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If Ross Fitzgerald has been too kind in his article entitled Bounty Wasted on Bligh The Weekend-Australian, September 11-12, and if there is a risk of financial reward for the detriments caused to Queensland and the damage inflicted on the reputation of the Labour, then I for one would like to lodge my personal protest. I agree with you, James, that the hijacking of democracy appears to have characterized privatization policies in Queensland in particular, but also in NSW and Victoria. Anna Bligh is currently the President of the Labour Party, and in her role as a State Premier, also a member of the Council of Australian Governments. I vigorously object to that. Her apparently manic approaches with sale of assets in attempts to replenish the Treasury coffers. The surest way to damage economy is to lose the trust of the people. The trust of the people has been betrayed midst games and ill-conceived decision-making. The accountability shuffle has been played to perfection, and it is time that this is reversed. People are looking for integrity, commitment, true democracy, sixth sense for what the people want I have publicly called for the resignation or removal of Anna Bligh and examination of the input she has received from the Treasury and all those who have contributed steadily to erosion of confidence, rights and faith in governance. On 31 August Anna Bligh is reported to have declared she wasn't a liability for Labor before the Caucus meeting, that her leadership had not been a factor and that she enjoyed total support among MPs. See Courier Mail article Judy Spence contradicts Anna Bligh saying leadership was an issue at Caucus meeting see also: Anna Bligh attacked over government-owned corporation "THE Bligh Government has been accused of peddling commercial-in-confidence as an excuse to hide the real performance of its corporations. Queensland Auditor-General Glen Poole has lambasted the lack of openness of government-owned corporations in his latest report, tabled in State Parliament yesterday. The report found that recommendations from 2006 to provide the public with more information about the performance of government-owned corporations had been ignored." and Is Anna Bligh toxic for the ALP? 21/07/2010 12:11:00 PM, Spencer Jolly - Political Editor Ms Bligh either lacks insight or is determined to ignore the feedback regarding perceptions of her governance. Either way it is time for that leadership to be scrutinized in the light of the long-range implications for the people of Queensland, as well as for the nation as a whole. I have asked the Prime Minister to consider impacts on the reputation of the Labour Party as a whole. I support your attempts James to call attention to these matters. Madeleine Kingston (SKYLARK100 Twitter)

Have to agree, Scott. The only thing less friendly to wildlife than a cattle or sheep station is a field of corn, beans, ... a field of any crop. Not a cockatoo, not a parrot, not a roo, not a possum is welcome in a grain-farmer's field. At least other creatures are able to share with the cattle and sheep, even if the farmer doesn't like it. Vegetarianism is a nice ideal - if you aren't in the business of growing and selling the crops. Let's face it: more humans, more grain crops means less biodiversity. It's not a solution. We need to stop breeding up and clearing land for food and housing.

Well it's verified now. I wrote the above blog. I have also posted in numerous places on same topic including TWITTER as skylark100 Please see Professor Ross Fitzgerald excellent article of 11 September 2010 "Bounty Wasted on Bligh" www.rossfitzgerald.com/2010/09/bounty-wasted-on-bligh/ to which I responded, starting with: "Thank you Professor Fitzgerald for this article describing the state in Queensland and the sense of betrayal that so many Queenslanders feel, albeit that there are a few loyal supporters. As to the contribution of the Treasury – that too is referred to in the your article, which reflects my own concerns. I have brought your analysis directly to the attention of the Prime Minister Julia Gillard as worthy of her immediate attention, receiving an automated response. I have written already on several occasions about disillusionment with Anna Bligh’s Leadership and the contribution of the Queensland Treasury and its approaches." I have had no response yet from the Prime Minister or her staff, but I am not holding my breath. There are so very many things to attend to. Neither major party has much to gloat about. Madeleine Kingston

What a wonderful story, the work put into saving our wildlife is the most worthwhile of all, the look in any animals eye of trust is one that words cannot tell, to have these special animals returned to their own environment is what it is all about, there are animals with such a will for survival that just need abit of help along the way, we have destroyed most of their environment and they need all the help they can get to live out their lives .,

