I think your right on the money with your post. Well said.

Aaaaahhh, and I’d thought I’d ‘got that one through to the keeper’.

An outrageously inaccurate statement, I’ve been studying WWF media tactics for too long.

Bob’s response to Garnaut (he took the lead since Christine was / is overseas on World Conservation Union business) ran across a broad range of media, including SBS and commercial TV, various radio newses and all the leading press. Media Monitors consistently has Bob in the top 20 pollies by media coverage, which, considering he shares media with the 4 other Greens Senators (something neither Fielding nor Xenophon have to do) is quite an impressive result.

Bob chooses to write letters to the editor as well because he likes to do so.

I fervently hope the rest of what you write is based on more solid evidence than this, mate.

the answer to your question:

“Steve how on earth has the Australia – US trade agreement been good for Australia’s economy?”

Is two words – China, Resources. which is mostly what is insulating us from the world wide financial crisis (our balance of trade figures were in the positive by about 1.3 billion last month)

I actually said free trade / deregulation has been disastrous for rural & regional Australia and farmers. as I pointed out in a comment elsewhere, we have lost 11,000 farming families in the last decade.

Your comment about the me too ism of Rudd and Howard is also spot on. I’m well aware of work choices lite, but at least its not work choices which was a policy of a government who had lost touch with Australians. It was ulta right wing stuff.

Don’t forget that the Federal nationals went into the last election with 12 seats and canmme out with 10 – that is now down to 9. The reason for that is because rural and regional people have deserted them in droves because of their sell out to the right wing free traders in the dominant Liberal Party.

If you were a longtime disillusioned conservative voter at the last election who else do you propose they should have voted for except the only serious alternative that could form a government. I suppose they could have adopted a stance of they are both so similar that a vote for one is the same as a vote for the other.

I think many disillusion conservatives did that at the ‘94 election and look where that got them – more of the same only worse, by that time the conservatives were so entrenched they’d stopped listening to anybody.

Cheers

I’m not actually arguing that the climate is not changing. Farmers have always had to adapt to changes in the climate or go broke. Its that simple. During the second world war drought 1937-1945 it just did not rain for 8 years anywhere in Eastern Australia.

Thousands of farmers were forced to just walk off. Of course that mother of all droughts broke and the land was bought up by others from the banks.

If what the IPCC is telling us is correct and time will tell farmers will also have to adapt or history will repeat itself.

What farmers have to fear more than the predicted climate change is the ETS.

But how do you survive in any business (let alone farming) for decades when an ETS reduces your profit by 100%.

The 100% is ABARE’s prediction. Farmers are not trying to duck away for doing there bit, they are just trying to stay in business.

That is what Garnaut is referring to when he says Structural Change. The last time farmers heard him say that was when like now he did the research and modeling to adopt free trade. He said at the time Australia should lead the way and the rest of the world would follow.

A decade on and 7 world free trade conferences they still have not. In that time 11,000 farming families have left the industry and rural communities are just a shadow of there former selves.

The way it looks the ETS will have a greater impact on the viability of farmers and rural communities than free trade.

I’m sorry to be so grim about it, but when ABARE and Garnaut himself are predicting this – its hard not to be.

Oh by the way I used to live just North Of Goyders line. Did you know that the original Goyder was the first Surveyor General of South Australia and that his great grand son is none of than the CEO of Wesfarmers Richard Goyder.

Just an interesting bit of trivia for a Friday arvo.

Cheers mate

Even if there is a real chance that the mainstream science is wrong what are your contingency plans for agriculture if it is right, or do you think all farmers should just blindly bet the farm against climate change?

I was wondering what affect you think global warming of the type described by Garnaut will have on things like rainfall reliability and temperature and
a) consequent feed availability for pasture fed cattle and sheep, and general water supplies for country towns and farms
b) average levels of subsoil moisture and the impact on crops,
c) water supplies for general irrigation licence holders in the main irrigation regions of the country.

If Garnaut and the mainstream science is correct, where will the Goyder line move to by 2020 and 2050?

If the mainstream science is correct, how many country towns will die/substantially contract as agriculture diminishes in some major regions?

Even doubters should consider the possibility they might be wrong, get analysis of what they will face if they are wrong, and prepare contingency plans.

Betting the farm is one thing, doing it blindly without analysing the impacts if mainstream science is correct would, imho, be quite another thing.

Cheers
Paul

Thanks for that. I agree with you that Australians in general have a highly developed bullshit metre. Thats exactly why we have the Senate we have now after the debacle of the previous 3 years. Also why people read Crikey I might ad. (I’m not even paid to say that )

You are so right about this:

“they voted for Vaile and supported Howard with the US limited trade deal didn’t they? How much has that cost our farmers?”

It is a policy that has been good for Australia’s economy but devastating for rural and regional communities. But hey we worked it out by the last election. I personally for the first time in my life voted Labor federally because of the ‘free trade’ deception and work choices.

Yes and you are correct in stating that those things COULD happen and we should do what we can to avert them. But paying $5 billion dollars in a carbon tax a year plus 4% + CPI each year for a Tax that will deliver zero benefit to the global environment is just not on.

Only 20% of that goes back into research and development. Oh thats 20% of whats left after we pay for the huge bureaucracy that will be set up to administer it.

It is bullshit, a government tax grab in green cloth. We will cut our emissions by developing low cost alternative energy and technologies, then export it too the world.

Carbon trading has done nothing to reduce emissions in the world, it is nothing more than bestowing subsidies on selected emitters.

Carbon offsetting is nothing more than a scam. It actually reminds me of the medieval period when the Church was the world governing body and conducted the sale of indulgences.

Cheers mate…

As I said mate I admire your optimism. Garnaut also instigated Australia’s free trade reforms starting 2 decades ago. We lead the world in this and Garnaut was sure they’d follow. Two decades on and another failed round of talks – we are still without a global trade agreement, even when it would free up food supplies for millions of poor people.

It is in the best interest of the globe that we have a free trade agreement – yet none still exists. thats why I can’t share your optimism. But I 100% hope you are correct.

Look forward to reading your post.

Cheers mate – Your agmate – Steve