ON Friday, the leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown, announced he was stepping down and also retiring from Australian federal politics.
Miranda Devine has a piece in today’s Herald Sun that begins:
“THE intergalactic phones still didn’t ring on Friday after the earth-shattering news that Greens Leader Bob Brown had resigned.
Was that nutty speech to his ‘Fellow Earthians’ in Hobart last month a sign that he was on his way out the door?
Was it a final mad explosion of pent-up hubris that had him calling for a one-world government, an ‘all-of-the-Earth representative democracy’?
It was certainly time to go, Brown told a press conference on Friday, flanked by his successor, Christine Milne, and his handsome, bearded partner Paul Thomas.
People had taken to stopping him in Hobart’s Salamanca Place to say, ‘Thank God for the Greens’.
With a desperate Labor minority government belatedly turning on its Greens partners, and the Greens vote going backwards in state elections, Brown, 67, had passed the zenith of his career.
Best to get out while the going is good, with his legacy intact and before anyone notices the decline of the party he has led as a senator of 16 years.
As usual, a woman is left to clean up after the party, formidable and not to be underestimated though Christine Milne is.
In her first comments at Brown’s farewell press conference, Milne, 58, made a pitch to rural and regional voters, claiming “the Greens and the bush” simply misunderstood each other.
‘I’m going out there as a country person to say to other country people it is time that the Greens and country people worked together.’
Good luck with that, considering greenies are the chief cause of grief to the bush.
Let us count the ways. Forestry towns destroyed by irrational green tree worship. Uncontrollable bushfires caused, not by global warming, but by green opposition to hazard reduction.
National parks left to feral animals that rampage though neighbouring farms. Dams never built thanks to greenie protests. Wind turbines plonked all over bucolic hillsides. A live cattle industry brought to its knees…
Read the entire article here: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/greens-country-girl-christine-milne-is-no-friend-of-the-bush/story-e6frfhqf-1226326602622
I’ve written many blog posts cranky with Mr Brown for being such a hypocrite and for so often telling made-up stories and trying to pass them off as ‘saving the environment’. Remember my blog post of June 2009 ‘The Already Bankrupt Brown Green’ about the pristine forest that was once a thriving timber town known as Wielangata…
Read more here: http://jennifermarohasy.com/2009/06/the-already-bankrupt-brown-green/
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD is a critical thinker with expertise in the scientific method.
As a country girl myself I heard this unfold as I was driving my tractor. After Ms Milne made her comments about connecting with the bush, they then announced their new deputy leader as Adam Bandt.
That got a laugh from me! No offense to the man, but he’s unlikely to have much success connecting to the bush.
His seat is Melbourne and his mannerisms and arguments are an excellent example of why this party does not have much success in the bush.
Yes Jen, I think you’re right about Milne, she is formidable.
However she is only formidable in the same way that a blacksmiths anvil is formidable. It can be beaten on for years with large hammers, & it doesn’t get any smarter, just perhaps a little thicker, & more out of tune.
When the Green Left offer to work “with” you, that’s worse than when they threaten to work against you. When they talk of “misunderstanding”, guess who hasn’t been understanding, and guess who will need to be “educated” till they do understand.
It’s a bit like when Gillard offers to bring “certainty” to business and farmers. You’ll soon find that uncertainty was better.
A pox on on our Green Betters, a pox on their destructive, anti-conservation values, and a double pox on bloody SPIN!
Just get ready to vote these appalling snobs and misanthropes into oblivion.
Good article by Terry McCrann in the Weekend Australian http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/good-riddance-to-de-facto-pm-bob-brown/story-e6frg9k6-1226326249752
Terry, is one of the few economists who see it as it is and does not bow and scrape to Governments, treasury and the RBA.
a poll at Sky News asks:
Should the Govt ease ‘green tape’ to allow development to be fast-tracked?
so far 82% say yes.
The ABC’s “I can change your mind” poll on climate change is still showing the vast majority are dismissive of climate change.
James Dellingpole is about to tour the country and will probably become a tipping point as he’s smart, well educated on the subject and can handle the media very well.
Bob can see the writing on the wall, unfortunately Christine hasn’t yet. She’s still following Will Steffen and David Karoly.
The next newspolls will be very interesting.
Oh well heaven help us – won’t be long before there’s wall to wall redneck LNP governments throughout.
Conservation values will be soon rediscovered. So they can get back to clear felling Terania Ck and the north Qld rainforest.
