topic Re: DR BOB BROWN in Community Spirit

DR BOB BROWN

bluecat*dancing — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 00:58:07 GMT

https://newmatilda.com/2013/12/12/we-got-pm-voted-for

The results of September’s election lifted the veil on Australian culture to reveal a mean, embittered face, says former Greens leader Bob Brown. Speaking to New Matilda, he said Tony Abbott’s popularity is the articulation of Australia’s conversion from a generous, happy country to one characterised by how much it withholds.

“In the Howard years Australia became a much meaner and more self-interested country … We are the richest people per capita in the world, if you just look in material terms, and we are the richest people ever to live on the Earth," Brown said

"Yet there’s this air of dissatisfaction and a feeling that we are being cheated, and that is a cultural shift that came out of the Howard years and has been promoted mightily by the Murdoch media — and that flows on through the ABC and all the other radio shock jocks and so on.”

He believes the Labor years did little to challenge the assumption of Howard-Abbott populism that Australians are fundamentally self-serving. This failure meant Labor fought an election on the terms of the Coalition, battling to appeal to voters' self-interest.

During their period in opposition the Liberals depicted the environmental movement as an enemy of the economy and individual well-being. The antagonistic positioning was overt, deliberate and Australians responded with their votes.

The Liberals went to the election on a platform that included removing layers of environmental regulation, redacting world heritage status from Tasmania’s forests, expanding coal mining in the Galilee basin, opening coal ports that could affect the Great Barrier Reef and removing the $10 billion Clean Energy Fund. But these were mere pallbearers at the funeral of the carbon tax.

“People voted for that with their eyes wide open,” Brown said. “And I might add to that, that they voted for $4 billion dollars in foreign aid to be not spent.”

Australia was dishonoured with the Colossal Fossil award from the Climate Action Network, for their disruptive attitude to the Warsaw climate talks in November. The UN's former climate chief, Yvo de Boer, said in November that Australia’s attitude had shown it to be “a country that would rather stick to a business-as-usual approach rather than building a low-carbon growth model”.

“Australia has generally been seen as a champion of environmental innovation, particularly in climate change," Brown said. "It is now a pariah in the international arena. But people voted for that, Australians knew what they were getting and they voted for it."

His bleak realism should not be mistaken for pessimism. He views self-interest as a hallmark of the times rather than a natural law. Indeed, he says, it bears the seeds of its own destruction.

“I think now it’s starting to tell and I think that [in] this period of government there is a fairly rude awakening occurring in Australia, about whether this is really the country we want to have?" Brown said. "I think that we’re going to see a great strengthening in the direct action from people who do have the intellect who know we do have to protect the biosphere.”

This vision of a future shaped by collective power mounts a challenge against the politics of the self that has so dominated the Australian conversation. Brown remains a staunch democrat. Progressive democracy demands faith in people to make collective decisions based on justice and equality.

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Re: DR BOB BROWN

izabsmiling — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 01:08:48 GMT

He also says they voted with their eyes open .....

who opened their eyes ....is that considered having their eyes really open ?

Re: DR BOB BROWN

bluecat*dancing — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 01:12:50 GMT

Re: DR BOB BROWN

izabsmiling — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 01:17:18 GMT

that's right Blue, I think the creation of 'huge' problems to 'fix'...kind of hid the smaller detail or made it seem less important ?

and perhaps with Mudoch's help it was more a 'kick this mob out' rather than 'vote this mob in' ?

Re: DR BOB BROWN

polocross58 — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 02:11:00 GMT

There are those ---- millions of them --- who believe That Mob was desperate to be kicked out

and that they would have cried buckets and thrown tantrums if they'd won

After all, they'd run the country and its inhabitants into the ground

They'd exceeded their zionist-fabianist brief to a power of 1000

If That Mob had been put back in again, they would have skipped the country !

Because they were as bankrupt in policy as they'd rendered our land

That Mob is comfortable in opposition -- if that's what they're supposed to be

They flounder when required to run a stall at a fete, never mind an entire nation

Being in 'opposition' allows them to do what they do best -- muckrack, slang off, make empty noises -- and be paid for it

That Mob probably begged Murdoch to let them off the hook

They'd borrowed and stolen and had maxed out our credit cards

and stolen the rest

WHO could forget Swan and Gillard passing that foul legislation last Christmas in order they could ransack the public's bank accounts -- all accounts which hadn't been activated in 3 years (because most of those were trust accounts)

all in order to grab $109 of Aussies private money !

That's how far they'd drained the coffers. Same as Gillard's handbag-guy drained the wine cellars at the PM's residence

$109 million dollars was what they allowed themselves to steal from ordinary Aussies

Gee, Clive Palmer carries that much in change

That's how broke That Mob had made this nation

Oh for sure That Mob is still sighing in relief about being kicked out

If they hadn't been kicked out, they would have run to South America in disguise and fear

The election occurred just in time

One more week and Australia would have had to declare itself bankrupt

and the Chinese and Saudis would have repossessed us

Re: DR BOB BROWN

lakeland27 — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 02:33:49 GMT

more unverified claims, where do you find this stuff ? or is it homespun ?

Re: DR BOB BROWN

pct001wine — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 03:39:34 GMT

That is the funniest post I have read in a long time polocross !. Thanks for the chuckle.

Re: DR BOB BROWN

spotweldersfriend — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 03:49:50 GMT

FOS

Re: DR BOB BROWN

spotweldersfriend — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 03:51:22 GMT

...in reply to polio

Re: DR BOB BROWN

bluecat*dancing — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 03:56:22 GMT

Makes a good story, I suppose.

Re: DR BOB BROWN

bluecat*dancing — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 03:57:53 GMT

Is that you, Larry?