Sunday, September 30, 2007
Arrogance - to his own voters!
Kevin Rudd was attacked last week because he said he would determine the new Labor Ministry. Kevin's position makes sense - a Ministry appointed on talent. Why the fuss? Howard, Costello, Abbot, Turnbull, Downer et al all seemed upset by this. A strange situation given the mess in the Liberal household! Australians do not know who will be PM if the government in re-elected. We know that there will be a blood bath for the top job. And we don't know who might be Coalition Treasurer or any other Minister. But we now know one further thing. The people of Bennelong will go to an immediate by-election if Howard is re-elected but Kevin Rudd becomes Prime Minister - Howard will stay only if he is PM. He won't stay if it is just to represent his electorate. What self-serving arrogance!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Great Campaign Launch!
On Thursday night we held a very successful campaign launch for Ryan. I am grateful to Shadow Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner (www.lindsaytanner.com) who formally opened the campaign. My thanks also to Senator Claire Moore (www.clairemoore.net), and to the Labor State Members and Brisbane City Councillors in Ryan who also attended. The campaign team is to be congratulated for the event which was attending by some 150 supporters and friends. Labor has never won Ryan at a general election but, as I said on Thursday night, we are ready with fresh ideas and a fresh vision far beyond the capacity of the Howard Government. If you would like a copy of my campaign launch speech please e-mail me. And finally, thanks to everyone who came along and made this such a successful event. And welcome to my new, fresh web page. I hope you find it useful.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Labor will fix a decade of neglect
From the recent UN High Level Meeting on Climate change:
"According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if no action is taken on greenhouse gases, the Earth's temperature could rise by 4.50°C (8.1°F) or more. The effects of climate change are being felt .... The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average and adverse effects on human activities are documented. Impacts of warming have also been observed in other regions and sectors, in particular on ecosystems. As glaciers retreat, water supplies are being put at risk. And for populations living in dry lands, especially those in Africa, changing weather patterns threaten to exacerbate desertification, drought and food insecurity. Other regions are expected to suffer from floods, sea level rise and extreme weather events."
For a decade the Howard government denied the problem. They refused to sign Kyoto. They still act outside the UN Climate Change Framework. Labor will fix that! To view a Webcast of the UN meeting: http://www.un.org/webcast/climatechange/highlevel
"According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if no action is taken on greenhouse gases, the Earth's temperature could rise by 4.50°C (8.1°F) or more. The effects of climate change are being felt .... The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average and adverse effects on human activities are documented. Impacts of warming have also been observed in other regions and sectors, in particular on ecosystems. As glaciers retreat, water supplies are being put at risk. And for populations living in dry lands, especially those in Africa, changing weather patterns threaten to exacerbate desertification, drought and food insecurity. Other regions are expected to suffer from floods, sea level rise and extreme weather events."
For a decade the Howard government denied the problem. They refused to sign Kyoto. They still act outside the UN Climate Change Framework. Labor will fix that! To view a Webcast of the UN meeting: http://www.un.org/webcast/climatechange/highlevel
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Out of step on climate change again
We all know the story of young Alexander at the parade. He marches with his class and his parents are so proud because Alexander is the only one in step. So it was with Alexander Downer's embarrassing speech this week to the High Level UN Event on Climate Change. Downer urged all participants to go beyond Kyoto. Not bad for a country that never signed! Then he repeated the APEC mantra of merely aspirational global emissions targets. The Howard Government pretends Australia is a key player in global efforts to combat climate change. In reality we are seen internationally as retarding progress on climate change - first through our ill-considered refusal to acknowledge the problem and second through our failure to participate in the Kyoto Treaty. That means we are now sidelined in international forums. That will change with a Labor government. You can see what the rest of the world is doing at http://www.un.org/climatechange/2007highlevel
Monday, September 24, 2007
John Howard and the Politics of Fear
I have no doubt that as the election unfolds John Howard will find something that he falsely makes out to be terrifying and dangerous. Tampa, Muslims, refugees, fundamentalists, trade unions - he characterises everyone who is a bit different as unsafe, dangerous, un-Australian. And he always picks groups that few people have met and then works on false stereotypes. Like Bush and Blair, Howard is a master of the politics of fear. When legitimacy is in doubt find something menacing, or exaggerate the threat. The politics of fear and division have dominated the manipulation of the Howard years - I expect it again this election! In the meantime good old ABC Radio National has a great program on this topic at: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2007/2016150.htm and if you really want a challenging night, watch the three part series The Power of Nightmares which is available via Google Video: http://video.google.com.au/videosearch?q=the+power+of+nightmares
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Iraq: Military withdrawal does NOT mean abandon
Australia's illegal invasion of Iraq must remain an important election issue. We invaded on the basis of lies and deception, and remain on the same basis. The recent reports on Iraq from US Ambassador Crocker http://www.state.gov/p/nea/rls/rm/2007/91941.htm and General Petraeus http://www.state.gov/p/nea/rls/rm/2007/91966.htm defy belief. There is no military solution to Iraq. There is only an Iraqi political solution that the Iraqi people need to work out - but they can't do that while under occupation. They can't do it while firms like Blackwater USA do anything they like, with complete immunity from Iraqi law. And it needs to be stressed that a military withdrawal does not mean abandoning the Iraqi people. Having been instrumental in creating the mess, we are under a profound - ethical and legal - obligation to provide development aid and humanitarian relief to Iraq. For an alternative view to that painted by Petraeus and shared by the Howard Government see http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174834/launching_brand_petraeus or http://electroniciraq.net
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Why Labor's Education Revolution is VITAL
Education is a key driver for any society. It influences almost all aspects of life and is fundamental to our economy, our competitiveness, our capacity to discover and explore. Despite this self-evident fact, John Howard delivered a 4% decline in Australia’s investment in higher education between 1995 and 2004 while the OECD average increased by 49% - a stunning difference of 53 points. Despite years of economic prosperity, when it comes to public expenditure Australia is now the third lowest spender on higher education amongst OECD countries. I ask two questions. First, why the appalling neglect of education? Second, where did all the benefits from economic growth go? Australian needs an Education Revolution and Labor will deliver it: http://www.alp.org.au/media/0907/msedutloo190.php
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
The Lancet on Howard's Indigenous Record
Highly reputable medical journal The Lancet says "When John Howard's Government came to power .... they promised to improve the health and social wellbeing of Aboriginal people. To date there is no evidence that this pledge has been met .... Indigenous health is a national emergency that requires investment in health services and the social determinants of health - education, housing, economic development - which underlie the appalling inequalities that Aboriginal people face. The Howard administration's latest approach to Indigenous health will not fulfil its decade-old election promise. John Howard's legitimacy to govern seems fatally compromised based on this critical health failure....". Access the full Editorial at http://www.thelancet.com/home
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Once again I am embarrassed by actions of the Howard Government in the international arena - this time, their failure to support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: http://www.iwgia.org/sw248.asp. After almost two decades, the UN General Assembly voted for this important Declaration - 143 votes in favour, 4 against (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, USA) and 11 abstentions. The Declaration is a non-binding basic agreement affirming some of the most fundamental rights of 370 million indigenous peoples. The Howard Government’s failure to support the Declaration simply mirrors its narrow minded domestic approach which has confined reconciliation to the political wilderness. I am very pleased that a Federal Labor Government will sign this Declaration.
