It’s time Good Men said NO….

I have read and heard a good deal about the happenings and comments in the past weeks, even months and the thing that disgusts me is that misogyny tends to label a gender not just an individual.

The appalling comments of the Media Person in Perth, asking the Prime Minister if her partner was gay, or the menugate event is just the tip of a pretty ugly iceberg, but should that cast aspersion’s on all men?

The likes of Abbott, Pyne, Jones, Bolt, Satler, Sandiland  and others are disgraceful, but they don’t reflect the views or comments of all men, including my husband, or Bob Brown, or the guys in my office, my associates in the Greens, the members of the local community groups, my Facebook friends, decent members of both Labor and LNP – the list is long, of decent, caring and considerate men…yet these few bring into disrepute and tend to categorise an entire gender.

Lance

It’s time good MEN said enough is enough…plenty of women are coming forward and commenting on the inappropriateness, the number of times it happens during their working life, there are plenty of examples, even the radio talk back this morning, a whole page of comments was posted yesterday of Facebook that even I, a well weathered female worker who thought she’d heard them all was stunned by.

For the record, it’s not just those male types as listed above that do women a disservice, what about the “Julie Bishops” who speak in defence of them, or the attempts at turning the tables… something is either RIGHT or it’s WRONG.

I can’t say I’ve heard Christine Milne, Lee Rhiannon or Tanya Plibersek, resort to the tawdry comments as just dessert or payback, they stay above the fray, register disgust and don’t troll the depths in justification. There a plenty of examples of these types of people they just don’t get the newspaper or news space.

To the young restaurant employee yesterday who quit her job in the menugate restaurant, well done, be proud you stood up and said enough is enough and she paid a pretty high price by coming forward because it’s my experience some people (often in forms of authority) generally don’t like honesty (I can say that from personal and expensive experience) but one does it anyway, not because it’s easy but because its right.

For those men and women who aren’t in a position to speak up…, I’ve often thought the best way to get attention is by withdrawing the money. Stop ‘buying’ that paper, stop ‘watching’ that show, stop sitting quietly, express your reasons, speak up if even only to a friend, relative, neighbour , or at the polling booth, because if you don’t, it’s not going to get better it’s going to get worse….much much worse.

The time to stop accepting the CRAP is now, Men and Women everywhere, protest, if not with your words with your money. We must demand Better or seek to support those better deserving in the community.

Guest Post: Missing the Forest for the Trees

It has been a week since Senator & leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown announced his retirement from both positions, & Senator Christine Milne as his replacement as the party’s leader. It has resulted in a news week decidedly more green in colour as journalists & commentators dissect  & analyse Brown’s legacy, 4 decades of activism & political representation, & pointedly, the impact of his resignation on the party. A key consideration, of course, has been the analysis of Christine Milne in the role of Deputy Leader, & hypothesis regarding her impact on the Greens as its leader.

 All of this is, well, completely understandable. Because there are few things the Australian media love more than a political party leadership- er, challenge? Change-over, is the better word, but let’s face it, once again, the Australian Greens have outed themselves as the glaring anomaly in the Australian political landscape.

 Firstly, because there was no challenge. The integrity & continuity of the party proper remains intact & unchanged. Australians might not recognise it. They have simply failed to understand its significance. But there it was, Brown with every ounce of class & integrity he always brings to any public appearance, & the party proper consolidated behind him. There was no challenge. The two major parties have for a very long time set the bar very low in terms of leadership change-over. More to the point, a change in leadership has had huge ramifications in terms of policy in both the ALP and the Coalition. From Howard to Turnbull to Abbott and we’ve seen three separate positions on climate change policy, particularly in the more recent change-over. Between Rudd to Gillard there was a shift (& back again) in both climate change policy regarding both the carbon tax & the MRRT. Further, at the core of the leadership change-overs has been the ad nauseum discussion, dissection & debate about who within the party is actually pulling the strings. Faceless men, factions & corporate contributors all & each playing a role in policy direction, politicians kowtowing to lobbyists, union bigwigs, Gina & Clive. Leaving the average Aussie sure of only one thing; politicians have a goal, power for its own sake, & the benefit of the fewest, either for themselves or for the puppet masters behind them, & certain of the bad taste it leaves in our mouths. On a week to week, almost day-to-day basis there is barely a reference to politics & policy without reference to broken promises, back-flips, parties bowing to pressure, liars & shifting positions.

