No Confidence Convoy For Canberra – Democracy At Work?
Music To Soothe Sick Kids – A New Hush CD And Concert
August 12, 2011The Service Cycle..Regenerative Business..’Green’ Profit..
August 17, 2011The following email to PWF makes me wonder WHY we can’t get a measured discussion going on major issues like the carbon tax. WHAT is mainstream media delivering? WHERE is the Climate Commission? Surely complexity is a lame excuse?
Tim writes:
“We are about to witness something truly historic.
In just a few weeks, thousands of trucks, trailers, campers, caravans, buses, and cars from all over Australia will descend upon Canberra to deliver a clear message: the Australian people demand an election now!!!
Organised through the Just Grounds Community and sponsored by the Road Freighters Association, this is something that not even our left-wing media will be able to ignore!
In total, eleven convoys from all across Australia are to converge in Canberra on August 22 – and I hope you might be able to join them!
As beef farmer, mum of four, and rally organiser Cate Stuart said:
“it’s not just a single issue that we’re representing; it’s everything. People are just so dissatisfied with so many things… the biggest grievances are related to the carbon tax and live export crisis, but also cover everything from job security and overseas aide funding, to economic instability, policing, and palliative care.
People are worried about instability. They don’t care whether it’s a Labor government, a Coalition government or even if it’s a Greens government…They’re saying, ‘we don’t believe in the government at the moment because it’s unstable.’
To join in this convoy is obviously a great commitment, and we do not expect everyone to be able to make it (although if you can, click here for details!) But maybe even if you can’t join in, you can help spread the word. You can tell your family, tell your friends, or maybe even help send a message to the media. Click here for a full list of ways you can help pass on the message.
This is a great opportunity, and we hope you will be able to take part in any way you can! If you want any further information, or have any questions, please visit the Just Grounds website.”
Is this the only way to get a two-way conversation going?
13 Comments
I’m pretty sure her interpretation of the “live export crisis” and mine will be a little different
Convoy, stay strong and stay united.
Gillard will be a hard nut to crack.
I don’t believe she has the guts to front the convoy and talk to those who are doing this as a last ditch effort.
Good Luck Austalia is with you.
in wagga today we saw the convoy going to canberra they are going to help all of us who know that the greens are doomed along with the rest of the no good idiots thank you very much , no confidence convoy to canberra.
One only had to see the smirk on Bob Brown’s face when he quite geelfully decribed the Convoy of No Confidence as a flop to realise that the Greens don’t give a fig about rural Australia.
I feel rather tempted to tell him to go forth and multuply, but what a pity, for him that isn’t an option.
Rural people are in for a rocky time with Labour and their Green bedfellows. Maybe it’s time to approach things differently; keep up pressure on the Independents and hope like hell for a by-election.
I’m concerned.
It is always good to see the ability of the community to group together and protest about things it believes in and indeed change. However, on this occasion, I am unsure what the cause really is. Is it complaining about political instability, caused by a democratic process, as also happens in many places in the world? What happens if a new election leads to a hung parliament – do we march again for a new election, or until our preferred party is in power? Or are they arguing about err, miscellaneous grievances, the fact people have some? Nothing new there. The carbon tax is not accepted by everyone, but it has yet to be implemented, so maybe we save the campaigning until it proves to be worse than expected, then push hard for policy change with more than just convoys of trucks.
@John. The media’s take on the convoy certainly didn’t help, neither did Alan Jones rant, and it appeared to be a disjointed protest. However I agree that people did make an effort which shows rural australian’s disatisfaction with the current political arrangement and the uncertaintly we all face.
I don’t agree to turning the clock back after a bad decision has been made on the carbon tax. Again, more expense and a burocracy that once formed will be impossible to get rid of.
Incentives are known work better than taxes. How can this government phase out subsidies for solar and photovoltaic power and still profess to have a clean and green agenda?
Hate to say it but I now agree with the many. The carbon tax has more to do with revenue than sustainable energy.
Sure, the convoy is consistent with democracy. It is a clever way of harnessing an angry fringe of Australian society to create the hysteria of a ‘feeding frenzy’. It is one way of getting lazy media to be sucked in to providing publicity. But on closer analysis the convoy mob has largely abandoned an intellectual input to a debate in favor of rhetoric, slogans and demonization of the PM. The theme is not clear other than there are some angry people out there.
On the matter of the emissions reduction, we were on the right track with Kevin Rudd and the support of Malcolm Turnbull. With the knifing of Turnbull and then of Rudd, things went of the rails. But the Greens forced Gillard to put it back on the agenda – returning to the position we had reached with Rudd and Turnbull. What the PM did very poorly was to explain her about face on a carbon tax and took months before she was prepared to explain that the change was a result of the negotiated makeup of Government. Her reversal allowed the hysterical fringe to claw its way on to centre stage by deciding to shoot the messenger rather than focus on the core policy issue of emissions reduction. A carbon tax is only a means to an end – to start putting a value on carbon as a means of reducing CO2 pollution.
As for the so-called ‘lie’ by the PM about carbon tax, it is little different to John Howard and his promise of no GST – even if it made good sense. We have it and it works. I believe the carbon tax makes a lot of sense and will work but regrettably for some political reason Julia Gillard made a John Howard ‘there will be no tax’ statement that she soon discovered was a liability for forming Government.
