Comments

nimby (not verified)

Fri, 2012-09-14 18:31

What's not said is that this freedom to use green wedges is about Melbourne's population obesity overflowing and spilling out on previously protected areas, the "green lungs" of Melbourne. With no population upper limits, and no population plan for Australia - or Victoria - except more impacting growth, it's inevitable that any "vacant" land be vied for use for developers. Victoria is struggling economically, and the Baillieu government, despite our so-called chronic skills shortages, is cutting back TAFES and closing them down. Tourism, property development, mortgages, coal and mainly growth industries are what's propping us up. Even if it means sacrificing each piece of open land in the Peninsula and Flinders area. The Peninsula Link was to deliberately make the area accessible, to increase land prices, and therefore open for business.

Sheila Newman

Fri, 2012-09-14 16:23

Hi Anonymous,

Thank you for thinking carefully about this. I hope that you also note that I said nothing to deprecate the earless dragon or the golden sun moth. What I did was criticise the rationale of saying that culling kangaroos was to save the earless dragon. I pointed out that earless dragon scarcity coincided with kangaroo scarcity in the ACT. The converse would also be true: good earless dragon numbers coincided with plentiful kangaroos. The point is that the conflation is an obvious lie or incompetence used by the government to carry out culls. Another point would be the importance of both species to eachother, perhaps.

Earless Dragon scarcity previously coincided with kangaroo scarcity in ACT

Don Fletcher, in “Population Dynamics of Eastern Grey Kangaroos in Temperate Grasslands,” describes how, in the 1940s and 1950s kangaroos actually became rare in the ACT due to competition by European grazing stock. Even when these stock were removed, they remained rare for some time. Salt blocks were put out in the 1960s to attract kangaroos to the Tidbinbilla Fauna Reserve, where in 1963 employees went for three months without seeing one.) [12]

Oddly, at the same time as kangaroos were banished from the ACT, the Earless Dragon also became scarce. It couldn’t have been because of too many kangaroos.

“The Grassland Earless Dragon was very common in the ACT up to the 1930s but there are now very few left. This is mainly because there are so few areas of its native grassland habitat remaining. There are now only two main populations known in the ACT; and there is one near Cooma in NSW.” Source: The ACT Conservation Council, http://www.consact.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=34#GED
[13 ]

Bandicoot

Thu, 2012-09-13 11:06

Racism used to mean the idea that people of "other" races and ethnic origins were intrinsically inferior. We now know that all humanity has common roots, and common ancestors, and we are all "out of Africa". Skin colour, culture and physical features are all superficial, or human constructs.
However, "racism" is targeted now to anyone who questions our forced and politically decided population growth, assuming it's about "race" - a clever way from diverting the issue from sheer numbers and human-footprint impacts.

"Race" is a minor consideration, something that can be addressed through social cohesion. The real concerns are much more profound and much harder to overcome - unsustainable population growth. Even mention of skin colour, country of origin etc has become "racist" to some degree.
There are valid cases of racism, and these can't be hidden away in history. The treatment of aborigines, the loss of their languages, culture, territorial lands and traditions are obvious ones.
"Cynically deemed" is closer to the new version of "racism" - any questioning of our booming and widening immigration program.

Sheila Newman

Thu, 2012-09-13 10:30

Bandicoot, You write, "Discussing of population has been (almost) successively squashed by political correctness, and any criticism of our immigration levels - mostly from Asia - is automatically deemed "racist" and "xenophobic". Instead of 'automatically deemed', I would suggest 'cynically deemed', by those who profit from and therefore lobby for overpopulation in Australia. They also give air to people who hold legitimate concerns about racism, whilst massively restricting the real debate about overpopulation and loss of democracy. Our governments and their commercial friends seem to be at war with citizens and to want to take everything we have from us.

Anonymous (not verified)

Wed, 2012-09-12 23:13

Subject was: Please note...

Please note that the 'earless dragon' found at Darling Downs in QLD is NOT the same endangered Tympanocryptis pinguicolla species as found in the ACT and areas of NSW (predominantly Cooma region). Refer to Conservation Genetics and species status of an endangered Australian dragon, Typanocryptis pinguicolla (Reptilian: Agamidae) Melville et al. 2007, Cons Genet.

This particular species of Tympanocryptis faces an uncertain future due to many factors, and has been declining rapidly over the last few years.

I do not necessarily agree with the kangaroo culling, but just because it is an "ugly" reptile or a seemingly unimportant "bug" like the golden sun moth, does not mean it is any less important than a furry face.

Don't forget how intimately things are connected in nature...including the impact on natural populations (both positive & negative, both on dragons & kangaroos) of humans.

Anonymous (not verified)

Wed, 2012-09-12 18:35

The EPBC Act means that planners and developers must go through assessments and create strategies to be "sustainable".

As part of its campaign to make it easier for the developers and business, the Labor Government initiated discussions with the Federal Government to try to simplify the implementation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, which the developers were screaming about, because listed species and communities would constrain their development options. They agreed in 2009 to undertake a ‘Strategic Assessment’ under the EPBC Act.

Two large areas with some good grassland components were set aside to the west of Melbourne to receive offsets from the areas to be destroyed within the extended urban area. A smaller area of grassy woodland to the south-east of Whittlesea is also to be reserved for woodland offsets.

The Biodiversity Conservation Strategy lists and analyses EPBC-listed species but has not investigated other threatened species, not even those listed under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act.

It's assumed that by providing environmental "offsets", the fauna and biodiversity will simply comply, and be constrained into convenient "conservation" areas. The damaging Edge Effect is ignored, along with biodiversity corridors.

Nearby Nature only a Distant Dream of 28 Nov 2011 at http://www.iffa.org.au/nearby-nature-only-distant-dream

Melbourne's urban growth boundary and transport corridors have been designed to go around areas of protected grasslands, and "more than 80 per cent of all protected woodlands within the revised urban growth boundary will be retained".

This remarkable achievement will be because areas of "protected woodlands" will be surrounded by roads and urban developments, impacting on their integrity and wildlife.

"As part of the program, the Victorian Government will establish and actively manage more than 15,000 hectares of reserves for the natural temperate grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain and the grassy eucalypt woodland of the Victorian Volcanic Plain. This will boost the current two per cent of the protected grasslands currently in reserves to 20 per cent".

This sounds promising, but just how "protected" will the protected grasslands remain? With Melbourne's population obesity being considered as inevitable and something the government is forced to manage- rather that actually creating population targets.

"The Victorian Government will put in place management plans and conservation strategies. Buffer areas will be established near waterways, and development designs will have to be water sensitive and protect native vegetation" Just how are wildlife such as frogs and threatened bandicoots etc expected to be confined to "buffer" areas instead of being free-range wildlife? They can't read signs, they will be trampled on and killed by all the threats of urban sprawl and traffic.

"The program has been designed for the long term. It puts in place clear and robust measures to ensure it not only meets the needs and priorities of both the Australian and Victorian governments, but also that development into the future is carried out sustainably".

As long as the non-meaning word "sustainable" is used, any contrary arguments are simply squashed. Both parties have agreed that the "long term" will include rampant population growth for Victoria.

Strategic assessment of Melbourne’s urban growth boundary, last updated: Wednesday, 11 Jul  at http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/notices/assessments/melbourne.html

The FFG Act offers no comfort for biodiversity either.
"The Biodiversity Conservation Strategy (BCS) replaces the requirement to protect native vegetation and threatened species habitat during the planning of precincts resulting from the prescriptions and the Native Vegetation Management Framework".

So, if the policies are water-tight and too restrictive, governments simply change them and make them more "streamlined" and flexible. It amounts to moving the goal-posts to allow developments over wildlife habitats and native vegetation. .

"Instead, the BCS applies these requirements strategically at a growth area level to identify all land that requires protection. The BCS protects this land by classifying them as Conservation Areas".

BSC "addresses all matters of national environmental significance listed under the EPBC Act and matters of State significance listed under the State Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act 1988".

The FFG Act actually guarantees nothing! It's all just spin. The proposed strategic assessment and growth corridor plans will essentially lock in proposed growth plans, without an further ecological assessment, for decades. This is a sweetheart deal for property developers. Conservation laws at a state level have not been considered, for example the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act.

.

Bandicoot

Wed, 2012-09-12 10:50

Already there are unlimited temporary sponsored working visas to Australia. These "temporary" workers are then allowed, after 4 years, to apply for PR. New Zealanders can enter Australia unlimited. This 457 visa allows a business to employ someone from outside Australia in a skilled job in Australia. If you hold this visa, you can: work in Australia for up to four years bring your family with you travel in and out of Australia as often as you want The 457 visa is Australia’s principal long-term working visa, and as such is the favoured means among Australian employers looking to bring on skilled offshore talent, or individuals who want to work temporarily in Australia. The 457 visa program is demand driven and therefore uncapped (unlimited in the number of visas the government can approve) and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) "Centres of Excellence" who process these applications prioritise quick processing so that Australian businesses can access the skilled workers they need from overseas without delay through the visa process. Business-savvy migrants with at least $5 million to invest in Australia can apply for new investor visas from November. The investment visas were announced in May and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen released what the conditions were on Wednesday. People can submit expressions of interest through SkillSelect from November 24. Wealthy investors lured with new visas With little industry in Australia, and heavy reliance on the now-peaked mining industries, wealth creation and revenue raising has resorted to actually poaching not only skilled from Asia and developing nations, but the wealthy too. It assumes that Australia has unlimited natural resources to plunder, and that any population pressures, infrastructure shortages and costs of living can simply be passed onto voters who will bear the brunt of this excessive welcome to Australia of unlimited numbers of foreigners. Discussing of population has been (almost) successively squashed by political correctness, and any criticism of our immigration levels - mostly from Asia - is automatically deemed "racist" and "xenophobic". We face challenging times ahead, with a changing climate and managing natural resource depletions. Adding more people is a sign that those who have their bums on seats in our political power-houses have little appreciation of Nature, planetary threats, social justice issues, and the pressures on our social and environmental structures that are exacerbated by increasing populations. Australia is being wrecked by an environmentally bankrupt administration. They imagine that Australia is no more than an Economy, and our economy can survive, despite a sterile and depleted environment, overwhelmed by concrete housing, urban sprawl and the multiple demands of growing human numbers.

Sheila Newman

Tue, 2012-09-11 18:27

Victorian meeting: Richmond

Promotional planning in lead up to 2013 election

Date: Sunday 16 September

Time: 12:00pm to 1:30pm (then lunch)

Venue: Richmond Club Hotel (Level 1, Balcony Bar), 100 Swan St Richmond.

Local members and supporters are invited to come and discuss how you can participate in a support group promoting our party around Melbourne. This meeting is for people who will volunteer their time (say) every month or two (e.g. to hand out flyers).

Refreshments are available for purchase during (and lunch following) the meeting.

To RSVP (if not already done): CLICK HERE

We look forward to seeing you there. If you would like to be part of our volunteer support group in Victoria but can't make the meeting, please still contact us and we'll include you in relevant correspondence.

Kind regards

Jonathan Page
Victorian Coordinator
STABLE POPULATION PARTY
www.populationparty.org.au

Jordy Maas (not verified)

Tue, 2012-09-11 18:26

verification of comment Hi Jordy, Thank you for verifying. You can post without verifying, however. We will still publish. Candobetter.net Editor

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2012-09-11 18:21

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/connect-asia/chinese-investment-in-australian-real-estate-rising/1013948 Don't tell me it's xenophobic to say that filling this country up with foreign multimillionaires who are mostly interested in construction and land-lording isn't a great big social and moral problem! If you don't want to click on the link to the Radio Australia link and transcript, here are the highlights: The Australian Government has created a new business migration category where anyone with $500m gets residency. In the past 6 yrs $45b has been invested by Chinese enterprises in Australian businesses, mostly in mining and oil and gas. According to CBRE Research, real estate is a small but significant part of the total. It says 30% of all apartment developments in the country are by foreign investors, who are 90% Asian. The largest group are from Singapore, with a 37% share. Hong Kong companies have 20%, and China 9%. In Melbourne MOST of the $500m came from Chinese developers investing in the past two years. Ling Guiru is the economic counsellor with the Chinese Consulate in Sydney: "More and more Chinese immigration come here. They want to settle here. They need a house. And our government also encourage not only natural resources mining companies who come here, but also agriculture, technology and so on. So that's why more and more Chinese[incomprehensible] come here." Wallis Wang is a property developer and vice president of the SRE group, which has been operating for 30 years and is headquartered in Hong Kong and Shanghai. He told Sue Lannon Australia is attractive for its lifestyle and good return on investment and because its regulatory system is transparent. These big developers and businesses have made terrible environmental problems for China. Why should they be encouraged to come here? They should be made to live in the country they have ruined, along with the people who cannot leave it. Instead our so-called leaders in Australia are inviting them here to ruin our country. "Personally I think that this is much more stable than other countries, especially comparing with China. Australia have very beautiful living environment and from a political point of view is very stable, so people are willing to invest their wealth in Australia and can see appreciation going up ... That's why we trust to keep investing in Australia." The Australian Government is actively encouraging wealthy business immigrants, especially from China, with its introduction last May of a new business visa. It gives residency for those with $500m or more to invest in Government bonds or directly into a business. In some cases, it allows investment in real estate through managed funds. The Chinese are looking for better investment returns than in the Chinese Market which has 'calmed down to reasonable levels'. The Chinese developers and investors are worried that they might be singled out for discriminatory treatment if there is a change of government. So far, however, it looks like any discrimination has been very much in their financial favor!

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2012-09-11 08:18

Kelvin Thomson is one of a few politicians actually doing the job they are elected to do- to represent the interests of the people who vote for them. Why is this concept too hard to comprehend and administer? Now, it's appeasing cashed-up lobby groups and perpetuating the impossible myth of "economic growth" forever! Politicians like Kelvin seem to be heading for extinction, and are a dying breed. Thanks to Kelvin for actually speaking the truth, and revealing things as they are instead of all the shallow spin that usually comes out of their mouths.

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2012-09-11 00:49

Gee, we don't need democracy to run Australia, or fraud to elect government. We have the Murdoch and Fairfax Press. They run everything here and tell us what we think. Canada must have a different system. But seriously - very interesting article/film. Especially the part about telling other countries how to do democracy. Australia is involved in that kind of military hypocrisy too.

admin

Mon, 2012-09-10 14:40

I was nor able to find the opinion poll referred to above, atlhough I don't doubt that it exists or that the overwhelming majority of Australians oppose this sell-off. Barnaby Joyce noted how seriously Treasurer Wayne has attended to his responsibiities as Federal Treasurer in regard to Cubbie Station:

In the last month Wayne Swan has spent more time telling us about his love for Bruce Springsteen than he has explaining the serious decision to sell our nation's biggest farm.

Let's hope that Senator Barnaby Joyce maintains his opposition to the sale and this time fights harder against this sale than he did against the privatisation of Telstra, the sale of which he promised voters in 2004 that he would oppose.

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2012-09-10 11:00

Perhaps some of our politicians could be outsourced and replaced by some administrative talent from overseas. It could be cheaper for Australia, and allow incumbents to be performance assessed regularly and their futures based on it.

The import of fresh fruit and vegetables, and other produce in competition with Australian farmers and primary industry, is undermining the jobs and economy of Australian citizens.

According to poll by The Weekly Times, 84% of participants do not agree with the sale of Cubbie Station. The envy of China's economic wealth is so overwhelming that they will grovel to please them, even selling off large chunks of our sovereign land and natural assets. Due to the system of preferences, even voting does nothing to swing from the sameness of the Libs and Labs. Once we become the southern state of China, and literally part of the "Asian Century", then maybe then the land grabs will end.

Dick Smith is right - we should support Australian made. The Australian government is totally committed to globalizing our nation, our land, our production and our assets, so why not put up the job of running our nation, democratically, to international tender?