 It seems impossible to consider a political party, consolidate around a core belief, and progressive enough to consider change of any sort as an opportunity for growth. Yet, over the last week, we’ve been given a glimpse into such a party. Is this a case of having missed the forest for the trees?

 Annabel Crabb said it beautifully in the opening paragraph of   her piece for the ABS’S The Drum ‘Bob’s bombshell a turning point for Greens‘. The fact is, there’s no previous leadership change-over at a Federal level in the party to compare to this current event. Crabb suggests another interesting point, for most, Green equals Brown, both in terms of his negotiating historic minority government agreements at a Federal level, the target conservative media has long time pinned to the leader’s back, & in terms of “the extent to which he has managed to persuade his notoriously hardline followers to accept hitherto-unthinkable concessions.” (Not that anyone wants to generalise  about the Green’s membership, much.) The question is: is it possible for Milne to live up to task she conceded “was a daunting” one?

Or is it? The truth is, Milne is being handed an entirely different party to the one Brown took to & through a myriad of firsts; in the Tasmanian parliament, the Federal Senate, not to mention the fact that Brown is a trail-blazer of the most personal kind being the first openly gay member of the Federal Parliament. Milne doesn’t need to be any of those things. As Ben Eltham pointed out in his article, Milne has an entirely different political climate to negotiate going forward, particularly in the event of a Coalition minority or majority outcome of the next Federal election. With which she has experience at a State level. More to the point, she has an entirely different party to lead. Where Crabb speaks of the green hard-liners, the party has progressed considerably, the facticity of which was better addressed by the stable polling in the high teens in terms of preferred party Federally for some time now. And the record votes for Green representatives counted Australia wide in elections since 2010. As our erstwhile eyes & ears on the ground in Liverpool, Signe Westerberg said in her blog post regarding the local NSW Greens branch meeting, the leadership change over didn’t rate a mention, given the important policy issues that needed to be discussed.

 Surprised we might have been at Brown’s announcement, but not in the new leader who has as long & as diverse experience in the party & the political arena. Certainly, there is a sadness for many as we farewell from the high profile role a visionary leader who has been a most passionate & intelligent politician where such people are thin on the ground in Canberra. But comparing Milne to Brown is not going to address the significance of the Green leadership change-over. Milne has the experience, has been Deputy of the Australian Greens, one of Brown’s closest advisors, has in recent years negotiated in the minority government environment resulting in Green’s policy outcomes being met, & represented the party in global forums.

 Like her or not, she is a passionate advocate of core Green values, she is a woman of integrity, and of her word, & no-one who has seen her speak in public, the media  or the Senate would argue she lacks the nous to lead from either a minority government position, balance of power position or from opposition. Whilst the other Woman in Power, PM Julia Gillard can scarcely convince a puppy she is a hard nosed negotiator, Milne was swept into the leadership by a confident party room and membership who are in no way confused about her ability to do just that. & in classic Milne style, she has hit the ground running, today calling out the Opposition Leader in no uncertain terms.

 The comparison should not be between Brown & Milne, but between parties. Whilst a leadership challenge can see a complete halt to policy discussion in either the ALP or the Coalition, (or, let’s face it, complete turn around in policy platforms) for the Greens, it was business as usual. They did not skip a beat, & at no point has the party had to stop to consider that the new leader will bring a host of new party sound bites. The lines are the same, the core values aren’t being called into question. No lines drawn in the party room sand, no factions, no faceless men. Just a man retiring and a woman deemed most competent moving into a new position.

Well wishes for Brown and confidence in Milne were expressed as brief comments before the matter at hand was discussed. None of the Greens representatives were hassled to declare their position. The positions was the same. There was a seamless continuation of policy debate. Senator Rachel Siewert embarked on her week of living with off only the equivalent of the Newstart Allowance, highlighting the issues faced by people looking for work and the need for an increase.

Senator Lee Rhiannon continued meeting with people in rural NSW & Senator Milne threw down the gauntlet to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, whilst maintaining the pressure in regards to sustainability & economic outcomes as outlined in Mike Seccombe’s article in The Global Mail that presents Milne with her finger firmly on the economic pulse of the nation. Just to sample some of the diverse policy passions of the Greens representatives.

