Posted by Jim on October 31, 2010
At the last Federal election the Liberal National parties made a huge play on voters regarding the number of school buildings being built under the Building the Education Revolution (BER) program. They claimed there was massive rorting of the system.
On Thursday this week the Coalition failed in its bid to pass several motions against the Government to establish a judicial inquiry into this program.
Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne didn’t even turn up to vote on his own bill to force a judicial inquiry into the Government’s schools building program.
Where is the integrity of this man and his party?
I attended a David Helfgott concert recently in their new school hall built through the BER program at the Christian College and I didn’t hear anyone there complain of this great asset for the community.
St Patrick’s College have a new science wing as no doubt all other schools in our area have positively benefited from this scheme.
Builders and associated businesses were able to maintain workers at a time of global uncertainty. Our community wasn’t dragged down into an unemployment vortex that Mr Pyne and his coalition partners would have had us go through.
No doubt there will be those who say where ‘will the money come from’ to pay for this. Without having access to Treasury data I can’t respond, but one project alone the Chevron Gorgon Project in WA is projected to bring in $50billion to the Australian economy over the next 40 years. One would hope that this one project alone would assist balancing the books.
Are people cynical of politicians?
We have proposed coalmines on our doorstep, coal seam gas projects and potential devastation of some of Australia’s best farmlands.
Is Mr Truss and the coalition or Labor responding to these concerns within the electorate. No!
Kent Hutton, Letter to Editor, Gympie Times, 29 October 2010
Posted by Jim on August 19, 2010
1. The Greens stand up for what’s right, not just what’s easy. Whether it’s protecting the environment, introducing universal dental care, opposing the war in Iraq or advocating for refugees to be treated humanely, the Greens are driven by values, not polls.
2. It’s the Party everyone’s heading to. The Greens are the third largest political party in Australia, with five national Senators, 21 State MPs and more than 100 local Greens councillors already playing a positive and constructive role across Australia. More than a million Australians voted Green in 2007, and we’re the fastest-growing party in the country.
3. Break the deadlock in the Senate between the Government and the Opposition. Last time the Government of the day also got control of the Senate, and we got WorkChoices. This weekend, the Opposition could easily win control of the Senate, which would deliver Australians nothing but three years of deadlock. We deserve a Senate that will work for us and deliver strong, sensible action – not just spin.
4. Provide future generations with clean air, clean water and clean soil. The Greens will tackle climate change by putting a price on carbon for big polluters in the next term of government. It’s time we created new clean energy jobs and started investing in the economy of the future.
5. Make legislation better. When the Coalition tried to block the stimulus package that kept Australia out of recession, the Greens passed it with added environmental and small business benefits. The Greens will do the same thing to improve the mining super profits tax – to ensure Australians get a fair share of our resources.
6. The Greens have vision. When Bob Brown first spoke to the Senate about climate change 14 years ago, his Labor and Liberal colleagues actually laughed at him, and now that they finally understand the magnitude of the issue, we’re laughing at their attempts to address it. The Greens are also the only party working to end all forms of legal discrimination against Australians based on sexuality. The Greens focus on what’s right for the next generation, not just the next election cycle.
7. Not Steve Fielding. The power to scuttle legislation currently rests with Steve Fielding, who refuses to accept the science of climate change and have views out of touch with most Australians.
8. An environmental party – and much, much more. The Greens stand for much more than just cutting carbon pollution, securing our water supplies and protecting our environment. Think better public schools, more funding for hospitals and fixing our broken mental health system. The Greens also drive great new ideas, like building high-speed rail between Australia’s major cities, which is now gaining momentum but would never have gotten up otherwise.
9. For a more powerful vote. Another Labor or Liberal candidate will just vote the way they’re told. With the Greens, every vote is a conscience vote. If you’re disappointed with Labor but don’t want Tony Abbott, you can send a powerful message to Julia Gillard. And if your Greens candidate doesn’t win, your vote will simply go to the next candidate of your choice at full value.
10. Bob Brown. A genuinely decent politician and the most experienced party leader in Parliament.
From Larissa Waters: Vote 1 for Queensland in the Senate
Posted by Jim on July 19, 2010
The Coalition is just not believable on industrial relations, The Greens candidate for Wide Bay, Jim McDonald, said today.
“Until we hear statements from key Coalition figures, including the Leader of the Nationals, that they will promote collective bargaining in the workplace there will always be a fear that an Abbott Government will reintroduce their oppressive workplace laws.
“Tony Abbott had hardly finished telling the electorate that the Coalition’s policy on workplace relations was dead when Senator Eric Abetz said the Coalition will tinker with Labor’s Fair Work laws.”
He said the central plank of The Greens’ policy on workplace relations is for a fair and equitable industrial relations system for all workers.
“Our policy on employment and industrial relations states that Australia’s future workforce must be highly skilled, highly trained and well paid. The existence of a safety net and the right to collectively bargain are essential to achieving these aims.
“The prosperity of the region is dependent on families whose wage earners have secure employment and decent working conditions.
“But the Coalition have always promoted individual contracts as a central plank of their workplace ideology. In putting Workchoices in place they took away many of the rights workers should enjoy under international labour conventions. Tony Abbott and Eric Abetz were key Coalition Ministers driving that policy.
“One of those rights was workers’ access to collective bargaining. And the current member for Wide Bay actively supported isolating workers in individual contracts.
“But the Coalition adopted double standards on collective bargaining,” he said.
“As the Agriculture Minister in the Howard Government, Mr Truss supported legislation to give farmers and small businesses some clout in negotiation against the large retailers.
“These are exactly the same arguments supporting collective bargaining for workers in the workplace. But in supporting Workchoices, he denied workers easy access to that same right.
“What every worker in Wide Bay is entitled to know is whether Mr Truss now recognises the benefits of collective bargaining for workers as well as small businesses.”
Dr McDonald said that for years research in Australia and around the world had been available that demonstrated that collective bargaining systems produced a more productive workforce.
“Despite that evidence, the Howard Government ignored the benefits of collective bargaining for ideological reasons, putting up slippery ‘choices’ for the average worker under Workchoices.”
Posted by Jim on May 15, 2010
The Greens candidate for Wide Bay, Dr Jim McDonald, has raised concerns about Foreign Investment Review Board approvals for the purchase of agricultural land by corporations with substantial foreign government ownership.
“I want to know whether land in the Wide Bay and Burnett region is been sold off to overseas companies owned by foreign governments.
“The Greens’ policy on agriculture calls for the protection of prime agricultural land from urban developments and other encroachments. I would add to that the specific protection of the sovereignty of agricultural lands.
“These principles are under attack by FIRB approvals of agricultural land purchases by corporations substantially owned by foreign governments.
“The question of foreign investment in Australian resources and industry is one thing. It is quite a different issue when foreign governments are involved.
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