Mood:  mischievious

 

As our letter published on crikey.com.au earlier this year pointed out, union membership may be down, but unions are like doctors who you hope will put themselves out of business for preventative good health. But as we know doctors remain in demand. In the parallel union case if we had a preventative fair industrial relations structure unions would be redundant too, yet they remain in demand and as we also know workers do still get ripped off.

Membership of 17% in unions is hardly the end of the matter. We are nominal member of the leftish Australian Services Union. We abhor the right wing logger union. We notice plenty of free riders on the historical value of unions.

But we thank God and the Australian democracy and the ACTU's former secretary now candidate Greg Combet, activist Bernie Bantam and union lawyers for forcing both sides of politics, the legal industry and parliaments state and federal to address the industrial mass murder of asbestos victims.

Asbestos that roofs some old huts at the Addison Rd Community Centre today in Marrickville, that was an immigrant centre before that, and a Vietnam War marshalling barracks before that, and a WW2 base before that. That's in most buildings built before perhaps 1980.

Left, right, brown, green, young, old, boss, and worker all exposed to the dangerous stuff, and still today but with much greater care and management. 

Rudd is already on record pointing to the asbestos precedent. We point to the silver lining of reform of national defamation laws: Opposed for quite a while by Phillip Ruddock as federal AG, forced to it by NSW AG Bob Debus, in turn forced to it by the NSW Labor Council in their targetting of James Hardie corporation, after Bob Carr's stupid govt waved through JH fraudulent offshoring through a NSW Supreme Court proceedings.

That was the union structure at their best, when things were at their worst for all Australians. 

Say it long and loud: If unions didn't exist it would be necessary to invent them. We sledge union bosses here at times, we love them too in regular measure.  

As Senator Penny Wong, who we met once in Kim Yeadon's office as Forest Minister in NSW in the mid 90ies, might have said in her otherwise smooth compelling interview with Fran Kelly just now - unionism as a smear is a deceptive half truth. We also lobbied now Shadow Minister Wong 12 years agon on unauthorised logging in the identified Deua Wilderness on the NSW South Coast in breach of the ALP 1995 election platform. She took that on board as we recall it.

A half truth, just like James Hardie are guilty as sin of industrial mass murder, but also supported by those same union enemies to trade on and as successfully as possible ... to secure that $4B welfare fund for victims.

Howard/Costello half truths are not a good way to run a country, so let's hear them praise the role of the unions on asbestos. That would be sound leadership, election phase or not. Nor is it sufficient for Costello to denounce Carr on the James Hardie corporate restructure legal trickery. Costello must denounce James Hardie in his own corporate cheer squad if he is to have credibility on other matters like the role of unionism, which to us is akin to the Aussie value of mateship only formalised. It's real moral leadership when you know it's your mates who have done wrong, and that goes for both union or business.

So how many of the Rudd election line up are from diverse walks of life too? That would be a measured characterisation, not least the leader who demands the right to appoint his cabinet, unlike previous situations.

And on the timing of this approach of the Howard Costello election team - their tax policy demand was due midday today Wednesday, a bluff turned to fluff, so they've turned literally vaudeville to mask that big climb down.

An ALP election tax policy is said to be essential to a proposed debate on pay tv, not free to air networks so far, this Sunday 21st October 07. I wonder if Rudd will send that kid from the ALP aligned Climate Institute advert to the debate on Sunday as his proxy until we get 3 fair dinkum debates in true democratic tradition? The innocent kid's accussing eyes would be some juxtaposition, and devastating tv, but hard to imagine 90 minutes worth.

Posted by editor at 9:46 AM NZT

Updated: Thursday, 18 October 2007 11:30 AM NZT

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Mood:  chatty

Picture: Moir in the Herald today reprises the damning Daily Telegraph front pager last week of the Oct 2004 election with role reversal above. We can't find our copy of that evil effective 2004 graphic leveraging interest rate fear with $800M logger restructure plan but this gives the gist too. Back then it was 'Latham - money grows on trees' alleged profligacy, which sunk the young blood after promising to do the right thing on carbon storage forests which was totally affordable (a number by the way very similar to tax subsidy to Gunns pulp mill plan). Today it's allegedly squandering our hard earned revenue on throw away tax cut bribes. Irresponsible govt?  On this view let's tell the kids they can have lollies for dinner too? 

Peter Hendy, Lib aligned business lobbyist 6.45 am Tues with Fran Kelly abc radio national, challenges Rudd to 'me too' the Costello election tax package.

Then Treasurer Costello and PM Howard later same Tuesday morning (abc AM, World Today from memory) also challenged Rudd to 'me too' their arguably sound $34B tax cut 'as the right patriotic thing to do if he really is a fiscal conservative'. The psychology was transparent - to stampede the ALP into their pre emptive election  financial daisy cutter.

What might the Rudd PR team do?

We detected the PR logic of the ALP response soon enough

A 'culture jam' of the 'me too' taunts with a deflection onto a different 'me too' land release policy already in play from mid year, but not tax which is far more critical to the election outcome, as urged by Howard et al with suspect motivation  

Then secondly, via shadow treasurer Wayne Swan, buy time by opportunisticly leveraging the Howard gaffe the night before on Ch9 ACA pop quiz on interest rate quantum for the first few crucial morning hours of the media cycle.

