Alan Morris said "However even if only one penguin is affected it is one
penguin too many!"
I agree in a way but look at the media and governmental beat-up with law
suits, prosecutions etc. over a mere 80,000 litres of light oil spill.
The media had to quote it in litres because 100 tons (trivial when
compared with the major oil spills) would sound too small.
Compare the thousands of little penguins no longer in existence along
the south/eastern coast of Australia due to a disease of no known source
(I understand AQIS does not check imported fish meal for disease - so
that's alright and the lobby for more fish farms can continue
unhindered); the grotesque array of foreign organisms destroying our
harbours (and penguin food), brought in by ships, the football grounds
of native vegetation daily blighted by unsustainable farming and logging
(with serious academic projections that my great-grandchildren will live
in a world with 30-40% fewer avian species in the world and in
Australia); the new fires in Indonesia (scarcely receiving a comment
while that country heads towards a potential Balkans situation with
Australia so focused on East Timor that it can't see the woods for the
trees); this country encouraging use of petroleum products through
expensive and destructive highways and even a REDUCTION of fuel taxes
although car usage is likely to be severely curtailed within 40 years.
And today the Australian parliament is consumed with the
republic/monarchy question with the media (controlled by
ever-so-democratic community-oriented tax-paying "Australian" citizens)
just so happy to pounce on the Duke of Edinburgh's latest gaffe. Never
mind that he has supported the World Wildlife Fund almost since its
inception, never mind his "Wildlife Crisis" book of 1970. Never mind
his son's - and our future head of State's ? - antagonism to GM
foods... Yes, despite our sacred constitution our head of state's
family has made more significant calls about our environment than ANY
politician.
Let's get on with worrying about agendas promoted by merchant bankers
(Turnbull is one) and the chance of making a few bucks on the latest
stock exchange float... and accept the loving injection of media (didn't
someone say "media are the opium of the masses") while the oh-so-Labor
and oh-so-Liberal and oh-so-National/Country parties proceed with their
tawdry vote-buying policies within which none dare to think beyond the
next election and want to have this country's head of state someone who
WANTS to do the job but will be the mouthpiece of the party system. A
party system which at the last Federal election said it was OK for 4WDs
to have a tax advantages - because...
Michael Norris
To unsubscribe from this list, please send a message to
Include ONLY "unsubscribe birding-aus" in the message body (without the
quotes)
|
