Some Legislation Should Be Set In Stone

Tony Abbott spruiked fossil fuels in Texas.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2014/06/14/abbott-tips-his-hat-to-texas.html

Like most people, I receive hundreds of petitions. I agree with some of them...in varying degrees... but some make me stop and rethink the issue at hand. 

One of those petitions called for a ban on wage increases to politicians.

Politicians, along with lawyers, priests and teachers seem to have fallen out of favour over the past few decades. Perhaps it's always been that way. I often feel frustrated and perplexed by those on both sides of politics and view most of them with a fair amount of cynicism but I just can't buy the 'anti-politician' sentiment that lumps all politicians together. 

Politicians are definitely not all the same. Green politicians never vote for their own pay increases, yet they work extremely hard. Admittedly their wages are substantial but Green politicians are required to tithe 10% of that income, with little or no assistance in return. They take their roles very seriously and keep to a punishing schedule.    

It may be an honour to serve your country in parliament but it's also a great sacrifice. There are long and lonely times away from family and friends and much of that time is spent in transit, travelling the continent. 


 
Greens Senator for Victoria, Richard Di Natale and Greens candidate for Victoria's Western Region in 20014 State election, Lloyd Davies. 

Greens Senator Richard Di Natale said in his maiden speech, that he hoped his children would one day understand why their father was rarely at school concerts, speech nights or school sports. Such denial of normal family time is hard on children and families. A large proportion of politicians suffer from depression and anxiety.

The constancy of public demand with an ever present fear of humiliation and trial by media, wear many a good person down. Politics is a hard game and it's equally hard on a politician's children, families and friends. Such sacrifices and negative impacts are rarely appreciated or acknowledged by the public and are never acknowledged by the media. Maybe, when politicians say they're withdrawing from public life to spend more time with their families, most of the time they really mean it.

Bob Brown, former leader of the Australian Greens, with partner Paul Thomas.
  
Many go on to serve the community on other less public platforms. 

Of course, a number of politicians are on the gravy train and do very little to earn their keep. However, that's true of any profession and yet we are not inclined to judge the entire profession for the failings some of its members.  

Voters do take a risk when they support a candidate whether they belong to a party or run as an independent. Inevitably, some will disappoint. I know I have a strong Green bias because I have never, ever felt let down or been disillusioned by a Greens candidate. But there probably will come a time! 

Most people who enter politics do it to create change for the better and to help serve their country. The rigors of running for an election, may include a loss of income over a number of years and a substantial loss of family time. A politician's wages are like danger money. They're a form of remuneration or compensation and I believe they earn every cent.

The Australian people want and deserve candidates of quality, with intelligence, a strong sense of justice and honesty. We need well rounded, well informed, balanced individuals to help run our country at the highest level. 




Ideally, parliament should represent all Australians, from every walk of life, including high powered careers, blue collar workers, academics, farmers, teachers, all adult age groups, all ethnic backgrounds, all genders, all sexual orientations, all religions and those who are not religious.


 

And in that mix, we want some people who may already be successful and who are prepared, for a time, to sacrifice lucrative business careers. These people are valued because they may have some understanding of the complexities of running a huge economy. But we also want them to be compassionate and caring toward those who are at the bottom of that list. 

Our parliament creates the legislation that controls our lives. Being in Government is the highest office in the land and the most responsible. That's why we ask so much of our politicians and quite rightly scrutinize their actions. 

Whether you agree with them or not, in my opinion most politicians earn their keep. In Australia, we want to attract the very best people to run our country but we can't have it both ways. We can't pay them meager or even ordinary wages and expect them all to be highly skilled and to represent us with absolute dedication and extraordinary performances. We can't really expect our politicians to be extraordinary, if we don't look after them. 

Having said that, there should be limits to how much politicians are paid because either too much or too little money seems to invite corruption. 

And...in the very near future, Australians  must grow up and realize that some things are essential to our survival. We must put a limit on the power of governments and politicians to withdraw life saving legislation such as universal health care, equality in education, environmental protection and human and animal rights. These things must be set in stone. 





At the present time, such basic core value issues are being abused by both sides of politics in order to win votes and curry favour from the 'big end of town'. With each new election, all hard won gains in these important areas are easily lost, as demonstrated by the Coalition Government's retraction of the the price on carbon. 

If the Australian people decide to vote for a Government that does not protect our core values, then there should be measures set in place. The Constitution and the judicial system are meant to do exactly that but they seem to be failing us on a number of counts; on refugees, health care, education and probably the most dangerous and pressing issue facing us all, climate change.   