Then thirdly buy more time for the ALP for the next critical hours locating and presenting 1996 footage of then Opposition Leader Howard's valid plea to be allowed a 22 day delay on election tax policy against Keating. This history had the added bite of fitting perfectly with Peter Brent of Mumble/Crikey thesis of the 1996 polling scenario no. 3 which 'gives no heart to the Howard Team in 2007'.

The compelling Brent thesis is that Rudd's polling pattern in 2007 mirrors Howard's in 1996 (and so no wonder Turnbull is swearing as reported by Crikey too, below): 

This recovery by the ALP under dangerous pressure, akin to prusik loop ascent via bootstraps from a fatal yawning crevasse, then allowed, despite annoyance of one cluey but sun stressed sketch writer, Rudd at a set piece presser in Werriwa to plausibly call Costello's timeline bluff to respond on tax 'by Wednesday'. A place bound to attract alot of the Big Meeja pack (with echoes of crew cut Latham resignation (the sub plot culture jam?) as spice in his old seat but logical being a redevelopment site near un released Commonwealth land).

A logical, smart 12 hour PR/policy strategy by Rudd machine under real pressure to rush a tax policy, allowing space to really build a critical tax position in the public interest. Which sort of reminds this writer of the Gene Kranz character played by Ed Harris in Apollo 13 with the immortal words about the disaster scenario paradoxically showing NASA 'at its best'.

And the ALP can be well pleased with the media payoff today with various sceptics, including Moir cartoon shown above, and quite more than the 'usual suspects' (as per Hendy's anticipatory sledge), in fact very credible dignified economists like ANZ Saul Estlake, on inflationary effect in the "medium term".

"An opportunity" for the Rudd ALP says Saul, the gist being more balanced tax cuts with investment on economic capacity constraints. The Coalition mantra to stampede the ALP was turning to gibberish, with no objective observer seeing any merit in denying the ALP reasonable time to talk and work through there tax policy response.

What a shame that Peter Costello and John Howard as incumbents have displayed a willingness to rush the ALP for their electoral self interest rather than the national interest. Such is life, and not just for broken sad young crims or emotionally crippled football stars on the front page of every newspaper.

Even the Govt 36 hours on have been forced to shift back to the land release issue from their tax policy economic debate in this latest 12 hour  intense media cycle, with Nick Minchin on abc AM this morning and elsewhere.

And that folks is, we think, why Rudd was genuinely amused in his hour of tax policy need at the presser in Werriwa so well attended by Big Meeja, and saying to journalists with quite some cut through (and we might say leadership) who were thinking to interrupt his soliliquy, to rather "hang on, hang on" to continue his preferred thrust. That's a man with his hands on the wheel and in his lane who can sense plenty more fuel in the tank for quite a race, to extend the Grattan metaphor in the Sunday press (only 72 hours ago and yet so long) about wayward policy driving by PM Howard recently.

The Daily Telegraph today too has already moved on to the subject of  Howard's increasinlgy wobbly rejection of Kyoto, worth 3% voter increase says Christian Kerr in the top story on crikey.com.au yesterday. And we note the biffo tone, like ours earlier this week, which would make the memory of Mark Latham's leadership proud:

Will "that f—king c—t" sign Kyoto? is the title allegedly quoting Mal Turnbull in significant trouble in Wentworth, as is the Coalition generally.

Whether a true quote or not, one thing is for sure, the big policy elephants are dancing and we mice must beware of heavy footfalls. It's exciting stuff for political junkies but quite a dangerous tune wafting across the battle ground.

...................

What is that buff tanned PM Howard on 60 Minutes all about, as sledged on Crikey.com.au earlier this week suggesting a 'lighting set up'. Au contraire - more sunlight on early morning walks means more of a tan so we think it was quite real. As per my walk yesterday around 7-7.30 am.

.............

As for the merit of land releases itself, just another reason why the Greens should be included in the upcoming debate(s)?:

[Greens media release follows}

Rudd and Costello's housing plan threatens important environmental
treasures in Western Sydney

16.10.07

Senator Kerry Nettle today pledged The Greens support for protecting
rare bushland areas of Western Sydney which are under threat from both
Peter Costello and now Kevin Rudd's determination to sell off
Commonwealth land for housing development.

"This policy is short-sighted both environmentally and with regards to
housing affordability, and another example of ALP 'me too-ism', Senator
Nettle said.

"Much of the Commonwealth owned land in Western Sydney is home to
important bushland including the last remaining remnants of Cumberland
Plain Woodland and Sydney Coastal River-flat Forest.

"The Greens will work in the next parliament to ensure that these
important sites are conserved for future generations.

"The land release policy will not be the magic bullet for rising house
prices. In fact NSW has been releasing land with no effect on housing
affordability.

"What's required is a national housing plan to expand the housing
availability of low rent housing, more funding for public and community
housing measures and appropriate medium and high density housing in
urban centres - not more urban sprawl.

"Western Sydney is already struggling to cope with the poor government
planning decisions that do not involve public transport - more of the
same is unacceptable."

