Hi all,
Last week, former Prime Minister Mr. Malcolm Fraser died. During TV interviews over the last few days, I found myself agreeing with practically everything he said. That is, except that he thought Australia could handle 40-50 million people (we currently have around 24 million). Like many, he said that water could be piped from the north to the south and towns created on the way – ABC’s feature on Mr Fraser, including interviews is available: here.
When I worked in Canberra many years ago, I had the occasion to meet Mr. Fraser and like he said in the interviews, it was a different time and place. Mr. Fraser was a controversial figure in his time, but in later years he found friends in both sides of politics, working tirelessly for a better Australia and for multiculturalism. His views and thoughts will be sadly missed, and it is hard to think who will replace his guidance and wisdom.
What resonated with me most however, is that most of our political leaders today do not have a vision for the future.
Furthermore, that both sides of politics have become more about playing political games than actually seeing into a future that will enrich Australian’s lives.
This is borne out in my everyday life in trying to protect the Koala and it’s habitat.
As we have discussed before in my Diary, our Government wants to put a Koala into the arms of Mr. Putin, Mr. Obama and of course all celebrities cannot wait to hold one.
What our Government is not prepared to do is to protect them and, of course, not their habitat.
Two weeks ago, the AKF held a secret briefing with 21 people who represented groups from around the country asking them to accept that existing legislation is incapable of protecting the Koala’s habitat and that it is necessary to push for a Koala Protection Act. This is the first step in a 6 month campaign beginning after Easter. This campaign will be asking our political leaders to imagine Australia without the Koala, and more importantly insist they support a Koala Protection Act.
What is clear to me, and it was articulated in our briefing, is that environmental laws are basically on the side of the proponent and that the environment is always the loser.
If this wasn’t the case, then we would not allow the food bowl to be mined (it is also Koala habitat) and allow precious water to wash coal. Read more about this from Echo Net Daily: here. Read this article carefully – Australia only has 6% of our whole landscape as arable land, which means land that can be used for crops. This food bowl in the Liverpool Plains produces nearly 60% of all cereals grown in Australia. If you value your breakfast, and your pasta, you will see that this is important to you. Not just to me and my team, but to you, your family and your grandchildren.
The AKF has vision, always has, and always will, but what is so shocking to me still is how hard it is to protect the Koala. It can be so frustrating for our team and the people in that secret briefing to realise the malevolent forces against the Koala.
They exist and until our leaders grow up and realise they have a whole country’s future in their hands, we the people need to really start calling them to account.
Join the Koala Army.
Deborah