See also: Could Cubbie Station have remained in Australian hands? on Brisbane ABC Local Radio 612 and add your comment. - Ed

admin

Sun, 2012-09-09 23:20

From PressTV, YouTube

Citizens in Canada are seeking to overturn the results of the 2011 Federal Election which provided Stephen Harper's Conservative Party with a much coveted majority in the Canadian Parliament.

The Harper government claims to possess a full democratic mandate. But Evidence has surfaced over the past six months demonstrating that voters from demographics that seldom vote Conservative received fraudulent automated phone messages, also known as 'robocalls', directing them to fictional polling stations.

The Canadian government has repeatedly made the spurious allegation that election fraud takes place in other conutries' elections even though mainstream polls have accurately predicated the announced outcome of those elections. Yet, this could be a case of 'they who doth protest too much'.

The social justice group the "Council of Canadians" is providing financial backing to cover the legal expenses of those members of the electorate who claim they were disenfranchised in the pivotal 2011 Federal Election.

The Council of Canadians and other defenders of Canadian democracy were pleased with the recent ruling of a federal judge who rejected the Conservative Party's motions to obstruct those who want to dispute the legitimacy of the Canadian government's mandate, in court. The judge stated that: "Far from being frivolous or vexatious."

"The applications raise serious issues about the integrity of the democratic process in Canada" and "point to a campaign of activities that would seek to deny eligible voters their right to vote and/or manipulate or interfere with that right being exercised freely"

The judge accurately observed that the evidence of election fraud "could shake public confidence and trust in the electoral process."

Critics observe that the Harper government is one of the most zealous advocates of what it calls 'democracy promotion' in certain countries which it deems undemocratic. Such critics say that before the Canadian government engages in such social engineering abroad that it should ensure that it has a democracy at home.

PostGrowthEra (not verified)

Sun, 2012-09-09 13:14

A lot of politicians are suffering from short-term-ism, or myopia, and megalomania. It's in epidemic proportions. They are all good at promoting big sell-offs, grand infrastructure building innovations, globalizing our natural and man-made assents, and making short-term windfalls at the expense of taxpayers and the future.

Once their party loses government, their responsibility ends. The desalination plant is an example. The public of Victoria will be forced to pay for the desal plant, whether we need it or not. Due to massive population growth during a time of drought, the Labor party under Bracks and Brumby made the knew-jerk decision to develop water from the sea, at Wonthaggi. With our dams nearly full, we don't need it.

There needs to be a delinking of population growth from economic growth. It's the no-brainer was to increase the size of our economy, but ignoring the implications and flow-on effects and costs in the future. It's a symptom of myopia, and one-dimensional thinking.

Private companies exist for profits, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is beyond their responsibilities. The sell off of our public transport, gas and fuel, electricity generators and distributors, communications and water infrastructure places them in private hands, doomed to used for profits, not for the benefit of the wider community.

The short-term thinking of Jeff Kennett, John Brumby, and the Baillieu government will haunt us in the future.

There should be treatment/retirement/therapy for our politicians, and psychological assessment before potential politicians are allowed to be elected into government. Symptoms of myopia, tunnel-vision thinking, megalomania and those with a penchant for "growth" and "big" should be filtered out before they inflict their grandiose ideas onto the public - who end up bearing the enormous costs of privatisation, growth-addition and all the "shortages" that follow.

See also: Beyond Blue and Mr Kennett of 16 August, also posted onto johnquiggin.com about how this destroyer of livelihoods and instigator of mass poverty professes to care about those who suffer from depression. - Ed

Bandicoot

Sun, 2012-09-09 10:46

Foreign Minister Bob Carr says Chinese investment in Australia is a good deal for the Australian nation. Treasurer Wayne Swan's approval for the sale of Australia's largest cotton grower, Cubbie Station, to a Chinese-dominated consortium. "We accept the situation that our biggest customer (China) will, from time-to-time, see it appropriate to own a bit of an Australian business," Senator Carr told Sky News on Sunday. The Weekly Times "China can continue to underpin a great deal of prosperity by buying from us, but on the way through, they will want to do a bit more of what they're already doing," he said. Just because China is a strong export customer of Australia, it gives then no rights to our freehold, our agricultural land and water rights. Carr is confusing short-term financial gain with long term prosperity and national interests. It's a mistake commonly made by politicians, who are only accountable for their times in office. "That would be a good deal, that will keep them buying from us", he said. It sound very much like that if we want to guarantee that China remains our customer, we must continue to grease their palms by allowing them to buy massive amounts of Australian assets. Ironically, Bob Carr was a excellent Premier for over 10 years, and rightfully believed that Sydney was "full". He's also the patron of Sustainable Population Australia. Bob Carr is a "big picture" person, not one for details. He spent on infrastructure, and this caused State debt. As Premier he hosted the world’s best Olympics in 2000 and achieved the nation’s best school literacy levels. He was made a life member of the Wilderness Society and created 350 new national parks. He also ended duck shooting, and is a patron of Voiceless. However, this time he is letting his country down. He is undermining Australia as a sophisticated country by assuming that we have to submit to the superpower of China. The purchase by China would introduce more complexity to the Murray-Darling plan under which water will be demanded from the Lower Balonne. The station was created by amalgamating 12 floodplain properties to give Cubbie a total of 51 water licences. Its huge water storage dams stretch for more than 28 km along the Culgoa River, part of the Murray-Darling system. The water is used to supply 130 km² of irrigated cotton and other crops including wheat, which brings in about $50 million a year. Either he is blindly following Party policies, in an effort to secure his career, or his judgement now is impaired. Maybe Bob Carr's prime has passed and he is going down the route to conservative, global party politics. If we are accused of "xenophobia" then rightly so! The fears are quite legitimate considering Australia is the driest continent with limited fertile soils - and our government is one of the most pro-globalization in the world!

Jay Douglas (not verified)

Sat, 2012-09-08 14:35

According to the most recent data I was able to find on google the unemployment rate among skilled permanent migrants was 7.2%, while the rate of unemployment for the workforce overall was 5.2%.

Sheila Newman

Thu, 2012-09-06 23:49

I just want to congratulate Post Growth Era on his/her effective, fine, use of language.

We are indeed ruled by Crazed Growth Gluttons. I had never thought of them quite like this, but that is what it is. It is an addiction to power and money, brought on by the play between having and wanting. The growth gluttons go all out to get past one boundary, but having achieved that, the dopamine drops and then they have to create a new boundary to break to keep up the dopamine rewards. It doesn't matter who suffers. Our planners, developers, financiers and leaders are behaving as if they suffer from dopamine depletion. If they weren't building everywhere and trampling peoples' rights they would be gambling all their money away or drinking themselves to oblivion. It would be better for Melbourne if that's all they did because they are ruining everything.

This whole Melbourne Planning system is just a kind of ultimate addiction phenomenon. VCAT is like a dealer and bartender, keeping the tension up, adjusting the dosage. But the customers will never be satisfied.

The whole planning department and all the developers and their parliamentary servants need a 12 step program and total abstinence from gratuitous development population engineering. We would all be much better off if they all went on the dole and stopped their continuous interference in absolutely everything.

Jennifer Parkhurst (not verified)

Thu, 2012-09-06 19:16

Thank you Sheila and the team at CanDoBetter and of course thanks to Hans Brunner for the fabulous article. I also appreciate Bandicoot's comments and feel humbled to be compared to Paul Watson. you are right; whistleblowers and activists are persecuted and their/our main crime is trying to stop cruelty in a world that would rather ignore it and focus on greed and ambition. At least there are many people who can see through the lies and who support those doing their best to make the world a better place. Without animals we have no world, especially without top-order predators. Keep up the great work, everyone. Jennifer

Geoffrey Taylor

Thu, 2012-09-06 17:41

Wendy Shirley, Executive Officer of the South Australian Volunteer Fire Brigades Association was interviewed on ABC News Radio just now. She called for the reinstatement of regional volunteer support officers who were removed a year ago. She rightly complained of the burden of paperwork imposed up on volunteer bush fire fighters which is leading to dwindling numbers of people prepared to volunteer. The call to reinstate the federal public servants who once managed volunteer bush firefighters also raises the question of why volunteer firefighters should not also be paid for their work.

That fewer are prepared to volunteer for volunteer firefighting services seems yet another consequence of fewer and fewer people having time for rest, recreation, personal interests or community service.

This is a consequence of the increasing cost of living and the overall complexity of life. The living costs that are constantly going up include principally housing rent or the interest on finance necessary to pay for a housing mortgage. On top of that, population growth, compounded by poor urban design, force many families to buy a second or even a third car where, barely a generation ago, one was more than sufficient. Many hours have to be spent every day by at least one member of each family commuting to and from work, schools, universities, shops and other amenities often in gridlocked freeway traffic.

One way or another more of those who provide services should be rewarded for the services provided. This society's excessive reliance on voluntarism is a symptom of the mean spirit of economic rationalism that was explicitly introduced without any electoral mandate by the neoliberal Federal 'Labor' Treasurer Paul Keating in 1983. Economic neoliberalism has since become the doctrine to which all state and federal governments are expected to adhere by corporations and their newsmedia.

PostGrowthEra (not verified)

Thu, 2012-09-06 14:16

LIBERAL great Sir Rupert Hamer would be ''horrified'' and ''surprised'' at what the Baillieu government was doing to Melbourne's green wedge areas, according to Sir Rupert's daughter.

Alliance defends Melbourne's 'lungs' of 30 Aug 2012 by Jason Dowling at www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/alliance-defends-melbournes-lungs-20120829-2513q.html

Historic Mornmoot - on 124 hectares - was at one stage owned by Neville Young of the Young & Jackson's Hotel, and more recently by David Leighton, founder of the Leighton Group. In Whittlesea, in Melbourne's north, the green wedge-zoned property is expected to make way for a series of housing estates.

Legitimate native species will be pushed to the edge of extinction. While there's a certain amount of redundancy in Nature, digging up grasslands, impacting on wetlands and fragile coastal areas is like deliberately popping the "rivets" that hold together our ecological foundation - and existence.

Once too many rivets on a plane's wing pop, it means impending disaster. The same is for our biodiversity services - the "rivets" that hold our life-support system together are being destroyed.

Richmond office sale breaks record price of 1 September 2012 by Marc Pallisco at www.smh.com.au/business/property/richmond-office-sale-breaks-record-price-20120831-255va.html

It's an invasion by stealth into protected zones. There's no "logic" to it but a crazed gluttony for growth.

Melbourne's population obesity is spilling over and creeping into buffer zones previously protected by the Hamer government in the 1960s. "Planning" in State governments now is a synonym for fast-tracking building permits for developers and their allied supporters. Without a belt or any boundary, and without firm buffer zones to infrastructure, housing and more concrete, Melbourne is being destroyed as a liveable and sustainable city. The "shortages" of public transport, public services, schools and jobs are actually an overshoot of immigration-driven population growth - something that is targeted to continue next year!

CSI (not verified)

Thu, 2012-09-06 10:36

How could anyone be this clueless? Most wealthy people have enough nous to know when to shut their mouths, and know of the importance of gaining at least some sympathy from common people. Gina goes out of her way to make common people dislike her. She's like a comic book villain. I think because she inherited most of her wealth rather than working for it she has no clue what its like for everyday people. And no Gina people can't afford to live in Australia on $2 a day. Even on $15 an hour its hard to make ends meet. This is because the cost of living in Australia is very high. Which can be blamed largely on your developer friends driving up the cost of land through blatant speculation.

Bandicoot

Thu, 2012-09-06 08:22

Gina Rinehard last night condemned Australia as "too expensive for investors". Labour can be used by South Africans for $2 per day - much more competitive! Foreign labour poached from developing countries will ensure workers will be free from union association, will be compliant, and willing to work with small infrastructure demands. According to an agency website: "The 457 Visa scheme is a short term TEMPORARY VISA and offers no guarantee to you or your family. With the 457 Visa, if your 457 Visa Employer Sponsor terminates your employment, then you may only be given 28 days to find a new 457 Visa approved Employer Sponsor, apply for another substantive visa or leave Australia!" "Instead of returning to your country of origin if you lose your job or your 457 Visa expires, would you like to live and work in Australia with Permanent Residency? " When a Skilled – Regional Sponsored (provisional) visa holder has held their visa for at least two years they can apply for the permanent Skilled - Regional (subclass 887) visa provided they have lived for two years and worked full time for at least one year in a specified regional area in Australia. DIAC charge a non-refundable fee for the application (from $3,060). Migration Consultants fee will depend on the visa subclass applied for. Average fees from Migration Agents are between $500 and $5,000 depending upon whether just advice or complete lodgement. All the visa applications are another source of government and business revenue. Employer sponsored "temporary" working visas are unlimited in Australia. As a temporary visa program, the 457 visa allows applicants to work for up to four years for their sponsoring employer. While it is possible to change employers, any business employing an existing 457 visa holder must firstly be approved as a business sponsor and successfully nominate the position to be filled. Many long-term 457 visa holders ultimately make the decision to remain permanently in Australia, and they will be pleased to note that the government recently announced reforms to provide a fast-tracked and simplified pathway to permanent residence. The advantages of converting to permanent residency from a 457 visa include the added security of knowing that they and their family members can remain permanently in Australia. The family members may be unskilled, thus adding to our unemployment rate, and more "skills shortages". They also add to our housing and population pressure, and even could apply for Centrelink benefits. The United Nations labour agency estimates there are between 100,000 and 250,000 child gold miners in West Africa. The ACTU secretary Dave Oliver says the billionaire's workforce has been insulted by her comparisons with Africa. Rinehard is explicitly saying we should build an economic trade zone where there are less laws on IR (industrial relations), less laws regarding taxation, which is very clear - pay less tax, exploit workers. The latest Roy Morgan unemployment estimate of 9.8% is now 4.6% above the 5.2% currently quoted by the ABS for July 2012. Youth unemployment is up to double figures in some areas. The refusal of the Federal Government, Federal Opposition and RBA to acknowledge Australia’s ‘true’ high unemployment estimate continues to be a major concern as it allows the RBA to keep interest rates artificially high when they should reduce them by at least one percent — doing this would take pressure off the high Australian dollar which is causing real difficulties for Australian farmers and manufacturers and also the Australian tourism industry

nimby (not verified)

Wed, 2012-09-05 20:11

The Labor government are being hypocritical about the green wedges. Although they support their protection, they expanded the urban growth boundary, and continued to add to our population stress. "The facts show that the Bracks Government expanded the Urban Growth Boundary into Green Wedge land by 47,217 hectares, and the Brumby Government by 43,600 hectares," Mr Guy said.

"For the Labor Opposition to now oppose and criticise any UGB movement is complete hypocrisy."

See Facts about Urban Growth Boundary expansion of 29 Aug 2012 by Premier Ted Baillieu at http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/4739-facts-about-urban-growth-boundary-expansion.html .

In 2012 Baillieu Government added 5,958 hectares to the UGB.

On 23 June 2010 the Labor planning spokesperson Brian Tee made a 2,551 word statement to Parliament in support of the then Brumby Government's 43,000 hectare expansion of the urban growth boundary.

"We need to maintain the investment and the focus, and that is about safeguarding future housing now; it is about making sure we are planning for the next 5, 10, 15 and indeed 20 years."

"The challenge for us is to find more space for housing for young families, or others who want to live in the suburbs, and this amendment is about getting that balance right.

"It makes sure that we have that competitive advantage in terms of affordable housing...."

Both sides of State government claim they are making an effort to provide "affordable housing", and thus must extend the UGB and infiltrate into the green wedges. It's all about developer profits and more mortgages to drain people's earnings away from their families and futures.

According to Mr Barber, the Greens, "The fact is that there is a bipartisan policy put in place by Labor and Liberal going all the way back to the creation of the UGB in 2002 to continuously expand the size of Melbourne. It is written there in black and white in the planning scheme as it was left by the Labor Party to always allow 15 years of land supply. In other words, the urban growth boundary is a misnomer -- an oxymoron. It is not a growth boundary. It is not a boundary or anything; it just keeps growing endlessly, and increasingly those urban developments reach limits, including the limit of the public budget to provide the necessary infrastructure".