Contact - Kristian Bolwell 0411 63 83 20

Are You enrolled to Vote?  Have a look here: https://oevf.aec.gov.au

Kristian Bolwell
Office of Greens Senator for NSW
Senator Kerry Nettle
T:(02) 96902038
F:(02) 96902041
M:0411638320
www.kerrynettle.org.au

Posted by editor at 11:15 AM NZT

Updated: Wednesday, 17 October 2007 6:01 PM NZT

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Mood:  down

The 4 Corners programme last night had enough detail to strongly imply an ultra right wing quasi business/religous exclusive cult has been defrauding the election laws to avoid their preferred election candidates, like PM Howard, being publicly associated with them. A cult that their 'right' leader John Howard demands to be treated as a lawful group of Australian citizens. But is it lawful as the Australian Federal Police investigate undeclared election funding of over $300,000?

This cult, the Exclusive Brethren, also practice destruction of family/parental relations and isolation of immature minds from educational materials for an informed choice in their lives. In short an ultra hierarchical group that in particular oppresses girls with their brainwashing.

No wonder mainstream politicians want to avoid association with the big money donations in case it also offend mainstream Christian church people.

It's all there and the rodent PM should be ashamed of himself for sanitising these attacks on the emotional wellbeing of children. If ever there was a case for saying, to borrow a phrase, John Howard is unfit to rule, then this programme reveals why, with or without a plausible tax policy from the ALP to date:

Posted by editor at 2:38 PM NZT

Updated: Tuesday, 16 October 2007 3:03 PM NZT

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Mood:  rushed

Libs tax cut ambush

Posted by editor at 9:04 PM NZT

Updated: Tuesday, 16 October 2007 9:11 AM NZT

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Mood:  sharp

After 6 hours sorting the recyclables from the compostables at the Addison Community Centre Sunday market we got home just in time for the first prime time news story on 7 and 9: The election would be Nov 24. What a dilemma as the a-grade wonk fodder unfolded on my tv screen: After finding a new use for an empty orange juice container (hence the crude headline), and with tv remote control in the other hand swapping channels,  we saw the very first howler of the election. Literally the first speech of the election.

"This country does not need new leadership. It does not need old leadership. It needs the right leadership"

John Howard intoned with that gutteral subliminal swagger of supreme self confidence well known to the trained wonk ear.

It was only next morning we realised the Freudian significance. On the surface level Howard meant 'right' in terms of the correct choice. But what he really meant was the Right leader. That is Ultra Right given both major parties are already quite right wing, pro developer, pro big business  with all those donations. More a case of Keep Right, not Keep Left beloved of road sign graffiti.

On the other hand who is to say Howard wasn't trading on a double meaning because there is no doubt John is the Right leader of his time in Australia -  propping up George W Bush, vandalising Kyoto, ripping into electoral donation laws for the elitist mates, chummy with religous nutcases and human rights abusers like the Exclusive Brethren, pro nuke reactors and Iraq war mongering.

Only keeping Right won't really satisfy after 11 years of the same ideological pap. It won't do on climate change, nor the Iraq war disaster, nor a great many other things.

Both stations 7 and 9 made live interview crosses to Howard and Rudd who each looked very professional and maybe relieved (geddit?) to have started on the formal contest. Similarly 60 Minutes where Howard looked very buff for an old bloke, was echoed the next day in the front page of the Sydney Daily Telegraph about "endurance". But not buff enough with young voters abandoning the old guy 73% against.

..............

 

The Rudd and Howard as political dopplegangers this election campaign right down to the blue tie is shown below. But notice too the high circulating press have Rudd to the right hand side of the page ie the 'way forward' side; the natural default of the wandering eye; the 'generational change' side; the editorial spin side of both the Sydney Daily Telegraph, and Sydney Morning Herald indicating the real consensus regardless of the other choreographed 'balance':

...................

Then came the next beaut howler this morning after all the AM show jostling here and here and here and here and finally here which was actually a jostle over one versus three debates. And the howler from an unexpected source,  Michael Kroger a "Liberal Party powerbroker" 'in the bunker' segment on abc 702 Trioli in Sydney, who spent alot of time waxing lyrical about Treasurer Costello being "respected".

Kroger's unforced error against a jaded ALP aligned Bruce Hawker (good line though about 'contorted' Costello succession sometime uncertainty), claimed the ALP's Wayne Swan was missing in action in the big media. In fact there was Swan front page of the The Oz last Thursday 11th October only 2 working days earlier in a big picture story with George Newhouse, Swan, Mal Turnbull and rabbi.

Kroger does not read the Oz aka 'Govt Gazette' apparently yet is the crack electoral expert?? Kroger revealing his limitations and his spin with a gratuitious sledge on Swan? Admittedly Swan as shadow treasurer has been low profile presumably swatting on his tax homework that Bill Leak likes to cartoon about. But still its the kind of mistake that Laurie Oakes was referring to on 9 Sunday as a govt under major pressure.

And this is the winning campaign start of the federal coalition? Not.

