FAITH LOST IN PARTY POLITICS
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Observant citizens will already have noticed how often the Coalition is shutting down debate on legislation before Parliament. Eleven times in a single morning recently, opposition members were stopped from speaking on legislation.
The Australia Institute's enquiry into the government's proposed early tax cuts has found that 91 per cent of benefits will flow to the wealthy. This was pushed through with the help of Labor. Party politics is no longer serving the interests of the majority of Australians, but only that of the parties themselves and their rich benefactors.
Last winter, ex-fire chief Greg Mullins, along with ex-fire chiefs from five states, saw what was coming for the 2019-20 summer, that it would be supercharged through climate generated events and that Australia was unprepared to deal with it.
When they submitted their report to government they were ignored. Repeatedly. Then the fire season erupted in exactly the disastrous and unprecedented way they had predicted. The Guardian reports that a study by the Ecological Society has found that a large number of Australian scientists are "being prevented from speaking openly about findings and their advice is being suppressed by government and industry when it comes to the impacts of logging, mining, land clearing and climate change".
What is being done to our democracy when qualified experts are being wilfully blocked from informing the public?
And don't get me started on the Liberal's savage funding cuts that are crippling our national broadcaster - in order to reduce media surveillance of government.
No wonder citizens - here and overseas - are forming "grassroots democracy" groups to give voters a chance to freely state what they want and need in their electorate.
No party politics. Issues only and all views listened to with respect. So that an independent can be chosen who will genuinely represent those issues. Voices for Riverina is now forming for just that purpose. You can check them out under V4R on Facebook.
It's our democracy to use. Or to lose.
Bob Montgomery, Mount Austin
EMPTY PROMISES ON GAS COSTS
When Malcolm Turnbull was the prime minister, he and his energy minister continually promised a fall in our gas and electricity costs. When Scott Morrison became PM he too, along with his energy minister, espoused these promises.
Occasionally our own Michael McCormack promised reductions.
I have $37 a fortnight deducted from our credit card to balance out our usage and our last gas account showed a nominal $29 owing and a decrease of 10.3 per cent in usage over the past year.
The average usage from November 2019 to June 2020 was about 40 megajoules and the usage from June 2020 to September 2020 was 175 MJ (winter months).
Now the gas company are increasing our fortnightly payments from $37 to $50 - a 30 per cent increase - based, I assume, on the higher usage over the past three months, ignoring the nine months of very low usage.
I can now assume we are heading for a massive increase in gas prices, despite what our politicians have promised, or I, plus thousands of other users, will build up massive credit with the company which could total millions and millions of dollars.