With a policy-free zone on population targets, there is no end in sight to growth. The Greens may criticize, but their open door policy towards immigration and asylum seekers offers no solutions either to our city's expanding girth! They recommend "greening" the city, with roof-top gardens and plants on balconies!

http://vicmps.greens.org.au/category/free-tagging/urban-growth-boundary

Jordy Maas (not verified)

Wed, 2012-09-05 19:31

Excess non-concessional contributions tax

I received a Notice of assessment – year ended 30 June 2010 this month for Excess non-concessional contributions tax $65,472.35 DR, as a result of implementation of Statement of Advice by Industry Fund Financial Planning, financial year 09/10.

Industry Fund Services (iffp.com.au) are reviewing my complaint to determine what they are prepared to do or otherwise about the ATO fine directed against me.

The Australian Taxation Office told me I had to pay the amount owing by due date 3 September 2012.

Senator Mathias-Cormann, Shadow Assistant Treasurer & Shadow Minister for Financial Services & Superannuation office advised me not everyone who receives similar notice of assessment are paying up through appeal.

Two questions at least: Are Industry Fund financial planners mindful of ATO guidelines and / working on behalf of the Australian Taxation Office?

Sheila Newman

Wed, 2012-09-05 18:50

It needs to be said that the majority of our asylum seekers and refugees come from countries where we are participating in or backing illegal wars that are causing the very conditions these people flee. Why the refugee advocate lobby does not join with peace activists to try to point this out is beyond me. Everything else flows from this. Most women in Australia, including a lot of Muslim women, would be horrified at the idea of the introduction of Sharia law to Australia. Most non-theists would be concerned about the introduction of any religious law over state laws. But it seems that the wars we are involved with all back hard-line Islamicism over secular states, as Syrian Girl Partisan points out. Our leaders do not represent us here or overseas. They don't give a stuff about women's or democratic rights here. Syrian Girl Partisan on sectarianism and foreign intervention

Anonymous (not verified)

Wed, 2012-09-05 18:05

Another problem is that most of the asylum seekers are Muslim. While most of them are no doubt moderate, there is little evidence of them integrating. Christian minorities all around the Muslim world—especially women and children—are being abducted, tortured, raped, forced to convert to Islam, and/or enslaved. Western nations largely take religious liberty for granted. Unfortunately, people of faith, especially Christians, face far more restrictions and suffer persecution.

Islamic community leader and Imam of the local mosque, Sheik Taj al-Din Hilaly, demanded that a Muslim candidate be automatically given electoral preselection over his opponent in the Labor Party, rather than submit to the normal ballot process. The then premier Bob Carr instantly rebuffed this demand, stating that preselection was a democratic process and was not decided upon ethnic or religious criteria. However, it is only a matter of time until seats in parliament are won by Muslims, whose voting will not be governed by the requirements of their electorates, but most probably by the demands of their local mosques.

In France, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Britain and many other secular western nations, Muslims use their growing numbers to intimidate non-Muslims.

In 1996 the unemployment rate of Muslims in Australia was 25 per cent, compared to eight per cent for United Kingdom and Irish-born, and nine per cent for the Australian-born and national total. This is in spite of the fact that the Muslims' skill levels were almost equivalent both to the Australian-born and the national total.

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils wants Muslims to be able to marry, divorce and conduct financial transactions under the principles of sharia law. Latest research has found that while polygamy is unlawful, mainstream law accommodates men who arrive in Australia with multiple wives and gives some legal standing to multiple partnerships that originate in Australia.

A bitter dispute between siblings came before the ACT Supreme Court in Canberra this year, when a daughter of a devout Muslim woman demanded she receive the same inheritance as her brothers. The citizenship pledge makes clear that becoming a citizen means obeying Australian laws and upholding Australian values. A sheik and Muslim leaders said sharia was already being used to end hundreds of marriages a year. Sharia is also being used by imams in cases of business disputes and neighbourhood fights.

During a visit to Australia in August last year, British-based anti-sharia law campaigner Maryam Namazie said Australia should learn from Britain's mistake in extending a form of legal recognition to tribunals that use sharia law, not British law, to decide disputes.

Bandicoot

Wed, 2012-09-05 13:11

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has responded to community concerns about the super trawler saying he is powerless to stop it, instead introducing a series of conditions to minimise the impact of the trawler on listed threatened species. Whilst it's good to see Minister Burke using his powers to act, the conditions put in place will not stop this super trawler (or others) destroying our marine life and fisheries. Here's why: - The conditions do nothing to address the concerns of conservationists and recreational or commercial fishers about local over exploitation of fish stocks - Most of the conditions are standard for all trawlers - such as management plans for sea birds - but this does not stop protected bird species being caught in the first place - The conditions allow up to 10 seals to be killed every day, if more are killed the a simple 'review' is triggered and the trawler is required to move 50 nautical miles. Trawlers can cover these distances in a few hours and given marine wildlife such as seals, dolphins and turtles are highly mobile this does nothing to protect them. - The conditions do not address the flow on effect of localised depletion of fish stocks on the marine environment or the flow on effects to other marine wildlife who may lose their food source such as penguins, tuna, seals, whales and dolphins. It is now time for Joe Ludwig to use his powers as Fisheries Minister to stop super trawlers destroying our fisheries - he should use his powers under section 91 of the Fisheries Management Act, which allow him to take action in 'exceptional circumstances' like this to ban super trawlers from our waters. Tell Joe Ludwig it's time to protect Australia's fisheries and marine life from super trawlers - email him here: Email Joe Ludwig Authorised by Rebecca Hubbard of Environment Tasmania Environment Minister Tony Burke in June released the Government's final network of marine reserves which - once proclaimed under national environmental law - will increase the number of marine reserves from 27 to 60, expanding the national network to cover more than a third of Commonwealth waters. "For generations Australians have understood the need to preserve precious areas on land as national parks. Our oceans contain unique marine life which needs protection too," he said. What's the point if a foreign mega-trawler can simply enter our Australian waters and suck up fish stocks, destroy local food chains, and kill by-catch? It's bringing overfishing to Australia, to feed West Africa and Asia, countries already victims of rampant overfishing.

admin

Mon, 2012-09-03 22:47

Oliver Stone, whose contribution to democracy, truth and free speech includes his 1991 film masrepiece JFK, which shows what President John F. Kennedy stood for and why he was murdered, has written a joint piece with Michael Moore for the New York Times in defence of Julian Assange.

Hopefully, if Oliver Stone were ever to express an opinion on Syria, he would still take sufficient effort to find that the corporate media's version of the Syrian conflict, which is supported by Michael Moore in the broadcast embedded below, is no more truthful than the Warren Commission's findings on the JFK assassination.

Michel Moore's above broadcast retells mainstream media lies about Syria. More are to be found on his second broadcast of 5 minutes and 21 seconds, Michael Moore's Statement About Syria Compare these lies with the truth about NATO's aggression against Syria on Global Research and other places.

Bandicoot

Mon, 2012-09-03 08:28

Dingoes originally came to Australia with Aborigine people, our first Australians. They are being victimised and their isolation and starvation is trying to make them completely wild in a extremely short evolutionary framework - a polite way to ensure their extinction. They have always lived side by side with humans and have been co-dependant on them for some of their food sources. The vilification and managed extinction will ensure more space and profits from tourism on Fraser Island. Women, native animals, indigenous peoples, animal activists and whistle-blowers are always a threat to tyrants in power and those making profits from animals, land and human activities. The militant environmentalist Paul Watson, who is in hiding, says he felt betrayed by Germany, where he was under house arrest for 70 days, because it had negotiated with Japan to extradite him to Tokyo. Paul Watson, the fugitive head of international marine activism group Sea Shepherd who is wanted by the police on three continents, plans to avoid arrest by staying at sea as long as possible. Instead of arresting the illegal whale killers and shark-finners, the authorities would rather get paid bribery money by the corrupt than actually hunt down the real criminals. Jennifer Parkhurst can at least feel in good company for being hounded, arrested and persecuted for having compassion, revealing the truth, and bringing attention to the cruelty towards animals and their deliberate extinction processes.

admin

Sun, 2012-09-02 23:33

Tony Beaver - posted ~ 12.23pm, 2 September

FOR: "A growing, more diverse population opens countless prospects for specialisation and discovery, which lead to more competition and economic growth". Actually, population growth simply means our wealth is diluted between more people. While population growth may, through brute-force, increase our overall GDP, it's at the sacrifice of per capita GDP (or wealth). Since 1991 Australia has shown a stagnation, or decrease, in personal wealth. The most wealthy nations, and the most sustainable in the long term, are those with stable populations - such as in northern Europe. An ageing population is a positive sign or ageing gracefully.

Don't make the same mistake as California - joseph blow - posted ~ 7:32pm, 2 September

I grew up in California in 1970 when there was about 18 million people. Today there is about 38 million. Did the quality of life for the majority of Californian's improved? Absolutely not. Quality housing became less affordable, traffic increased, water rationing became commonplace, and there was fewer open spaces and nature reserves. Why would Australia want to make this same mistake? We are indeed the lucky country with abundant natural resources and a low population density to share those abundant resources which means we are amongst the wealthiest people on the planet and enjoy the highest standard of living.
Overpopulation is a serious global problem. Just go the Beijing and see what the quality of life is like when you cram the population of Australia into one big city. Global warming, shortages of oil, natural resources, water, etc all result from overpopulation. The only winners from a Big Australia are large corporations who sell more products, but the average person loses. Don't make the same mistake as California and overpopulate, that mistake is irreversible.

Population growth is lead in our saddlebags - Katharine Betts - posted ~ 7:32pm, 2 September

This was Doug Cocks' conclusion in his book People Policy 1996. Or, to use Paul Ehrlich's words: "Whatever your cause, it’s a lost cause without population control".

The only people who profit from population growth in Australia are the minority of vested interests, mainly property developers, who make money out of diminishing the quality of life of their fellow Australians. They also fund think tanks to promote their interests and try to buy politicians for the same purpose.

Mark O'Connor's points are all cogent and don't need repeating here. It is not good enough to say that we could squeeze more people in. We probably could. And given the way the vested interests are stacked up, will probably have to. But there is no evidence that it will make the existing population better off, even in the limited terms of GDP per capita.

The Productivity Commission concludes that by 2024-25 high immigration would increase "annual income per capita is about $383 (or about 0.71 per cent)" [p. XXXII] It also says that“Most of the economic benefits associated with an increase in skilled migration accrues to the immigrants themselves. For existing residents, capital owners receive additional income, with owners of capital in those sectors experiencing the largest output gains enjoying the largest gains in capital income. On the other hand, the real average annual incomes of existing resident workers grows more slowly than in the base-case, as additional immigrants place downward pressure on real wages."[p. 154] [Economic Impacts of Migration and Population Growth, 2006]

Calculations of this sort omit all the uncosted diseconomies of scale inflicted on the people living in our cities and the huge infrastructure costs that the taxpayer will have to bear.

admin

Sun, 2012-09-02 16:39

After some effort, I succeeded in posting[1] to YourView the following adaptation of a previous post on candobetter:

The following is adapted from a post in response to a property developer at http://candobetter.net/node/2711#comment-8497 :

1. How does the construction of a house or an apartment on any new residential 'development' add a single dollar to net export income? ...
3. In what wealth-producing industries are the residents of the six new suburbs, to be imposed upon Melbourne by the Baillieu government, to be employed?
4. If no wealth-creating industries are to employ the new residents, then how else can they be supported except by (i) adding to Australia's trading deficit or (ii) consuming wealth from other regions of Australia?

The property developer contributor was invited to supply a response to these questions, but has never done so. If anyone on your site can supply answers to these questions, candobetter.net would be happy to publish them. - Ed

We're still awaiting a response from developers or any other proponent of a 'Big Australia' there or here. On that page 63% have opposed a Bigger Australia whilst only 37% have supported it. Were the corporate newsmedia not so full of propaganda for a Big Australia opposition would no doubt be higher.

Footnotes

[1] Clinking on this link (http://yourview.org.au/comments/1041) will only cause your browser to load my comment, in isolation from the article and other comments. To get your browser to load the whole web-page including my comment, you have to click on this link (http://yourview.org.au/issues/19-We-should-say-YES-to-Big-Australia). However it won't take you to my comment or any other comment, which would be possible if hash tag links were used. To read a particular comment it is often necessary to manually scroll down your web browser window. To not use hash tag links, such as which are used on candobetter and most other forum sites seems an unnecessary limitation. An example of a hash tag link is http://candobetter.net/node/3041#comment-8758 with the label "above" to be found here. The actual html code for the hash tag link within the page http://candobetter.net/node/3041#comment-8758 is "<a href="#comment-8758">above</a>" (omit quotes).

Sheila Newman

Sun, 2012-09-02 12:16

The program showed disorderly refugee camps, lack of adequate processing of the many people in some of them, plus in Insight, that some countries do not provide any processing or lack treaties with us/the UN Convention, so the idea of orderly 'queues' is pretty moot. Reith's counter was reasonable. He said something to the effect that Australia takes a finite number of refugees, from which any boat-arrivals accepted as refugees is deducted. The implication was that Australia goes to these horrible refugee camps and selects refugees each year and that these camps contain the longest waiting, most patient cases living in the most misery. The argument would then be - presumably - that every refugee needs to make their way to a refugee camp that is signatory to the Geneva convention. If you finish up as a refugee in Indonesia, which is not a signatory, then you only have the asylum-seeker option (which can be via boat or aeroplane). Correct me if I have misunderstood. There will probably be another article on this matter (at least) but we have a huge ... um... queue of articles for cdb at the moment as well as books that need editing. More comments and more articles - from all sources - welcome on this issue. Oh, also, I seem to recollect that Australia is the only country - or one of few countries - to have a number of places set aside for refugees, and to go and select them from source. Do most other countries therefore just react to the asylum-seeker on the door-step? My impression is that some refugees do get consideration by writing to countries seeking asylum, but I think that you generally have to be well-known or well-connected. I would appreciate more info on this to save me the time of looking it up again.

PostGrowthEra (not verified)

Sun, 2012-09-02 10:21

Sustainable implies a steady-state model, where there are balances and off-sets that don't change the long-term viability of the systems. The idea of "sustainable" and "growth", with depletions and extractions at the same time, is an oxymoron and a myth. The world has become a throw-away, meaningless one in the face of human greed.

In arguing for "sustainable development" it means ignoring the observations on dwindling resources, wasteful consumption, and expanding populations. In a world of finite resources supporting growing economies and populations aren't sustainability and development contradictions?

Per capita appetite for the resource is ongoing, our numbers are growing, and our recycling is imperfect. More realistically – what we’re really doing is no more than “buying time.”

Bulletin of Atomic Scientists doomsday clock makes it clear that no activity is ever sustainable, because future generations would face a shorter time they could indulge in that same activity.

Greens leader Christine Milne said recently that all those European economies are seeing their future in terms of economic growth associated with a low carbon economy and that transformation and "decoupling" economic growth from resource depletion and pollution.

Really? The price on carbon will not necessarily do anything for Australia's greenhouse gas emission reductions. With runaway population growth and more people being forced to "choose" high consuming high-rise apartments, the tide of growth in energy use can't be held-back by renewable energy sources.

nimby

Sun, 2012-09-02 09:58

In brief: The question of whether Australia should welcome population growth or avoid it remains unresolved. The issue raises its head in public debate in different guises – from controversies over importing labour to fill vacancies in booming industries like mining, to temporary work visas and refugee quotas, from pressure on infrastructure and services in cities to boosting regional areas. Pantera Press have published a guide to both sides of this debate in Why vs Why™ Big Australia, being released 22 August 2012. The book presents an accessible and balanced view of both sides of the argument for and against a big Australia aimed at a mainstream audience. In conjunction with the release, YourView is raising the issue for public debate. Unlike other forums, YourView identifies the collective wisdom - the considered collective view of the participants. Below, we'd like to hear your view. But first, consider the cases for and against made in the book: Yes Case Dr Oliver Hartwich and Jessica Brown No Case Mark O’Connor Please VOTE Even the title is already tainted with bias, beyond logic!

