The Hobart Mercury 25 July 2011
Okay, I’m going to have a crack at it and suggest that the real problem in Tasmania’s forests (and Tasmania in general) is that cosy deals get stitched up behind closed doors where nobody can hear them until they are triumphantly presented as the solutions to all our woes.
You don’t have to be a Zen master to work out that this isn’t the last we hear about it.
Tip in a bucket of money. What could go wrong?
Kudelka is in the ball again (Mercury cartoon, 12 July). While the parents can’t decide if they’ll be better or worse off with a carbon tax, the child has no doubt: “Speak for yourself.” Instead of self- interest concerning the financial impact of the carbon tax, people should think about the future for their children and grandchildren. They have more to lose from rising carbon pollution.
Julia Gillard acknowledged this important point, in response to a question on ‘Q&A’. But her message is getting lost in the repetitive drone of political speak, common to both sides of federal politics in the tax debate. Perhaps our PM should let the children speak for her sometimes.