In June 2010, the balance of international merchandise trade (i.e. the value of exports less the value of imports) for Victoria was a deficit of $3,036m. Compared with June 2009, Victoria's trade deficit in June 2010 was $621m (25.7%) higher, with a rise in the value of exports (up $217m, or 15.3%) being offset by a larger rise in the value of imports (up $838m, or 21.8%). In other words, Victoria continues to import more than export. The states with the largest increases in retail trade (seasonally adjusted) in July were Victoria (1.7 percent), Queensland (1.5 percent) and New South Wales (0.6 percent). Australia recorded a trade deficit of $1.9 billion in February 2010, according to figures released in April by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This is an increase of $804 million on the revised January trade deficit of $1.1 billion. The Bureau of Statistics data shows a 2 per cent increase in the value of exports being outweighed by a 3 per cent increase in imports. This will put more pressure on state governments to clean up their balance sheets by selling off their existing infrastructure assets, as Victoria did with electricity under Jeff Kennett but which NSW and Queensland have failed to do. And it means even more of our infrastructure will have to be funded by private money. Independent South Australia Senator Nick Xenophon said he would push for tougher foreign investment rules to protect Australia's water resources from falling into the hands of overseas buyers. "International investors are circling australia's water market and there's virtually no oversight of purchases by the Foreign Investment Review Board,'' Senator Xenophon said. Our new federal government needs to urgently acknowledge that access to an adequate potable water supply is a basic human right, and that Australia's limited water resources need to be closely managed for the benefit of all Australians. Instead of "prosperity" promised by population growth, we are becoming a nation of consumers of imported goods and services. Selling our infastructure, natural assets such as land is water, is obscene and a betrayal of Australia's interests.

Why do we need more immigration? Because we have a "skills shortage". Why do we have a skills shortage? Because of rapid population growth driven by immigration. Editorial comment: The subject was just "Catch-22". I changed it to '"Skills shortage" Catch-22' to make it more descriptive,

We like many thousands of Australians are not happy with either Party in the Last election, or the Three independants being allowed tomake the final decision as to who would Govern Australia. In all fairness we should have Gone back to the Poles. Neither Gillard or Abbott can be trusted with running the Country. Australia needs a Government that will do what the people vote them into do.and not Betray the Voting Australian. Dick Smith put Forward a few Ideas before the Election, things most Australians have wanted the elected Governments to Do but won't. Like Stop imigration, Mining Precoius Farm Land.Educate and Train our own people for the Jobs, stop importing Food and Goods. Australia is more than Capable to produce what ever we need without inporting everything, Most of which is inferior to what we ourselves can Produce. It Cost the Australian Tax Payer 80,000 for every Boat person/ Illegals to be processed while there are over 50,000of our own homeless people with out a roof over their heads while the Assylum/Boatpeople are put up in four star accomodation in Motels. Homeless people Can't get centrelink payments because the have to prove they have somewhere to live before they can get the Dole. There are Family's who are homeless in This Country, only because they Do Work,but Can't afford to Pay rents and feed their family and pay the cost of every Day living on the wages they get.yet they Pay taxes. Their Tax money is being wasted on those who choose to just arrive and expect to be taken care of.if These Illegals/Boat people can afford to Pay the people Smugglers 15,000 Dollars each to arrive here, then where are they getting that kind of Money to turn up at the Back door expecting to be made welcome when our own Don't have that kind of Money. Yet have to Go with out Just to make the arrivals Comfortable. it's a Disgrace, Read the Australian Sovereignty Party Policy, Our Community Did and No They won't be Getting our Vote either, Very unrealistic and definately not what Most Australians want's. We Need a party who is there to help us not try to "Educate" as they put it to their way of thinking. We need a party to work with the People not to inforce their beliefs on us or our Children.