The Coalition Government has, with righteous gusto, introduced inequitable and unjust legislation to cut essential services, infringe on human rights and destroy our life support systems. At the same time they will afford huge subsidies to the wealthy and damaging mining and fossil fuel industry.




People need to know that the Greens are ethical politicians who, on a shoe string budget and with much personal sacrifice, fight for good and just legislation and that they NEVER vote for an increase in pay. 

When I watch Coalition Government politicians on TV, I find myself wondering if the Australian people really understand what Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey, Christopher Pyne and Greg Hunt are doing to them and their country. 

If you want a better class of politician, vote Green. If you want to protect health care, education, human rights and the environment, vote Green. C'mon people, you know you want to!

If not Us, then Who?

If not Now, then When?

If not Here, then Where?

We acknowledge the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the land, the Gunditjmara Kirrae Whurrong people, whilst paying our respects to their Elders past and present.

A remarkable Easter.

It was a remarkable Easter. 

I met my refugee friend's family for the first time. He has been here 13 years waiting to be granted refugee status, while his family waited in Sri Lanka for him to send for them.

He arrived by plane so fortunately spent no time in detention however, he was denied the right to work and denied asylum, but they still handed him the cost of his plane fare back to the country that would bring him certain death. He relied on the charity of others to survive...mostly churches and mainly Fr. Michael. Thankfully he couldn't pay for his return flight and was stranded in the country to which he fled. 

I became involved when we participated in a refugee support program and accommodated a family for a weekend holiday by the sea. At the community meal this little man began to talk to my husband and they struck up a friendship. He made strong friends with two other families here in Warrnambool and stayed with us regularly.

Finally he was granted a work permit and was able to earn enough to feed himself and save a little to pay for his flight back home, thanks to Fr. Michael. Four times he received his deportation orders...and each time he nearly died with the stress of it.

It was during one of these times that he received news that his beautiful youngest daughter had died from dengue fever. He was a broken shell of a man...a bundle of nerves.

Just when we thought he would finally be sent home after 11 years of struggle and with us writing, petitioning and gathering an army of writers and petitioners, Chris Bowen the Immigration Minister was approached by Patrick McGorry to personally revise our little friend's case.

Suddenly our friend received word that he had been granted refugee status! I cried and cried.There were so many times I thought he would be sent home and shot. The last time he asked for a gun so he could protect himself.

Inter-denominational congregations all over Melbourne and Warrnambool were praying for him and finally it would seem our prayers had been answered. Four months ago, 13 years after he arrived in the country, his family joined him in Melbourne and they now live with him in a Parish house.

This Easter he brought them to Warrnambool and I was able to meet them for the first time. Such beautiful grown up children and a saintly wife, whose prayers must be mighty powerful. We went to Mass together on Easter Saturday and I sat there in awe of them, trying to take it in. The priest nearly fainted when I told them who these Sri Lankan people were. Another goodly priest who had shown him incredible kindness. We had all worried and prayed for him.

It was a big crowd for dinner on Sat night at our place. There was my family and my sister's family and the Sri Lankan family. We prayed and gave thanks. I was completely overwhelmed.


Of course, now, in the present political climate my friend's rescue would be impossible. It was well nigh impossible under Labor! But now, thanks to brutal Labor and Liberal policies, such people languish on Manus Island and Nauru, in despair with no hope of refuge. How do we get rid of this dreadful Government that causes people such suffering? How do we get people to vote the party with the most humane policies into Government? Of course I refer to the Greens.

It was, however, a sublime Easter for us and one I won't easily forget.

The Greatest Business Opportunity in the History of the World.

There’s a popular cartoon depicting a scientist at a climate summit pointing to a list of benefits that would be achieved if the countries of the world could unite to fight human induced climate change. The list is, ‘Clean Water and Air, Sustainable Prosperity, Healthy Children, Liveable Cities, Energy Independence, Preservation of Rainforests and Biodiversity, Healthy Oceans’.

Someone from the audience stands up and asks ‘What if it’s a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?’.

In 1988 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide a clear scientific view on the current state of climate change and its potential impacts. On Friday in Stockholm, after years of work, the IPCC released the summary of its fifth major assessment. This is taken from the ‘Summary For Policy Makers’.

‘Warming of the climate system is unequivocal…’ ‘The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years. CO2 concentrations have increased by 40% since pre-industrial times, primarily from fossil fuel emissions and secondarily from net land use change emissions. The ocean has absorbed about 30% of the emitted anthropogenic carbon dioxide, causing ocean acidification’

The most terrifying words ‘Ocean warming dominates…’ suggest an acceleration of ocean acidification. 

