Politics is a dirty word

  Hopefully, with the change in Government there will be more support for freedom of the press. The previous Australian Government ignored the plight of Australian citizen, Julian Assange who has been charged by the US Government with d isclos ing  national defen c e information. There is no dispute that the information supplied to media outlets was factual – the US Government simply wants it to be kept secret. If there was an offence, why is Assange facing those charges alone? Every newspaper editor and proprietor who published the information provided by Wikileaks should be in the dock with him. Our government must be prepared to stand up for any Australian citizen being persecuted for political reasons. How can we regard any country as an Ally if it treats an Australian citizen like this?

  Bass Coast Shire Council has shown contempt for the community by failing to honour commitments made about the protection of native vegetation and wildlife. The Shire is developing a Forest Strategy, which it claims will help to ensure Bass Coast’s Forest continues to thrive. On its website, the Shire says forests are made up of all trees and vegetation, including street trees and other vegetation on nature strips, in parks and open space, as well as in backyards, along waterways, in industrial areas and in conservation areas. It asserts that they ‘help cool our townships during summer, clean up air pollution, support biodiversity, reduce storm water run-off, boost the economy, support social cohesion and connection to country.’ It adds that trees and green spaces are highly valued for their beauty, by both locals and visitors. Despite these exemplary statements, the Shire is enabling the destruction of key areas of native vegetation, destroying wildlife corridors and the ame...

 Hopefully we will have a truly independent government in Australia after Saturday’s federal election. A majority of independent members of parliament will be a great change from the sad party hacks who have controlled government in this country. Political parties should be banned, allowing members to truly represent their electorates rather than owe allegiance to their party machine. One of the stupid things that has evolved is the portrayal of each party leader. The only people who actually vote for the leader are the MPs in his or her party. The rest of us only vote for the local member we want to represent us. Political parties should be banned.

  The increase in the cash rate announced today by the Reserve Bank should be no surprise to anyone. The rate has been too low for far too long. Lifting it to 0.35% makes little difference. A rate of0.1% sent a message that money is worthless. With positive interest rates – even low levels such as 5 or 6% people are able to judge the value of money but at the miniscule rate it has been for years, governments have been able to maintain an illusion. Now we know that all is not well. Banks and other lenders don’t set their rates according to the Reserve Bank figure – they charge what they can after paying to attract cash and working out their costs plus their profit distribution requirements. Banks will raise rates whenever they feel like it. The world financial system has been in chaos ever since economists persuaded Governments to go off the gold standard as a means of backing currency and establishing exchange rates.

  Bass Coast Shire has been deprived of rate revenue totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars by only charging rates   applicable to farming properties on land for which sand extraction permits had been issued. The oversight has affected existing ratepayers who have been required to cover all Council costs without the input of revenue from major corporations who were granted permits for sand extraction. Ratepayers who live alongside some of the properties which were given planning permits for sand extraction in the 1990’s say “once those permits were issued the rateable value of their land should have reflected the value of the resource, it was no longer simply rural land for farming purposes. Once development permits are issued for subdivisions, rates are calculated on the new value of that land, so why are sand extraction companies given a special deal?” 

 The Victorian Government is still keen to go ahead with the wholesale destruction of native vegetation and wildlife on the eastern side of Westernport despite calls from the United Nations to limit the extent of sand extraction. The United Nations Environment Programme has called for urgent action to avert a "sand crisis," as global demand has surged to 50 billion tonnes a year amid population growth and urbanisation. In a report released on Tuesday, the U.N said “Sand is the most exploited natural resource in the world after water, but its use is largely ungoverned, meaning we are consuming it faster than it can be replaced by geological processes that take hundreds of thousands of years,” It said “the needs and expectations of our societies cannot be met without improved governance of sand resources, "and  also called for a reduction in demand by reusing sand from recycled materials like concrete and mining tailings instead of using naturally occurring sand. S...

Australians may be living real-life chaos theory after the  federal election on May 21. It  gives an opportunity for those who bother to vote  t o  change the country's  direction. There have b een too many examples of incompetence, arrogance, greed and stupidity and it is important to send a message to Canberra. The best way to do that is not to vote for any candidates who are members of main-stream parties. So put Liberals, Nationals, Labor and Greens at the bottom of your ballot papers. Do the same at the next State elections and politicians may begin to realise that voters are not as gullible as they think we are. Government propaganda (fake news) has been eagerly spread by news outlets including the ABC. It is the party system that has failed Australia. We don't vote for a Prime Minister; we vote for a local member and those MPs get together and appoint the person leading their political party. So, politicians owe allegiance to their party - not to the pe...