farmdoc's blog post number 110

Mole Creek is in the Federal electorate of Lyons, so it’s my privilege to be a constituent of Dick Adams MP. In last Monday’s mail was the latest issue of his newsletter: Lyons Leader. Behold, on page 3 is a climate change article titled ‘Don’t Wait For Government – We Can Do It!’ and a list of ‘Fuel Saving Tips’. The content is okay. But Adams is an ex union hack who doesn’t exude above average intellect or insight; and as a fervent supporter of loggers, he’s yesterday’s man. So I resent his advice on how to run my life. I’ve previously written about ‘What can one person do?’ And the answer is: much. But parliamentarians are there to legislate big decisions. And the biggest climate change decision is to stop burning coal. Adams should focus on that. He won’t; but George Monbiot has, and in his excellent blog entry he writes of the UK: ‘Every man and woman with backbone was purged from this government years ago, leaving those who know how to appease the interests that might threaten them. These people won’t stand up to business, even when the future prospects of mankind are at stake’. It’s the same in Australia. The moment our government has killed the coal industry, I’ll consider heeding its patronising advice. Until then, Dick Adams will remain yesterday’s man.