So how is our new Coalition Government reacting to this climate change information from the IPCC?  Do you think our Government is taking action by continuing to implement the previous Government's strategies and building on them in order to protect Australia and its people? Well it's not. Instead, it's doing the direct opposite because it wants to take the budget to an early surplus.

How are we to understand this Government’s determination to conduct its business as though nothing new is happening to our world? 

 

The Liberal Coalition is all about winning and now that it has won the election, it sees itself as the business manager or CEO of the large corporation called Australia with the most important participants in that corporation being the stock holders, Gina Rhinehart, Rupert Murdoch and other wealthy corporate owners.

However, a balanced perspective permits us to see that managing the economy is but one part of the complex role of governance. Without balance, the focus of governance becomes solely money and power. This single focus can lead to corruption, loss of human rights and the exploitation of the masses.

For six long years the Liberal opposition talked the economy down. Many tried to explain that Labor, a minority Government with the help and support of the Greens and some independents, had successfully steered the country through a serious global financial crisis resulting in an economy that was the envy of most of the world. However, the constant negativity of the opposition coupled with a series of unavoidable downturns convinced the Australian public that their country was in trouble. Though the Labor Government proved successful, having passed a record number of legislations, it nevertheless could not prevent the loss of manufacturing jobs, the downturn in retail, a much touted slump in commodity prices and a volatile stock market coupled with a high level of personal debt. Add rising power costs which the Liberals erroneously claimed were due to the ‘carbon tax’ and Labor’s constant internal disputes and leadership challenges and you have a recipe for electoral failure.

And so, despite the fact that Australia enjoys one of the best economy’s in the world, the Australian public believed the negative rhetoric of the Liberal Coalition, while at the same time ignoring dire warnings on climate change. In the minds of the public, jobs trump a healthy environment, even though an unhealthy environment will most certainly create a very unhealthy economy and a drastic drop in the standard of living. 

 

 The Coalition Government’s main interest is to protect and increase the finances of what it sees as its financial corporation, Australia. Consequently, its only real focus is the short term profitability of creating a budget surplus and keeping large corporations happy. The larger the corporation, the happier they must be kept.  

                                                                                                 

 All businesses are money focussed. Be they banks, energy suppliers, computer companies, mining companies, oil and gas companies, packaging companies, food conglomerates, supermarkets, drug companies or clothing manufacturers, their only aim is to make as much money as is physically possible. Sure, if there are tax breaks involved, they’ll put something back into the community but ultimately, big business simply wants your money. There is no concern for the well being of Australia and its people. Only when Australians, in large enough numbers, stop spending their money do corporations and banks question their own actions. Consequently, one role of the Government is to regulate industry, corporations and banks, in order to protect its citizens and the environment. The economy should work for the people and not the other way around.

                                             

In relentless pursuit of profits and left to their own devices, corporations would naturally resort to unlimited exploitation with no concern for consequences such as the escalation of human induced climate change, the degradation of ecosystems, animal and plant extinctions or the well being of the Australian people. The new Coalition Government has shown no interest in taking any action to regulate corporations. In fact it has done the opposite. 

That Tony Abbott is our Prime Minister is very bad for the long term health of Australia and its people. If he stays on his present trajectory, he will have a devastating impact on our economy.

 
So, in this political climate and in this peaceful, democratic society, how do we who dream of a healthy, more equitable and prosperous future for Australia, address such pressing problems? How do we convince the government to continue to regulate corporations in order to deal with the problem of climate change? After all, that’s what the so called ‘carbon tax’ was all about and for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, it did manage to reduce our greenhouse emissions by nearly 10%. 

 

 

The other day I heard Ann Sherry, the ex-CEO of Westpac, speak of her successful initiative to introduce the first corporate paid maternity leave program in Australia. She said that having worked in parliament in the Keating administration, she was used to speaking in terms of fairness and equity but she soon learnt that such concepts meant little in the corporate world. Rather, she had to demonstrate that this fair and equitable program would save the company money. Fairness and equity alone were not desirable outcomes.

This formidable woman, convinced Westpac to spend a considerable sum for long term financial gain. Without the lure of long term financial gain, Westpac would not have been the first corporation in Australia to offer its employees paid maternity leave. Ann Sherry’s idea became a great marketing coup for Westpac which gained many more new customers and an increase in experienced, quality staff which in turn improved and expanded the Westpac brand and business.