GUNNS withdrawal sounds good to me. YOU BLOODY BEAUTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vast numbers of young people and the underprivileged will never be able to raise a family within the security of their own home. Australian urban areas, especially Sydney, have emerged as perhaps the most aggressive examples of high-density policies in the world. The Australian Conservation Foundation's Consumption Atlas calculation shows that greenhouse gas emissions of those living in high-density areas are greater than for those living in low-density areas. Household electricity and heating fuel are about twice as much as transport and the amortised emissions from the construction of the dwelling are more. With regard to building and transport usage per person, apartment living uses more overall energy. Operational energy use per person for electricity and heating fuel is nearly twice as much in Sydney apartments as in single-family dwellings. Consideration of elevators, clothes dryers, air-conditioners and common lighted areas such as parking garages and foyers make these findings readily explicable. What is more, the per resident energy required to construct high-rise is much more than the energy needed to build single-residential dwellings. Also, high-density hardly reduces per person travel intensity at all. The overwhelming evidence that high-density is less sustainable than low-density does not prevent high-density proponents from unashamedly making misleading claims. Melbourne, which is growing by 1700 people a week, is home to almost 4 million and has one of the largest urban sprawls in the world. Opponents to the urban growth boundary extention say greenhouse emissions and the cost of building new power, water, education, transport and health infrastructure will cost Victorians $40 billion. The Australian Conservation Foundation has called for cuts to immigration, saying that a rising population will make it much harder to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, restore our rivers to health and ensure a good quality of life for everyone. However, the tremendous $$$ power of the growth-economists is much greater that the powers of the environmental and climate change lobby, and have much more sway over government policies.

The people of Queensland are of no importance to this untrustworthy and deceitful duo, the sooner we have the likes of vermin from positions of trust removed, we can then advance, we as musicians have been targeted for extinction, when voting day arrives just remember who put us under threat, not only us but the workforce of Queensland. abb

To the Editor: The comment states the obvious: the puzzle of population. Population means: more mouths to feed, more electricity consumption which leads to more coal being used to supply the country, the more coal used the bigger the impact on the climate/environment and human health. Power stations bring money to the country and supply people with jobs. The health bill is through the roof, prices are going up leaving the average Joe Blow out of pocket and closing small businesses. The impact the power stations have on water supplies and agriculture; the taking of fertile land for coal beds, means job loss in that sector and eventually may lead to the closure of fish & chip shop businesses. As I said ,attention needs to be paid in the health sector, renewable energy needs to be more of a realism and education needs to be reviewed.

Killing elephants for entertainment? How cruel.

If energy efficiency is cost-effective but not happening, we have to ask why. One explanation is that it is held back by market failures and barriers. Fuel Oil

More than 400 residents attended a forum on Queensland's Sunshine Coast last night to question Unity Water about increased water prices. Unity Water chief executive officer John Black fielded questions from angry residents for more than two hours at the Kawana forum. A Noosa resident asked Mr Black how Unity Water could justify massive sewerage charges for his local business. "We got our water, our bill for our industrial shed, it totalled $427," he said. "Out of that $12 was for water"! Similar story for those living in Melbourne. Now Victoria is in floods! The cost of the actual water is minuscule compared to the cost of infrastructure and sewerage - to pay for "water security" for a limitless population growth! http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/07/3004493.htm

Cruelty? Really? Holding an oppossum by it's tail is hardly cruelty. It is a prehensile appendage, and they regularly support their full body weight with their tail. "Terrifying" an oppossum until it goes limp? That is their natural defense (playing possum...duh) and they hardly have to be "terrified" to do it. As for auctioning, and eating animals...the same thing happens to free range, ethically raised animals that people eat everyday. I don't know or care much about this woman's politics...I don't live in Florida. I just don't think this justifies an uproar simply because a political figure is involved.

The Amazon river has dropped to its lowest level in 40 years in north-eastern Peru, causing severe economic disruption in a region where it is the main transport route. The river is expected to fall further before the rainy season begins next month. But there is some concern that the dryness could persist as what is shaping up to be an intense hurricane season in the Atlantic sucks humidity away from the Amazon. Officials worry the intensity and frequency of droughts could become more severe. "This situation is critical," Robert Falcon of Peru's civil defense agency said of expected food shortages and outbreaks of illness. "The scientists are already saying that because of climate change these events will become more frequent." Twelve pink river dolphins were rescued by Bolivian biologists. They had swum up a smaller river where they were trapped after flood debris blocked the river’s mouth. Adult amazon river, or boto dolphins, are about 6 feet long. They use echolocation for navigation through river waters that contain much underwater vegetation. Overfishing, excessive boating and habitat loss have reduced their population to an endangered status.

Dear editor you have missed so much.

Implication is the tool of the writer; inference the domain of the reader, objectivity is the responsibility of an ethical editor.