Already the solution to environmental issue is a good old Joh gerrymander http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/ports-could-be-cut-from-barrier-reef-heritage-area/story-fn3dxity-1226324998957
Barf !
BTW – the polls only reflect the reactionaries who actually bother to vote. And I don’t think the global atmosphere is influenced by what politics thinks….
Dellingpole – what a snotty little creep.
Yeah – good idea Luke – Gladstone harbour is not part of the Barrier Reef which is 50km out to sea.
the problem is flooding.
No the polls reflect those who visit the websites and love to be involved in a poll.
“Dellingpole – what a snotty little creep.”
Luke – don’t you realise that your opinion is of no importance.
his is.
Amazingly, an army of Qld rednecks couldn’t waste and destroy like a clique of middle class leftoids, puffed with conceit over their soft educations and junk science.
Luke:
“Oh well heaven help us – won’t be long before there’s wall to wall redneck LNP governments throughout.”
I’ve been a socialist all my life because I believe in fundamental socialist principles, which include commonsense and “the will of the people”. That doesn’t stop me criticising and ridiculing the often loony and destructive policies of “socialist” governments and local authorities. Indeed, I’d say I and others like me are better placed to criticise; we know what core socialist values and principles are, and how they’re being abandoned or distorted into the new “truth”, and “visions” of the future.
When I see an opposition party reflecting the electorate’s views, supporting their aspirations, talking commonsense and avoiding overblown rhetoric, spin and hyperbole, and especially LIES, I give them my tacit, and often explicit support. The colour of their party logo is far less important than the colour of their views, their policies, and their language.
Given the recent political and economic situation in Australia, if the conservative/liberal opposition in OZ happens to be “wall to wall redneck” yet embrace many of the the simple values and policies I admire and support, then so be it, “wall to wall rednecks” are indeed the best future for Australia.
“BTW – the polls only reflect the reactionaries who actually bother to vote”
My word – you’re smarter than I gave you credit for! Who’dathort that polls only reflect the views of those who vote?
Tony,
Was this the ALPin the dim distant past?
Well the fun starts in Qld now – how many with serious experience in government as Ministers. just Lawrence ! hmmmm
Ministers all newbies. That old Qld banana joke about pollies starting out straight and green and maturing into yellow and crooked. Prepare for amateur hour.
But we’ll take Campbell at his word – if it’s a problem in 2 years blame the ALP – after that blame us (the LNP).
In many respects our pollies are simply a philosophical reflection of our broader society – feeling confident?
Luke,
I’m really surprised reading your last post.
Do you ignore the incompetence of the current labor federal gov. ministers, noting that none of them have any practical experience in even running a milk bar let alone any business?
All of them ex union officials or failed lawyers, or ex labor staffers.
And here you are condemning someone who managed the affairs of a city of some note with great success.
I always defended you in the past thinking there must intelligence behind that silly facade, but sorry I was mistaken, all you can do is post links and troll!
Sad.
Luke – this is where the real story starts. (goons)
Now all we have to do is get rid of every public servant with over 10 years of bludging, so some of them actually do some work at a reasonable pace. Those with more than ten years are probably beyond re-educating.
If we can get half a days work, at private enterprise pace out of the remainder, we should get by with about one third of the current mob. Should help the budget a bit.
Yes of course – Labor had to go and with much bloodletting too – but what short of outfit are the cavalry?
Remember the Clem 7 cross-river tunnel which nobody uses (OK so private enterprise were suckered into it but whose idea was TransApex?) and rows of bikes that just sit there. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/state-election-2012/lnp-would-consider-citycyclego-card-link-20120318-1vdgt.html
Two new tunnels in Brisbane on the way – airport link due to open later in 2012 and northern link in 2014 – more fizzers? or not?
Council rates under Newman rose 42%
So what will the Costello review of the Qld budget reveal. As Robert would say “It’s worse than we thought”.
Luke, politicians are of a certain breed, there is no getting around it.
Bike paths and rent-a-bike were the in thing and as long some constituents want it it will be delivered.
Why do you think TA is persisting with the mitigation of CC?
Do you honestly believe he believes in it? Fat chance, but he is playing it safe.
Council rate rose everywhere, so did electricity charges, water rates and so forth, do you blame it all on CN?
And yes it’s worse than we thought!!
Anyway I guess as soon as the LNP get in everywhere and start raping and pillaging the environment again we can get back to the natural of order of things – bitching about rightists in power. It’s much easier that way.
