has-experiences-that-makes-them/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [We’re never gonna understand women. They’re way too complex. You’ve got too many variables to consider. PMS, bad hair days, miscellaneous mood swings .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susane-colasanti/we-re-never-gonna-understand-women-they-re-way-too-complex-you-ve-got/) [Susane Colasanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susane-colasanti/) > [Got those moods a swinging, tears a slinging, nothing fits me, when it hits me, ranting, raving, misbehaving, PMS blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/got-those-moods-a-swinging-tears-a-slinging-nothing-fits-me-when-it/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) ## More by Tim Winton > [Wherever I went I felt like the last person awake in a room full of sleepers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/wherever-i-went-i-felt-like-the-last-person-awake-in-a-room-full-of/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [“Where I had expected to appreciate the monuments and love the natural environment, the reality was entirely the reverse. The immense beauty of many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/where-i-had-expected-to-appreciate-the-monuments-and-love-the-natural/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [I've been a writer and a parent since adolescence, it feels like, and I'm still making both gigs up as I go along. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/i-ve-been-a-writer-and-a-parent-since-adolescence-it-feels-like-and-i/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [Surviving is the strongest memory I have; the sense of having walked on water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/surviving-is-the-strongest-memory-i-have-the-sense-of-having-walked/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [The end of the world begins in the sea we love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/the-end-of-the-world-begins-in-the-sea-we-love/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [“Few landscapes have been so deeply known. And fewer still have been so lightly inhabited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/few-landscapes-have-been-so-deeply-known-and-fewer-still-have-been-so/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [“Life was something you didn't argue with, because when it came down to it, whether you barracked for God or nothing at all, life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/life-was-something-you-didn-t-argue-with-because-when-it-came-down-to/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [“Shit, he said as a great, green glut of water poured up at our feet. I wonder what the ordinary people are doin today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/shit-he-said-as-a-great-green-glut-of-water-poured-up-at-our-feet-i/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [“Keep the day ahead of you, that's what the old man used to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/keep-the-day-ahead-of-you-that-s-what-the-old-man-used-to-say/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [I guess it must be a time-of-life thing, looking back and trying to make some sense of who I am and where I've been.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/i-guess-it-must-be-a-time-of-life-thing-looking-back-and-trying-to/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [Will you look at us by the river! The whole restless mob of us on spread blankets in the dreamy briny sunshine skylarking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/will-you-look-at-us-by-the-river-the-whole-restless-mob-of-us-on/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [The night is full of stories. They float up like miasmas, as though the dead leave their dreams in the earth where you bury…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/the-night-is-full-of-stories-they-float-up-like-miasmas-as-though-the/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [I grew up in a whaling town. We didn't stop whaling in Australia until 1978. And I've always lived in fishing communities. You could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/i-grew-up-in-a-whaling-town-we-didn-t-stop-whaling-in-australia-until/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [There is nowhere else I'd rather be, nothing else I would prefer to be doing. I am at the beach looking west with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/there-is-nowhere-else-i-d-rather-be-nothing-else-i-would-prefer-to-be/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [“Rare as rocking-horse turds, these days, feeling halfway to decent, with barely a sick twinge, and he was damned if he’d waste”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/rare-as-rocking-horse-turds-these-days-feeling-halfway-to-decent-with/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) [Explore all 122 Tim Winton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) ## More Australia quotes > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I wanted to have a peaceful married life with my wife, so we both moved to Sydney in Australia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-roy/i-wanted-to-have-a-peaceful-married-life-with-my-wife-so-we-both/) [Rahul Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-roy/) > [It will be nice to play against Australia. It's a great country, and football is getting bigger and bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-mata/it-will-be-nice-to-play-against-australia-it-s-a-great-country-and/) [Juan Mata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-mata/) > [We don't have any sailors in Australia, we have rowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lexcen/we-don-t-have-any-sailors-in-australia-we-have-rowers/) [Ben Lexcen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lexcen/) > [I think that prosecuting some college kid because she shared a file is a lot like sending somebody to Australia 200 years ago for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-think-that-prosecuting-some-college-kid-because-she-shared-a-file/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [Sydney CBD is the eastern city, Parramatta is the central city and Badgerys will be the third city in greater Sydney.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-berejiklian/sydney-cbd-is-the-eastern-city-parramatta-is-the-central-city-and/) [Gladys Berejiklian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-berejiklian/) > [No matter what day we celebrate Australia Day, let's celebrate it together and give thanks to the original inhabitants of this vast country. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/no-matter-what-day-we-celebrate-australia-day-let-s-celebrate-it/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [As a young kid you stay up late to watch the Ashes, getting told off for not being in bed, and dream of making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-bairstow/as-a-young-kid-you-stay-up-late-to-watch-the-ashes-getting-told-off/) [Jonny Bairstow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-bairstow/) > [I love coming out to Australia, if it weren't so far away I would go all the time. I've worked with a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erick-morillo/i-love-coming-out-to-australia-if-it-weren-t-so-far-away-i-would-go/) [Erick Morillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erick-morillo/) > [What I appreciated was the fact that the script delved into how Australians were - and still are - condescended to by the English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-rush/what-i-appreciated-was-the-fact-that-the-script-delved-into-how/) [Geoffrey Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-rush/) > [Okay the names 360, I run around tipsy. My fellas in Australia all sit with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/360/okay-the-names-360-i-run-around-tipsy-my-fellas-in-australia-all-sit/) [360](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/360/) > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) [Marc Morano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-morano/) > [I want to be part of the team that wins a Test series in England and Australia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-gambhir/i-want-to-be-part-of-the-team-that-wins-a-test-series-in-england-and/) [Gautam Gambhir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-gambhir/) > [I was brought up in a Christian home in Australia with a father who was very bold about his faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ham/i-was-brought-up-in-a-christian-home-in-australia-with-a-father-who/) [Ken Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ham/) [Browse all 1,907 Australia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/australia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Australia was once a leader in taking global warming seriously. 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