CSI (not verified)

Sat, 2012-09-01 22:58

I agree that the government has been very good at distracting people from the huge numbers of legal migrants by diverting the media to "boat people". Leaky boats far out to sea are far more dramatic than well dressed people calmly stepping off a 747.

But to take things a little off-topic, I'd like to ask just what is the point of "Go Back to Where you Came From?". Yes most "boat people" are decent people who have had hard lives. Yes many Australians perhaps are a bit racist. This doesn't change the fact that Australia simply cannot afford to take in more than a tiny fraction of the worlds refugees, no matter how narrowly you define the term. There are just so many worldwide.

Vivienne above writes:

"If our government is committed to being a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, they why are these asylum seekers, presumably genuine, being forced to risk their lives coming to Australia in leaky and overcrowded fishing boats? Why aren't there ordered queues bringing our quota here safely?"

This relates to my argument about "Go Back to Where You Came From". We already bring in a fair few safely, in ordered queues. You could argue its too small a number, although relative to our population size our intake of refugees isn't that small. But I still agree we should increase this. However, no matter how high we raise our intake people will continue to take to boats. There are just so many refugees worldwide, genuine or otherwise, we cannot take in more than a tiny fraction.

So given that there will always be refugee boats, no matter how many refugees we accept through legal channels, we need to deal with these boats. If we just accept them with welcome arms that will just encourage more, until we are dealing with dozens or even hundreds of boats a day. Can't the producers of "Go Back to Where You Came From" see that?

nimby

Sat, 2012-09-01 08:57

The program Insight on Friday 31st interviewed after 6 months the crew who were in "Go back to where you came". If our government is committed to being a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, they why are these asylum seekers, presumably genuine, being forced to risk their lives coming to Australia in leaky and overcrowded fishing boats? Why aren't there ordered queues bringing our quota here safely? Why be part of the UN convention but then try their best to lethally deter these desperate people? It makes mockery of any intention of assisting them. Peter Reith was one of the crew. He was part of the Howard government's Pacific Solution. There's a plan to increase our humanitarian intake by double over the next 5 years. He said he supports our strong immigration program on the basis that we are a "nation of immigrants" and that it is good for our economy to have skilled migrants. Apparently, we have a lot of "resources". I wondered, just what "resources" do we have? Already population growth is leaving our States in shortfalls of funds, housing is unaffordable, we have desalination plants in our capital cities, an indication of ecological overshoot, rising costs of living and homelessness. As for natural resources, we have poor, infertile soils and just 6% of arable land, plus irregular rainfall. Many local food-bowls are being threatened by urban obesity, and growers are warning us not to be complacent about food security. Peter Reith and others see our big landscape and image it has great potential for a growing population, when we are actually a small nation in a big continent. The fact that we are already at saturation point with legal economic immigration was not mentioned, and chronic shortages of public housing will mean refugees will make the queues even longer as they would get priority over locals.

admin

Fri, 2012-08-31 06:11

The following was posted in response to a story Report: 120 French Troops Supporting Syria Rebels Captured of 1 March 2012 at http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2012/03/01/report-120-french-troops-sup... The Syrian Girl and Land Destroyer have also been advised. It seems to me that this, alongside the subsequent of the capture of Saudi and Qatari mercenaries has been forgotten. Why? Why couldn't the Syrian Government have revealed evidence of the criminality of the French, Qatari and Saudi Governments to the world, for example through video broadcasts of the captured mercenaries? I can only assume that the captured mercenaries are not still being held and so must have been quietly released. If so, then an opportunity for the Syrian Government to end the illegal war being waged against Syria by France and its allies and proxies will have been lost and at least many hundreds of Syrians will have paid with their lives since then. How could the Syrian Government, which I had presumed has the interests of its citizens at heart, have been so stupid? Apparent evidence of the capture of French Mercenaries on Syria soil variously numbered at 13, 100 and 'more than 120' can be found at the following pages: More than 120 French troops captured In Syria after surrendering!!! of 3 March 2012, Back Homs: Rebels flee, French troops captured by army of 1 March 2012, 13 French soldiers captured in Syria of 3 March 2012, Report: 120 French Troops Supporting Syria Rebels Captured of 5 March 2012, Report: French Soldiers Captured in Syria of 3 March 2012, 13 undercover French army officers seized in Syria – report of 5 March 2012, Syrian regime forces claims to capture 100 French soldiers in Homs of 3 March 2012, Syrian govt troops capture Frenchmen in Homs of 3 March 2012, More than 120 French troops captured In Syria after surrendering (21st Century Gladio) of 12 March 2012, BREAKING: 120 French Army Officers & Soldiers Captured in Syria of 3 March 2012, Report: 13 French officers captured in Syria of 3 March 2012, Syria has captured a dozen French soldiers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! of 3 March 2012, Report: 13 French Soldiers Captured in Syria of 5 March 2012, of 5 March 2012,

admin

Thu, 2012-08-30 00:39

The following was posted to the Web Site of Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr, bobcarrblog.wordpress.com, and is awaiting moderation. Update: Comment published! Awaiting response - 2.15PM +1000, 30 August.

The comment below appeared in response to the three part SBS program on “Boat People” broadcast on Sunday, tonight and to be concluded tomorrow night. Whilst Jordan’s treatment of refugees may appear good on the surface, its support for the terrorist war against the Syrian people in alliance with the US, NATO, Israel and the dictatorships of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar cause me to want to scrutinise these claims more closely.

I would be interested to know your response, Bob Carr, to what appears to be an even more exemplary treatment of refugees by Syria, particularly 1,000,000 refugees who fled from Iraq into Syria from the wars of 1991 and 2003 by the “Coalition of the Willing” including Australia?.

COMMENT FROM SBS PROGRAM ON THE BOAT PEOPLE:
http://www.sbs.com.au/goback/yoursay/topic/123/boats-and-the-media

daggett 24 hours ago

So, where has SBS ever acknowledged that the Syrian Government of Bashar al-Assad, which it so likes to demonise, has given refuge to 400,000 Palestinians and 1,000,000 Iraqis including 250,000 Iraqis who fled from the “Coalition of the Willing”, including Australia, in 2003? (See for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees_of_Iraq)

Compared to Australia, which participated in two illegal wars and sanctions against Iraq, which killed 1,000,000 Iraqis (and wars against Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Afghanistan, West Papua, Korea, etc), Syria is a model international citizen.

Who here believes that Australian sanctions against Syria will help refugees in Syria?

If not, then why do we permit the Australian Government to impose sanctions against Syria diplomatically support NATO’s proxy terrorist war against the Syrian people?
(comment from SBS ends.)

GLOBAL RESEARCH GIVES FACTUAL HONEST REPORTING OF SYRIA

If you want to be properly informed on the Syrian conflict, please look at the Canadian web-site Global Research at http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=newsHighlights&newsId=55 . Please feel welcome to show me where Global Research’s reporting of the Syrian conflict is contrary to the evidence and logic.

Anonymous (not verified)

Wed, 2012-08-29 09:27

Venezuela’s biggest oil refinery has been shut down following a gas explosion that killed 48 people and injured 86 others. The blaze of Venezuela oil refinery exploded early Saturday, has been a political embarrassment for Chavez, who is running for re-election in October amid opposition charges of neglect at the country's premier refinery. The refinery is located in a residential and commercial complex where workers live with their relatives and poor families who settled in surrounding neighborhoods.

Venezuela is an OPEC member and Latin America's biggest petroleum producer. The country's other five domestic refineries could produce 735,000 barrels of fuel per day. President Hugo Chavez shrugged off suggestions infrastructure could have weakened under his long watch.

Venezuelan officials say they suspect a gas leak caused the blast. However, others suspect a conspiracy against Chavez by the US. The Venezuelan president is claiming a US citizen has been arrested and interrogated on suspicions he is a mercenary involved in a conspiracy against the government. He suggested the man is part of a plot to destabilise the country if he is re-elected. The socialist leader has said the American could be involved in a purported plot to destabilize the country if the opposition loses an Oct. 7 presidential election.

Officials became suspicious when they found a U.S. passport with entrance and exit stamps from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, Chavez said.

See also: Officials Meet With American Detained in Venezuela of 16 August 2012, Associated Press (AP), CARACAS, Venezuela at http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-embassy-confirms-american-detained-venezuela-17015533#.UD1TC89wYm4 .

Bandicoot

Tue, 2012-08-28 17:36

LEADING water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages. The Age - Water shortages to hit food supply Humans derive about 20 per cent of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to drop to just 5 per cent to feed the extra 2 billion people expected by 2050, according to research by leading water scientists. Like overfishing decimating the oceans of fish, it's not that people are eating more fish, but more people are depleting the oceans and they are under threat of being fish-less by 2050! The report by Malin Falkenmark and colleagues at the Stockholm International Water Institute said: ''There will be just enough water if the proportion of animal-based foods is limited to 5 per cent of total calories and considerable regional water deficits can be met by a … reliable system of food trade.'' Adopting a vegetarian diet is one option to increase the amount of water available to grow more food in a climate-erratic world, the scientists said. Animal protein-rich food consumes five to 10 times more water than a vegetarian diet. One-third of the world's arable land is used to grow crops to feed animals. It's inefficient, excessive, unsustainable - and the increased demand for quick livestock products at cheaper and faster rates means animals are forced to endure genetic manipulation, anti-biotic, unnatural food, genetic monocultures of breeds, and intense confinement all in the fast-lane to satisfy humanity's rapacious appetite for food derived from birds, fish and mammals. The threat of food security is just as relevant as in the time of Maltheus, but the increasing demand for livestock products is exacerbating the "shortages" - or impact of human populations on declining, finite, natural resources. Competition for water between food production and other uses will intensify pressure on essential resources, the scientists said. ''The UN predicts that we must increase food production by 70 per cent by mid-century,'' the report said. It will mean that land for wildlife will be even more vied for human occupation, more extinctions and lethal "management" of "pests" - all competing for habitats.

quark

Tue, 2012-08-28 17:17

The one that came to my mind before reading your list was NIMBY-ism but you have covered them all I think . The acronym "NIMBY" can be used very effectively in Australia even amongst friends to tear asunder a pleasant afternoon when used to belittle someone and gain a point in a conversation. Although a concern for and ability to have an effect on one's immediate environment is empowering and conducive to saving one's sanity,(or perhaps because of this) it is discouraged by the powers that be. One planning bureaucrat at a recent conference even included in the title of her talk.."How to eliminate NIMBY-ism..." When we lose control over and interest in our immediate surroundings , how can we genuinely care about the wider environment?

Bill Sanders (not verified)

Tue, 2012-08-28 16:47

Recently Australians have been treated to the spectacle of a blubbering Sarah –Hansford – Young on national television, appealing for on-shore processing of so-called “refugees and asylum seekers, pointing to their supposed “rights” and our “obligation” to treat these people “humanly”, and even welcome them to our shores! These economic refugees know they are breaking the law of Australia when they board an illegal vessel, operated by people smuggling criminals, and therefore they are criminals themselves. Of little concern to the “Greens”, is the social impact of this ever increasing deluge from third world countries, whose only contribution to the world is more and more unwanted offspring, who are then pushed off onto western countries, where, (as they imagine) the streets flow with milk and honey, and where they are sure of a welcome by the rich and poor do-gooders of every description; the misguided and ignorant youth; influenced as they are by government brainwashing in their formative years at school; the ever present corrosive influence of a long since unrepresentative, decaying church, and of course the corrupt politicians, seeking their own advantage at the expense of ordinary people, long suffering and ignored. In actuality, each new arrival takes food off the plate of every needy Australian. The greens should be crying for those Australians who have no roof over their heads; those who have to endure poverty, those who sleep in cars for want of accommodation that they can’t afford. Since the inception of “multiracialism”(to give it it’s correct name) Australia has been the target of aggressive expansion of the Asian sphere of influence, with the blessing of self-serving politicians who, as a result, have become extremely wealthy in their post-political lives, pandering to the requirements of Asian dictators and shonky “business” people whose only objective is increasing their personal wealth. It is widely believed that these so-called “representatives of the people” have made secret deals to enable more and more Asians to be settled in Australia, in return for lucrative contracts and “commissions”-”services” to the Asian stock markets. THE DEATH OF AUSTRALIA’S UNIQUE ANTIPODEAN/ EUROPEAN HERITAGE IS THE RESULT! Given that the greens have enjoyed widespread public support, a support built on their excellent work in preserving the rapidly dwindling natural forest areas of Australia, and the many threatened species that remain under pressure from the excesses of corporate greed, it is to be regretted that all that we hear from them now, is the issue of same sex marriage, and the call for an “open door” policy towards third world immigration, illegal or otherwise. Any responsible conservation group would never support a high immigration policy to populate our land, with it’s infertile soils, and unreliable rainfall. Every patriotic Australian, concerned for their children’s future is urged to convey to government, the following, before it is too late! NO MORE ASYLUM SEEKERS, AN END TO “MULTIRACIALISM”

PostGrowthEra (not verified)

Tue, 2012-08-28 08:28

James Price Point, 40km north of Broome on one of the world’s most pristine coastlines, is the proposed site for the largest gas processing plant in the world. If approved, it would open up the floodgates to industrial development on a scale never seen before in northern Australia The state's Environmental Protection Authority has said the $30 billion dollar gas hub north of Broome can go ahead. Four of the five board members assessing the proposal were removed because of conflicts of interest. Board's authority Paul Vogel alone made the recommendation after it became clear the other members of the board were conflicted and had to be removed. It was subsequently found that a majority of people on that committee had a conflict of interest. This judgement seems to indicate that it is not appropriate for the remaining people on that committee who were not conflicted to actually make a decision based on a process that has involved people that were conflicted. One would expect the environmental impact assessment to be well considered, comprehensive, robust and based on sound science. Unfortunately the EPA’s assessment fell far below these expectations. If the gas hub does go ahead, it has the potential to be the biggest LNG processing plant in the world. The Greens and The Wilderness Society have labelled the process a "sham" because the EPA decision was made by just one man, Mr Vogel. The Recent EPA report said the impacts of dredging could extend as far as Gantheaume Point which means that Cable Beach would be under threat. Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert speaks about the 130 million year old dinosaur prints that are being threatened by the development of an LNG hub at James Price Point. “If the gas hub goes ahead it will wreck tourism in Broome and damage the Kimberley brand. Tourists come here to see unspoilt beauty and industrialisation will tarnish this world class destination.” Hands off our Country: http://handsoffcountry.blogspot.com.au/ It's an anthropocentric flaw to imagine that natural environments, and complex pristine ecosystems, plus the creatures that make their homes in them, can be tapped, bombed, developed, raped, plundered, "managed", captured, "harvested", mined, drilled, cleared, destroyed and resourced for human economic advantage. The indigenous peoples should not have a pristine coast at Woodside and beyond "developed" for the income when housing, health care, infrastructure and jobs should be a normality of what they should have anyway as citizens of Australia - the original owners.

admin

Mon, 2012-08-27 20:03

Previously published on Global Research on 26 August 2012 and Frontier Post (Pakistan) on 24 August 2012.

As the UN special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism has demanded of the United States to open itself up to independent probe into its use of drone strikes or let the United Nations do it, Pakistan too has served a strong demarche on it over its stepped up drone incursions into the Pakistani tribal territory, especially the North Waziristan Agency.

