(You have no rights, only privileges conferred by society) The problem with the demands for “rights” and “freedoms” by the anti-vax, anti-lockdown, mask-free movement is that those demands are based on a mythology perpetrated by groups such as the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). That mythology is itself based on US ideological concepts of individual... Continue Reading →
A lie is better than the truth in our society
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.
Facing Facts – You cannot be a Green and/or an environmentalist, and at the same time support capitalism
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.
Why neither Richard Di Natale nor Left Renewal speak for me
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 →
The Failure of Representative Politics
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 →
The Failure of the Greens
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 Astonishing Australian Nuclear Power Delusion
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 →
Politicians: arrogant, entitled, leaners and how to fix them.
Australia doesn't have a problem with politics, it has a problem with politicians. Most people say they hate politics and are disillusioned with politics. Scratch a little deeper and you will find in fact that it's the politicians themselves with whom the public are disillusioned. We have a politician problem not a politics problem. Consider... Continue Reading →