Napthine's $10 million for cancer $2 million for jumps racing and zero for trains.

http://www.standard.net.au/story/1485707/peters-project-campaigners-celebrate-a-major-victory/?cs=72
By SEAN McCOMISH
May 8, 2013, 4 a.m.

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  Celebration time: Peter's Project director Vicki Jellie and Premier Denis Napthine toast the $10 million funding announcement.

THOSE at the heart of the campaign had known for a week, but for others the excited phone calls started coming in fast yesterday afternoon.

The state government had agreed to fund $10 million for radiotherapy services in south-west Victoria. They might have been just a few words uttered in State Parliament but they were what hundreds of families battling cancer and thousands of supporters had waited years to hear. 

Premier Denis Napthine is gaining mileage from the allocation of 10 million dollars toward a radiotherapy center in Warrnambool. In 2011 we received an MRI machine and both of these developments are a step closer to the establishment of a cancer treatment centre. The campaign to build this centre is called 'Peter's Project' and was started by Vicki Jellie whose husband Peter died from cancer a few years back.

Big, big celebrations here as 'Peter's Project' is the darling of all sides of politics and this move firmly enshrines Denis Napthine as our most popular premier ever. Not that the Liberals need any encouragement as it has been a Liberal stronghold for over sixty five years!

It is very good news. However.......

I believe that a cancer treatment centre should be a part of a larger project which incorporates preventative measures. The statistics on cancer are not good.  In the 1950s  the rate was 1 in 30 and today it is 1 in 2. That's a staggering increase! Think of the increased cost to the community in physical and emotional suffering and the financial cost of treatment.  The fact is that 50% of our community will eventually get cancer, unless of course, we can learn how to prevent it.

Some blame the over use of chemicals in industrialised agriculture which has been attributed to the growth of the fast food industry, first from the United States in the 1950's with companies such as MacDonalds and then around the world. The fast food industry is also implicated for it's use of corn syrup, chemical additives and trans fats. 

Others blame the chemicals in our clothes, our homes, our water, our toiletries and also our overuse of plastic on everything especially our food and there is the pollution of our water and air due to the constant demand for economic growth and fossil fuel energy. Some even blame GM and some say that there is a cancer gene or perhaps many different cancer genes.

We know some things can increase the risk of certain types of cancer but we also need a lot more money for cancer research to find out exactly what is responsible for the huge increase in the rate of this potentially deadly disease. Some even call it an epidemic.

Last week Napthine was aglow at the Warrnambool Races which of course is the home of the notorious Warrnambool Cup, the longest (and cruelest) hurdle race in the world. Did you know that the Victorian government gives two million dollars of tax payers money to jumps racing annually? This is what the RSPCA thinks of the funding of such a cruel sport.

This year, just a handful of protesters stood at the gate. The horse who accidently jumped the wrong fence and injured onlookers last year, actually won the jumps race this year. Oh heaven! Such a good news story. All is well! All is saved! Black Caviar each yer heart out! 

The local newspaper had a picture of Napthine champagne toasting Gai Waterhouse who of course, along with Napthine, ferociously supports jumps racing and her son Tom who causes his own brand of  misery through the advertising of gambling during sporting matches. Such an ethical family!

There is a group that helps rehabilitate racehorses after they have been abandoned by the racing fraternity. It's called Racehorse Rescue. Here is the link.  http://www.causes.com/actions/1751103-pledge-to-vote-and-help-small-racehorse-charity-win-much-needed-funds?

AND that's not all! The Victorian Government has allocated zero money to public transport and V Line is now saying that by 2014-16 they will not be able to service all commuters during peak times. V Line desperately needs more trains. If there were more trains, fewer people would need to use their fossil fuel dependent cars, which give off polluting fumes throughout cities creating health and environmental consequences. But the Napthine government is instead funding new tunnels promoting the use of the car. I wonder if Napthine realizes how illogical this is? Of course he does. Silly me.  

So now we are faced with overcrowding on trains and further greenhouse gas car worship with the funding of road tunnels. 

http://vicmps.greens.org.au/content/public-transport-misses-out-budget

The week before the races Napthine was soaking up the glory at the Macarthur wind farm despite the fact that his government is making it harder for new wind energy investment whilst sending wind turbine manufacture overseas. This is costing Victoria jobs and revenue. I refuse to put more than one picture of Napthine in this post so instead I include a photo of the very ethical Green MP Greg Barber at the Macarthur wind farm. 

And then there is the dreadful forests Bill that will lock in bad forest practices in Victoria for years to come.  http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/defer-the-bill-that-would-lock-in-long-term-native-forest-logging?utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition

Pulling my hair out now.  http://newmatilda.com/2013/05/07/loggers-will-own-victorias-forests

Of course, this is I why I support the GREENS. We need them to make all the good things happen, including a comprehensive cancer prevention and treatment centre in Warrnambool. After all, we know that 'prevention is better than cure'.