There is a crisis of confidence in democracy in Australia. It is a crisis for people and the environment. It is a situation I have been mulling over for quite some time, but has been front and centre since the Abbott government tore down a price on pollution and mounted its all-out assault on renewable energy, the environment and social justice.
It is now clear to me that we can’t prevail on the gravest issues of survival in this century, in an age of rapidly accelerating climate change and growing inequality of wealth and opportunity, until we restore democracy in Australia.
We can march, write letters, make calls, post tweets, and vote, but as long as the rich few can buy the political process, there is little hope of saving the global commons or caring for people. We have to step back from fighting each of these battles as they arise, from being placated by painkilling sops like more inquiries or minor amendments, and instead turn our minds to aggressively treating the disease.
To get our country back, to give ourselves a chance, we need to restore health to our democracy. We need to educate everyone: put it up in lights, just how big business and wealthy individuals use their money and connections to take and retain power.
As a child in the 1960s I used to walk around our dairy farm with my dad and sometimes he would lean on the fence, smoking his pipe, stare across towards Bass Strait and say, ‘things are crook in Tallarook’. As kids we got the gist of it. The world was in a pretty bad way. If he were alive today, he would be saying the same thing about the state of politics in Australia.
The paper bags of cash from property developers to political candidates; the fast tracking of coal mines, gas wells and ports; a coal magnate forming a political party and voting to abolish the mining tax and carbon pollution price; the abandonment of environmental laws and protected areas; banks making mega profits and ripping off customers; mandatory prison sentences for protesters; governments keeping track of everyone’s phone calls; more debt for university students; reduced support for the unemployed; no vision for future employment; higher charges to go to the doctor; delay in getting the pension; and all the while a revolving door between mainstream politicians and the boardrooms of their big business mates.
Dad would have been right, things are crook in Tallarook.
To read my full piece and thoughts on this subject please go to: http://greenagenda.org.au/2015/02/things-are-crook-in-tallarook/
The Greens: Standing up for what matters.
Sowing Seeds 
You, beautiful and smart ladies, should add something important for the future.- our children. many are sad, in foster care where are neglected, but Child protection thinks that it is better them to be in foster care than live with parents. They need them for their own needs- earning for their lives. So, as many children as better for them.
Reblogged this on The Blog of Greg and commented:
I found this short expression piece by Christine Milne (current leader of The Greens political party in Australia) and I felt that it was worth reblogging.
Even though it is short, there was one paragraph in particular – the last one – that I found was very similar in sentiment to what I have written about for many years; I therefore felt that I had to reblog it.
As I have written many times before, I have grave concerns about the future and what it holds for the people of Australia and the world in general. We seem to be degenerating into greed driven imbeciles, unable to look beyond ourselves!
Over the last 40 years, I have seen extreme difficulties that many people suffer in this world. Some of it in Australia, some elsewhere in the world – and it only appears to be getting worse.
Those in power, are financed by those with money (or have money themselves) and have no concept of struggle. They are only interested in their own greed, or benefitting those who want to satiate their own greed; it is all self interest.
Unfortunately those with power are completely oblivious to what life is all about. Their principle focus is on money, the economy, GDP and other financial terms – as if that somehow is life and is the most important thing in the world.
These terms in themselves have no inherent meaning to life; they don’t take into consideration quality of life, the people, the environment, or anything except money! It is really a very simple mind that can only see greed as a source of life! Quite pathetic really!
We could have a whole philosophical conversation on what life is, but really it is a happy existence, where we feel fulfilled and have some reason to live.
The sooner we realise that we are all connected, the better the world will be. It is high time that we started to look beyond ourselves, and start to care about those around us. I can see so much grief and hardship coming, and I am not sure if we can avert it – it is very scary!
Unfortunately those with money, have power, and THEY own government – at least in this country! The question is, what do we do about it? Can we actually do anything about it? The laws have even been continuously changed in order to stop people taking action in the form of protests, strikes, and community activism. What else is left to us?
While I have reblogged Christine’s post and you can read the entire thing below, I have copied the last paragraph here because that is what hit the mark for me.
bye for now.
This is the last paragraph from Christine’s blog:
The paper bags of cash from property developers to political candidates; the fast tracking of coal mines, gas wells and ports; a coal magnate forming a political party and voting to abolish the mining tax and carbon pollution price; the abandonment of environmental laws and protected areas; banks making mega profits and ripping off customers; mandatory prison sentences for protesters; governments keeping track of everyone’s phone calls; more debt for university students; reduced support for the unemployed; no vision for future employment; higher charges to go to the doctor; delay in getting the pension; and all the while a revolving door between mainstream politicians and the boardrooms of their big business mates.
Wow.Great piece. 🙂