Politics is a dirty word

If Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison had any guts, he would dissolve the coalition partnership between his Liberal Party and the Nationals. The only point in having a formal coalition is when parliamentary members commit full support to the Government. But currently some Nationals are threatening to cross the floor in Parliament if they feel like it. Disgraced MP Barnaby Joyce has not ruled out making yet another challenge for party leadership because of his dislike for incumbent leader, Michael McCormack. There is even talk amongst disgruntled party members that Agriculture Minister David Littleproud should take the top job. With such chaos in the party. The Coalition is a sham and needs to be disbanded.

Inquiries into this year’s Australian bushfires are unlikely to result in any meaningful improvement in community protection because of a political obsession with ‘Hazard reduction’. The bush is seen only as a hazard instead of being recognised as an asset. Bushland does not decide to spontaneously burst into flames. There is always a cause for ignition. Simply burning more bush does not make the country any safer – there have been many instances where fires raged through areas which had previously burned. The removal of understory results in drier conditions and makes land more fire prone. Much damage is caused by grassfires rather than bushfires and in the right conditions even bare earth burns as oxygen is sucked from the soil.

Arguments about climate change are still raging as strongly as bushfires. Former Prime Minister John Howard, speaking on Sky News said "provided arguments are put with honesty and intellectual rigour, then it is within the capacity of our political system to reach the right decision". What he didn’t offer advice about was how to inject honesty and intellectual rigour into the political system. Right wing Liberal backbencher, Craig Kelly, continued his role of chief 'climate-denier' in an interview on British TV. He argued that that climate change had nothing to do with the bushfires.

Iran is reported to have prepared for missile attacks on various US military bases in the Middle East, including Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia as well as any US navy ships in Middle East waters. Its military chiefs are planning ways to conduct attacks inside the United States. A strong response is expected to the U.S. drone strike that assasinated Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. The assasination is a clear act of war and if the US follows up with an attack on Iran, the conflict would likely prompt Russia and China to help the Iranians and North Korea would take the opportunity to do something while attention was diverted. The Iranian Government has also offered a bounty to anyone who kills President Trump and it won't be hard to find a crazy in the US to claim the bounty. The US has meddled in the Middle East for decades, but its recent adventures have ostensibly been to defeat the ISIS terrorist group. It has managed to drag along coalition partners like ...

Bumbling politicians have made Australia a laughing stock throughout the world. The Brits now think that Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn aren’t too bad after all, and Americans are starting to think that Trump is rational. Climate policies and political reaction to catastrophic bushfires have been the latest drivers in eliminating Australia’s image as ‘the lucky country’. One of the most bizarre statements was from Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack that exploding horse manure was to blame for the fires sweeping the country.

Australia has the dubious distinction of of having the largest wildfires in history. At least 4.6 million hectares have burned so far and the impacts will be devastating for humans as well as all other species. Up to 500 million mammals, birds and reptiles – including 8,000 koalas have been killed, according to ecologists from Sydney University, entire species of animals and plant life may be victims of extinction. The loss of vegetation will worsen climate change and water quality.

It’s perhaps time for a new emergency services protocol in Australia as we have started the first day of 2020 in a state of emergency with more than 100 bushfires still burning and power outages throughout the south east. Military aircraft and vessels have been called in to assist emergency services in New South Wales and Victoria, including mass evacuations. but politicians should consider the automatic deployment of defence service personnel and equipment as soon as an emergency is declared – whatever the threat, wildfires, floods, terrorism, invasion or earthquakes. Defence forces would then be able to provide direct action for the community without bureaucratic delays.