Assumption of infallibility is the domain of fools.
Search For Truth 6th September 2010

“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” (Voltaire 1694 - 1778)

Yet again Menkit you have missed the point, perhaps conveniently. My online encounter with you (see valid links above) demonstrates your willingness to deliberately distort facts. If your prior encounters with the council has embittered their assessment of you who can blame them for being sceptical on this or future occasions, even if on this occasion your arguments may have been accurate? You will be judged by how you conduct yourself, one tends to reap what one sows. If the beast you release comes back to bite you, so be it, it’s the Karma concept. Your online wailing when those in positions of authority don’t appear to listen to you is boring, tiresome and irrelevant. I have no interest in your ongoing correspondence with the Mayor, nor how you conduct yourself generally unless it harms the wildlife you claim to represent. If it quacks like a duck and behaves like a ratbag it could well be a sad, wolf crying, radical activist seeking attention to revel in. If you don’t like the ratbag label and the damaging division it creates don’t behave like one. So long as you continue to undermine your own credibility with such finesse, your talents and passion are wasted. You are probably your own worst enemy, and perhaps you should look within before you lash out to attack those that offer constructive criticism or comment.

Population - Climate/environment, health, power stations, jobs, money. Health, renewable energy and education need more attention. Where jobs cease, new will begin. We may not be able to control growth, but maybe we can try, contribute to a healthy population. Editorial Comment: I am not sure whether this comment is pro-'growth' or anti-'growth'. We have to be able to 'control growth' and ultimately achieve population stability or else humankind will destroy its life support system.

Bulls-eye! For a very compelling summary of the nature of money and debt and the financial system's dependence upon ongoing growth see: The Google video Money as Debt An updated version of the original video is now available at: www.moneyasdebt.net They also have a new film out canvassing the topic in context to the recent GFC. I haven't seen either of these two newer films yet. I can't find them anywhere online. I'll have to order copies.

Searchfortruth has written three emails, very personalised to several candobetter.org authors. Here is the substance of the first and second ones, for which we have conserved the original title of the first, but the text of which we are paraphrasing and summarising, because of the abusive style and personalised attack of the original words. The second email was entitled, "You have missed my point again." [This editorial version was edited again on 6-9-2010 to show that it included the second email as well.] Searchfortruth accuses a specific author, M-, of missing the point [but (perhaps due to oversight) fails to articulate the exact point, making reading further an exercise in generality]. Further, he/she asserts that M- wants to present facts in a manner that suits her, rather than the whole truth. In this manner he/she is asserting that they know M-'s motives, but without proof of this. Searchfortruth refers to "the council" in a manner which leads on to believe that he/she shares the same council. He/she suggests that the council has become embittered because of their dealings with M- in the past, implying that the Council has the right to discriminate against a resident for personalised reasons. Searchfortruth suggests to M- that, if the principle of karma applies, others will mete out to M- the treatment she has given them. Searchfortruth describes M-'s articles in unflattering terms, asserting that they have no interest, that she should not be surprised if persons in 'authority' don't take her seriously, and that neither her 'ongoing correspondence' with the Mayor, nor other details of the way she lives, hold interest for Searchfortruth unless they cause harm to animals, which Searchfortruth implies M- might be causing herself. Searchfortruth shows no understanding of the value of M-'s right to publicise her concerns and to her opinion, right or wrong (Voltaire). Searchfortruth fails (in this instance) to avail himself/herself of the opportunity provided by candobetter.org to simply argue the facts. Searchfortruth indicates that he/she believes that M- is a radical and a ratbag and that her ideas are thus discredited, without saying which ideas. This is somewhat global condemnation. Searchfortruth claims that M- would do better to listen to useful criticism and implies that she might thus become more effective. No doubt this is true for all of us, but Searchfortruth's own criticisms are poorly expressed generalities so far, put emotively, and therefore not very useful. We here find them difficult to publish unedited for these reasons. My problem with Searchfortruth's actual words is that they are repetitive in subject, in criticism, uncharitable, and, lacking substantiation, expressed emotionally, they risk making candobetter.org liable for defamation, if published in full. I don't think that our authors, who work without pay and who write on subjects that they care about, in the absence of enough being written on those subjects by professional journalists, should be subject to relatively unconsiderate criticism that amounts to abuse. Searchfortruth is welcome to write considered comments and articles for candobetter.org. He/she is also welcome to criticise statements. He is not welcome to repetitively demand detailed responses to attacks on credibility - which we don't have the time to address. Searchfortruth should comfort him/herself with the idea that anything we publish by him/her that makes a point or expresses a (non-abusive) opinion will be here for all to read. He/she doesn't have to pepper his criticisms of articles with insults. Stick to the facts, Searchfortruth, and we will publish your comments, unedited. If we have missed out some relevant fact here, we apologise. Going through this kind of thing is time-consuming. Please don't take it too hard; try again with an objective review of the data. sincerely, Ed.