Did enjoy Bob Katter’s last words though – the LNP turn Qld into a poisonous pin-cushion of CSG wells.
BTW bike paths are cool and well used. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/lord-mayor-quirk-talks-up-bikeways-grand-plan-20120415-1x0zx.html Council promising to spend even more so we can trim down our fat lazy public service arses that Hasbeen knows about while we work back fixing shoddy private enterprise consultancy reports. Oh so much the fashion you know.
Another Ian:
“Was this the ALP in the dim distant past?”
If you’re asking what I think you’re asking, perhaps the ALP might have been reasonably close to my practical ideal. I say practical ideal, because no party past or present did or can or will achieve it worldwide. I’m a realist as well as an idealist, if such an animal can exist. Democracy has many virtues, but men are men and have vested interests, personal agendas and bias. Democracy often tramples on the minority in the name of “the best for most”. Enlightened socialist democracy, with pure dogma cast aside, can spread both jam and misery a little thinner, and even out disparity to some extent. I believe Sweden came close in that.
I didn’t pay much attention to OZ politics and the ALP in the distant past, but they seemed to me a well-meaning, if perhaps a little bumbling party, but certainly committed to cutting the cake in thinner slices to distribute more widely. If enlightened conservative democracy is all you’ve got available (not yet in the UK), and it meets at least some of the requirements for fair and equitable government, be thankful for crumbs, and don’t demand the whole cake. I can’t remember who said “Expect nothing, and you won’t be disappointed”. I’d change that last phrase to “and you might be pleasantly surprised”.
Take power out of the hands of the myopic few (the Greens), from the misguided minority (Gillard’s Goblins), and give it to those, whatever the colour of their political flag, who don’t talk the Newspeak of 1984, but talk to the people, in the language of the people, and seek the dismantling of the authoritarian “nanny” state and the betterment of all. I may be a socialist, but I prefer Plainspeak.
Living with a council where money is desperately needed for REAL needs, but where rates are frozen, Newman’s 42% rise sounds great.
I don’t follow Maroon politics much, but I’m reading this guy is going to abolish:
The $430m Queensland Climate Change Fund
– $50m Renewable Energy Fund
– $50m Smart Energy Savings Program,
– Waste Avoidance and Resource Efficiency Fund (Waste Avoidance! That’s too funny.)
– Local Government Sustainable Future Fund
– Solar Initiatives Package
– Future Growth Fund
He’s turning off the money tap for Solar Dawn? Ditched the Office of Climate Change?
I know he’s abolished the Premier’s Literary Awards! A small saving, but deliriously fine symbolism.
It’s better than we thought!
I recall preparing a speech in 2006, incorporating the nature of Australia’s ‘environmentalism’. I was aware that the flooding of Lake Pedder in 1972 was significantly attributed to the formation of the Wilderness Society. Wanting to properly capture the feelings of the era, I rang Bob Brown’s office and asked if I could possibly get access to the ‘Pedder’ file. Suffice to say that the response was less than enthusiastic.
Reflecting upon Bob’s reign, what I have found most disturbing, in terms of the actions and impacts of the Greens, is their central contempt for their fellow person, at least those out in the wilds. Notwithstanding that the political force is predominantly metropolitan and yearning for expressions of environmental respectability, but that it invariably turns upon the segment of the national population that has chosen to live amongst nature, as a priority importance against all other variables, for condemnation on environmental grounds. The inference is indisputable: Relocate into suburbia to be relieved of our wrath.
Queensland is a huge state and yet 84% of its voting population lives within 100 km of its capital city. After (effectively) 22-years of Labor, its voters gave Campbell Newman’s LNP an unprecedented mandate for change. As much as I am looking forward to the environment being protected from the hostilities of the rabid Green/Labor movement, we must also expect to endure the bitter exhortations of those who have lost their host.
Luke … convert.
For Luke:
Luke Chapter 2
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Ban Ki-moon, that all the world should be carbon taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Gillard was appointed ambassador to Tuvalu.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Queensland, out of the city of Brisbane, into New South Wales, unto the city of Anthony, which is called Canberra, (because he was of the house and lineage of Malcolm,)
5 to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a buggy; because there was no room for them in the Holiday Inn.
¶ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is made this day in the city of Canberra a Prime Minister, which is Anthony John Abbott.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the minister wrapped in a Lycra jogging suit, cycling on a machine.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men.
