Adani coal mine (Queensland)

[el_draco (Rom)]

I doubt the thing will get off the ground, so to speak. Despite our moronic politicians, people have a habit of stopping these projects. Take a look at the Gunns pulp mill that was supposed to be built in Tassie. The public push back destroyed the company and wrecked the govt. The licenses to build that monstrosity were finally abandoned a couple of weeks back... Legacy? 100 hectares of damaged bush but we took down the project in the end. It beggers belief that Queenslanders continue to smash up their wilderness whilst claiming they live in paradise...

[doppler (Rick)]

Townsville council receives a 50,000 signed petition to stop the council from funding proposed Adani airport with ratepayer money. Councils response was that they were probably not Townsville residents. This was not a national Anti Adani petition, it was done on a Townsville facebook page.

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au...05a3e8069ac18b

[xelasnave]

I suppose the unfortunate aspect is if they do not get access to the coal we have the Indians will presumably buy it somewhere.

My observation simply points out the depth of the problem which really boils down to how will everyone come together world wide with a useful consensus.

alex

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

Buy real estate in Siberia.
alex

Already done (11 years ago - quite a sizeable chunk actually!)

Next suggestion?

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Originally Posted by LewisM

Already done (11 years ago - quite a sizeable chunk actually!)

Next suggestion?

Try to hang on to it if it ever really matters. (Hint: waving a title deed may not be enough)

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by pmrid

The good old days of writing to your local member are gone I'm sorry to say......
You WILL NOT get any meaningful response to the issue you have raised.

So while I applaud the sentiment, I regret that it is just micturating into the wind.

Peter

Beg to differ. I had a meeting with our local federal member about a proposed airport in my backyard. Not only was the meeting productive, it resulted in my authoring several pages of a speech she tabled in Parliament...and remains in Hansard to this day. BTW the airport didn’t get up!

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by LewisM

Already done (11 years ago - quite a sizeable chunk actually!)

Next suggestion?

Subdivide

alex

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by Camelopardalis

The big political problem - given that we have an upcoming state election in QLD - is that both sides of the house support it, despite the overwhelming majority of SE QLDers being against it.

And herein lies a major problem - who do you vote for if the Adani mine is a significant concern for you?

Whichever major party ends up forming government will no doubt claim a mandate to enact ALL of their policies, even though the opinion polls tell us there is huge disquiet out in the electorate at large over Adani. (Even in those areas in central and northern Queensland which stand to benefit from the jobs, support is nowhere near as strong as the pollies would have us believe.)

The Greens are the only party which seems to have a policy actively opposing Adani, but realistically, there are many people who would not be comfortable with the thought of a Greens-led Government - and most people will conclude that a Greens majority is really not a credible outcome, but holding a couple of seats in "the balance of power" might just happen.

I think a lot of people may vote Greens first (mainly to register a protest vote), followed by a vote for either LNP or Labor, whichever party best reflects their views on other matters. I think this will be the way I vote.

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

If you live in QLD, contact your state member and get in their face.

+1

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by pmrid

You WILL NOT get any meaningful response to the issue you have raised.

It's true that the only formal response that you get will be a form letter thanking you for your comments, explaining why [insert party name here] is the only party who can be entrusted to enact sensible legislation on [insert policy matter here], while "the other lot" are [insert list of abusive remarks here].

It's also true that the politician to whom you addressed the letter or email will almost certainly never see it; the letter will be processed by their staff, and they will pick a suitable pre-approved form letter with which to reply. In general, the form reply will be loosely related to the subject you have raised; e.g. a letter on Adani may get a response on "the environment", but it will more likely be about "jobs"; however, it is very unlikely to directly address Adani, because this will be too close to the bone for them to be sure that they aren't aggravating you further.

However, i don't think that writing to politicians is a total waste of time - if nothing else, they will surely get a weekly update, summarising the "touch points" that are concerning the electorate, how they are faring against their competitors, how many letters were received, what topics were being addressed, and whether the feedback was generally positive or negative of their position. Eventually, even the most dim-witted politician will work out that a continuous flow of letters running 10:1 against Adani poses some sort of risk to their tenure at the next election.

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Originally Posted by el_draco

Not going to make the slightest difference Alex... Have a look at the "drunken forests of Siberia"

I was about to say that.
The arctic is in big trouble. There are already massive issues with permafrost melt damaging rail, road and pipelines.
Greenland would be my proprerty investment tip. Global warming would see it return to the more balmy climate that allowed the Vikings to settle.
Hrmmmm, Olaf's real estate agency. Has a nice ring to it...

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Originally Posted by pmrid

You WILL NOT get any meaningful response to the issue you have raised.

That's not quite true.
Because of my involvement in a group protesting Melbourne's North East Link Option A, and lobbying for the ring road to be completed properly, https://www.facebook.com/NoNorthEastLinkA/ I have been offered more meetings with state MPs than I can actually attend.
Get on to your MPs. It is their job to represent you. Remind them of that fact whenever you need to.

[lazjen (Chris)]

Originally Posted by julianh72

I think a lot of people may vote Greens first (mainly to register a protest vote), followed by a vote for either LNP or Labor, whichever party best reflects their views on other matters. I think this will be the way I vote.

