Ben Eltham's piece in New Matilda raises some interesting issues. He makes the point that

"Labor is comprehensively failing to make the political and cultural case for climate change action. This is a missed opportunity of staggering proportions. Big coal companies, dirty power plants and nutty Liberal culture warriors do not naturally enjoy wide popularity. If Labor ever stoops to actually engage with the issue, it should be able to quickly take command of the debate."

I suspect that part of the problem is that most of the senior figures within the ALP either don't understand or just aren't very excited about climate change as an issue. I'm reminded of a forum in the lead up to the last election where Lindsay Tanner was asked about Labor's position on feed in tariffs to stimulate the development of the solar industry. He responded that while he didn't know much about the issue, the ALP generally don't support tariffs so they would be unlikely to support the measure. If a senior figure like Lindsay Tanner has that level of understanding about such as basic policy tool, it's no surprise the ALP are floundering when it comes to defending their position on the ETS.