Earlier that morning Fran Kelly on abc radio national weighed up the pro case for each side along these lines in discussion with Lynton Crosby (Lib), Sol Lebovic (News Ltd aligned polling expert), and Rod Cameron (ALP aligned pollster):

ALP:

Rudd, Climate Change, Work Choices/IR, Julia Gillard to which we add Costello and Rudd's relative youth and competence

Coalition:

Howard, Economy, anti union, Gillard,  to which we add Howard's experience/competence, Costello.

..................

Psephologists like Antony Green seems to be in furious agreement that here in NSW the seats at risk to fall to the ALP are Parramatta, Lindsay (eg Penrith), Bennelong (Northshore), Wentworth (Eastern Suburbs).

.................

All this reference to "love" in the headlines reminded us of John Howard salivating on camera about marginal seats about 2 weeks ago that "I love youse all" reprising slugger Jeff Fenech about 15 years back, having just won a world title bout and pledging same to Australian fans, when he was alot more respectable but now ominously convicted of shop lifting $100 watches. 

Perhaps reflecting the diminishing oxygen for the PM, the Libs have resorted to adopting the ALP tactic of calling Rudd "contrived" and insincere via their cipher Piers Akerman in the Sunday Telegraph echoing the ALP claim Howard is "clever" as in a sly smart arse. It felt somehow dirty reading Akerman inviting the reader to schmooze with him over "unfit to rule" Rudd in a faux heart to heart as if in the public interest. When has over stuffed Akerman ever been worried about high morality, as his smear laden Heiner Affair house of cards falls in a heap via the preceding day's coverage in The Australian?

Also curious was Akerman's claim same article above that with John Howard there is "no contrivance", a line repeated in the headline story in Fairfax above  yet arguably we saw exactly that double talk in the timing of the PM's reconciliation speech last week: Because no matter how real Ray Martin might say Howard meant to be on the embarrassing issue of Aboriginal justice, with Ray sledging the "Howard Haters" on Sunday 9 yesterday as in effect unworthy cynics, the fact is the Howard speech timing was all real politik. For instance we reported elsewhere on SAM 6 converging factors quite beyond the moral case for changes to the preamble of the constitution to recognise the Indigenous, and that makes Big John opportunistic too and therefore susceptible to interpretations of ... contrivance.

Imagine that. A big tough winning politician manifesting such tricks. Derr.

And through all of this the drum beat of scary climate change throbs in the rib cage eg sea rise eating at Fort Denison, beach erosion on the north coast (Sun Tele p44 14/10/07), youth writers on Lismore hailstones as big as pumpkins (Hail caesars, do something p60 SunHerald 14/10/07) all swamping the Miranda Devine narks at Al Gore and his Nobel Prize.

Posted by editor at 1:05 PM NZT

Updated: Tuesday, 16 October 2007 9:37 AM NZT

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Mood:  party time!

Author’s general introductory note (skip this if you know this regular weekly column):

This is not a well packaged story. It’s a contemporaneous traverse of the Sunday television free to air political talkies indicating the agenda of Establishment interests: Better to know ones rivals and allies  in Big Politics and Big Media.

Indeed it’s the tv version monitoring task similar to what Nelson Mandela refers to here in his book Long Walk to Freedom (1994, Abacus) written in Robben Island prison (where he was meant to die like other African resister chiefs of history in the 19C), at page 208

“..newspapers are only a shadow of reality; their information is important to a freedom fighter not because it reveals the truth, but because it discloses the biases and perceptions of both those who produce the paper and those who read it.”

Just substitute ‘Sunday tv political talkie shows’ for "newspapers" in the quote above.

For actual transcripts go to web sites quoted below except with Riley Diary on 7. And note transcripts don’t really give you the image content value.

Media backgrounder

 - Sydney SunHerald blowtorch of 'youth' 20-29 yearolds against Howard

- Australian goes to town slam dunking the Heiner scandal as relevant to Rudd suitability for high office - surprising for internecine News Ltd journo cred power struggle. Oz sources teen rape victim now in her thirties, also the absence of documentation about that in the Heiner shredding affair, and manager of John Oxley Centre 10 year silence. No doubt the polarity will march within the News Ltd camp and probably follow the event ie election, possibly seeing jaded Akerman retire?

- Danielle  'Swiss can't pronounce'  Ecuyer "glamourous" pic in the Oz via feminista Overington, echoing sympathetic junior feminista Saffron Howden in the Daily Telegraph earlier. Looking to be a strong surivivor of ALP sleaze policy and break up with big George Newhouse in Wentworth electorate. Yacht club dinner end of October under banner of peak green group ACF and her own Women's Alliance For Change will be a great gig probably at $60 a throw. But has she really broken up, praising George's better nature away from ALP head kickers? Methinks my disabled secular Jewish buddy Carol and I should attend that luncheon. Ex banker DE looking at being a candidate too, split progressive vote thus damage ALP, and help Greens who are quoted in the story. Also notice Bob Brown gazumps locals preference to ALP encouraging people to direct as they please (ah those eastern suburbs memories). Ouchy alp.

