Opinion Politics (warning, may contain political views you disagree with)

[poshman]

Just checking, you know you're not in the US right?

You know that what happens in the US is often a precursor to what happens here? Culturally and economically.

Also - there has been a heap of anti conservative stuff here, now the Dems are struggling suddenly no one is interested.

 

[poshman]

Just wanted to Congratulate you on working to making a difference in this world and talking common sense on how a committed and open eyed government should lead us.

We deserve a Government with ideals like yours.

Not a spin doctor clown Fossil Fool vigorously defending Coal as the way for decades to come as he did today with his croney Old King coal standing beside him.

Is it Fossil Fuels as a whole or just Coal you don't like?

What do you think we should do? Would you eliminate all Fossil Fuels?

I don't like Coal, but do think it has helped many nations. I also think we should go Nuclear and that Fracking has been a positive thing.

Before I get the typical response - I am not a 'Climate Denier' and have on this thread stated what I am doing personally to help the problem long term, mainly through investment in Bee related companies and a couple of companies that are trying to find ways of storing solar power for long periods.

I see a lot of people passionately mention Climate Change but would like to see ideas. Ideas and how to execute them are far more interesting to me than having a shot at pollies who are all pretty much crap.

 

[Dockers v Channel7West]

Is it Fossil Fuels as a whole or just Coal you don't like?

What do you think we should do? Would you eliminate all Fossil Fuels?

I don't like Coal, but do think it has helped many nations. I also think we should go Nuclear and that Fracking has been a positive thing.

Before I get the typical response - I am not a 'Climate Denier' and have on this thread stated what I am doing personally to help the problem long term, mainly through investment in Bee related companies and a couple of companies that are trying to find ways of storing solar power for long periods.

I see a lot of people passionately mention Climate Change but would like to see ideas. Ideas and how to execute them are far more interesting to me than having a shot at pollies who are all pretty much crap.

I just watched Twiggy Forrest on CNN (my favourite left channel) who said his company uses a Billion litres of fuel a year on plant machinery and which he is replacing with green hydrogen in the near future which is a great start.
Twiggy has given presentations on the opportunities greenHydrogen will present in the near future including employment
The Prime Minister for NSW is ignoring him and is only interested in the now for Jobs in NSW QLd and his job next year and is "happyly clapping" for coal and has no intention of incentivising or encouraging greener optiond so I am happy to take pot shots at him and Barny every chance I get.
I've Never been a greeny or lefty in the past but the embarrassing display of our Govt at the climate summit is sending me that way.

These are the things I think about whilst driving my Govt diesel V 8 vehicle around and like most not prepared to pay 60k plus for an electric vehicle so there is a tinge of hypocracy on my behalf.
Perhaps most would be more likely to buy electric with incentive and infrastructure..
But yeah I hate coal

 

[Clems Knee]

These are the things I think about whilst driving my Govt diesel V 8 vehicle around and like most not prepared to pay 60k plus for an electric vehicle so there is a tinge of hypocracy on my behalf.
Perhaps most would be more likely to buy electric with incentive and infrastructure..
But yeah I hate coal

If you want to keep greenhouse emissions from reaching the point of no return, then clearly the coal industry needs to stop. There is enough coal waiting to be burnt in Australia alone to make the world’s average temperatures go up by up to 5 degrees.

But changing existing diesel vehicles won’t make so much difference. It’s probably better to keep a car going for a few more years before replacing it with a new car, that takes a heap of energy cost to build and source materials for.
It might be better for the government to spend its money phasing out coal power and export, along with compensations, rather than commit to the infrastructure of electric cars.

 

[Taylor]

If we had gone into nuclear power generation and technology development we would be discussing whether to use the excess power to create and sell hydrogen or just make more fresh water to pump into drier than desired river systems.

 

[poshman]

I just watched Twiggy Forrest on CNN (my favourite left channel) who said his company uses a Billion litres of fuel a year on plant machinery and which he is replacing with green hydrogen in the near future which is a great start.
Twiggy has given presentations on the opportunities greenHydrogen will present in the near future including employment
The Prime Minister for NSW is ignoring him and is only interested in the now for Jobs in NSW QLd and his job next year and is "happyly clapping" for coal and has no intention of incentivising or encouraging greener optiond so I am happy to take pot shots at him and Barny every chance I get.
I've Never been a greeny or lefty in the past but the embarrassing display of our Govt at the climate summit is sending me that way.