15 ¶ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Canberra, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, getting lost in the cycleways. and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a buggy clutching a leaflet promising the repeal of the Carbon Tax, with a picture of Anthony pedalling on a cycling machine.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this tax promise.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart, and worked out what baby clothes she could buy with her tax rebate.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Nothing in this world is new.
Good on you Jen – with Alan Jones supporting your proposal you’ve got a chance of making a change.
The Greens have yet to realise that they too will be flushed down the sewer with Labor at the next election.Bob Brown has not the courage to face his failings, that’s why he has left is such haste.
The harder this CO2 tax bites, the more attrition these two parties will suffer at the ballot box.We need a new Libertariarn Movement like Bill Still and Ron Paul are initiating in the USA.Also google Nigel Farage in the EU.He really rips into the NWO estblishment that the Greens back.
Thanks John. Yes. I was on Alan Jones’s breakfast program at 2GB this morning speaking about the barrages/sea dykes and the Lower Lakes and the Proposed Basin Plan.
I see there is a podcast here: http://www.2gb.com/index.php?Itemid=41&id=2&option=com_podcasting&task=view
Seriously Luke?
raping and pillaging?
On what grounds…either scientific or political….are you basing those highly emotional assumptions?
What have they said or what have you found in their current policies that would lead you to make such a statement?
Remember we need to look at CURRENT policy….also need to check their political promises….(though admittedly they didn’t really have to make many promises because the incumbent lot had really outworn their stay.)
What have you found there that has so emotionally alarmed you?
Are you not prepared to give them at least some credit to clean up the mess? They have certainly been given a whopping mandate to do so by the QLD electorate have they not?
None of us have a great deal of confidence in the political/bureaucratic machine….with good reason BTW….but your comments are rather ‘out there’ and don’t appear to have any solid justification.
The guy with the scary beanie and aspirations to bad, said:
What if he’s right? Yes, here we have all been thinking that the Greens have been running the Government and driving the disasters but both Labor and the Greens deny this. They tell us that Abbott and his ‘pathetic’ leadership are the problem. There are two sides to every story.
Luke and Debbie.We all have to refrain from being tribal morons.Politics has always been about deception by a few elites for personal gain.How do we know when a politician is lying? Their lips are moving, is the usual retort.
Change always comes from a grass roots level and we the people have the power if we avail ourselves of the knowledge and courage.Do not blindly follow anyone.Always examine the evidence.
As Ross says; “Always examine the evidence”….is there any evidence for the tosh that Devine regularly trots out? I class Devine as a member of an elite motivated by personal gain. A bloody lazy ex-journo with an over-inflated sense of entitlement,and an aversion to information.
‘As usual a woman is left to clean up after the party…’ What party,what clean up? Rhetorical and lazy. One man,who is 67, has retired.
“…greenies are the chief cause of grief for the bush” Written like the true upper north shore cardie wearer she is. It’d be interesting to know just what,if any,contact Miranda has had with ‘the bush’,or greenies,or real history. The fluctuations of the market,drought and flood, the arrival of plant pathogens and feral plants,spotty infrastructure,technological change and the loss of the young to cities is all the greenies fault,eh? In my catchment ‘greenies’ have had bugger all influence on land use decisions beyond achieving the reservation of forest land too uneconomic to clear or even log under any market conditions during the last 150 years. ‘Greenies’ are the only ones monitoring Forests NSW sanctioned activities in working forests. Science,pure need and co-operation have driven land management changes on productive land. Communities use legal right to have their say in land use decisions ‘next door’,just as Miranda would no doubt use her rights to influence her neighbours building plans. Where’s the ‘grief’,except as a device in Miranda’s agenda driven drivel?
‘Forestry towns destroyed by irrational green tree worship’ Bullshit. My area is littered with forestry settlements abandoned as their resource was cut out, bypassed by a new material or rendered uncompetitive by imports. The industry shed thousands of workers through technological change and consolidation over decades long before ‘greenies’ had their wicked way with remote forests. Marginal grazing land has been turned over to plantation timber which will be valuable soon enough,though not soon enough for the modern view of markets.
“Uncontrollable bushfires… caused by green opposition to hazard reduction” What, grass fires starting on private land from broken power lines snapped in a gale during a 40C day with 5% humidity? Which then enter forest land in difficult terrain which are subject to a hazard reduction schedule,some of which is carried out,some of which is delayed by lack of suitable moisture and wind conditions? Escaped burn offs regularly enter crown lands from private,that is a fact that eludes Miranda as well.