Due to the vice like grip corporations have on our government, it would seem to me that in the present political climate, we who want to achieve all the fair, equitable and sustainable outcomes of a clean and prosperous world, will have to use the language of money and economics to do it. Even though it’s obvious to most that our very survival is at stake, listing good outcomes without reference to finances is simply not enough.

The Coalition Government and big business will continue to ask that seemingly ridiculous question, ‘What if it’s a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?’ and by ‘nothing’ they mean the possibility of no financial gain. In other words, this Government is more willing to risk our well being and possibly our lives, than to risk its finances.

Addressing climate change is similar to Ann Sherry’s Westpac paid maternity leave. There are untold business opportunities for those who are willing to deal with it. Only renewable energy will have lasting financial value, so those who invest in the research, development and the adoption of renewables will be the successful corporations of the not too distant future. Those who have become sustainable by its very definition, will last. 

 

As much as the Government has everything to gain through regulating greenhouse gas emissions, if it doesn’t continue the previous Government’s strong and immediate action, it also has everything to lose. Rising sea levels combined with king tides and storm surges will destroy much of our valued coast line and huge tracts of real estate along with it. Floods, fires, storms and reduced annual rainfall will eat away at Government revenue. More people, less water, less food and poor air quality will become an enormous financial burden for the Government along with increased demand for public services. There will be ever increasing numbers of climate refugees permanently occupying the army and navy with so called ‘border protection’. 

 

 

 The previous minority Government instigated measures negotiated by the Greens, to help assure a brighter future for Australia but the present Government, with its focus on corporate short term gain, has already begun to shut down emissions reduction strategies. It has dismissed the Climate Commission and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and with its election catch cry ‘We’ll scrap the carbon tax!’ still ringing in our ears, it intends to stop Australia from joining the European Emissions Trading Scheme. Tony Abbott has dispensed with the Minister of Science and the Minister of Climate Change. It’s the first time since 1931 that Australia has not had a Minister of Science.

According to a new report, if Tony Abbott dismantles the price on carbon, electricity prices will certainly go up! 

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/axing-carbon-price-will-hit-power-prices/4882394

 

 People who think that it makes no difference which party is in power will have a very serious wake-up call when this Government introduces austerity measures in an attempt to take its bank balance to an early surplus. Unsurprisingly, it will not be the big corporations who pay, but rather ordinary Australians who voted the Government into power.

This Government has a choice between short term profit, which will have a bad result for us all and possibly a bad result for it at the next election, or some short term investment with a long term financial reward which will have the happiest of outcomes for everyone, including corporations.

Preventing the worst of climate change and creating a sustainable world for everyone, is possibly the biggest business opportunity in the history of the world. If this Government is to become financially credible, it must make climate change its top priority.

 

            

Premier Napthine. Help the people of Tecoma.

Dear Premier Napthine,
                                   I note a picture of you with school children on your twitter page. You must care about children? The MacDonald's store in Tecoma will be next to a school. By placing the store next to a school, children will have access to food that has been proven to make them sick.

The people and the Council of Tecoma voted against a  MacDonald's in there community. Where is our democratic process in all of this? We have the right to vote on these issues but those above step in and override us with decisions that are bad for the community. How is this a healthy democracy at work, when the rich and powerful override community decisions?

Here in Warrnambool, I see MacDonald's unbiodegradable plastic containers being washed down the storm water drains to the sea. I see them lining our roads. I see them on our footpaths. I have them in my front yard and we have a high fence.

When this non-biodegradable plastic is swept out to sea it ends up in one of the five, ever growing, huge rubbish vortexes in the world's oceans. Some say they are each the size of Tassy; some say the size of continental USA.

The plastic never biodegrades but is eaten by sea life and kills them and becomes a toxic sludge poisoning our seas, our sands and our soil. Every beach in the world now has plastic sand. It is most notable where the tides sweep it ashore in places like Hawaii where there is not only plastic sand but also plastic rubbish covering entire coastlines. Many other islands are also affected.

Why do our governments not ban un-biodegradable plastic for nearly every purpose? There are healthier alternatives. Or is it again about money and greed.

I heard you say you are in favour of a ten cent container deposit levy. Why haven't you fought for it? I hear you say you believe in democracy, yet both the Council of Tecoma and the people of Tecoma have voted against this store being built in their street.

Imagine the support you would receive from Victorians if you were to act on this show case issue. Please do the right thing, not the expedient thing. If you act on this issue, you will go down in history as the premier who stood up for the battler; who brought democracy back to Tecoma and gave the rest of us hope for a better future.
Yours Sincerely,
Lisa Owen

Metrimonster

On the weekend I visited a Metricon display home. It was forty five square feet of unsustainable living. FORTY FIVE SQUARE!