Drone attacks were not acceptable in any case as these constituted not only a violation of the international laws but also an assault on Pakistan’s sovereignty, said a protest missive handed over to a US embassy official by the foreign office yesterday. But will the United States hearken to these protesting voices? You must be joking. Not even an outside chance. For, America thinks for being the world’s sole superpower it is above every international norm, rule and law. The others it would want must abide by that international regime strictly but itself it would not. It strikes the odious notes of exceptionalism and expects all others to respect it as being an exceptional country and an exceptional people, not liable at all to any international laws and conventions or any international justice system whereas it expects the others to be duty-bound to follow them.

Then why would it change its course when it finds its drone banditry so effective in perpetuating its adventurisms abroad without putting its own soldiers’ lives at any risk at all? Why would it care for the UN that it uses as its handmaiden or for Pakistan that it deems to be its enslaved colony? They may cry, but they will simply be crying in the wilderness. Not a leaf would flap in Washington. Indeed, as the criticism of its drone banditry is increasingly escalating worldwide, it has put more punch in its thuggish adventurism. Not only President Barack Obama now personally approves the targets to be struck by the drones.

He has also decreed that anyone in the vicinity of an intended target will be deemed a combatant, even if civilian, and hence liable to be slaughtered justifiably. So the warlords of the United States give a damn if the people killed in their drone attacks are real terrorists or innocent civilians. And indeed the data complied by human rights workers show a heavy toll being exacted on civilian lives in these barbaric drone assaults.

Some terrorists may be killed. But many more massacred are innocent children, women and men having nothing to do with militancy or terrorism. Yet the American warlords are continuing with this savage carnage without any qualms. The international laws stipulate that every effort must be made to arrest the criminals and bring them to justice. But they find it more convenient just to eliminate, no lesser for fear of the eliminated spilling the beans, if caught alive and brought to justice. After all, those on the kill list of the American warlords are the ones who were once their protégés and proxies.And it would not be any wrong to assume that with this drone adventurism at this point in time they are indeed pulling a fast one on Pakistan.

In their drone strikes on Eid days in North Waziristan Agency, they slaughtered some two dozens of people. And if the media reports are any guide, the slaughtered were all the people of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, the militant commander holding in a peace accord with the Pakistan military. The American warlords’ game plan appears to be to alienate him with the Pakistani state and push him on towards the TTP fugitives now holed up in parts of the North Waziristan Agency and the bordering Afghan province of Kunar and Nuristan to the great grief of Pakistan. Whose proxies are these TTP fugitives is anybody’s guess.

The American warlords are thus at a very diabolical game. And the Islamabad establishment would be very foolish if it doesn’t expose their demoniac scheme to the world community. It must open up its tight lips and speak out the home truths at every available forum at home and abroad. Mere demarches wouldn’t do. Already, with their drone banditry they have turned a lot of our tribal compatriots against the Pakistani State. And with this drone adventurism over these days they are spawning troubles in our tribal areas that ultimately will prove very disastrous for our country and the nation.

brian (not verified)

Mon, 2012-08-27 12:32

Well when you put it that way; I will certainly reduce my energy use. I certainly prefer the deaths from coal and fracting over the deaths by small exposure to preventatable radiation. DU=PU. Can we still fix this?

Anonymous (not verified)

Sat, 2012-08-25 09:37

The Government and people of the Syrian Arab Republic has maintained a generous open door policy that allowed Iraqi refugees to seek asylum. The tables have turned, and the number of refugees fleeing civil war in Syria has surged to over 200,000, the UN said. The UNHCR says the total reflects an increase of 30,000 in the past week of refugees from Syria going to Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan. Turkey has warned it soon may not be able to cope with the torrents of people now fleeing across the Syrian border and that some refugees may have to remain in Syria itself.

Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil says the West is looking for an excuse for military intervention in his country, a move he says would be impossible.
Jamil said during a visit to Moscow Tuesday that sending Western forces into Syria would lead to a wider war in the Middle East. He dismissed U.S. President Barack Obama's warning about what would happen if Syria were to use chemical weapons, calling it election propaganda.

Syria Says West Looking for Excuse to Send in Troops at http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/08/21/syria-says-west-looking-for-excuse-to-send-in-troops/

Gatilov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, added that, there is growing evidence that the West is delivering massive amounts of weapons to Syrian armed gangs via third-party states.

Syrian forces clash with foreign-backed insurgents in Aleppo at http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/20/257247/syria-forces-insurgents-clash-in-aleppo

The number of boat people who reached Australia in the whole of last year was just half the number who crossed from Somalia to Yemen in a single month last August, and in a single day between Syria and Lebanon last month.

Islands of the damned at http://www.peninsulaweekly.com.au/news/world/world/general/islands-of-the-damned/2651479.aspx?storypage=0

António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees:
" I'm sorry that when one looks at today's world, the first challenge that is clear is that multiplication of new crises that we are witnessing around the world. At the beginning of 2011, we had Cote d'Ivoire; we had Libya; we had Yemen; we had Syria; we had the Horn of Africa, Somalia, with the compounded effect of conflict and the drought; then we had Sudan/South Sudan; Syria becoming much more serious in 2012; and Mali, the most recent one".

"To make it more complicated, there is a shrinking humanitarian space. There is more and more difficulty to accede some of the people that we need to support in different parts of the world...."

National Teleconference: The State of the World’s Refugees: From Indifference to Solidarity at http://www.cfr.org/africa/national-teleconference-state-worlds-refugees-indifference-solidarity/p28444

The refugee problem is accumulating faster than we find solutions - and there are no new frontiers to conquer or settle in our already over-crowded planet. The attack on Syria, aided by foreign forces, will open an already sore wound of human displacement due to conflict.

John Marlowe

Fri, 2012-08-24 19:00

FIFO is an accounting inventory acronym for First In, First Out.
Purchased stock is sold on the basis of the selling the earliest stock first, that is, in the order it arrived.

Immigration is a social policy that perpetuates a nation's population with new arrivals.
Multicultural Immigration prioritises recognition of the most recent arrivals. As each new wave of immigrants establishes in a nation's society, they displace the previous arrivals.

Australia's indigenous, as the First Australians, have been outed many times over by suiccessive waves of immigrant arrivals: Foreign Convicts, Foreign Pastoral Settlers, Foreign Gold Diggers, Foreign Capitalists, Foreign Refugees, etc.

British colonists across the Empire consistently made good their lives in comparison with every indigenous peoples whose nations they colonised, bring with them and imposing British culture.
Blair's 'New Labour' mass immigration policy has replicated the colonialism is reverse. Millions of Africans and Indians immigrating to Britain and maintaining their homeland cultures (by way of imposing Sharia, language (such as shop signage), religion, dress restrictions, patriarchal values) and in doing so have consistently made good their lives in Britain in comparison with local Britons.

'Emigration soars as Britons desert the UK'

John Marlowe

researchpaperstar (not verified)

Fri, 2012-08-24 18:46

J'ai trouvé votre message d'une telle information instructive et utile sur ce poste, merci pour le partage de la poste. Editorial comment: This comment thanks us for informing the poster about Syria. This post also contains an advertisement with a link to a site where students are asked to pay for help in research.

Bandicoot

Fri, 2012-08-24 16:07

When Sea Shepherd encountered an illegal shark-finning operation in Guatemalan waters, run by the Costa Rican vessel, the Varadero I they instructed the crew of the Varadero I to cease their shark-finning activities and head back to a Guatemalan port to be prosecuted. While escorting the Varadero I back to port, the tables were turned and a Guatemalan gunboat was dispatched to intercept the Sea Shepherd crew. Later they found evidence of thousands of shark fins being dried on top of industrial buildings in Costa Rica.

The warrant and ‘blue’ Interpol notices generated against Captain Paul Watson is just another feeble attempt by Japan to try and keep Sea Shepherd from their mission to protect, conserve and defend the oceans.

Likewise, Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister, Bob Carr, called for Mr Assange to go to Sweden on the grounds his extradition to the United States was "unlikely". The vague sex allegations of "rape" have all the elements of a bait, a smoke-screen cover-up. Carr said that the Swedish Government was "not part of some fully blown CIA conspiracy".

Similar to Captain Paul Watson's "crimes", the actual foundations for the extradition have little to do with the trumped-up charges, and everything to do with a conspiracy. Although neither Sweden or the UK are likely to extradite someone under the possibility of a death penalty, it's plausible that if America could capture him he would be tortured and killed. An extradition from Sweden may be "unlikely" but it can't be risked!

Sea Shepherd's uncompromising passion and activism to protect the oceans from rape and pillage by Japan and other nations is not unlike Assange's efforts to expose an unjust regime, but instigating the terror they themselves claim to be acting against.

Because of the fact that Paul Watson was arrested in an extradition procedure, Germany is not actively searching for him locally or internationally. Ecuador is giving asylum to Assange in the UK Embassy, but there is a stale-mate as to his release. Ecuador should send home all UK diplomats until Assange's safety is assured.

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Comments closed on this page as of 25 August 2012. Further comments can be made here.

Anonymous (not verified)

Thu, 2012-08-23 21:09

The following is an excerpt from an email from Julianne Bell to Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. members and friends

Capire public consultations

Here is an urgent message about Royal Park and the "Return to Royal Park" project being conducted by "Capire" the "Community Engagement Consultant" hired by the Department of Health and the City of Melbourne. A series of "Stage 2" i.e. more public consultations and feedback is being held over "what the public want" for the 3 hectare patch of soon-to-be-reclaimed-land, after the demolition of the old Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) buildings.

Threat to Royal Park by East West Link

First I should remind everyone that Royal Park, this unique "bushland in the city", is being threatened by the East West Link - a 4 lane freeway/tollway. It appears that it will rip through the heart of Royal Park. It might not be in a tunnel but could be open cut. From the drilling site locations it appears that the new route will be through the heart of the grasslands to the north of the RCH. (I will send a report on the last protest at the "geological investigation" i.e. drill site in Carlton on Tuesday 21 August 2012 and an inspection of drilling sites in Royal Park on Friday 17 August 2012 .)

Will Parkland be "Returned"? [That was the deal!]

If you thought we might be getting some parkland "returned" with the demolition of the old buildings on the RCH site then you might be wrong. The City of Melbourne and the Department of Health appear to set on loading up the entire 3.1 hectare site, once cleared, with infrastructure and "facilities."

Parkland is supposed to be"returned". The deal was, when over 4 hectares of prime parkland - open woodland - plus a cleared community/informal sports area was excised from Royal Park for the new RCH, that land would be "returned" after the old hospital buildings were demolished and the land cleared. The Royal Children's Hospital (Land) Bill 2007 states that "parkland will be returned, as part of Royal Park" The Royal Park Master Plan governs the planting of Royal Park which is open woodland with indigenous local vegetation. We hope that in filling in the form or attending more "consultation" sessions you can reiterate this important point. (In the "feedback" form see attached the consultant asks whether you would prefer the "formal" planting in the Australian Native Garden. This is a furphy and irrelevant. The Australian Native Garden was laid out by the landscape architect Grace Fraser in 1973 and was one of the first native Gardens in Victoria. The Royal Park Master Plan which was developed, however, in 1984 and reviewed in 1997 is the Plan which should dictate planting of the park and supersedes Grace Fraser's plan.)

Further Important Points to Raise at Consultations or Filling out "Feedback Form"

The email below has been sent out by Capire, the consultants, with regard to the next stage of the Return to Royal Park project. It is important to ensure that the promises made to return the land to a bushland park are kept. Additional points to keep in mind and to write in the feedback: (1) It is imperative that a barrier of indigenous vegetation be planted around the perimeter of the site in Gatehouse Street and Flemington Road - continuing the line of eucalypt trees and understorey plantings in Gatehouse Street. This will act as a noise barrier and counter the extraordinary pollution from congested, gridlocked traffic (See Melbourne Weekly Times article 22 August 2012) We are calling for an EPA (Environmental Protection Authority) audit of the high pollution levels of the area since it might be patently unsafe for anyone to sit outdoors on this corner "park" ! (2) There will be a a carpark for 800 built under the new hotel and Royal Park on the western side of the patch of parkland-to-be so there is no need for carparking on this 3 hectares of "returned" parkland. Minister David Davis told us at a meeting that the existing strip of carpark on Gatehouse Street will return to parkland (3) There is a toilet around the corner on Flemington Road in Ievers Reserve and in the hotel and foyer of the RCH so why more toilets here in the park? (4) Formal sports playing fields cover two thirds of Royal Park so this option should be discarded out of hand. (5) The strip of land behind the RCH is a "dog-free" area so this area should be similarly "dog-free".

Please take the time to support us and pass on your views. The opportunities are as follows:

Register for a Community Forum:

Saturday 25 August (9.30am to 12pm) This has been cancelled. I - Julianne Bell - was the only person to apply to attend! This means that people must have "consultation fatigue"

Wednesday 29 August (6pm to 8.30pm)

Saturday 8 September (9.30am to 12pm)

Venue: the State Netball and Hockey Centre, 10 Brens Drive, Royal Park. To RSVP please telephone (03) 9285 9012

Join the On-Line Forum:

An online forum will be live from Wednesday 15 August 2012 to Wednesday 12 September 2012 Visit http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/returntoroyalpark and follow the link.

Send in Your Comments:

Capire the consultant has made a form available for you to provide feedback and comment. The feedback form may be obtained here and here (2 versions: pdf and text).

Your assistance in reminding the Department of Health and the City of Melbourne through the consultant of the promises made and the need to return the site to parkland in accordance with the Master Plan not to load up the site with infrastructure is critical.

A final word. Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has been canvassing a road name change proposed by the Premier's Office. "Government House Drive" is to be changed to "Diamond Jubilee Drive." This received a bad reception on Jon Faine's 774 radio program on Wednesday morning 22 August 2012. The Lord Mayor then suggested on the program that instead the land to be returned to Royal Park on the old RCH site could be called the" Diamond Jubilee Park"! Please make clear that this site is "part of Royal Park": It is Queen Victoria's park!

Anonymous (not verified)

Thu, 2012-08-23 18:08

A recent New York Times article details how President Obama has become personally involved in an elaborate internal process by which his administration decides who will be the next victim of America's drone strikes. The drones target Al Qaeda and Taliban militants based in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the Afghan border. However, the drone program was brought to a temporary halt in November, after NATO forces killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at a border outpost, mistaking them for militants, but resumed this year. Estimates state that while there were 52 such strikes during George W Bush's time, this number has risen to 282 over the past three and a half years, with officials justifying it has international “self defence” against a stateless enemy. Cooperation has been at a standstill for more than six months since Pakistan shut down NATO military supply routes to Afghanistan after U.S. forces accidentally killed 24 Pakistani border forces during a friendly fire incident in November. Obama’s top legal adviser Harold Koh insists that this killing spree is legal under international law because the US has the inherent right to self-defense. Norwegian peace researcher cites the original purpose of the Nobel Peace prize was to "diminish the role of military power in international relations", and if the overseer of such foundations as the Stockholm County Administrative Board finds that the founder Alfred Nobel's will is not being honoured then Obama (2009), Liu Xiaobo (2010), and last year's Liberians could face their awards suspended as 'champions of peace'. Obama pushed for an end to the use of torture on terror suspects, the closure of the Guantanamo Bay military prison, and for trying detainees in federal courts. For those efforts he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Obama won in 2009, Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won in 2010, and last year the award was split between Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen. As Obama nears the end of his first term as President, he has done little to live up to the terms of the award. The conflict in Afghanistan, which the UN estimates has killed nearly 12,000 civilians so far, continues under his watch The Nobel Peace Prize has lost its integrity for being used for political reasons, but no justification, as an award to President Obama when at the time he did nothing to deserve it. It snows the darker side of Obama's administration.

admin

Thu, 2012-08-23 14:27

From https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI as of Thursday 23 August, 2.20PM +1000:

Identifying drone victims would show it is civilians being killed. Drones violate all int[ernational] humanitarian laws & Pak[istani] sovereignty. Unacceptable. Thursday 23 August, 4.20AM +1000

4th consecutive drone strike on Tues in NWA. 23 killed so far by drones over Eid. Shameful how govt refuses to publicly identify victims. Thursday 23 August, 4.20AM +1000

State has failed to protect its citizens. US continues to murder [our people] in FATA over days of Eid & the silence of the rulers speaks volumes. Monday 20 August

Killing of all innocent [people] is against the spirit of Islam. The loss of this essence of [our] Faith is visible in the brutal killing of Shias. Monday 20 August

Drones terrorise & kill [people] in NWA as they celebrate Eid today. Condemnable & unacceptable. Violation of all int[ernational] humanitarian laws & HR. Saturday 18 August

Archibald (not verified)

Thu, 2012-08-23 10:06

In the Brisbane Times (Fairfax owned) you can read Smith's courageous article: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/four-million-brisbaneites-complete-madness-dick-smith-20120820-24iax.html#ixzz24Jmim98h It looks like the Growth Lobby is making most of the comments under the article, so how about going on line and commenting there to support Dick and his stand for our democracy?

