Climate Action Hobart https://www.facebook.com/ClimateActionHobart/

Climate Action Hobart http://www.climateactionhobart.org/

ICAN https://www.facebook.com/ICANAusPol/

ICAN https://i-c-a-n.com.au/

ICAN https://twitter.com/ican_now

This blog will continue to grow, at least until after the next election:

(Independents & meaningful cross-benchers)

ACT Senate https://www.anthonypesec.com.au/ @AnthonyPesec

The framers of the Australian Constitution envisaged ordinary people spending one or two terms in parliament and then returning to their normal lives. What we've ended up with is a political elite who make careers out of being in parliament, and their main aim is "to be continually elected and stay on the gravy train".

Every four years (state elections NSW), and every three years (Federally), we elect halfwits (sometimes with allegations of criminal behaviour) who are no smarter than we are, and we expect them to sensibly govern on behalf of us.

Amid blackout scare stories, remember that a grid without power cuts is impossible... and expensive

Dylan McConnell, University of Melbourne

Introduction

The Commonwealth, through the ACCC, have highlighted the fact that (a) greater consumer power and (b) lower marginal cost of supply are two ways of reducing electricity costs to consumers. I'm proposing that (c) consumer trading in electricity is an enabler for greater competition in both the electricity supply markets and the electricity retail markets.

This is a proposal for community decision making bodies based on FOWTOR regions. One could argue that the current division of Australia into states and territories was really an accident of history, and is not an ideal division of authority. The recent problems with water flows down the Murray, and the difficulty of getting state agreements on water use, highlights at least one problem with the current state/territory divisions.

What I am proposing is 'citizen parliaments' for each FOWTOR region.  

Synopsis

• The crisis Australia is suffering did not start with the dropping by China. We have been suffering this for decades. But the China crisis brings it to a head.
• This crisis in dealing with waste calls for new initiatives and for a new era in which real bi-(multi-)partisan cooperation is a real possibility.
• The COAG get together of ministers for the environment is a real opportunity to take a completely new approach.

Well that was a year, that was! 2016? The year that they destroyed the meaning of the word #Census. And now we understand it was the year that they destroyed the meaning of the word #Centrelink, too.

2016. The #Censusfail year and the #Centrelinkfail year.

The number of people that have enough money to benefit from ‘neoliberalism’ is vanishingly small, compared with the number that don’t.