Why is this unsustainable?

Because it's 45 square feet of unsustainable and unethically sourced building materials which will require 45 square feet of heating, cooling and cleaning. Metricon builds many of these homes a year with the average size being 40 square, with on average only 2 adults and possibly 2 children living in each house. Why have houses grown so much? The average home used to be 18 to 26 square and now it is 40 square!

After I tweeted my dismay at the size of this home, Metricon replied that their homes have a 6 star rating due to the use of '...LED lights, insulation, minimal waste in build etc' and while those are good things they're certainly not enough to class Metricon homes as sustainable structures.

Metricon should reduce the size of their homes in order to lessen the need for heating and cooling and to reduce the need for non-biodegradable or un-recyclable waste and unsustainable building materials.

http://www.greenconceptbuilders.com.au/green-options.html


They should change the colour of their roofs to a lighter shade in order to reflect heat in summer.

They should demand sustainable orientation on building blocks for all their homes. (Which would inspire a change in building regulations throughout Australia!). Bedrooms should be on the south side and living areas on the North side. Houses with an east West orientation have better passive solar. House materials should be chosen to enhance warmth in winter and coolness in summer. 

Imagine if on a chilly winters day you didn't have to use the heating because the afternoon sun warmed your sitting area and ktichen. Imagine if on a hot 40C day with the sun beating down your house stayed a cool 23C without turning on the air conditioner! This would mean lower bills, better lifestyle and a healthier environment for all of us 

AND IT IS ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE!

Idea for passive solar sun room

Metricon should within their costs offer water tanks, solar panels, domestic wind turbines, composting systems, alternative toilet systems and solar hot water services including evacuated tubes. 

This is how solar panels work

 New designs for domestic wind turbines

This is the Helical 'Wind waddler'. Great name!

Wind flower turbines in the USA

And as far as water collection is concerned, why waste it?

Underground water tanks

Metricon should  offer designs for recycled water for gardens and separate tanks for toilets as we are told there in the future there will be ongoing water shortages.

Things such as air flow throughout the house for cooling and the sealing of drafts to keep the extremes of temperature out should be automatically included in every house. The fridge in the glamorous Metricon kitchen was inside a cupboard. Fridges are the biggest energy users in most homes. They create a lot of heat which can make a fridge work harder and use more energy. Fridges are better placed outside a cupboard or enclosed area so the air around them can stay cool and the fridge will use less energy.

An example of a beautiful sustainable home.

www.shaare.com.au 

Compost bins and recycling bins should be large and rubbish bins small.
 Espalier fruit tress, wall gardens and vegetable patches with the provision of worm farms and compost heaps are very doable within Metricon garden plans.

AND if they say these things are too expensive or that it's too hard to change government regulations, that's what they said about smoke detectors before they became compulsory and now every house has smoke detectors and the risk of fire has diminished dramatically. According to Fire and Rescue NSW smoke alarms have reduced deaths by 50% in the USA where they have been compulsory for 20 years. Seat belts were another life saving introduction. Both industry and big business fought these regulations but now it is universally accepted that both these changes have saved lives.

Sustainable building practices save money, help to fight climate change and prevent pollution which means they also save lives.

The mortgage belts in our cities and towns are growing astronomically and there is some indication that the desire for larger homes is creating a worrying increase in financial stress.

http://m.theage.com.au/victoria/wyndhams-services-under-strain-20130630-2p5c7.html

Some say that glossy magazines such as 'Home Beautiful' encourage people to live beyond their means and Metricon, which is in the end a company focused on making lots of money, is feeding this. Consumers are living unsustainably in every way.

However what Metricon and Home Beautiful are not realizing is that there is huge potential to grow this market. While it is still a specialist area that only environmentally aware home buyers pursue,  Metricon and Home Beautiful could be leading the way for the financially, environmentally and ethically sustainable homes and products market which is the fastest growing market in the world. 

In the not too distant future building legislation both in Australia and around the world will demand that the building industry use only sustainable designs and ethically sourced materials. Now many are prepared to pay the expensive prices set by this market but when legislations change, costs will go down and this market will snowball and those companies who are not a part of it will fail.  

http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/quote-of-the-day-how-a-green-house-of-the-future-can-impede-environmental-progress.html

Sustainable home design.

http://www.ecosystemhomes.com.au/

Metricon and Home Beautiful and all the companies who are resisting change will be left behind if they don't act very soon. So come on Australia. You know you want to!