A BLOG ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES AND POLITICS
This is not a historical record. As per Trumpian logic, no apologies made for errors, exaggeration, omissions, bad taste or misrepresentations. For those with a humour deficit it's worth pointing out that satire and sarcasm are not to be taken seriously, especially when written about individuals. I well remember the day and a few others... Continue Reading →
A well managed organisation, corporate or non-profit, is an exception rather than the rule - and political parties are worse than most. If campaigning organisations put in place just a few strategies to mitigate conflict and improve efficiency they would be much more successful
We increasingly live in an Orwellian age where speaking out can have a high cost. Historically that has also been true - we need only think of the Nazis, Stalinism, the Inquisition, Pol Pot. But Governments have never been more capable of monitoring our every move. Our employers monitor our Facebook posts. Every phone has a built in recording device. The premium on truth has never been higher. And nowhere more so than in politics and political parties. For the Greens, which claim higher standards, the challenge has never been greater. We need internal systems that promote honest discussion rather than suppressing them; that provide clear and independent complaints processes. We need to take the beam out of our own eye. Because blind loyalty is a curse for organisations, and one that leads to corruption and incompetence.
The Greens are a party of conservatism. We like to think of ourselves as progressive, innovative, different, creative. The party of compassion, of equity and equality. But we are far from that......
If you accept the basic premises of the definitions of capitalism and environmentalism, ergo you cannot be both an environmentalist and support capitalism. If you are a Green you cannot support capitalism in its current form and, I would argue, at all.
Neither Richard Di Natale nor “Left Renewal†Speak for me.... Or many people in the Greens. The media has been full these last several weeks with stories about division in the Greens following the establishment of a faction called “Left Renewal†which claims to be about defending/renewing the left soul of the party. Scribes from... Continue Reading →
Repudiating Representative Politics Replacing career politicians with citizen politicians If you start with the assumption that the worst possible person to whom one should give power is someone who is narcissistic, ambitious, arrogant and self-interested, and one would almost automatically disqualify from political office every single person who puts their hand up to be... Continue Reading →
Recently Bob Brown gave an interview in which he called for 'renewal' in the NSW Greens. In that interview he stated that, inter alia, the Greens were being "held back by the old guard", that the Greens voters "deserved better" and that Lee Rhiannon should stand down. He indicated that voters had told him that... Continue Reading →
The 'failure' of the Greens – more myth than maths In the 2016 post election wash up a number of people, both inside and outside the Greens, have tried to analyse why the Greens “did so poorly†especially in NSW and in the Senate. Among them have been Osman Faruqi, in this story in the... Continue Reading →
The most bizarre thing about the nuclear lobby in Australia, is that there is a single politician that actually supports its view that there is a future for nuclear power in Australia. Scarcely a month passes without a politician or scientist advocating the possibility of nuclear power in Australia. From ex-Minister, McFarlane to South Australian... Continue Reading →
These are sayings that are designed to reveal little and hide a lot. The same could be argued for an oft-repeated Greens mantra. Whenever critical political debate around Greens policies, or comparisons to other parties occurs, one often hears people saying, in effect, “well you may not like it but (unlike other political parties) it's ok because we have grass roots democracyâ€
It's clear that Australians whose daily out outpouring of bile against Muslims, refugees and strangers, in general, have never experienced the generosity, warmth and welcome of strangers in strange lands. Had they done so it is hard to believe that they would behave towards people with different values, skin colours and religions as they have... Continue Reading →
Warning: This post was previously password protected. It has now been made public since it now has limited, if any, relevance to the internal workings of the NSW Greens. A significant number of the issues raised here have now been wholly or partially addressed or are in the process of being addressed As I originally... Continue Reading →
Rugby League! Is it the world’s most stupid game? And how easy it is to dislike!! Leaving aside the misogyny, the hyped-up macho culture, the boys’ own stupidity (Oh I hate Queensland!!), the serial idiocy of its players and the state-based xenophobia, it surely has rules which make it the world’s most unintelligent game. And... Continue Reading →
The Greens – Will They Miss Their Own Wave? There are some lessons that are as applicable to politics, as to surfing. Sometimes you only get one moment to catch a wave before the last swell fades. For the Greens that moment is now. But they need to organise better and differently or they miss... Continue Reading →
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