These are the things I think about whilst driving my Govt diesel V 8 vehicle around and like most not prepared to pay 60k plus for an electric vehicle so there is a tinge of hypocracy on my behalf.
Perhaps most would be more likely to buy electric with incentive and infrastructure..
But yeah I hate coal

The entire summit was an embarrassment. We already incentivise 'green' energy solutions. There is some doubt as to how green electric cars are short and long term. Elon has discussed this at different times.

Re: Coal.

I haven't seen a coherent plan for sustainable, reliable power without it. And I have been looking and had staff looking. I agree that in an ideal world it needs to be phased out, but have seen nothing that answers the sustainable/reliable questions.

I would have thought the most embarrassing performance at the summit was from a lefty... by far.

 

[salim malik]

bahahaahaaaa

So you have a lefty journo who has great credibility and published books about his hate for Trump and a left paper and still it is a cover up?

Jan 6 - waiting for the charges to be laid. There has been and is ongoing talk about it. You have Dems in charge, both laying charges in the case of those who lied about Trump and in charge of laying charges or not against those on Jan 6.

Who exactly is covering up the Russia stuff?

Did you read the articles?

It should not be partisan that we are all disgusted by the Dems and Dem led media.

Has Trump destroyed the paedophile rings that keep thousands of children in tunnels under the major cities of the world yet ?

 

[Big Animal]

What was the reason why you thought your "industry" deserved government investment. Its not clear from your post how your business was involved in lowering carbon emissions.

Also regarding nuclear energy - the major problem seems to be that it will take 20 years to build a nuclear power plant.

It doesn't have to. But as I provided with the covid example, if you want change to be turbocharged which appears to be case now with climate change going by the political and media interest, that is the only real way. Another example, three of my clients have different focuses in producing biodegradable or compostable plastics which can replace the fossil fuel plastics we currently use day to day. They also can replace the corn starch requirement for current PLAs with alternative sources that don't replace food crops, use less water, fertiliser and power. Each of those is going to chug along while they get private investment at different points but it's going to take quite a while. It's up to us to see what is important enough to put our money into. There wouldn't be many industries that don't get some kind of govt funding whether through tax breaks, or some other form. Even our large miners who make insane amounts of money from "Western Australian's minerals" get fuel subsidies while we pay top dollar at the pumps. It's not a new concept.

 

[poshman]

Has Trump destroyed the paedophile rings that keep thousands of children in tunnels under the major cities of the world yet ?

Hahaaha fair call.

I do like how there are no lefties on here willing to call out their side for garbage, conservatives are willing to do so. Interesting.

 

[Square Peg]

Hahaaha fair call.

I do like how there are no lefties on here willing to call out their side for garbage, conservatives are willing to do so. Interesting.

Well I still consider myself a lefty but that's because I'm anchored in the past of what I thought it meant to be left. The modern left identity politics/microaggression/cancel culture bullshit is anathema to me. So does that mean I'm a lefty calling out my side for garbage, or am I now just a righty?
Not comparing myself to his brilliance of course, but the life trajectory of Christopher Hitchens is something I can see a few people from my era of the left including myself have followed. Closer to home and more down to earth than the lofty genius of Hitchens, someone like Peter Baldwin has written about how he has gone from a warrior of the left to not having a clue about the left anymore.
Yes the irony of us all being old/dead white men isn't lost on me.

 

[poshman]

Well I still consider myself a lefty but that's because I'm anchored in the past of what I thought it meant to be left. The modern left identity politics/microaggression/cancel culture bullshit is anathema to me. So does that mean I'm a lefty calling out my side for garbage, or am I now just a righty?
Not comparing myself to his brilliance of course, but the life trajectory of Christopher Hitchens is something I can see a few people from my era of the left including myself have followed. Closer to home and more down to earth than the lofty genius of Hitchens, someone like Peter Baldwin has written about how he has gone from a warrior of the left to not having a clue about the left anymore.
Yes the irony of us all being old/dead white men isn't lost on me.