- Everyone sure election will be called today. 5 or 6 weeks. No flying back to Canberra for local MPs

-

Meet the Press

Joel Fitzgibbon, Opposition Defence spokes, looking fresh, alert, nuggety, articulate, element of steel in the guy's delivery, will fit in with army types well, likely more than silvertail Nelson?

JF agrees Iraq an unholy mess, with 25 year old looking woman via facebook echoing front pager above case in point.

Death penalty, all happy families in the ALP. Against death penalty but defacto not for both parties "inconsistent" says Paul Bongiorno.

Panel -

Stunt of the week - 'stunt block', Xenephon in SA 'sticking his neck out' at the giraffe enclosure

first adbreak -IR grandson less rights than in my time, pro union anti work choices.Old rockers advert, bit of a worry re demographic target (mid life crisis etc).

Alsion Carabine 2UE (the John Laws station, JL retiring next month), Ian Mcphedran News Ltd

Discussion - Iraq, Afghanistan - "wants to make a difference". New White Paper. Have consulted with the 'CDF'.

Very very good pulp mill animation by Peter Nicholson re The Chainsaws rock band Mal with $ guitar, Howard and Garrett sing same song and Bob Brown is the hostile 'groupie'. Choice, and accurate.

2nd guest, Steve Fielding Assembly of God ultra right candidate in 'Family First'.

2nd adbreak Get Up climate change spoof.

Steve Fielding - Greens are extreme, just another word for pioneering in fact. Projecting his own extremism eg homophobic policy, pro forest destruction, anti climate change. Never forget the AoG church in the heart of Orbost, the woodchip capital of East Gippsland.

Petrol taxes answer to climate change complete non sequitor, and denial of the issue. "horrified" to think the Greens would hold the balance of power.

Transcript in due course www.ten.com.au/meetthepress

Myspace web address:

www.myspace.com/meetthepeople

7 Weekend Sunrise, 8.35-40 am Riley Diary  -

Circus theme of fast and loose money. Taxpayers dosh.

Rudd gravitas tone getting a road test [my observation]. Quite an amazing collation of money references.

Death penalty - Howard for the death penalty defacto. For it, against it. Rudd, Downer, Howard, all craven.

Q & A outside govt house in Canberra for election instructions. [My tooth is hurting already.]

http://www.seven.com.au/sunrise/weekend

Insiders 2

All in the shadow of the election announcement. Paul Kelly says it will be very hard for Howard to get back. Flick from 2 to 9 and back constantly.

Young everypersons on death penalty quandary in hard cases of Bali bombers.

Lots of relieved laughter that finally its on and Rudd is just like Howard.

Get well Matt Price.

Home page is http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/

Sunday 9

All in the shadow of the election announcement. "Impressive" Mal Brough feature, Laurie Oakes with Alexander Downer looking punchy and ill at ease.

LO agrees Downer and govt ill at ease. They need 'big mistakes of the ALP in the campaign but Rudd is very disciplined'.

Bill Shorten unionist now candidate feature, the "practical person" as in very flexible practical sleazy politician? Certainly very articulate. Quite a bubble head. Exclusive Xavier college. Law degree and MBA at Melb Uni.  Running for the seat of Maribyrnonrg in Melbourne. Slated for ministerial future, even PM in a generation.

http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/default.asp

Posted by editor at 9:49 AM NZT

Updated: Sunday, 14 October 2007 12:10 PM NZT

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Mood:  sad

We notice the front page of the Australian grandstanding credentials with the Eastern Suburbs Jewish community by various political VIPs: Turnbull's rival exposed to Gunns fire | The Australian

But it's the picture that really is the weight:

We assume all of those pictured above do not support political assasination of middle east peace makers but we wonder if this is uniformly the case: We had cause recently to write to an interested stakeholder as follows:

"Lastly and perhaps most instructively:

Posted by editor at 8:00 AM NZT

Updated: Friday, 12 October 2007 10:24 AM NZT

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Mood:  sharp

The ABC PM show and ABC 7pm tv news and 7.30 Report are all carrying the unusual speech of PM Howard at the Sydney Institute at 6 pm or so earlier tonight.

The "mea culpa" speech recognising the special position of indigenous Australia will have the journalists running to make their deadlines for the press tomorrow. [The SMH carries a report here next morning: PM's 'new reconciliation' as does the rival SDT here Howard's reconciliation backflip and The Australian here Howard's 'new reconciliation' ]

We detect a real politik convergence in this latest development:

1. Howard's career has involved variously "bucket loads of native title extinguishment", and broken election promises in both 1996 and 1998 over a $40M funding of the Cape York Land Use Agreement which effectively became a dead letter after so much pioneering work by so many, the attempt to promote the Jabiluka uranium mine and lots more. Nothing can sanitise these sins of commission.

2. Howard is chronicly losing in the polls and has been failing to wedge the Rudd led ALP from the right flank of politics with variously capital punishment, logging of world heritage forest/pulp mill, intervention in the NT and Cape York welfare reform, guilotine of the Sudanese refugee programme and no doubt others. This has resulted in the infamous 'me tooism' of ALP 'leader' Rudd. The PM might as well have a go at some traction trying to wedge Rudd from the left flank on reconciliation with the Indigenous. Nothing else is working. Aboriginal tactician Noel Pearson might even call this Karl Rove inspired triangulation.