Artic Ice and the Jindalee State School Fete
Last Saturday I enjoyed the Jindalee State School Fete. One highlight was a discussion with members from Sustainable Jamboree, a grass-roots community organisation. Sustainable Jamboree was established in September 2006 following a public meeting called by local Councillor Felicity Farmer; it provides great information on how each of us can change small habits to help our fragile planet. Sadly, on my way home the ABC news reminded me of the urgency of our climate change challenge. It reported that the past summer has seen a one million square kilometre retreat of artic ice - the greatest decline since measurements began! For more on how you can do your bit at home see http://sustainablejamboree.org
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Congratulations Premier Bligh!
Congratulations to Anna Bligh - the first woman Premier of Queensland and only the third woman to hold the office of State Premier. That is a great achievement! However, it does remind us of the very long journey that started when women demanded the right to vote. Gradually, and far too slowly, that right was achieved. But we still have a long, long way to go if we want anything like proportional representation of women in our Parliaments. A visiting Martian would struggle to accept our explanations for the current gender imbalance in all our Parliaments! If you are interested in supporting women in Parliament have a look at Emily's List: http://www.emilyslist.org.au
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Check it NOW - Are you Enrolled to Vote?
The election is almost here. If you have moved or may not be enrolled to vote it needs to be fixed TODAY. Check if you are enrolled right now at the Australian Electoral Commission https://oevf.aec.gov.au. The Howard government changed the rules to make it harder to enrol and stay enrolled - if you are not enrolled already you only have until 8pm the night the election is called to sign up. So, the best thing to do is to enrol NOW. You can get all the details from the Electoral Commission: http://www.aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/Special_Category/Age_17_enrolment.htm
Monday, September 10, 2007
Sydney Declaration - Opportunity Lost
Previously I expressed reservations about the outcomes of APEC. Unfortunately these reservations have been realised with the shortcomings of the Sydney Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development. As expected it is long on words, short on action, and binding targets are completely absent. It simply creates the impression of action and once again leaves it to future generations to clean up the planet. At a minimum we must set real domestic greenhouse targets, ratify Kyoto, and give massive support to the UN process. The Sydney Declaration is at http://www.apec2007.org/documents/Declaration%20Climate%20Change.pdf
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
APEC: Involvement Gap = Credibility Gap
APEC has started. Government and business leaders will tackle investment liberalisation, multilateral trading systems, barriers to competition and climate change. These and other APEC issues affect the lives of literally billions. And there is a problem with that. These billions have little voice within APEC. There is room only for business leaders, but apparently no room for women's groups, environmentalists, human rights activists, labour organisations, indigenous peoples, peasants associations,to name but a few – as though no-one but business should have a role in making economic decisions. The exclusiveness of APEC breeds resentment. Inclusiveness must lead to more considered decision making, greater sensitivity to the impact of APEC decisions on those billions of lives, and more credibility for APEC. See http://www.apec.org
Monday, September 03, 2007
20% of Australia in poverty
We are told by the Howard Government that Australian families have never had it so good. That is not the experience of thousands - now struggling to pay mortgages. It is not the experience of those who simply cannot afford a house. It is certainly not the experience of the almost 20% of Australians who live in poverty. A recent report from the Australian Council of Social Services demonstrates that poverty has risen from 17.1% of the population in 1994 to 19.8% - 3.8 million Australians living in poverty in 2004. This is a damning statistic given the hype about a decade of economic growth. See the report at http://www.acoss.org.au
Sunday, September 02, 2007
NOT Keeping Australia Safe
The horse flu has plunged Australia's racing industry into crisis, and caused heartache for thousands more recreational horse owners and the agriculture sector. It has hit the livelihoods of thousands of ordinary Australians and robbed many more of their weekend pastime. I extend my sympathies to all those affected. But this leads me to wonder about the narrowness of Howard's promise to keep Australia safe. He has spent hundreds of millions of politically motivated dollars on Iraq, mis-directed anti-terrorism activity, and keeping asylum seekers out of sight. It is a great pity that he couldn't be bothered to keep Australia safe by running an effective quarantine services.
Keeping up to date with Labor's campaign in the seat of Ryan, and sharing views and information about the campaign!