Reality show?

What's going on?

The Australian media keep spruiking talk of a leadership challenge to the PM based entirely on reports from the Opposition.

There is turmoil on the global markets, where in Europe, Merkel and Sarkozy are  engaged in a grim danse macabre and in the USA dysfunctional politics threatens to tip their country into recession.  A case of politicians turning difficult economic conditions into catastrophe.

Meanwhile our politicians are obsessed with a manufactured 'crisis' about a small number of asylum-seekers  coming here by boat. This hokey-pokey is just part of

                 the growing tendency on both sides of politics to put the Left
                 policy in, and take the Right policy out, the Left policy in until
                 voters shake us all about. Then do a quick opinion poll and
                 turn around, and that’s what it’s all about!  See here

A prophet in his own land

Tasmanian author, Richard Flanagan delivered a moving closing address at the Melbourne Writers' Festival this week.  He made a  prophetic call for a return to truth in public discourse and to courage, independence of thought and concern for a larger good in our individual lives.  Richard spoke of the rise of non-freedom and the decline of empathy in an Australian society overrun with the disease of conformity, desensitised to the desperate plight of refugees, prone to glossing over fundamental problems, making too much of our impoverished politics and lacking courage to disagree with power-brokers, who offer only consumerism and cynicism in place of the truth.

Hung parliaments

Has the hung parliament in Tasmania finally managed to bring peace to our forests after 30 years of conflict?  It seems increasingly likely that there will be an end to old growth forest logging with compensation for those leaving the industry, now that the government, Forestry Tasmania and Gunns Ltd have signed off on a state/federal government agreement.   Would this have happened, if it were not  the fact that we now have a Green/Labor government?


And will it be a federal hung parliament that finally succeeds in bringing in  a price on carbon?

Quip of the month

Will Qantas still call Australia home, if it only flies here for sleep-overs?