Margaret Mack

A miracle has occurred. Covid19 has given the planet a reprieve from the onset of global warming. World-wide industry has been crushed and the fossil fuels which have sustained it to date are being replaced with renewable sources of energy. Our carbon footprint has been almost halved. China has inadvertently done the world favour by accidentally spreading the pandemic. We should not waste our energy on anger and bitterness. Despite the many tragic deaths that have resulted from the pandemic, many more lives may have been spared which would in future have been lost to global warming.
The fuel-guzzling, carbon- producing behemoths of cruise ships which were only recently seen as pleasure palaces are now seen as floating morgues and will probably become obsolete. Many of the outsized aircraft which pumped carbon into the skies and carried unnecessary adventure-seekers are grounded, perhaps permanently. International tourism may become a pastime of the few, and aircraft engaged primarily in passage of necessary goods and personnel. We will not lose. The argument that travel broadens the mind extends to armchair travel. Indeed, nowadays we can view a documentary and learn perhaps more intimately and accurately and certainly more safely and economically what goes on in other nations.
Other things will need to change. We must learn, as we are now learning, not to waste. Government should be frugal. In Australia it should not prop up industries which have little or no chance of survival after Covid19. Nor should it assist those industries which are destructive to society, such as Gaming. Apart from neighbourly games of poker, two-up, black-jack and the like, and bingo, which games are socially inclusive and entertaining, and the lottery, which syphons otherwise reluctant money into useful projects, gambling should be outlawed in Australia. The wealth it produces is artificial and the damage it wreaks surpasses any so-called wealth production.
We need an economy which is healthy for Australian society as a whole, rather than the capitalist-inspired economy of today. Now is the time to begin to OVERTHROW THE STATUS QUO. If our present form of government will not change the system we need to find leaders who will stand as Independents, and vote for them; Independents who will govern according to conscience for the good of the nation as a whole.
International tourism, gaming, hospitality, much of retail (which is planned obsolescence, or waste) are not truly productive industries and take away workers who could be constructively employed in useful industries like education, health, transport, construction, communications, generation of power, defence, even cleaning and the service industries.
At present, laissez-faire governments in Australia allow people to work willy-nilly at whatever will bring in cash. Without advocating socialism, I say there needs to be far more government regulation. Real estate, for instance, has been purloined for purposes of wealth-enhancement by those with money, at the expense of those who do not have the means to artificially "create" wealth. There should be far more public housing along with regulation of private rentals.
Retailers of primary produce also need regulation so that producers themselves receive just reward for their work, rather than the middle-man manipulating prices to gain artificial wealth at their expense.
We need new and expanded industries. We need to start training our present and future workforce for such employment now. Instead of subsidising unemployed non-essential workers , government should pay them to train for new careers. We need a solar space base, rapid growth in artificial intelligence, satellite communications, secondary industry and defence,as well as more and better qualified educators in all fields.
The conditions of the work force need to change. The enforced leisure time of the present, and the enforced herding of our children into full-time company of parents should make loving, caring parents appreciative of their company. It should inspire them to push back against the greedy captains of industry who presently demand that they place their infants in professional child care so they can concentrate on making money for said captains of industry.
Push back. Pressure employers to make working hours shorter and more flexible. Demand a 30 hour week to be worked at hours of the employee's choosing.
Our education system needs an overhaul which will save our aimless youth. Genius, leadership, teamwork and creativity do not spring from an arbitrary regimen of academic learning, whatever experts say. Such a system produces a process line of mediocrity and misfits. Let children be children. The "smart" ones will quickly pick up from age 5 to 6 on all the academic prowess they will need to succeed. The remainder will have time, while cloistered under the parental shadow, hopefully with siblings, kin, and neighbourhood children, to find their 'niche' and will be far more comfortable and productive human beings, able to adapt to whatever talents they or their parents and teachers may discover they do have.
Perhaps with the present enforced contemplation of values, some parents will consider whether it is more beneficial to a household, for instance, to have another bathroom, or to have another child. We need to rapidly counter the top-heavy seniority of our population, and our children need to learn other than material values. Siblings are best qualified to inadvertently teach same.
We also need to redistribute wealth in a relatively pain-free way, by rewarding the wealthy who contribute generously to society, and refusing to laud those who pursue wealth for wealth's sake, and are lasciviously spendthrift and wasteful.
I am writing suggestions and advice, for perhaps the last time.
My vision is fading fast and it is a struggle to see the print as I type. I believe I shall have to find another way to reach my supporters in the future should you need further guidance.
May The Force be with you, whatever you conceive The Force to be.