 And THAT is the point. If we allow ourselves to lose focus on Brown who has been the face of the Australian Greens for so long, we might see a rich forest of talent, passion, integrity & a well spring of policy ideas. We might see what it is that the Australian people have long considered an impossibility, or a fallacy; a cooperative of people, a true grass roots party, centred on tangible core values, busy working towards the future of our nation.

Written by Inga Westerberg

Inga Westerberg is a member of the Tasmanian Greens & currently lives in Hobart.

Bye Bob, welcome Christine

The press has been aghast with Green coloured news since Senator Bob Brown and Leader of the Australian Green announced his resignation from both positions last Friday. The 67 year old has called the leadership job done and in my opinion one done well. He has however, not resigned from the Greens he is planning to continue in his role of advocating for the people and the planet,  simply just not as Leader of the Party. And will no doubt continue to support and inspire the Greens in all places of the world. To those pundits who say we are all over, done and dusted? Not. Even. Close.The Greens are a strong, viable and exemplary party of thousands, we are a party that will continue to grow and change as the needs of locals, states, and the nation require. As a society we are not generally welcoming of change but for things to grow change is necessary. Bob Brown’s contribution to the Greens movement internationally, is outstanding, as will be his future contributions. But under his leadership the  Australian Greens have harboured a wellspring of talent and commitment that is ready to represent our country and its people both in our local, state and federal governments, and as we’ve seen from the new leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Christine Milne, in international forums as well. 

I sat in a room last night with a dozen or so local Greens members; we discussed numerous topics and not once was concern for the direction/demise of the party mentioned. No one in fact brought up the topic of Bob Brown at all. Two and half hours of political debate, constructive discussion concerning local council area needs, policy direction and NOT ONE MENTION of the doom and demise of the party was even hinted at. Bob Brown, and Christine Milne both have contributed to a forward thinking, progressive party that rests on a wide platform of grass roots support, concerned, committed Australians, and we’re ready to get on with it, and we have already.

Also, I attended the Tuesday forum. As I mentioned last week the chairperson tried a new discussion procedure. There was some reluctance to dive in, on the part of participants, however the discussions did finally flow. The future directions of Liverpool were discussed and the differences between city and country priorities were highlighted. Which is a good thing, our city is diverse, we stretch from river to river, across the metropolitan city and urban sprawl to rural farming land and everything in between.  And the perspectives differ quite a bit forum to forum, but the goal expressed by participants was similar. I am inspired by the people who attend both forums, each bring ideas, passion and a wealth of knowledge. I hope we get to see the report back to council when the community input is collated and compiled.

 

 

what a great piece

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/the-most–man-in-australia-20111017-1lsle.html#poll

The link above is about Bob Brown, one of the most indepth interviews I’ve read. Great stuff and so glad someone decided to interview, write and present a piece of news worthy of this principled and gentle man.

The conversation, Q & A and the future

Today reflecting on the Q & A program last night, a good program I’ll add, the usual drone tone of the Prime Minister replaced with answers to questions, honestly and clearly and none (but the Rudd one) refused. I was pleasantly surprised, delighted by some of the twitters and left thought provoked by others and the comment of the 80 year old gentleman who said he didn’t think he’d ever see the day when his government worked together for the community. I lay awake for some time wondering and thinking this through and a few things came to mind….

1) Would this have happening if K Rudd was still the PM? No not likely as he refused to work with the Greens (& or Independents), he made that very clear in the early days.

2) Would we have had a multi-party climate change committee if the election was clear cut? Probably NO, one arrogant party after another would have assumed the right to make a decision,  dependent on who won would be the outcome, no one would have spent the time nutting out all the detail that the MPCCC has to achieve an outcome everyone can live with …live with is the key point here.

3) Did the PM show her strengths or not last night? Yes I think she did, she answered the questions  be they hostile or friendly (although at times hard to tell)

4) Who lost last night? The Liberal party, not because of anything but their leader, I asked myself, what would be different if the Liberal Party wasn’t’ being lead by Tony Abbott, pretty much they would have been included in the MPCCC which meant they too could go down in history for participating in this historical decision/event… you think I’m over stating this, not from the twitters and comments I heard, most people feel there has been a move to all encompassing discussion, agreement if you will.