Tony Ryan (not verified)

Wed, 2012-08-22 23:07

I was not aware that Kuznets conceived the GNP/GDP equation, but I am bloody glad you drew attention to how it is being twisted to misrepresent median incomes and fictional employment/prosperity. Great article James. My gidday to Sheila. I finally got back to oziz4oziz.com affter my brilliant campaign to recruit manufacturers fell on its face. The site is much expanded and will soon feature my own music and news. Cheers Tony

nimby (not verified)

Wed, 2012-08-22 10:21

The policy of zero immigration of matching emigration with immigration and "accepting into our country only those people who will readily fit into our society, primarily from traditional sources such as Europe and Britain" is a common sense one.

This may seem "racist" but instead of the high ideals of multiculturalism where we all enjoy each other's contribution to society with differences and diversity, it is being used to support high immigration. Some diversity is stimulating and broadening. However, instead of mixing, we end up with monocultures all mainly staying together in family-community clans. The cohesion of society based on diversity is an oxymoron.

" To seek a homogeneous society where we can all live in harmony, free from the ethnic and racial strife caused by social-engineering experiments. End Third World immigration and Muslim immigration, and offer economic assistance to those who wish to be reunited with their people's homeland".

Police have expressed concern over new figures that show Somali and Sudanese-born Victorians are five times more likely to commit crime than the wider community. They're particularly concerned about the violence on occasions and also the age of the individuals involved. The vast majority are under 21 years of age.

It's assumed that simply relocating people from war-torn zones and from cultures/backgrounds that are completely alien will be no hindrance to happy existence in Australia. Of the 25 countries with the highest number of refugees within their borders, 15 are some of the least developed countries in the world.

City of Greater Dandenong Councilor, Peter Brown speaking about the Muslim African refugee crime wave in Dandenong."Australia should not be the repository for global social and ethnic problems in the misguided belief that we can solve them, because as the world population increases beyond the already unsustainable levels more pressure will be placed on Australia to be a universal agent of global multicultural support. We will be doomed to failure... " (from comment on GetUp Campaign update: Pacific Solution Mark II? at http://blog.getup.org.au/2012/08/16/campaign-update-pacific-solution-mark-ii/)

Thousands of people left multicultural Dandenong last year despite the national population boom, says a new report. Dandenong, where two-thirds of people have migrant backgrounds, had a net loss of 2000 in 2010-11. Such is the success of the great ideal of multiculturalism! (from Thousands leave Dandenong despite population boom, an Australian Bureau of Statistics report on migration shows in Herald Sun of 16 August behind paywall)

It costs $80,000 per refugee to bring in each refugee and the budget has blown out to $4.5 billion. Our cities are already in population overload, with traffic at a standstill, homelessness increasing and jobs being slashed due to high competition with cheaper overseas production. It's imagined that Australia is the ideal refuge and we can magically keep accommodating the world's displaced safely, economically and peacefully. It a mis-guided cornucopia ideal.

Trans-locating native animals is fraught with stresses and threats. It's often seen as a "soft cull" as the animals often die after the process. However, it's assumed homo sapiens can simply be trans-located across the planet and thus be expected to smoothly become integrated into a foreign "multicultural" society with diametrically opposed ideals, political system, food, climates, social behaviours and expections, ideals and values.

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2012-08-21 15:49

The Federal MInister for the Environment, Tony Burke, is also a (mute) minister for a Sustainable Population. He doesn't seem willing or able to "draw the dots" between koala threats on population growth in SE Queensland. We end up with tokenism, and small concessions to help protect koalas, but ultimately the root cause of their decline can't be addressed until we have a stable population, as well as other policies in place. It's a case of one powerful species, humans, overwhelming other native species. Within the next 30 years as many as half of the species on the earth could die in one of the fastest mass extinctions in the planet's 4.5 billion years history. Dr Leakey, author of "The Sixth Extinction," believes that 50% of the earth's species will vanish within 100 years - including homo sapiens. "In pushing other species to extinction, humanity is busy sawing off the limb on which it is perched." Paul Ehrlich. By 2025 as many as one fifth of all animal species may be lost, gone forever. In recent times, hundreds of species have become extinct as a result of human activities: WWF http://www.worldanimalfoundation.net/wildlife.html The United Nations estimates that by 2050, there may be as many as 9 billion people on the planet. In 1960, there were about 3 billion. Habitat destruction for residential use will only be addressed in the long-term if we reduce demand for land through new policies which start to cap Australia’s burgeoning population by reducing immigration and the end of the lavishness of the baby bonus. Stop family tax benefits after the second child, etc Valuable habitats need to be set aside before greedy developers snatch-up land by offering huge sums of money to existing land owners on the prospect of being able to carve the land up into multiple residential allotments and make a big profit. How are we to explain to descendants and other countries that Australia, apart from being the biggest exterminator of mammals since European settlement, allowed the extinction of such famous iconic species such as koalas! As a mega-diverse nation largely of arid and semi-arid deserts, and slow-evolving unique species. we were never meant to be a big country with a tens of millions of people.

earthfan (not verified)

Tue, 2012-08-21 13:17

Media organisations are first and foremost businesses with the aim of making a profit. Population growth not only increases the market for the product, it exerts a downward pressure on wages. Both good for profits.

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2012-08-20 19:56

Shooters Party threatens native vegetation protection law
Submission deadline Midnight, 24 August 2012: have-your-say-call-nsw-government-protect-our-native-landscapes-and-wildlife.

Last week, the NSW Shooters and Fishers Party announced a plan to repeal the Native Vegetation Act 2003.

Recently, the Shooters and Fishers Party brokered a deal with Premier O’Farrell to open up our national parks to amateur hunters. Now they are threatening to tear up our state’s native vegetation laws. We cannot afford to lose these hard won protections for our native landscapes and wildlife.

Less than a decade ago, NSW had one of the worst records for land clearing in the world, so in 2003 and 2005 the Native Vegetation laws were introduced to end unchecked destruction of native landscapes across the state.

As you may know, the Native Vegetation Regulations are currently under review. Please take a few minutes before this Friday August 24 to write a brief submission to the government in support of our remaining native landscapes. To help, a submission guide with key points is attached.

As the NSW government reviews the Native Vegetation Regulations, it is critical they hear from organisations across NSW in support of stronger, not weaker environmental protections for our native landscapes and wildlife.

Native vegetation provides essential environmental, social and economic benefits, including protecting water quality, maintaining soil health and providing wildlife habitat. Our threatened birds, mammals, reptiles and plants are dependent on the important remnant vegetation dotted across heavily cleared landscapes. We can't afford to lose more critical areas of bushland.

Public submissions on the Native Vegetation Regulations close this Friday August 24, all details you need to make a brief submission are available from this website: have-your-say-call-nsw-government-protect-our-native-landscapes-and-wildlife.

Thank you in advance for taking action to protect our native landscapes and please be in touch with any questions.
• Email: [email protected]
• Post: Native Vegetation Regulation Review, Conservation Policy and Strategy Section, Office of Environment and Heritage, Level 12, PO Box A290?Sydney South, NSW 1232
• Fax: 02 9995 6791 (Attn: Native Vegetation Regulation Review)
• For even greater impact send a copy to Premier O’Farrell and Environment Minister Parker.
Submissions will be accepted until Midnight, 24 August 2012

Short submissions are acceptable – a one-page letter with key dot points is enough to get your message across.
The draft Native Vegetation Regulation 2012, together with the draft Private Native Forestry Codes of Practice, and Frequently Asked Questions, are available to download from the Department’s website: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/vegetation/consultreview.htm

For further information, contact the Kate Smolski at the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales at [email protected] or (02) 9516 1488.

Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales
PO Box 137 Newtown NSW 2042
Ph: 02-9516 1488 | Fax: 02-8026 8301
Email: [email protected] | Web: http://www.nccnsw.org.au

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2012-08-20 16:41

Our friends at the Toolangi protest site have been copping it again.
The story is expected to be covered tonight on Channel 7 News at 6:00pm - not to be missed.

There were two community actions last week, the second of which met a violent response from VicForests contractors operating on the coupe 1.5 hours before sunrise. Is it legal to be loading by floodlight?

When three environmentalists approached to find out what was happening it is claimed that they were attacked and that all this was captured on video. There may have been illegalities. Police are investigating.

The logging industry put out media last week claiming their members were attached by terrorists in balaclavas – intimidating them in the middle of the night. Certain media ran with this, regional ABC among them.

Statements were also made to support the loggers under Parliamentary privilege by Christine Fyffe (MLA, Lib. - Evelyn). These statements, which may not finish up describing what actually happened, could help embolden violent reaction to conservationists.

Here is the link to Ms Christine Fyffe's statement: http://tinyurl.com/98wzz6e, made in the Assembly on 16 August 2012 on the subject of "Timber industry: Evelyn electorate."

Then at 8:30 this evening there will also be coverage of the plight of Koalas on 4 Corners, ABC TV.

On Wednesday evening at 8:00pm Ecotopia on Channel 31 (digital channel 44) will be telling the Toolangi story - another must see.

Victorian environmentalists thank Steve and the crew who are maintaining a determined presence in the area.

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2012-08-20 16:32

The female octopus is so dedicated to protecting her young that she dies of hunger staying by them, ceasing to eat anything at all after birth. These animals are quite amazing. We cannot condone this kind of cruelty. I would suggest that there are not a small number of human beings who would hardly flinch to see another human's arms cut off. Powerful people send less powerful people to war all the time, where they are mutilated.

Pam (not verified)

Mon, 2012-08-20 16:26

Radio National – discussion: I can’t believe they’re still trying to figure out whether other species feel pain and stress. They spoke of an ‘experiment’ where they cut off the ‘arms’ of live octopuses in front of others and observed their reactions. The compare even asked, hypothetically, whether a dog who was left chained up and had been beaten and starved, and cowered when he went near it, meant it was suffering stress. I hope he was asking this question for the audience to be informed. You can download or listen, and comment at: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/how-do-octopuses-think/4144328

Anonymous (not verified)

Mon, 2012-08-20 10:42

“Paleolithic diets have become all the rage, but they are getting our ancestral diet all wrong,” notes biologist and writer Rob Dunn in a recent piece for Scientific American. So-called Paleolithic diets are an attempt to mimic the eating style of Paleolithic man. These diets are typically classified as “low carb” and emphasize meat, fish, nuts and seeds, and certain fruits and vegetables. He explains “…if we want to return to the diet our guts and bodies evolved to deal with, we should not be looking at our most recent ancestors. Instead, we need to understand the diet of our ancestors during the time when the main features of our guts, and their magical abilities to turn food into life, evolved. We need, in other words, to look at apes, monkeys and other non-human primates.” Our guts are remarkably similar to those of gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans which are remarkably similar to those of other apes, which are, in turn, not so very different from those of most monkeys. He also points out that the digestive systems of modern man are remarkably similar to those of gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, and apes. And their diets consist mainly of fruit, nuts, leaves, and insects, and the occasional bird or lizard. Overall, however, meat makes up less than three percent of their dietary intake. http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/our-human-ancestors-were-vegetarian/ Sure, chimpanzees sometimes kill and devour a monkey, but the proportion of the diet of the average chimpanzee composed of meat is small, less than 3% by mass. Even with that modest preference for flesh, chimps are extreme. They eat more meat than any of the other apes or any of the monkeys.

Bandicoot

Mon, 2012-08-20 09:59

The deliberate "harvesting" of wildlife "game" for entertainment and economic benefits is far from the only threat to our wildlife and ecosystems. Over 8000 hectares of Victoria's Wombat State Forest and surrounding areas are under exploration licence, with applications for a further 15,000 hectares — any of which COULD become mining operations. There are two types of mining licence — exploration and mining — and both currently exist for large areas of the Wombat forest and surrounding areas. Over 8000 hectares of Wombat State Forest and surrounding areas are under exploration licence, with applications for a further 15,000 hectares – and any of these have the potential to become mining operations. The Wombat Forest contains a diverse range of native plants and animals, including a number that are listed as rare or threatened, such as Mstrong>Powerful Owl and the Wombat Bush Pea. As well as these natural values, the Wombat is a significant water catchment area , giving rise to six rivers. Given the proximity of the proposed mine to Crowley Creek and the Lerderderg River, the operation raises issues about erosion, sedimentation and heavy metal contamination of these waterways. It also appears that on-site flora and fauna surveys have not been even been carried out. Mining in Wombat will result in: -Water contamination. -Loss of habitat and biodiversity. -Sedimentation of rivers within catchment areas. -Increased heavy vehicle traffic requiring wider roads in forested areas. -Impacts on the local community of increased heavy. -Vehicles on minor roads. -Loss of access to areas of public land under mining activity. Victorian National Parks Association The VNPA and local groups are resolute: the Victorian government must never be allowed to hand over high conservation significant areas such as the Wombat State Forest to mining companies. The open cut gold mining project would involve clearing areas of forest and other vegetation and extracting 5000 tonnes of material. There is no framework to protect native animals in Victoria. They are simply minor impediments to economic activities, easily overridden, despite community protests and environmental destruction. The Wildlife Act 1975 makes it an offence to possess, harass, injure or kill any native wildlife. The loophole is that the State government can give permits to kill "over-abundant" or otherwise "problem" wildlife. They can be destroyed easily if they are an economic threat. However, wombats in this forest will be simply buried alive, and other "problem" native birds and animals will conveniently disappear. Local residents, environmentalists and the Hepburn Shire Council say it would also contaminate the upper reaches of the heritage-listed Lerderderg River. Predictably, these are claims that the company and the government deny. Gold fever is a blinding, all-empowering, destructive and lethal disease. The modus operandi of mining companies, and their government counterparts, is plunder, pillage and profit. The Age - Mining plan sparks fears for Wombats To send a clear message to the Baillieu Government, write to State Minister for Energy and Resources Michael O'Brien.

Koala Bill (not verified)

Mon, 2012-08-20 09:47

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-08-20/development-blamed-for-frightening-surge-in-koala-deaths/1001924 Wildlife experts have expressed fears the koala, which is now a threatened species on Australia's east coast, is in serious danger because of urban development. Koalas are increasingly being mauled by dogs and hit by cars as they are forced to flee their natural habitat. Koalas are increasingly being mauled by dogs and hit by cars as they are forced to flee their natural habitat. (Credit: ABC) As the ABC's Four Corners program will tonight reveal, several leading vets and wildlife organisations say high-rise developments up and down the eastern coastline are culling the koala population. Vets and wildlife sanctuaries say koalas are increasingly being mauled by dogs and hit by cars as they're forced to flee their natural habitat. Dr Michael Pyne from the Currumbin Sanctuary Wildlife Hospital says Queensland koalas are under threat. "We'll see well over 200 koalas admitted into our hospital this year, and yet it was only five years ago we were admitting 25 koalas," he said. "There's been this incredible surge of koalas coming through and it's really quite frightening." Koala ecologist Dr Steve Phillips says high-rise development in the south-east Queensland suburb of Coomera is particularly concerning. "I'd be fairly confident that there won't be a tree left standing when this development is ultimately realised," he said. Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says the city council has funded a koala relocation program for that area. "We're here to be fair to the developers and we're here to be fair to the koalas," he said. But some vets warn transferring wildlife is a risky experiment. There will be more on this story on Four Corners tonight on ABC 1 at 8:30pm. Easy to blame "developments" as if they were distinct from our human population growth- driven by high immigration levels! http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-08-20/development-blamed-for-frightening-surge-in-koala-deaths/1001924

Anonymous (not verified)

Sun, 2012-08-19 14:37

The precedence of 'Eminent domain' in the US and the rampant inability of Anglo-Saxons to comprehend that sunshine is vital and essential-- should see the 'no-limit' and 'living in shadows' ordinances-- be blustered through--only because we already know- that cigarettes must be more dangerous -- than automobile and industrial pollution--because we ceased to monitor their imputs in 1980. Atlanta 'moved its weather' by the heat reflection its buildings absorbed and released--and cities are better served with carbon monoxide and benzenes-- still having non-considered effects?