This type of vote is the best way to go. The minor parties have no real chance of winning many (if any) seats and it certainly sends a message to the major parties when their primary vote is down.

[The_bluester (Paul)]

Yep, my votes have gone that way for some years. I am in an extremely marginal electorate though it is marginal only in that one of the majors or the other typically takes it by a small margin, daylight to everyone else.

The major of my (Grudging) choice has to wait until my second last preference before my vote goes to them.

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by The_bluester

The major of my (Grudging) choice has to wait until my second last preference before my vote goes to them.

There's a special place at the end of my voting paper reserved for Pauline Hanson's One Nation (if they stand), then just above them come all the other looney-left / looney-right candidates.

First place will go to my protest vote, then my preferred mainstream party, then usually will be the other mainstream party (unless they've shown an inordinate amount of ineptitude in recent months).

Remember - it will generally be one of the mainstream parties that ends up forming a government (possibly with the support of some of the minors). If the electorate pushes all the mainstream parties too far down the ticket, there's a chance that the "protest vote" mentality ends up electing someone that very few people actually want in power. (Anybody remember Ricky Muir and his 0.51% of the primary vote that was enough to get into the Senate?)

Much as we all like to moan about the mainstream parties, either of them would be better than some of the alternative single-issue parties - can you imagine an Australia governed by a coalition of Family First / Motorists Party / Shooters & Fishers? (Sure, they would have the weekend issues covered with lots of good ol' huntin ' and fishin' and ol'-time religion, but there's not a lot of policy-leadership on the Monday-to-Friday issues!)

[AndrewJ]

Remember - it will generally be one of the mainstream parties that ends up forming a government

True, and they know it, which is why both parties now basically take the electorate for granted. It may just take both being thrown out and told to go away and grow up before they change their ways.

good ol' huntin ' and fishin' and ol'-time religion,there's not a lot of policy-leadership on the Monday-to-Friday issues!

And what about the current "professional parties"????
How much of what they do is based on "good ol religion" ?????
Also, just look at the current buffoonery going on with the Senate leader now losing his job because even knowing he might be suspect, he kept quiet ( probably hoping the supreme court would rule as per messiah Malcolms predictions ).
I find it funny how in 8 caught ( so far ) the leader and deputy of the nats and the leader of the senate have all gone, after clinging on for dear life. ( At least the deputy of the Greens had the decency to go early ) 4 leaders in the 8 gone???
The born to rule / i'm above the law mentality needs to be removed from some of the rusted on career pollies and corporate machines behind them, and if that means one term with someone else, so be it.

Edit, I just saw on the news that even given all that has happened, the 2 majors are refusing to have a proper audit?? Wonder why?????
The US is still running, even with Trump

Andrew

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

And I thought NZ politics was crazy .

Brian/

Originally Posted by AndrewJ

True, and they know it, which is why both parties now basically take the electorate for granted. It may just take both being thrown out and told to go away and grow up before they change their ways.

And what about the current "professional parties"????
How much of what they do is based on "good ol religion" ?????
Also, just look at the current buffoonery going on with the Senate leader now losing his job because even knowing he might be suspect, he kept quiet ( probably hoping the supreme court would rule as per messiah Malcolms predictions ).
I find it funny how in 8 caught ( so far ) the leader and deputy of the nats and the leader of the senate have all gone, after clinging on for dear life. ( At least the deputy of the Greens had the decency to go early ) 4 leaders in the 8 gone???
The born to rule / i'm above the law mentality needs to be removed from some of the rusted on career pollies and corporate machines behind them, and if that means one term with someone else, so be it.

Edit, I just saw on the news that even given all that has happened, the 2 majors are refusing to have a proper audit?? Wonder why?????
The US is still running, even with Trump

Andrew

[AstralTraveller (David)]

It just gets better!!

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-0...l-mine/9109880

If the Aust Gov't subsidies the project to the tune of $1.6billion then it will be close to being financially viable! That is to say: the project is not viable on its own merits. That should be the end of the story.

[pmrid (Peter)]

And better again:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-0...l-mine/9109880

It seems, we're allowing a Chinese company 78% state-owned to build and operate critical infrastructure in the Carmichael mine. As if leasing them Darwin Harbor wasn't bad enough!

I have had a mighty gutful of Chinese government getting into Australia and elsewhere. You have to ask what palms are being greased to make this happen with so little resistance. These are the same people who are muscling up in the South China Sea and positioning themselves to essentially control all shipping through that area, not to mention the undersea resources that are there. And the military consequences of that are huge.

Peter

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by pmrid

And better again:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-0...l-mine/9109880

It seems, we're allowing a Chinese company 78% state-owned to build and operate critical infrastructure in the Carmichael mine. As if leasing them Darwin Harbor wasn't bad enough!

I have had a mighty gutful of Chinese government getting into Australia and elsewhere. You have to ask what palms are being greased to make this happen with so little resistance. These are the same people who are muscling up in the South China Sea and positioning themselves to essentially control all shipping through that area, not to mention the undersea resources that are there. And the military consequences of that are huge.

Peter

One wonders why given what seems the publics view as to OS ownership there is still motivation by those in power to allow these opperations.

alex