I'm starting to realise that most of our leaders are very poorly educated. They really have no understanding of biological ecology. They are unanalytical - just believe that things will go on more or less as they have been for the last fifty years. They are mostly educated in economics or law, very narrow fields that have no meaningful interface with the laws of nature and reality. They simply don't know what educated people are talking about. They have been allowed to take on positions of leadership because they don't ask significant questions and don't rock the boat. Our state premiers and primeministers are simply salespeople who don't question orders and who admire wealth and position.

As I mentioned in my earlier comment, many people believe that large families have been commonplace throughout history, the norm for most people. You can't survive in an agrarian society unless you have a large family, so they say. Western society they believe has strayed from this historical norm by embracing small families, for good or ill. I strongly suspect this is bunk, that small families of 1-3 children have been the norm throughout history. Probably people aspired to large families, but few could achieve it due to huge childhood mortality. Modern medicine, nutrition and sanitation have enabled large families to become commonplace in many countries - but this is a brief historical anomoly. One way or the other, small families will once again become the norm across the world.

Shooting Roos to reduce Roadkill is nonsense. Drivers need to accept the various hazards, take some personal responsibility and drive according to conditions whether those conditions be wildlife, poor road design or maintenance, adverse weather, lighting etc. I regard roadkill as just another check to wildlife populations, more abundant populations will see an increase in roadkill. Drivers need to use common sense. Risk of collision is not a valid reason to support or introduce commercial culling.

As an Australian, one must ask just when did the retardation of moral decency descend on this nation? For too long governments have condoned the wholesale and brutal slaughter of animals in this country. Joe Citizen unwittingly persists with the belief that this country's native, commercial and domestic creatures are protected from animal abusers by 'stringent' regulations that are supposedly enforced and upheld by a vigilant Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals. The heinous realities makes a mockery of this country's peak body's brief - that is to protect defenceless animals. Media sources reveals that animal atrocities have become a regular occurrence that is now the norm throughout the nation. Indeed, given the current atrocities occurring, I would suggest that the RSPCA is an impotent body that is failing in its duty and is a sycophant to successive governments who are hell-bent on destroying this country's biodiversity and not least, with the silent approval or from the recommendations of the RSPCA: 1: This month a a parliamentary enquiry found that the WA Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) were responsible for the inhumane deaths of native and feral animals in WA's outback. Since 1998, the DEC have been acquiring pastoral stations for 'conservation.' In doing so they dismantled all water sources on these properties, thus, over some 12 years, an untold number of animals have needlessly and cruelly perished from thirst. 2. Yet another parliamentary enquiry during 2007 found that the same DEC's industry regulation was 'grossly inadequate' and predominantly responsible for the deaths of 9,500 native birds that dropped from the skies, poisoned by the heavy metal, lead, that was dispersed over large areas by a rogue miner. 3. Coober Pedy in SA has up to 2 million uncapped mine shafts. A recent survey estimated that between 10 and 28 million reptiles are falling into these cavities and are perishing every year. This has been allowed to occur over thirty years and continues with impunity. Is the RSPCA indifferent to these violations, myopic or have they been gagged? Where are the prosecutions? I applaud the author for his/her article on the Majura massacre since only community vigilance and community outrage has the capacity to halt the unnecessary and cruel slaughter of defenceless animals while successive governments commit mayhem and while our peak animal body either condones the slaughter, is oblivious to it, indifferent or remains silent on the inhumane atrocities that remain the status quo in this nation.