3. Another aspect of badly losing in the polls is that PM Howard needs to take out insurance on his impending legacy. Point 1 combined with point 2 above means he needs a mitigation strategy and perhaps the biggest figleaf in Australian political history if the upcoming election really is the annihilation he himself contemplated months back. This mea culpa is ideal if and when he loses the election. Alternatively we hear some (abc) journos are already interpreting this speech as a 'man of the future' pitch to rival oppponent Rudd's comparative youth.

 

Palm Island man Lex Wotton talks to Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough. Picture: Michael Chambers More

 ... 

5. The unemployment figures are such - a theoretical 4.2% or 'lowest in 33 years' - that the industrial sector needs more employee cannon fodder, including Black Australians to keep the economic machine ticking over. Willing wage slaves of all colours, race and creed are welcome. For those lost in poverty traps, then of course intervention and training is a basic pre requisite as per intrusion into domestic affairs in the NT to get the workers job ready.

6. Cardinal Pell in charge of Sydney Catholics has given grudging approval to the ALP's education and independent schools policy on page 2 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph pictured in his black penguin suit 11 Oct 2007: 

 "THERE is little difference between the Liberal and Labor Party policies in the lead-up to the looming election, Australia's most influential Catholic leader believes."

This is an overt signal, including via front page of the sister broadsheet, to conservatives Rudd is 'safe' to switch to, and thus very damaging to the Coalition conservative voter base, hence the squealing by Minister Tony Abbott last night on PM about meddlesome priests? Howard needs a big ticket moral riposte before this Pell bushfire gains ever greater traction because then it won't just be 10-12 points gap in the polls.

7. Last but likely most profound is that Howard, as he conceded in his speech, has finally travelled into the heart of Aboriginal Australia and been embraced by young kids who just want someone from the govt to care about them and help them. Even new grand dad Howard would find it hard to ignore their innocent embrace. And so the great laggard and cultural philistine has arrived where so many others have walked decades ago, to recognise a grand timeless culture that makes white fellas look like blow ins - people like ex diplomat Bruce Haigh on the conversation hour on ABC radio earlier this week: A man of uncommon impressive experience in the Kimberley, the military and foreign govt service including South Africa, and now farmer. And a worthy exemplar for such as media junkie John Howard?

The fact PM Howard's mea culpa is virtually throwing his personal record of the last 11 years on the bonfire of old news is no sweat for a real politik warrior like John Howard. A little bit of personal embarrassment is nothing compared to points 1 to 6 above. Ever the power politician. Nor should JH feel too bad about losing in the next election as we think is inevitable - he's changed the country (for the worse regarding the environment) and can laugh at the thought that the ALP has resorted to a genuine facsimile: Kevin Rudd, who on the other hand may cry on election night with emotion over the 'successful' transmogrification into his nemesis. Similarly environmental carpet bagger Peter Garrett will be reflecting he finds himself mutated into chief apologist for logger thuggery and vandalism, Michael OConnor of the national logger union.

Such is the price of love with that thrilling mistress Power, and the road to hell is paved with ....

Posted by editor at 9:33 PM NZT

Updated: Friday, 12 October 2007 10:38 AM NZT

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Mood:  a-ok

Low Head, Tasmania, Sunday, 7 October 2007  Australian Greens Climate Change Spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne, today called on the growing opposition to the Gunns Pulp Mill to get behind clean, green and clever developments in Tasmania, such as the solar factory proposed this morning by Chinese-Australian solar billionaire, Dr Shi Zhengrong.

Senator Milne said "The turnout at today's rally against the Gunns pulp mill at the mouth of the Tamar River shows that attempts by both the old parties to sweep this issue under the carpet will not succeed. There is a great momentum behind this campaign now, and Tasmanians, and many other Australians, will not simply stand by and let it happen.

"Tasmania has developed a reputation in recent years for moving towards clean, green and clever development, with our food, wine and tourism recognised around the world as clean and green. Building this pulp mill in this place would massively undermine that hard work.

"After returning to Tasmania on Friday from the Solar07 Conference in Alice Springs, I was very excited to hear Chinese-Australian solar billionaire, Dr Shi Zhengrong, saying this morning that he'd like to return to Australia to set up a solar factory here. Tasmania should work hard to attract that investment, as well as investment in wind turbine manufacturing and other renewable energy developments.

"The Sun Fund policy I released in Alice Springs, to shift the $300 million of annual R&D subsidies for fossil fuels across to renewable energy would certainly help bring that kind of development to Australia.

"The Greens believe that we can boost manufacturing, boost growth, and boost jobs, while at the same time protecting the environment. I set out this plan for Tasmania in 1992 with the Greens' Business and Industry Strategy driving a transition from a resource-based to a brains-based economy. This is even more critical in the face of climate change. I set out a national agenda for this economic shift in my report, Re-Energising Australia earlier this year, and we Greens will campaign strongly on this as we head into the federal election."

