Growth is greed
Who can forget the grimly comedic act of Scott Morrison brandishing a lump of coal in Parliament, flanked by a sniggering Christopher Pyne and a belly-laughing Barnaby Joyce?
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Black humour indeed.
"It's coal. It won't hurt you!" chortled our PM.
A predecessor, Tony Abbott, had infamously proclaimed "The science of climate change is crap!"
However the world's reputable scientific community and enlightened governments had a far more informed opinion, which disagreed with that of our PM, et al.
As millions worldwide recently protested the extinction of species, "How dare we!," the supposedly most highly developed species of all, humans, continued to trash the wonderful mechanism of the ecosystem.
All those other species, from the tiniest organisms in the mangroves, to the insects, birds, right through to the great blue whale and the lumbering elephant know their special place in the big picture, taking only what they need to survive and reproduce, and leaving a healthy habitat for others.
Australians appear to be slaves to Morrison's mantra "Jobs and Growth". Remember that?
And "Growth is Good!"
I say, sorry, but it ain't good. Except for property developers and other assorted capitalists.
Our selfishness, greed, and our disrespect for the Earth is appalling. This abuse can't go on forever.
The animal and plant kingdoms must be conserved for future generations. If not our future, theirs. Animals don't belong in zoos, and forests do indeed grow on trees.
The long and horrendous summer bushfire season, July to February, euphemistically called our "Black Summer" by the PM (to suggest it was akin to a Black Friday and therefore nothing new?) roused the ire, disbelief, and sympathy of people all over the world.
We were all, universally, horrified not just by the dreadful loss of human life and property, but by the terror and destruction wrought on our wildlife as they and their habitats were incinerated.
Koalas and roos naturally were the centre of attention. But what of the insects, the birds, the reptiles?
Here's a proposition surely all Australians will agree with in principle.
For the next ten years we devote 0.3 per cent of GDP, (that's 4 billion per annum, far less that we're "Investing" in already obsolete submarines), to the conservation of native flora and fauna and their habitats.
Just call the fund NOX (No Extinction), to be managed not by politicians, but by experienced, ardent conservationists.
Redeployment of loggers, woodchippers, saw millers, coal miners, etc. would smartly evolve into sustainable jobs in tourism, conservation, plantation forestry, renewable energy, water resources and so on.
Our remarkable flora and fauna are stunning, valued the world over. We must cherish all of it.
Yet we can't seem to grasp that "Growth is Good" really means "Growth is Greed".
Kent Mayo, Uralla