The Corona Virus is a blessing for the free world. It has forced the minimisation of the carbon footprint that was allegedly threatening the planet. It has forced the closure of the borders of nation state against the onslaught of global organisations governed by faceless men. It is sorting out essential services from those which cause pollution and waste. It is sorting out work conditions to make labour more comfortable, efficient and productive. It is sorting out family and social life. Enforced isolation is making us more appreciative of family and neighbours.

Now the deluge! Maybe climate change will bring rain to our deserts. perhaps climate change isn't all bad.

David Attenborough needs to put a sock in it. He's achieving nothing but causing panic for others, particularly the young, and notoriety for himself. He has enough fame without being greedy for more. The third world countries where the problem of over-population lies don't her his silly rantings, and wouldn't stop spawning children if they did. Having children is their major source of income and work asset, especially in old age. It's all very well for D.A. and other prosperous patricians in the west to pontificate about saving the planet for the future. Third world people are flat out saving themselves in the present. Let's hear a bit more about hope and resilience and resourcefulness and what we can do to mitigate the results of climate change rather than futilely trying to stop it. If we stop the western world from advancing and producing, if we stop progress, the third world will take over, and civilisation will regress.

Sco-Mo has finally done what fire chiefs have been begging him to do, called in the army. But of course the power-drunk states and the opposition are finding fault even with that decision. At least he finally made a decision. Pity he's now crowing about it, but at least he has made it, and rain has finally fallen, almost as if in approval of the miracle of his decision. Roll on the 2022 election. We certainly need a few changes in the political arena, not just a change of government to Labor, with tail wagged by the Greens, but a real change. Labor will be same old, same old. No new ideas, just three more years of a government trying to stay in power by doing as little as possible to offend anyone. Has anyone put his/her hand up yet as an Independent? I know we wouldn't hear about it in the media if they have.

With the horrific fires still blazing in several states, we need leadership,but we are not going to get it from our present politicians. We need firemen, farmers, graziers and indigenous folk who know the lore of the land to step up and seize leadership. Two heads are better than one, and several are better than two. Regrettably I am too old and feeble to take on any leadership role. I am 75 years old and have several ailments which would prevent my doing so now. I was not listened to years ago but get no satisfaction from saying "I told you so". This is no time for laying blame or point-scoring. This is a time for co-operation, or of taking over if government will do nothing. I don't mean law-breaking, just seizing the initiative. Australia is unique in its problems with climate change. Our carbon foot print is minimal and there is nothing we can do to make leaders in other nations reduce their carbon footprints. All we can do is lessen the ramifications of climate change here: drought and bushfires. Shortage of water in some places balanced by an excess in others could surely be exploited by engineers with ingenuity. State politicians will not cease squabbling over water rights. Once we have the power in government it might be a good idea to transfer that power entirely to the federal government, but for now we have to negotiate with power-drunk state pollies to get a fair share for all, especially in the Murray-
Darling. We need to rethink the absurd practice of having untouched national parks everywhere. Undergrowth needs to be trampled under. The Australian bush is for using. It is very pleasant to have parks to look at, but the majority of national parks we have now are inaccessible to the average joe. It is only Green philosophy which keeps them in existence - and it is very green philosophy. The present fires are creating more of a carbon footprint than any amount of coal burning, so the Green philosophy has been counter-productive. We need to clear and settle the regional areas. We need dams. We need employment. We need people. Will someone please step up and TELL the dumb ass of a 'big chief' what we should be doing instead of begging HIM to do something? That only goes to his head, and he frankly doesn't know what to do. He just likes the heady power of being asked. ( I shall leave that in as a sign of my frustration, but it was an unfair call. Morrison is not in charge of fire mitigation - the states are, and there is little he can do to intervene. All the more reason for us to get Independents in parliament who will draw up and offer to the people a new Constitution which gives more power to Federal Government, and maybe even abolishes the states. Problem is, councils are sometimes more parochial than state governments. Meantime we are left with a horrific bushfire and drought problem.)

It is obvious at the close of the 2019 Federal Parliamentary sittings that Party politics is a shambles. The main aim of the Party in power is to stay in power, by whatever means, and the main aim of the Opposition is to obstruct them by whatever means. The good of the people of the nation goes by the board. It's time to OVERTHROW THE STATUS QUO and institute a kind of government that is more democratic, more in touch with the people. We need a government of Independents. (See my website: revolutionforclimatechange.com. for details.)