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#2

Subject: [Greens-Media] Pulp Mill is "Howard's cup of poison" says Brown

Sunday 7 October 2007

Gunns pulp mill will be fought in the legal arena, at the ballot box, in
the forests and in the houses of finance which might think to fund it,
Greens leader Bob Brown told thousands of people at Low Head at the
mouth of Tasmania's Tamar River today.

"Last Thursday Prime Minister Howard sent us a cup of poison, and
tomorrow he is coming to Tasmania with a begging bowl. He wants our
votes. We, along with millions more Australians, will show him the exit
door," Senator Brown said to thunderous applause.

Senator Brown told the rally, organised by the Wilderness Society and
Tasmanians Against a Polluting Pulpmill, that Peter Garrett claimed he
is "perfectly comfortable" with the pulp mill which will wreck 200,000
hectares of wild forest, pollute the farmland, vineyards and fisheries
of the Tamar Valley and put 64,000 litres of effluent into the Bass
Strait ecosystem each day.

"Well, Peter Garrett, we're not perfectly comfortable with you," Senator
Brown retorted.

He also said that Malcolm Turnbull had become, in the words of Geoffrey
Cousins, Australia's minister against the environment.

Senator Brown said that barristers reviewing Turnbull's decision had
told him that the law does not authorise the minister to grant an
approval where the minister did not understand and was not properly
informed about he impact on the sea from the effluent.  There are also
arguable constitutional issues. He said that those threatened by Gunns
pulp mill would consider their legal options very seriously.

There were support protests today in Sydney and Adelaide and a video
opposing the pulp mill was launched in Melbourne.

Senator Brown said that voters were left with the Green option: Tom
Millen in Bass, Karen Cassidy in Lyons and Paul O'Halloran in Braddon
and his senate team with Andrew Wilke second on the ticket.

Further information: Prue Cameron 0408 473 379

Prue Cameron
Advisor
Senator Bob Brown
GPO Box 404
Hobart TAS 7001

Ph: 03 6224 3222 (Hobart)
Ph: 02 6277 3170 (Canberra)

Fax 03 6224 2999 (Hobart)
Fax 02 6234 1577 (Canberra)
Mob: 0408 473 379

www.bobbrown.org.au
 

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# 3

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#4

October 7, 2007


Two faces, one mind: Victorian Greens YouTube ad on Gunns pulp mill


The Victorian Greens have released a YouTube clip that takes a swipe at
Peter Garrett's acquiescence on the Gunns pulp mill.

As protests mount across the nation against the polluting mill, the
Greens lead Senate candidate in Victoria, Dr Richard Di Natale, said
Labor's decision to back the mill is a disgrace.

“We had expected better of former environmentalist Peter Garrett, but
he's looking more and more like his Liberal counterpart each day,” Dr Di
Natale said.

“It's clear that only the Greens are providing the leadership the
country needs to oppose projects like this which not only pollute the
environment, but rip apart our precious native forests as well.”

The YouTube ad draws parallels between John Travolta and Nicolas Cage in
the movie Face/Off.
The two swapped faces in their struggle to outwit each other.

“To beat him, he had to become him,” says the ad, accompanied by a split
image of Turnbull and Garrett.

The clip can be viewed at: greens.org.au/greenvideos


Further information: Richard Di Natale 0425 771 246

Media inquiries: Jim Buckell 0400 465 459

..............

#5

Wednesday, 3 October 2007


Poll vindicates Greens' strong pulp mill stand


Today's Marketmetrics Research opinion poll showing the Greens' vote in
Bass has doubled to 18 per cent, indicates votes draining from both
Labor and the Coalition to the Greens as the unpopularity of the Gunns'
pulp mill proposal bites, Greens leader Bob Brown said today.

The poll also shows a jump in the Greens' vote to 9 per cent in Braddon.

"The pulp mill issue will bite the old parties all the way to the ballot
box.  Labor and the Coalition have ignored traditional supporters to
curry favour with Gunns.  The poll indicates that either party will win
Bass if they heed public opinion and reject Gunns' proposal," Senator
Brown said.

Further information: Ebony Bennett 0409 164 603

.....................

#6

Former judge questions independence of Gunns pulp mill approval process

......

FELICITY OGLIVIE [journalist, abc]: Gunns pulled out of the process earlier this year in March, saying it was simply taking too long to get approval. Do you think that they've got an approval or an answer any faster than they would have got by sticking with the RPDC?

CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT [former judge]: On the timelines that we had prepared, it seems that they've saved about six weeks.

FELICITY OGLIVIE : What do you see is the benefit that Gunns has gotten by pulling out of the RPDC? Has there been any benefit to the company?

CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT: Well, according to what Mr Gay is reported to have said, there's been a fortuitous financial gain, but I can't comment on that. I don't know whether it's accurate or not.

FELICITY OGLIVIE: Now, what about the conditions that the mill will run under? There's permits from state government and now there's 48 conditions from the Federal Government. Would the RPDC have done a similar thing if it had approved the pulp mill, would it have put extra conditions on the mill?

CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT: Look, I think that's entirely likely, but we were cut off at the knees before I was able to get fully into the assessment process.