5) Was there humour, well you can’t go past the CSIRO or Alan Jones comment here, JG had fun with this and so did the audience…

So to summarise, while for a period I doubted JG as PM over K Rudd, I’m now convinced she is the better person for the job because under her leadership, (perhaps not her preferred option but the one she was dealt), The Greens and the Independents have been included in the conversations, conversations the populace wanted them included in, or they wouldn’t have voted as they did. And there was a loser, sadly the Liberal party was excluded because of their leader and his radical views, if someone like Turnbull or Hewson were leading the party heaven only knows we might have saved millions of dollars in stunts and campaigns and included a larger portion of the community to voice their opinion and have their ideas included.  I pride myself in supporting a good idea, no matter who puts it forward and I believe if you were able to ask honestly the members of the Libs if they believed and supported the science and measures to address pollution we could have had some valued debate. IMO it’s time the Liberal party accepted their mistake and took steps to rectify the situation, Mr Abbott maybe ahead in the polls for one reason, he doesn’t bother with logic, he plays, as did his predecessor, on fear and sound bite. The sky is falling rhetoric. Given honest information I have faith the people of Australia would all come to the same conclusion about doing the right thing for the planet, is it that we are a little lazy and don’t read the fine detail or the science, is it that we cling so tightly to a proposed ideal or party that we trust them to tell us the truth without checking for ourselves, or are we being played for fools by the media. Perhaps a little of each but I am comforted in that even in just this debate we have come such a long way, that there is hope that our politicians may put the ‘party’ aside and debate the important issues with one goal, bettering the lot of all Australians, the environment and the future of the whole planet.

As one of my colleagues suggested, now let s move on to the Refugee situation and work this out too!

That’s my two cents worth, how do you feel?

2 days to go….

With the election in just a couple of days I thought you might like a run down on the top ten reasons to vote Greens… might I suggest you can add reasons for voting Green yourself …..

 TOP TEN REASONS TO VOTE GREEN IN 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, we got WorkChoices. Or, Tony Abbott’s Coalition 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 a stable climate. 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.

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. Now the Greens are 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. An environmental party. The Greens have always worked to protect Australia’s magnificent natural environment for future generations – whether that’s protecting our native forests and their wildlife, or our pristine beaches and marine ecosystems.

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.

Mildly amused or sadly disappointed?

I, like so many others am trying to stay on top of all that is happening, be it locally or in the election generally… Mostly of course the Local issues get my attention and when you consider the amount of press provided to discuss the Prime Minister ear lobes you can see why I am mildly amused, I doubt the size of her earlobes will cause us another economic crisis, or to send more of our military overseas and yet it gets plenty of press as did the budgie smuggling ear flapping of Mr Abbott.  What is it about our media that these things are placed over the issues that really impact our lives?

Of most interest to me is that in Liverpool both the major parties saw fit to partake in some electioneering at our Tuesday night extraordinary council meeting. This meeting of Liverpool council was called to seek special funding to support the Wattlegrove residents action group in fighting against the huge Intermodal complexes at Moorebank. A most worthy fight I agree, the huge impost on our entire community can only be imagined at this point and we certainly need to be proactive and involved on a major scale.

 The NSW Greens MLC’s have been working with us for many, many months now to draw attention to the many issues that will be thrust upon us including the Moorebank Freight Hub on the land now occupied by the School of  Military  Engineering.  Liverpool residents are of course desirous of their councils support as were the residents of Cecil Hill, the West Hoxton & Hoxton Park residents, the Casula residents and many other local areas who have issues and concerns that they are being unfairly treated. Perhaps if the Local Liberal/Independent councillors had championed other issues – albeit in some cases a smaller scale, we wouldn’t have residents struggling with effluent now it is raining, the sleep deprivation and ill health of the Casula residents… but then again, there is an election pending and political points to be made. Can’t wait to see what tactics are employed to discredit the State Govt…. oh, no worries… they don’t need help, their shooting themselves in the foot fine… all by themselves.

On a Brighter note, if you have a few minutes tomorrow (Friday30th) at midday come along to Fairfield and witness the ballot draw… I’ll be there and of even more local interest National Tree day is on Sunday, Fairfield Council has two sites Johnston Park along Orphan School Creek, at the end of East Parade, Canley Vale & Irelands Bridge Reserve along Cabramatta Creek, Old Liverpool Road, Lansvale & Liverpool Cnl…South Park at Chipping Norton. 9-12. All followed by a free council BBQ…. I’ll be wearing my Greens T-shirt so come up and say hello… I will be attempting to stop by them all… (Fingers crossed it’s nice weather in the  morning)