‘Dams never built due to greenie protest’ What dams? Are we talking about a few,or tens, or many? The one on the Mitchell that Andrew Bolt can’t get his maths right on…very unpopular with the locals most of whom ain’t green? The one on the Franklin that was traded for two or three other projects nearby? Last time I looked,every major stream on western slopes of NSW and Victoria had a dam on it. And the country has it share of boondoggle dams like Split Rock and Toonumbar-a good if costly fishing hole-or the waste of the Pedder impoundment. Pollies have found it harder to boondoggle with dams lately,.not simply because the costs are more transparent,but because all the good sites are gone.
‘A live cattle industry brought to its knees’ Because of ‘greenies’? Or because of a combination of genuinely unnecessary cruelty and community wide dismay, government clumsiness overstated by hostile media, and Indonesian prickliness? Yes,Miranda,let the abattoirs continue their cruelty,never mind that better practice will actually speed and increase throughput to Australian producers ultimate benefit.
Pressure has come off land because of intensive agriculture, modern synthetic chemicals, GM and Norman Borlaug. These conserve. Refrigeration and modern food processing also conserve, and should be regarded as blessings due to cheap, accessible energy.
New coal generation facilities would mean conserving coal, which we are instead going to burn in rickety old power stations, while we ship 70% of our production overseas, not to be used as installation art but to be burnt into the same atmosphere as the one I’m breathing now. While we’re spending billions on reducing “carbon pollution”, ultra-modern coal facilities would do that, and would also reduce actual pollution and waste into the bargain. Nukes in geologically stable regions are a no-brainer. Modern coal power and nukes conserve.
As to wind, solar and Timmy’s Geothermia, I won’t insult people’s intelligence unless they actually request me to do so. Massive waste in the service of dogma can never be conservation.
No more dam sites? Dams controversial and unpopular? These days that applies to every needed piece of infrastructure. Let’s not put them in the too-hard basket till every effort has been made, because, unlike desal, dams conserve. Start by really wanting dams, and then see how impossible they are. (It’s also a good idea to twist a tap and ask where that water is coming from.) Dams conserve, as few other things do.
Real fire control would be a massive ongoing expense to the nation and individuals. Yet, as long as we’re spending billions…fire management in bushland conserves. And if you’re a believer in CAGW, wait till this current wet phase in the east is over and all that regrowth starts to turn to CO2. As a forest-fringe dweller, I don’t think I’ll be up to it again. In this country, if we want our bush, we are going to have to pay a fortune to conserve it. Clearly, we are going to need bags of money, because money pays for the conservation that Gaia and Bob “National Park” Carr couldn’t care less about.
I grow an alternative to tree-timber in otherwise unused ex-dairy country, and I do it “organically”, for what such cant is worth. I’ve only been able to do this because of the enormous efforts of other people and industries in the best of modern and developed nations. What I am doing is still only experimental. The rice that Deb grows is not experimental. If she gets drought and other forms of support, she gets a pile of regulation, restriction and taxation as well. If something is looking marginal, let it pass to the margin. but don’t push it to the margin.
We need a Conservation Party, all we get is the Greens. If anyone thinks I’m exaggerating about our Green Betters, just reflect on Brown’s recent speeches on “earthians” and world government. And then reflect that Brown was the best of them.
Robert is caught in the usual left/right paradigm.There is always a bit a truth in what Divine and Bolt espouse but they refrain from taking on the real criminals who control us and the Greens to do likewise.They are all controlled by the same elite and play the game of left and right to confuse us.
The Carbon Tax is about another derivative called the ETS that will be used to enslave us.It has nothing to do with saving the environment.
Ross, while the Illuminati and Templars and Goldman Sachs are developing their sinister plans for world control, you and I will still be faced with voting for or against certain things. I think breaking the power of the Greens is a worthwhile thing. Did I say “breaking”? I meant “smashing”. I think voting against the Carbon Tax and an ETS is very worthwhile. So do you, apparently – but I’d hate to push you into a left/right paradigm.
None of this means I love the Liberal Party or Tony Abbott. Abbott has two great attributes: he is not Julia Gillard and he is not Malcolm Turnbull.
It is not new to anyone that there are supra-national institutions and powerful individuals whose ambitions transcend political parties and philosophies. They are real, but they are not as co-ordinated or as powerful as they are portrayed in the novels you buy at airports.
In my youth, it could be the United Fruit Company or the Hunt Brothers who were “behind” everything. Nowadays, it’s supposed to be Soros or Maurice Strong, although it spoils the fun if you name names. (If you’re really cool and in-the-know you will talk of mysterious forces “behind” Soros and Strong. And don’t forget those Jews!)