FELICITY OGLIVIE: The State Government came up with their permit system out of the SWECO PIC report, but Malcolm Turnbull, when he was writing to the State Government a few weeks ago, he said his assessment had such a limited scope and a lot of the people making comments to him actually had issues that were the state's responsibility like log truck traffic, effluent washing back up onto the beaches, air pollution and odour from the mill.

Do you think that the State Government has adequately dealt with those issues or would the RPDC have done a better job?

CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT: I have some doubt about whether they'd been adequately covered and the process of submitting it to a parliamentary approval process, it was most unusual, in my assessment. But I can't say, I haven't followed the matter through in detail by any means.

FELICITY OGLIVIE: What has Tasmania lost by losing the RPDC process?

CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT: I think a lot of people would say though, the independence of the process has been abandoned. It certainly was no longer an independent process in the way that it went forward after March of this year, and I think the lack of a process, which included public hearings, is very regrettable.......

Posted by editor at 10:00 AM NZT

Updated: Monday, 8 October 2007 1:22 PM NZT

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Mood:  blue

Why should mainlanders be concerned about the environment in Tasmania when we have big problems here including over consumption by rich folks, and destruction of Botany Bay? Because it's the same over consumption/poor governance driving both, so the problem there is the same thoughtless problem here. We spent 6 hours yesterday separating waste at a community market - turning 6 bins of general waste into 2 recyclables, 2 compostables, and 2 unusable plastics or similar. Sounds like grovel but actually it was an uplifting social interaction that people enjoyed.

This is the change we have to see in all of society regarding issues of sustainability. And the social lesson was, it wouldn't have happened despite signage without external intervention by this agent of the centre management at Addison Rd Community Centre because people are thoughtless, lazy, ignorant or in a hurry.

It takes intervention to protect the environment. Here is an instructive deconstruction of the false Wentworth versus Tasmania debate amongst environmental locals of demonstrated goodwill over many years:

.....................

Sunday political talkies: New rodent species Howardensis discovered in forest, eats giant freshwater cray Malcontensis
Mood:  party time!
Topic: election Oz 2007

 

Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2007 10:15 PM

Subject: Fw: Tasmania, all 500K population massively subsidised by .... mainlanders e.g. Wentworth? Re: PULP MILL AND BOTANY BAY

Hi Tom

I neglected to comment on this line:

 Truth be told Taswegians should be asking the rich people in Wentworth permission to go ahead because chances are they pay more tax dollars into Tasmanian services than anyone else. At least the companies they own do.

The ACF commissioned study - reported front page of the Herald in August - concluded that the largest proportion of an individual's ecological footprint came from consumption of goods.  The  bigfoots were found to live in areas like Wentworth while Tasmanian was the state with the had the lowest ecological footprints.   Instead of singling out the loggers and miners what about looking at the complexity of the individual footprint. 

Cheers, Lynda

 

From: [Ingrid Stewe, Mayor of Waverley]

To: "ecology action australia"

Sent: Sunday, October 07, 2007 10:59 AM

Subject: Re: Tasmania, all 500K population massively subsidised by .... mainlanders e.g. Wentworth? Re: PULP MILL AND BOTANY BAY

> Quite right.

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2007 5:55 PM

Subject: Tasmania, all 500K population massively subsidised by .... mainlanders e.g. Wentworth? Re: PULP MILL AND BOTANY BAY

The best simple answer to this furphy is Tasmania is significantly subsidised by mainland Australian taxpayers, including sadly via over exploited Botany Bay. This tin pot 'parliament' no bigger than Sutherland Shire in population of about 500K population live off our backs here in NSW and especially WA and Qld eg the massive subsidy to the Mersey Hospital being the latest, but uneconomic broadband and everything else we subsidise from the mainland too. If you really want to hear squealing, we could make Tasmania fully pay it's own way, then we could expect to hear, help help help federation, federation, equal services, equal funding, citizenship rights etc.

 

If taxpayer hypothecation came into it we would have Tas Parliament located somewhere between Perth and the Kimberley from mining profits because that's what keeps them financial. And just consider all the financial subsidies from Tasmania's 'gubberment' to the loggers is in turn subsidised from the mainland when we mainlanders put into their consolidated revenue. Truth be told Taswegians should be asking the rich people in Wentworth permission to go ahead because chances are they pay more tax dollars into Tasmanian services than anyone else. At least the companies they own do.

 

In other words this very selective parochial state based sovereign exclusion argument is complete opportunistic bullsh*t. Any mill that chews 4 millions tonnes of natural forest a year in our country is evil and the rest of Australia has a duty to object. Though we should look after Botany Bay too. No doubt.

Cheers Tom McLoughlin

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2007 4:40 PM

Subject: PULP MILL AND BOTANY BAY

DEAR ALL

This letter appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald today:

I find the opposition to the Tasmanian pulp mill by people in other states to be hypocritical. Why don't you clean up that stink hole you call Botany Bay before sticking your nose in the industrial development of other states?

Tasmania is by far the cleanest state in this country and will continue to be so even after the pulp mill is built.

Brett Rutherford Devonport (Tas)

 

Regards,

Lynda Newnam

www.botanybay.info

protecting environment = protecting people

Posted by editor at 8:53 AM NZT

Updated: Monday, 8 October 2007 9:15 AM NZT

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