CSI (not verified)

Sun, 2012-08-19 11:10

I am very, very suspicious of any industry which claims a "skills shortage". From talking to people and from reading accounts on the internet, even many highly skilled and experienced Australians, even in industries suffering from supposed shortages, can't easily find work. Anecodotal I know, but when some industry publishes a statement that are experiencing a shortage of so many thousand employees there's a good chance they are just pulling those figures out of thin air.

Why grossly exaggerate these skill shortages? A number of reasons. An excuse to offshore work, or bring in very cheap foreign workers. All the various universities and colleges and dodgy diploma mills need a steady stream of new suckers too. But there's one overarching reason I suspect. It's become a trendy way to boost the reputation of your company. If you supposedly have exhausted the local talent pool, the underlying message is that business must be positively booming.

Sheila Newman

Sun, 2012-08-19 09:24

Snap Protest - Say No to East West Link - Yes To Doncaster Rail Link Tuesday 21 August 12:30 pm Outside Dan O'Connell Hotel Carlton Protectors of Public Landands Victoria Inc. and Carlton Residents' Association are inviting you to our snap protest - Say No to East West Link Yes To Doncaster Rail Link next week. As you would know Stage One of construction of the East West Link has commenced with "geological investigation" (ie drilling for soil and rock samples and testing for underground water) along the proposed alignment of the above/under/on ground road way. Note from comments made by the State Government that the tollway/freeway it is highly likely to be an above ground "aerial roadway" akin to CitiLink along Princes Street and through the inner suburbs with compulsory acquisition of property along the route. It is likely to be open cut through Royal Park. Please support us at this crucial stage of our campaign. The drilling rig will be installed on the reserve outside the Dan O'Connell Hotel Carlton, north east of the Canning St/Neill St intersection, Carlton. The reserve is right on Princes Street behind the wall. (The reference for this drilling site is EWL-B12-007 on the map from Linking Melbourne Authority. Please advse if you could like a copy of the map sent on email) Time: 12:15 pm for 12: 30 pm start Date: Tuesday 21 August 2012 Reason: Continue protest over East West Link and demand the Doncaster Rail Link. Speakers: Councillors and community representatives Bring: Green triangles with No Tunnel message or Trains not Tunnel placards or Public Transport Not Road Tunnels placards/banners. Location: Near the drilling rig see above location. Transport: Car parking in Neill Street. Trams in Nicholson Street and Lygon Street. Bus in Rathdowne Street. Walk down or up Princes Street to the Dan O'Connell Hotel. Contact: Julianne Bell Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. Mobile: 0408022408 [email protected] or Ian Bird Carlton Residents' Association [email protected] Phone: 93471411 Please circulate to your groups urgently.

PostGrowthEra (not verified)

Sat, 2012-08-18 18:00

Despite today's unemployment figures showing a 5.2 per cent jobless rate, in some parts of Australia, youth unemployment is nearing 40 per cent. Fifteen to 24-year-olds now make up more than a quarter of all long term unemployed.

TWO out of five youths in Melbourne’s North West who are out of school are unemployed.

Federal Employment Minister and Maribyrnong MP Bill Shorten

said the Government was working with a wide range of community groups to help get unemployed youths into work.

About one-third of 15 to 19 year olds in areas such as the Sunshine Coast, far north Queensland, north western Queensland and West Moreton were jobless.

Read more: Bleak outlook for Queensland youth trying to enter the workforce of 23 July 2012 at http://www.news.com.au/money/cost-of-living/bleak-outlook-for-queensland-youth-trying-to-enter-the-workforce/story-fnagkbpv-1226432430460 .

Australia's Skills and Workforce Development Needs report said one of the major reasons for the high rate of young jobless was that companies now want fully trained and experienced workers and were not prepared to hire young people and train them. It's easier to by-pass them and source experienced skills and willing workers from developing countries.

The Australian Government is working closely with state, territory and local governments, and regional authorities to provide regional migration programs that support regional development and help supply the skill needs of regional employers.

Kelvin Thomson says "I cannot see how running promotional campaigns to attract skilled migrants is consistent with the Prime Minister’s pre-election statements that she does not believe in a ‘Big Australia’ and that ‘we need to stop and take a breath’. " Workers with real skills in developing countries are more valuable where they are, and we should not try to strip these countries of their best and brightest for our own advantage.

Secondly, our high skilled migration program comes at the expense of skilling and training young Australians

Skills Minister Chris Evans, Industry Minister Greg Combet and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese have all come out in support of the plan to import foreign workers for Gina Rinehart's mining project. Last year the government was considering similar applications for more than 30 other such agreements including for US energy major Chevron, for its Gorgon liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia.

The media have no agenda in challenging our skilled migration program in the face of our high youth unemployment. Never do we hear a TV or radio presenter interviewing Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen, as to why we have such a high - and increasing - skilled migration program at such a time? Or, why is privatization allowing skills to be lost in the first place? Some sectors of temporary employee sponsored skilled migration are unlimited, and after 4 years they are able to apply for PR.

The "immigration" debate stays safely on "boat people" and fails to touch on how many people in Australia are facing hardships of finding accommodation, training, jobs and affordable living standards.

Anonymous (not verified)

Sat, 2012-08-18 10:37

The unmet need of family planning in developing countries results in around 63 million unintended pregnancies and at least 26 million abortions every year - 60% of which are unsafe. There are 222 million women around the world who want contraception but can’t access it. Of them, most are under 18 and live in the world’s poorest countries. Global overpopulation is the root cause of many of today's conflicts, along with famine, poverty, childhood deaths, and displacement. There are no new frontiers on our planet to discover, no new continents to settle in, and no new colonies to plunder. "The world is creating displacement faster than it is producing solutions," warned UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres in May 2012. It will be further exacerbated also by climate change. The overflow of refugees could be minimized by increasing aid for family planning and preventing unwanted pregnancies. Rather than try and solve monumental human crises, it's more efficient, effective and logical to aim at addressing the root cause - global overpopulation.

quark

Sat, 2012-08-18 09:08

My analysis when Rudd came out with "Big Australia" was that he suspected it might be unpopular and that people were not happy about the rate of population growth. He thought he would give it a try with the Australian public and in forthright but somewhat sheepish fashion said that he wanted a "Big Australia" so that people would either have to swallow it or choke on it. I think he knowingly took a risk in saying that his intention was to radically change Australia by vastly increasing its population which he was already, undemocratically doing anyway.

James Sinnamon

Fri, 2012-08-17 21:13

The following was posted in response to Disappearing Arctic Ice of 17  August on johnquiggin.com. The peril this planet faces at the hand of expanded coal mining may prove to be even more terrible and immediate than what Bandicoot has described in this article, if it is not stopped.

So, why are Australia the US and other countries now apparently resolved to dig up coal even faster than before with technology of a scale which dwarfs even the massive coal mining machinery used thus far?

From 1939-1945, when the world faced peril at the hands of German Nazism and brutal Japanese colonialism, our parents and grandparents were able to find the resolve to meet that threat.

Why should we be any less resolved today with the even greater threat of global warming? We should demand of our federal and state mis-rulers that the scale of coal mining be immediately scaled back to, at most, what it was a generation ago, before the expansion of recent years commenced and to hell with those who have invested their money in destroying the prospects of future generations.

CSI (not verified)

Fri, 2012-08-17 17:18

I don't believe Rudd or Howard ever had a specific number they wanted Australia to grow to. Their governments just massively increased immigration because it seemed like the right thing to do at that point in time. They had no thought or care what the long term consequences would be. But they both certainly like the short term consequences. And they both, like most politicians and businesspeople, love growth. A lot. When the Bureau of Statistics published their estimates for population by the middle of the century Rudd was proud and delighted, and happy to share this with the public. How could such a huge increase be anything other than just wonderful? When opinion polls came through which were largely negative, he was surprised and bewildered. This is telling. In the circles of big politics and big business, the idea that growth might be bad doesn't seem to exist.

PostGrowthEra (not verified)

Fri, 2012-08-17 08:56

Former PM Kevin Rudd is guilty of the same sort of hypocrisy as Jeff Kennett and his beyondblue campaign. He boosted permanent immigration to record high levels, in his preference for "big Australia". Australia was flooded with people, and sham "educational" colleges and courses sprang up, with foreigners lured by PR for basic skills such as cooking and hair dressing.

Each year about 100,000 Australians die and about 250,000 babies are born, so the population would grow by about 150,000 a year or about 400 a day if there were no migration. While Kevin Rudd approved the calculation that our population could grow to 36 million by 2040, on current trends it could be over 40 million.

The surge for housing means prices hit record heights, and homelessness became a crisis.

Back in 2008, when newly minted prime minister Kevin Rudd announced Labor's goals for halving homelessness and providing all rough sleepers with access to accommodation by 2020, there was no shortage of cynics ready to pour scorn on the idea. In 2009 the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd committed the Government to halve the number of homeless people by 2020. Since then $5 billion has been spent over four years to improve the national issue.

As we move towards 2020, there is widespread pessimism about our ability to reach our goals.

Kevin Rudd described his four-year $1.1 billion partnership agreement with the states as an effort to tackle the ''national obscenity'' of homelessness. However, his "big Australia" obscenity displaced many people from housing, within our own country. With no provision in the federal budget for a renewed deal, he said the government would need to find savings to fund it and match funding from already cash-strapped States.

Melbourne is obviously suffering from runaway population growth and immigration when there are record levels of housing stock on the market and increasing.....

Among its primary tactics, Ponzi demography exploits the fear of population decline and aging. Without a young and growing population, we are forewarned of becoming a nation facing financial ruin and a loss of national power. When the bubble eventually bursts - as all Ponzi schemes - and the economy sours, the scheme spirals downward with higher unemployment, depressed wages, falling incomes, more people sinking into debt, more homeless families ¬ and more men, women and children on public assistance.

Kevin Rudd decided on a whim that he wanted a "big Australia", and boosted our immigration levels to the highest since the 1960s. Despite his professed Christian faith, he gave little thought to the social, environmental and financial implications. The increased demands for housing, and the subsequent shortfall, means that prices have soared since 2007, along with rents.

This has been a bonus for the real estate, property developers and the mortgage industries, but has left many people struggling to pay excessive mortgages, or locked out of home ownership.

Blue on Blue (not verified)

Thu, 2012-08-16 14:37

Mrs Tierney's comments below (Hansard, Council Proofs, Tuesday, 14 August 2012) on our economic and democratic environment and depression are very perceptive. It has always struck me as ironic that Jeff Kennett (former Liberal premier of Victoria) is a patron of an organisation for people with severe depression:

Manufacturing industry: former Premier Ms TIERNEY (Western Victoria) —

Members may be aware of recent comments by past Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett in the Geelong Advertiser advocating the closure of both the Ford factory and the Alcoa plant at Point Henry.[1] Contributions such as this are entirely unwelcome to the manufacturing industry, and to talk it down at a time when it is facing its most difficult challenges beggars belief.

Both companies are impacted upon by the high Australian dollar, with Ford’s impact being twofold, in that the Australian dollar makes its exports more costly and makes foreign imports more competitive. These issues require a policy solution from governments, not self-seeking platitudes from past premiers.

It is clear that Mr Kennett has not changed his views since being defeated by the regional voters of Victoria in 1999. He regarded regional Victorians with contempt then, referring to them as the fingers and toes of the economy, with major government investments going into Melbourne and its suburbs. It is clear from his recent comments that this attitude has not changed.

What is particularly disappointing, given his association with beyondblue, an institution that does excellent work, is that he seems to be oblivious to the conflict between his statements and his association with that organisation.

Job loss leads to depression, family breakdown and sometimes worse. This is well documented, and Mr Kennett must know this. His disregard for the human cost of his statements is a perfect example of why Victorians made the correct judgement on his time in office, but the failure of the current state government to comment on his statements is an alarming sign that some in this government may share his views.

Comment has also been posted to johnquiggin.com . - Ed

Footnotes

[1] See KENNETT: Stop cash for Geelong's Ford, Alcoa by Shane Fowles in the Geelong Advertiser of 9 Aug 2012.

russell1200 (not verified)

Thu, 2012-08-16 11:44

I am with you 100%. But the day of Stand On Zanzibar, and Make Room, Make Room, Soylent Green, et cetera seem to have passed us. For some reason we seem to only want to focus on secondary effects these days. I did take a course on ecology recently. The professsionals didn't seem fooled. They didn't scream about it, but if you read closely, you could see that they knew the underlying issue beneath all the other ones.

nimby (not verified)

Thu, 2012-08-16 08:21

Matthew Guy says: " In Melbourne our population is still growing very strongly and has been through the last few years to the extent where that growth of nearly 70 000 people per year is having huge impacts upon affordability..." The State government, instead of actually addressing the root cause to the decline in planning regulations, is accommodating the growth and thus part of the problem. The easing of planning restrictions is about nibbling away democratic input into how our suburbs and city evolve, or devolve! It's a step into mayhem, through deregulation. Standards of living must decline as we head into a bigger, higher, wider and a more dense city. Houses are being made less affordable because potential buyers must compete with the demands of the 70,000 new arrivals each year! It's a real-estate dream, with customers guaranteed as housing is a basic human need. Matthew Guy's constant claims of trying to provide "affordable housing" is an oxymoron as our State's economy is heavily reliant on housing - plus stamp duties and land releases. The short-term benefits of population growth are lucrative, but our State is being crippled by lack of infrastructure, cut-backs to government spending and constant "shortages". Planning has become synonymous to accommodating growth rather than a system of balancing community needs, natural vegetation, heritage values, liveabilty to protect the integrity of Melbourne. Nothing can keep being filled forever, and trying to over-fill a city is inevitably damaging. Obesity is a disease, placing pressure on functions, circulatory systems, and internal organs. The same applies to cities.

Sheila Newman

Wed, 2012-08-15 18:41

We all know that the "Livability Index" is a tragic joke on the people of Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong and Vancouver, where it has often been applied. What do these cities have in common? Overbuilding, loss of democracy, high forced immigration and an English colonial background. In Melbourne property speculators have got themselves elected to parliament with the help of a media with commercial interests in development. That Australian state governments are now resorting routinely to using this arcane tool to promote developer interests over those of Australian citizens is sinister. It is hard to respect anyone who stoops to using it. This so-called 'livability index' report comes from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which is oxymoronic in itself and part of a group associated with the anglo-centric Economist magazine. People in Hong Kong rent cages stacked one on top of the other in rooms in concrete high rises. There are protests about the abrogation of public land and the ever increasing intensity of development. The EIU put overcrowded concrete Vancouver and Melbourne equal at the head of its list in 2002. Clearly this list is a list about concrete spaces and developers' anti-human values and the Economists silly promotion of economic growth and globalisation. The award is just a manufactured consensus thing promoted by big business for big business and against relocalisation, human scale and natural surroundings. That the Sydney Morning Herald publishes this nonsense is just another indication of the corruption of real reporting by corporate agendas. In other words this is all just corporate propaganda which little girls and little boys should be taught to dissect in primary school and once were. Wonder what has happened there? About the Economist group: "From its beginnings in 1843, when The Economist newspaper was founded by a Scottish hat manufacturer to further the cause of free trade" ... http://www.economistgroup.com/what_we_do/our_history.html "Many of the issues facing the world have an international if not global dimension. The Economist brand family is ideally positioned to be the commentator, interpreter and forecaster of the phenomenon of globalisation as it gathers in pace and impact." [In other words, a propaganda outfit that actually has some deluded ordinary subscribers.]http://www.economistgroup.com/what_we_do/our_brands/the_economist_brand_family/index.html I adapted this comment from an earlier one here on July 9th, 2012.

quark

Wed, 2012-08-15 13:26

Melbourne today was again declared the world's most "livable" city. [1] But last night, the Victorian Upper House of Parliament passed a planning amendment to further extend Melbourne's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) by 6,000 hectares following on from the previous government’s 40,000 hectares extension in 2010. The current government’s extra 6,000 hectares are endearingly called "logical inclusions". Well really, is up to the authors to call their brainchild "logical"?