There are a lot of people who feel the same way... my older lefty mates who by todays standards are no longer lefty are all bemused by the amount of corporates now on the side of the new left.

Appreciate the thoughtful post. And hopefully it becomes anathema to more and more people.

 

[Taylor]

We're concurrently living in a world where we are at the peak of humanity ever but also needing to drive harder for better more than ever before, with simple messages and messaging designed to stir people up.

Progressive politics needs to make the now seem bad. Conservative politics needs to make the now seem worth protecting.

We only really started going over the edge when the drive to the extreme ends left almost everyone standing in the middle with the far right calling anyone who likes any social spending a communist and the left calling anyone to their right akin to a nazi.

Again, almost everyone in right in the middle.

We live in the best country in the world, it's worth protecting... because our left wing governments built a really good framework.

 

[stax on the mull]

It doesn't have to. But as I provided with the covid example, if you want change to be turbocharged which appears to be case now with climate change going by the political and media interest, that is the only real way. Another example, three of my clients have different focuses in producing biodegradable or compostable plastics which can replace the fossil fuel plastics we currently use day to day. They also can replace the corn starch requirement for current PLAs with alternative sources that don't replace food crops, use less water, fertiliser and power. Each of those is going to chug along while they get private investment at different points but it's going to take quite a while. It's up to us to see what is important enough to put our money into. There wouldn't be many industries that don't get some kind of govt funding whether through tax breaks, or some other form. Even our large miners who make insane amounts of money from "Western Australian's minerals" get fuel subsidies while we pay top dollar at the pumps. It's not a new concept.

OK, that's a more general answer about how goverment invests or should invest money.

Why I asked my questions was because you wrote something that suggested that some of the carbon tax should have been used to invest in some specific projects you were involved in.

" And don't get me started on a carbon tax. Gillard's one was a joke. My industry hardly saw a cent of it. It was business as usual scrapping around for investment. All the money just went into the usual govt coffers."

Some of the money was used to offset increase in utilities bills. As a low income earner I noticed a modest increase in my utility bills (nothing on the scale of the 26% increase in electricy prices WA when Buswell delivered his first treasury budget). but nothing significant - but I also did not notice a massive reduction in cost of living expenses when the carbon tax was removed.

Where the rest of the money from the carbon tax was spent I couldn't say, but its hard to judge the efficacy a policy that only was in place for 2 years.

BTW, I do get that what was being implemented with the introduction of the carbon tax was a chance to do very little as an alternative to doing nothing at all.

 

[salim malik]

OK, that's a more general answer about how goverment invests or should invest money.

Why I asked my questions was because you wrote something that suggested that some of the carbon tax should have been used to invest in some specific projects you were involved in.

" And don't get me started on a carbon tax. Gillard's one was a joke. My industry hardly saw a cent of it. It was business as usual scrapping around for investment. All the money just went into the usual govt coffers."

Some of the money was used to offset increase in utilities bills. As a low income earner I noticed a modest increase in my utility bills (nothing on the scale of the 26% increase in electricy prices WA when Buswell delivered his first treasury budget). but nothing significant - but I also did not notice a massive reduction in cost of living expenses when the carbon tax was removed.

Where the rest of the money from the carbon tax was spent I couldn't say, but its hard to judge the efficacy a policy that only was in place for 2 years.

BTW, I do get that what was being implemented with the introduction of the carbon tax was a chance to do very little as an alternative to doing nothing at all.

Gillard charged the big polluters, Abbot scrapped it when he got into power and the tax payers paid the big polluters in carbon credits.
Go figure , Gillards plan was never a tax admitted to now by Credlin and Abbott but for some reason the plebs in Australia accept the idea of the tax payer paying off big business.
Dumb shits are the voting public.

 

[Dockeroo]

This is just wrong. Plain and simple. There is literally no endpoint to this madness.

 

[yakamoto]

Border restrictions seem quite reasonable to me. Two doses of vaccine, self quarantine, testing - what’s the problem?

 

[Purple Jesus]

This is just wrong. Plain and simple. There is literally no endpoint to this madness.

Not sure what the issue is. Get vaccinated if you want to travel or stfu?

 

[freo_leo29]

This is just wrong. Plain and simple. There is literally no endpoint to this madness.