Well, at least the cartoon-villains are on the Left these days!
Robert,you omitted the Rothschilds,JP Morgan,Rockerfeller and the infamous Federal Reserve who have precipated the GFC and continue to rob the masses blind via derivatives such as credit default swaps.
Bankers now own and control Greece and Italy.We will soon be next.Ron Paul has real and justifable reasons to want to End The Fed.The Greens ,Labor and the Coalition have not the guts to go there.That’s why it must come from a people grass roots movement.
I was listening to Alan Jones today and he had on this Sam Childers who is supposedly doing good deeds in Africa.When I heard about the evil Kony I knew Childer’s agenda.Kony was being used by the Western Oligarchs to invade Uganda since China is there securing oil supplies.When NATO invaded Libya, 30,000 Chinese oil workers and engineers were forced to leave.It was nothing to do with liberating the people of Libya.It was about stealing oil and containing China.
Japan was foced to enter WW2 since the USA was restricting their access to oil and trade.We warned the US that the Japs were about to attack Pearl Harbour but they needed this since the US people wanted no part of war.
War is a racket by the elites to make enormous profits and attain power.
Ross,
I agree we must examine the evidence.
I also agree that most of these insane policies (right, left or up/down) are achieved by polarising debate through emotion.
I do think however that you are giving too much credit to an unseen conspirator. They are more likely just self serving bureaucrats and corporate high flyers and they are not as smart as they pretend.
I do believe however you are correct that ‘ the grass roots’ should start speaking up and stop falling for that very old political tactic known as ‘divide and conquer’.
That’s not easy because most of them just want to ‘get on with it’ and run their lives and their businesses and they still naively expect that our self proclaimed ‘elite’ actually have their interests at heart.
I am essentially a-political and therefore do not vote for personalities, I examine ‘policies’ and vote accordingly.
Because I believe in conservation and also in human ingenuity ( which is far removed from the current environmentalist agenda) I generally favour conservative politics because they DON’T have policies that always assume that more bureaucratic influence (or more correctly interference) will ‘fix it’ whatever ‘it’ happens to be.
They are also NOT as duplicitous in their theories re egalitarian social policy.
There is a huge political chasm between ‘ equal opportunity’ and ‘everyone should be equal’. I believe in the former not the latter. I also believe we have a very long way to go and that the current political agenda is reversing some of our country’s successes in this area.
Also Ross, right wing/ left wing is a socialist (or big govt) term. Conservative politics do not traditionally have right/left factions. In modern political history, the ugly autocrats/dictators were essentially ‘right wing socialists’ with a dose of rabid nationalism thrown in. They are the masters of ‘divide and conquer’.
They are like the Orwellian pigs. . . you know. . . Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others.
And Polyaux,
Seriously?
What planet are you living on?
That was a classic example of a self serving (pseudo intellectual) bureaucratic rant if I ever saw one.
Of course some of our bi polar, poorly implemented, environmentalist policies have contributed to things such as unmanageable bush fires. They were not the only contributor but they certainly played a part.
True upper North Shore cardie wearer?
What dams?
Seriously?
ROFL 🙂 🙂 🙂
Debbie, you don’t know me,so don’t decide what serves me. In this case I simply dismiss Devine’s claims because they are wrong in fact,not because they offend my environmental beliefs.I’m quite happy to discuss the real shortcomings of uninformed environmentalism. Devine accused greenie influenced policy of causing the bushfires. This is transparently and stupidly wrong. It adds nothing to discussion,it is wrong in fact and it only serves to make Devine look incompetent to anyone with half an inkling of reality. Why is Devine published at all,let alone cited here? Life is too short to read her mediocre provocation.
While I agree with your basic comment about uninformed journalism I would point out that Devine is far from the guiltiest….but certainly not innocent.
Green influenced policy DOES play a part in unmanageable bushfires Polyaux….
You are being rather pedantic claiming that Devine wrote they CAUSED it….she actually points out ( in a rather uninformed manner) they played a role.
Green influenced policy has been a contributor on 2 major fronts:
1) By insisting on centralising management and response policy and tying it up to the point that local authorities are unable to respond in a timely manner and
2) By failing to recognise the important roles of fire breaking, selective clearing, escape corridors, grazing and back burning (green burning) as sensible and cost effective methods of mitigating damage to property, lives and the natural environment.