Yes, the convoy will attract media attention and entertain those glued to their TV’s but it does not fundamentally contribute to the very important debate on emissions reduction. If we took an intelligent interest in what is happening in China we would see for example that they are rapidly taking the lead on alternative energy and many related matters while we run the risk of remaining a backward paddock of dinosaurs in the Antipodes.
I have taken the effort to study the science of climate change, the case for and the implications of the carbon tax and I am fully supportive of the Government’s proposal. For some it will mean change but that is just part of progress and there is a lot of compensation buffering in the package. Further, I don’t see a credible alternative being offered by the Opposition. And the ‘brute power’ of big trucks may be entertaining but does nothing to convince me they have thought beyond the populist political rhetoric they are being fed.
We had an election, with some difficult negotiations we have a government but like any polarized two party system, there will always be those that are disappointed with the result. But that is democracy at work. In the spirit of a ‘fair go’, I feel we have to be prepared to give the Government a fair go and we make up our mind on their performance at the next scheduled election.
We live in rocky times. Climate change, energy constraints, water shortages, water quality issues, pollution, falling soil health, world over population, failing ecosystems, social tensions within and between nations, economic instability, looming food insecurity – the list goes on. These are global issues. Blame the Australian government, miss the elephant in the room.
Australia and the rest of the world cannot continue to live as we have previously. Change is difficult and makes people unhappy and fearful, but we cannot continue on our current trajectory and urgently need to start addressing these global issues. The carbon tax is a small start – hallelujah.
Our rocky times are just different…we have no world war, plague, and in Australia we have pretty much the best country in the world. If only people could count. Carbon dioxide levels increase are increasing. Learn what that means by yourself. Wikipedia is a good start. Then act on that information. Do what you can to reduce your use of non renewable resources, that would be a good start. Go without meat for a meal a month, it might be fun ! Then try saying something positive about anything to a friend. You will feel better for it. I fear there is much ill will generated by politicians for their own benefit, and its making so many people grumpy. Try gentle exercise to give you a smile on your dial.
Always a pity to see people unwittingly forwarding others’ agendas in belief that their aims are the same. At present, SOMEONE (Libs? Nationals? Miners?)is beating up the confusion and sense of being ignored that many rural people have and trying to turn it into an anti-Greens brigade. That was how the spokespeople for the convoy sounded to me.
Believe me, there are many rural Greens and they do care about the bush.
Climate change is real, rural people will be at the forefront of efforts to mitigate it, and I hope that our spokespeople start taking a more positive and proactive approach. Convoys like last Mondays – sit back and assess the outcomes, positive and negative. We could look for bridges to connect us rather than dig moats to divide us.
Just a few comments….
…on the Greens and farmers: The view that the Greens are anti-farmers seems to depend on where you are a farmer – those trying to stop mining companies coming onto their land prospecting seem happy enough to engage greens assistance in thier battle to maitain decision making control over what happens on their properties.
…on the Carbon Tax: Neo liberalism and a market driven economy are global realities. Climate Change is considered a market failure as the cost of carbon pollution to the global commons has not been factored into the supply chain costs (aka polluter pays principal). Evidence suggests that insentives are not a cost effective (ei $ per tonne of carbon emissions reduced)mechanism for reducing carbon emmissions. Many countries around the world either have or are in the process of introducing a carbon price (either a tax or a trading scheme) as this is considered by economist to be the most effective mechanism for reducing emissions in market driven economies. The rising Australian dollar driven primarily by the mining boom is currently considered to be the key threat to the manufacturing industry. Mining companies in Australia are primarily owned by overseas interest who reap most of the profits – what would be happening now if the mining tax had been introduced?
…on politics – having a minority government is difficult for governing. Many countries do it successfully as they have political systems built on consensus decision making models as opposed to Australia’s adversarial system. Don’t forget Australians got what we voted for. Perhaps if we had a bit less power struggle between the major parties and a bit more good policy debate between the major parties the electorate would be less confused and frustrated?
Despite everyones frustrations, we still live one of the most prosperous and stable countries on the planet – appreciate it while you can.
The convoy to Canberra was a work of fiction from the beginning, made even less credible by allowing Alan Jones to involve himself. The sad part being that there were people with genuine grievances who were used by the ‘ratbag’ element.
Bush people have always provided a fertile field for politicians seeking to exploit, and can be relied on to support anyone who tells them they are being hard done by.
Despite what the individual may believe about the carbon tax/climate change it surely must be evident that we are living beyond our means as regards finite resources and we should be demanding long term measures be implemented, especially since some are visualizing a 50 million plus population in the not too distant future. The performance of both Abbott and Gillard leave one in despair
I live in Canberra but don’t work in Government. The so-called convoy was a joke. We were warned to be ready for traffic chaos so many went to work early to avoid the traffic jam. I went to work at the usual time and traffic was lighter than usual. I was at Parliament House later in the day and there were a maximum of 100 folks at the demonstration. In the underground carpark there were more police than there were demonstrators upstairs. The police were drinking coffee and waiting for thousands of demonstrators that did not exist. Alan Jones typified the delusions by falsely claiming that a 2km long convoy had been stopped at the ACT border by the Federal Police. What a joke. Next time you folks want to hold a demo, get some advice from the lefties.;, now they can hold demos.