Wouldn't be a closure if we had hit our vaccine rates, blame the public for now

IF we hit our rates and we still get closures then we can start blaming the Gov

 

[Dockeroo]

What on earth do fully vaccinated people need to do another 2 weeks of quarantine?! I mean, they have just done 2 weeks in Howard springs and they have to do it all again in WA because of a handful of cases elsewhere in the NT.
Love to see the “science” behind this one.

 

[Taylor]

What on earth do fully vaccinated people need to do another 2 weeks of quarantine?! I mean, they have just done 2 weeks in Howard springs and they have to do it all again in WA because of a handful of cases elsewhere in the NT.
Love to see the “science” behind this one.

The current medical advice is "WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH STAFF TO SERVICE ALL THE BEDS BEFORE AND NOW WE HAVE EVEN LESS, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE PLEASE DON'T BRING IN COVID-19 AT ALL - WE CAN'T HANDLE CURRENT EMERGENCY DEMAND!!"

The government needs to be as sure as possible that we don't have any cases here contributing to a problem that existed prior to covid-19 and has been exacerbated by it.

The unavoidable suffering level in WA will be higher because of it if covid-19 is loose in the community.

It's been a problem for a very, very long time with people wearing all different colour ties - but maybe after this we can get that resolved, even if it means we need to start offering medical tourist visas into WA to utilise the added capability we build into our system.

 

[Piggy Smalls]

I just came here to say that Scott Morrison is probably the least capable world leader in action at the moment. He comes across a lazy, inept and totally out of his depth manager who wouldn’t exert even the tiniest amount of authority in his own home, let alone his party, the country or the international stage. Hes only our Prime Minister because Shorten is so stupid he thought he’d go to the election with a socialist agenda. This country is ******* doomed. Education is falling behind the rest of the world, his carbon neutral bluprint looks like it was a year 10 science project, broadband is quicker in Estonia than it is in Australia and he or his party can’t deal with China because they can’t take the emotion out of anything they do. But I suppose having a vast vocabulary and a world class ability to talk s**t for hours and say nothing at all is really all it takes to be a pollie these days.
I just wanted to get that off my chest.

 

[Taylor]

broadband is quicker in Estonia than it is in Australia

It should be by average connection. It would be safe to suggest that a single state of Australia, except Tasmania, would have more kms of connection required to connect people to it than the entire nation of Estonia.

Just like how we would have better services for everyone if everyone lived in a single block of flats and didn't have our city so spread out that you can spend an hour and a half on the freeway and still be in the metro area.

 

[poshman]

I just came here to say that Scott Morrison is probably the least capable world leader in action at the moment. He comes across a lazy, inept and totally out of his depth manager who wouldn’t exert even the tiniest amount of authority in his own home, let alone his party, the country or the international stage. Hes only our Prime Minister because Shorten is so stupid he thought he’d go to the election with a socialist agenda. This country is ******* doomed. Education is falling behind the rest of the world, his carbon neutral bluprint looks like it was a year 10 science project, broadband is quicker in Estonia than it is in Australia and he or his party can’t deal with China because they can’t take the emotion out of anything they do. But I suppose having a vast vocabulary and a world class ability to talk sh*t for hours and say nothing at all is really all it takes to be a pollie these days.
I just wanted to get that off my chest.

haha this cannot be a completely honest assessment if you are not including Biden... Biden fell asleep during the summit, shortly after saying this was an end of the world type problem.

As to China - not many on the world stage are dealing with them well. We need a more united front, led from a group of western nations.

Having said all that - not happy with Scomo either, I just don't think we are being honest if we believe he is worse than a guy who can't get through half a speech without blurring words and looking deeply confused. Not much to compare to though is it.

 

[Piggy Smalls]

Ok so I’ve exaggerated a little to convey just how underwhelmed I am with Scott.

 

[JBMAN]

haha this cannot be a completely honest assessment if you are not including Biden... Biden fell asleep during the summit, shortly after saying this was an end of the world type problem.

As to China - not many on the world stage are dealing with them well. We need a more united front, led from a group of western nations.

Having said all that - not happy with Scomo either, I just don't think we are being honest if we believe he is worse than a guy who can't get through half a speech without blurring words and looking deeply confused. Not much to compare to though is it.

Could be much worse, could be Albanese.