If Melbourne is the most livable city it is somewhat dispiriting to think of the cities that came 4th 5th and 6th! Melbourne is jammed with traffic; its trains are overcrowded – such that the “solution” is to remove seats. There is practically no public transport at all in the outer suburbs. Houses all through the established suburbs are demolished in random fashion to make way for higher density living and the urban landscape is becoming one of generic non- architecture with non- gardens taking over. Areas of nature on the urban fringe are continually swallowed up with housing, roads and associated commercial use with no respect or provision for wildlife. Expect more of the same – forever.

Footnote(s)

[1] See, for example, Radio 3AW's current home page, on which the main embedded image at the top proclaims "MELBOURNE NAMED WORLD'S MOST LIVABLE CITY". The presenter on Radio 3MP just made a weather announcement, "Currently, the world's most livable city is 15 degrees!"- Ed

admin

Wed, 2012-08-15 01:36

From Press TV, 14 Aug 2012

Syria's Deputy Health Minister Ma'moun al-Zoubi has been assassinated in the country's southwestern city of Dara'a.

Zoubi was assassinated on Tuesday after a number of insurgents attacked him upon leaving the Health Directorate building.

The armed men opened fire on the officials at the building's garage and stole his car.

MRS/IS

James Sinnamon

Tue, 2012-08-14 16:50

The following has been adapted from a response to my last post on johnquiggin.com which is also posted above. This post raises a number of important issues which I cannot attend to immediately.

Although I agree that neoliberal reforms started by the Hawke-Keating government are the main cause of the problem, I would like to present a different viewpoint on this situation.

My view is that the job market is facing such a problem is mainly due to the widening income inequality, and the significant loss in job security after the neoliberal reforms, rather than privatisation (although I oppose privatisation as well). The widening in the income inequality gap has made more people to weigh the income from different sectors of the economy more heavily. In the recent history, the income gap between the STEM sector (which usually requires tertiary education) and other sectors such as the manufacturing sector, and the agricultural sector etc. has caused people to obtain tertiary education. This increase in the STEM sector labour supply reduced the need for employers to offer positions to people who need training. While the excess jobseekers created by the market (when government refuses to employ them) will have to take on any job to survive, which includes the job that Freelander described: "Would you like fries with that?".

The significant loss in job security have also caused a tendency for people to choose an industry with higher pay and more job demands (especially since manufacturing sector employment is declining in Australia from 21.2% in 1978 after the oil crisis to 12.6% in 2000). This loss in job security has also forced the labour market to be more competitive, so most of them went on the gain a competitive advantage from education. Over time as the excess labour who holds tertiary education have to find other jobs to survive, a situation was created where clerk level job (which a high school drop out is more than capable of performing if training is provided) are filled with university graduates. This inefficiency of distribution of resource and the time wasted for people to gain low-skill requirement position is not being translated to an issue that requires policy attention somehow.

James Sinnamon

Tue, 2012-08-14 14:26

The following was written in response to the article Privatisation and education (re-repost) by of 9 August by Professor John Quiggin.

One facet of privatised education that has slipped from public attention is that up to around a generation ago, much training was provided on the job by both government and private employers. Also, many employers provided career structures, which enabled those with ability to gain promotion as their skills improved and experience increased over the years. In these days, after which our economy was been made so much more efficient thanks to the neo-liberal 'reforms' which commenced with Keating in 1983, it seems that employers are unwilling or unable to any longer provide the training or career structure they once did. So, instead, most wishing to advance their career have to, instead, study in their own time at their own expense.

So, on top of excessive commuting times, many now have to spend their evenings and week-ends studying or attending classes, instead of with friends and family.

Even initial employment by many employers is now restricted to those able to include, in their resumés, tertiary qualifications and often postgraduate qualifications, whereas, up to a generation ago, anyone who had completed year 12 and who could pass an entrance exam was at least guaranteed a job in the federal public service or one of the state public services.

The above comment has, so far, drawn one response:

Seems nowadays, a degree is required even to ask “Would you like fries with that?”

Bandicoot

Tue, 2012-08-14 13:04

More than half the counties in the US have been declared natural disaster areas by the US Department of Agriculture due to the drought, which now covers more than 60 per cent of the lower 48 states. In response, the US Government plans to buy up to $160 million of meat from its farmers to help them through the drought crisis. Meat raising use up 43% of entire grain harvesting and 85% of entire legume harvesting. Of all the cause of Amazon virgin rain forest deforestation, 70% are cut down in order to raise meat. If crops wastefully fed to livestock are included, European countries have more than three times more food than they need, while the US has around four times more food than is needed, and up to three-quarters of the nutritional value is lost before it reaches people's mouths. Many ranchers have been forced to bring their animals to market earlier than usual because they cannot afford the rising price of grain, thus cutting into the market value of their animals. Entire livestock in the world produce 87,000 pounds of excrements per second, which is 130 times more then the human population. Raising animals for food requires massive amounts of land, food, energy, and water and contributes to animal suffering. According to PETA, more than 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to grow grain to feed farmed animals. According to scientists at the Smithsonian Institution, the equivalent of seven football fields of land is bulldozed worldwide every minute to create more room for farmed animals. PETA - Meat wastes natural resources More than 70 percent of the grain and cereals that are grown in the USA are fed to farmed animals. Raising animals for food is grossly inefficient, because while animals eat large quantities of grain, soybeans, oats, and corn, they only produce comparatively small amounts of meat. It takes more than 11 times as much fossil fuel to make one calorie from animal protein as it does to make one calorie from plant protein. Nearly half of all the water used in the United States goes to raising animals for food. According to Greenpeace, all the wild animals and trees in more than 2.9 million acres of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil were destroyed in the 2004-2005 crop season in order to grow crops that are used to feed chickens and other animals in factory farms. The EPA reports that chicken, hog, and cattle excrement has polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states. This industry is based on a cuisine that demands animal products, to conform to traditions of our assumed "hunter and gatherer" past, slavishly assuming that the hunting harvest is and must remain the main source of our nutrition. It's rapacious in it's appetite for natural resources, environmental destruction, pollution and ongoing animal cruelty. Farms are not what they once were, with farmers having a close connection with their land and stock. They are big corporations now, and factory farms are inherently cruel - with massive political power. Much of the world's water supply is quietly being diverted to raise livestock without any media coverage, while millions of people across the globe are faced with droughts and water shortages. Sadly, as the Western diet spreads to the rest of the world, even desert nations in Africa and the Middle East are pouring what little water remains into meat production. Vegan Organic and Environment

Anonymous (not verified)

Tue, 2012-08-14 08:40

Australia First Party - from the 21 point programme

2. The Australian People demand the Implementation of Citizens’ Initiated Referendum and Voters' Right of Recall of parliamentarians and councillors, so we the people can directly propose the laws and get rid of unresponsive leaders.

3. The Australian People demand accountability for all politicians, and for all those who have failed and corrupted Australia, sold the country to foreign states and agencies, or devoted themselves to globalisation, or been citizens of foreign states while in office, we pledge to nationalize their personal property and deny them parliamentary pensions and benefits.

11. The Australian People demand the public ownership of all essential services - namely roads (and abolition of tolls), water supplies, domestic energy supplies, postal services(, telecommunications services(?) - Ed) and rail services.

Voting for other than Australia First is just a waste of time.

James Sinnamon

Tue, 2012-08-14 03:30

I attempted to post this comment here and then here and failed on both occasions. Update, 14 Aug 12:15pm +1000: My comment has been published on the first site, but not the second. The article has also been published on Global Research.

Whilst I thank you for a most informative article on the struggle of Quebec students, I take exception to the way that electoral strategies of some student leaders have been dismissed.

What should be obvious is that the vicious attacks on the Quebecois students' standard of living and democratic rights have been made possible precisely because Canada's and Quebec's parliamentary democracy is not functioning properly. The Federal Harper government got to power because of electoral rorts and it seems that the Quebec regional government is in power, at least in part because the voting system allows a government which represents only a minority of Quebecois to win office.

Had Quebec and Canada as a whole had a fair electoral system, then it is unlikely that such nasty governments would have got to power in the first place.

I think that the only way that the Quebecois students can win in the long term is to show fellow Quebecois and Canadians that this government does not represent Quebecois and is therefore illegitimate. It think this would be best done by:

1. demanding fair electoral system; and

2. demand that there be new elections.

Given that elections are to be held on 2 September under the current unfair system., I think the Quecebois students have no choice but to participate and try to maximise the vote for any party which opposes the attacks on the students. If such parties were shown to have obtained a higher combined vote in the elections than the parties which are in favour of the attacks on the students, then the illegitimacy of a government formed by the latter would be self-evident to the population of Quebec. In such circumstances, the justification for students to continue their struggle using extra-parliamentary would seem far more evident than if they had abstained from the elections.

So, I think it would be a mistake for the students not to participate in the election campaign.

admin

Tue, 2012-08-14 01:42

From the International Observatory for Gulf State Despotism and Press TV

Bahraini security forces have attacked the protesters, holding an anti-regime demonstration in the northeastern island of Sitra.

The demonstrators took to the streets in Sitra on Sunday.

Meanwhile, protesters in Manama torched tires and blocked the roads near the Bahrain International Airport.

Bahrainis continue peaceful demonstrations against the ruling monarchy, despite the regime’s violent crackdown on the protests. The police frequently use teargas canisters, rubber bullets, and sound grenades to disperse the protesters.

The demonstrators hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the deaths of the protesters during the uprising that began in February 2011.

Bahrain hosts the US Navy Fifth Fleet and is among the Persian Gulf countries such as Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates that receive military equipment from the United States.

JV (not verified)

Tue, 2012-08-14 01:27

James,

Thank you for pushing this matter. It deserves relentless exposure.

As you point out, the public was serially let down by its representatives on this matter.

It seems that they knew that they were doing wrong and that it was unpopular, but they pretended they would defend public ownership right up to the moment they welched on their promises to the electorate.

James Sinnamon

Tue, 2012-08-14 00:09

The following is a response to a claim in a discussion on johnquiggin.com that the Australian Greens are a left wing party whose policies are too left wing for most voters. I believe the evidence shows the opposite to be the case. Update, 12:35AM, 14 August: My attempt to post a copy of this comment just now to johnquiggin.com failed. Comments have been disabled, presumably because Professor Quiggin is upgrading his web-site.

Terje @ 13 wrote:

The reason we do not have an ascendant[1] green left political party is because most people are not so stupid.

In fact, every opinion poll of which I am aware has, in spite of overwhelming media propaganda in favour of privatisation, shown that the vast majority of Australians oppose privatisation. This puts them, on that issue at least, well to the left of Labor and the Greens, not to mention the Liberals and Nationals. The opinion polls put public opposition to privatisation in the order of 70% to almost 90%, yet not not one amongst the Liberal Party, the National Party, the Labor Party or the Greens have ever put this policy to the voting public at any election in recent years as far as I am aware.[2] Of course his has not stopped governments of both major parties from embarking on privatisation fire sales following the elections.

I am not aware if public opinion polls have not been taken on other neo-liberal/Shock Doctrine policies such as deregulation, reduction of government services, the sell-off of public land, retrenchment of public servants, union-bashing, war, etc. but I have yet to see evidence that these policies enjoy any more public support than does privatisation. Certainly, if there was fair reporting of these issues, I believe the public would be no less opposed to all of these other facets of neo-liberalism than it is to privatisation.

So, given that the public is emphatically opposed to privatisation and most probably equally opposed to the other pro-corporate policies mentioned above, why have the supposedly left wing Greens Party failed again and again to effectively campaign against privatisation and neo-liberalism in general in any elections that I have observed in recent years, particularly in the 2009 and 2012 Queensland state elections?

Footnotes

[1] I have assumed that 'assendent' is a misspelling.

[2] From my recollection, the Labor Party went to the 2004 election opposed to privatisation, but that did not form a major component of that campaign. Curiously, more Liberal and National Party candidates, including Barnaby Joyce spoke against the privatisation of Telstra than for its privatisation in that campaign. John Howard, himself, barely mentioned privatisation during the campaign except on about two occasions when questioned by the press about it. In September 2005 Senator Barnaby Joyce broke his 2004 election promise and voted for full privatisation thereby enabling passage of the legislation. Labor also decided quietly to retrospectively support privatisation and abandon its commitment to repeal the privatisation legislation.

Sheila Newman

Mon, 2012-08-13 11:25

Today 13 August 2012, Bill Shorten, Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (ALP) promoted a flawed growthist view that Australia needs more immigration because our population is aging on the Jon Faine Show. Since there was no rejoinder to Shorten's contentious policy statements on Jon Faine's show, I refer our readers to "Discussing Australia's dependency", which refutes Short's growthist propaganda and shows where the problems and solutions really are. See also the more general topics on candobetter of 'Dependency Ratios' and 'Aging Population'. Please pass these articles round your email list if you want to promote democracy, population stability and combat agism in politics and media in Australia.

Geoffrey Taylor

Sun, 2012-08-12 21:38

As of 9.52pm on Sunday 12 August, 554 or 92% of the 554 respondents voted No to the question "Should the super-trawler FV Margiris be allowed to fish in Australian waters?" whilst a miniscule 4 answered Yes.

One who voted No explained his opposition:

How the hell can there be a mixed reaction. There should be only one action taken and that is to totally ban fishing such as this.We have only one planet , the more we have of environmental vandalism like this, the less the rest of us have of our planet to share.Way too greedy. The state and federal governments should ban this vessel immediately.

nimby

Sun, 2012-08-12 12:35

Undercover investigation by Animal Liberation ACT and Animal Liberation NSW Pig "farming" is carried on under a veil of secrecy. Animals are raised in sheds, hidden from public scrutiny. The Codes of Practice are created by the industry itself, for their own interests rather than any form of pretence of animal welfare. New: undercover footage taken in August 2012 from two more piggeries in NSW. This week, activists from Animal Liberation ACT and NSW captured footage inside two additional piggeries in NSW: Allain's Piggery in Blakney Creek (about an hour north of Wally's), and Tennessee Piggery near Young. Unlike Wally's, these are considered 'good' piggeries by the industry. More footage from Wally's Piggery will be released within the coming weeks, including one and a half days of slaughtering. Wally's piggery, a short drive from Canberra, was found to be in breach of many state laws; additionally, the farm was in complete filth and disrepair, with many piglets and sows (mother pigs) suffering injuries or death due to beatings by employees, the crumbling structure, and a high prevalence of disease. The practices used by the employees, such as cutting the tails and teeth of all piglets without the use of anaesthetic, are accepted by the industry and are standard across Australia. The process is often carried out ineffectively, leaving painful and bloody stumps, and tails were found in the stalls. The equipment, including needles for iron injection, are not cleaned or sterilised between uses. It's a holocaust of misery, atrocities and evil. This is not a "rogue operator". This is Australian pig farming - and it's where your bacon, pork and ham comes from. Read more on the website and sign the petition.

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