(We) can do better

The simplest definition of a zoonosis is a disease that can be transmitted from other vertebrate animals to humans. A slightly more technical definition is a disease that normally infects other animals, but can also infect humans. The majority of pathogen species causing disease in humans are zoonotic - estimated at 75% of all human diseases in Australia. Wildlife species can also serve as natural hosts for certain diseases that affect humans (zoonoses).

One hope out of the avoidable tragedy of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires and out of the political football of the Brumby Royal Commission is that public will demand a paradigm shift in Australian bushfire fighting resourcing and standards.

One of the fundamental changes must be to force a leap frog from post-World War II bushfire detection to state-of-the-art 21st Century remote sensing of ignitions. The current system which relies upon the CFA relying upon members of the public to call 000 to report bushfires is substandard fire-fighting practice and unacceptable. Allowing ignitions to burn out of control in remote locations and blow up into fire fronts is also substandard fire-fighting practice and unacceptable.

A report by ABC journalist, Jane Cowan, 1-Jul-09, 'Bushfire lawyers blast CFA's Rees' states that lawyers assisting Brumby's Royal Commission into the 2009 Victorian Bushfires have in an interim report concluded that the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) was ill-prepared for 'Black Saturday'.

The public are finding democratic ways to combat the devastation of all they hold dear and threats to life itself, as Victoria's government closes its eyes and steps as hard on the growth-accelerator as it can. You may already know about the requisitioning of 50,000 ha for residential development and new roads and the government's intention to simply take away our green wedges and get rid of our wildlife and trees. Yes our democracy is being trampled along with everything else, but we have not entirely lost people power.

And you thought "Rats in the Ranks" was nasty ...
More on the people involved in the fast-approaching, undemocratic Repco Rally in Queensland's world heritage Green Caldera

Australia needs to stem population growth to address climate change - expert warns. “Australia is a disgrace. We have one of the highest rates of population growth of any developed country. What are we going to do about it?” says Professor Roger Short, Melbourne University.
Australia's population is increasing by about one person every two minutes. [Apologies from Editor: we have just changed the title to reflect the real speed of pop growth -i.e. not two more people every minute, but one more person every two minutes.]

A few years ago the government overhauled its definition of tax-deductible groups and effectively outlawed independent political activism in tax-deductible environmental (and other) groups. What the government was saying was, 'We are not going to fund our potential enemies' political campaigns.'

This was the point where a lot of organisations should probably have decided to ditch their tax-deductibility status because our environment and wildlife protection are so threatened by government-supported corporate development that environmental activism generally requires opposition to most government programs.

Disappointed in government departments and ministers, environmental organisations and other NGOs often try to take their cause to the mainstream press. But this is usually just as problematic in the end. Why? See also: Tax-deductibility and Environmental Groups & NGOs

A media release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last September (2008) reported:

'Net overseas migration to Australia highest on record: ABS'

"Australia's net overseas migration is at an all time high, according to figures released today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). In the year ended March 2008, net overseas migration to Australia of just under 200,000 people accounted for over half (59%) of Australia's population increase.

A year ago, back in April 2008 at Rudd's 2020 Summit, bundled amongst the popular topics of sustainability, climate change and water and youth summit, the issue of 'population' could only be described as a sub-topic offered token mention.

A year on from the Summit, what is the Government's long-term planning and policy direction for Australia's population?
See also "Scanlon report underpins threat to Australian democracy"
[Image courtesy of the Australian Government, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet]

On Wednesday, June 24, 2009, the New York City Coalition for Accountability Now (NYC CAN) filed a petition containing 52,000 signatures calling for a referendum on the creation of a New York City independent commission to investigate the events of September 11, 2001.

Also published on 911blogger.com.

Referring to Madden's Age article, "Opposition to a bigger Melbourne smacks of Cultural Snobbery", AWPC says, "Planning Minister Justin Madden should consult the people of Victoria if he wants a planning strategy with the needs of individuals and Victorian families at its heart. A burgeoning population is not for the benefit of most Victorians and certainly not for our biodiversity." (Vivienne Ortega, Vice President, Australian Wildlife Protection Council)

“As Field and Game Australia entered into a partnership to purchase the property with the Hugh Williamson Trust, the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (WGCMA) and environment group, Watermark, it remains to be seen whether these highly reputable organisations will risk their credibility by remaining in partnership with FGA." (Laurie Levy)

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) said it "deeply laments the fact that not a single of the important whaling topics was resolved". Despite Environment Minister’s rhetoric about vowing to “stamp out scientific whaling”, there is not such thing as Japan's "scientific whaling".

Our "anti-whaling" Government has to take some of the blame for the proliferation of the whale meat trade!

An online petition has been started following the NSW state government passing "special events" legislation to enable Repco Rally Australia to go ahead.

Shortly after Australians learned of the Chinese practice of confining bears for life in metal corsets and draining them of bile, I noticed Melbourne Zoo was selling little toy bears that were 'made in China'. Lately I cannot help noticing the mushrooming of Chinese tourist shops here selling cute toy kangaroos alongside purses made out of kangaroo testicles. And Australia has an anti-whaling policy but officially condones kangaroo massacres.
What is wrong with our politicians?

Humans have moved into native animals' backyards yet many of us get upset when there is a possum in our roof and go to all ends to remove it by having it relocated. Some farmers even shoot these hapless animals that are only looking for somewhere to sleep during the day and something to eat. We have a responsibility to them because we caused this situation and it's possible to not only share our space but give back some habitat to them. Here's what happened to a friend of mine recently when a possum moved into his house.....

The Australian Press Council has just dismissed a complaint against Sydney Morning Herald columnist Miranda Devine about her opinion article back on 12-Feb-09 ‘Green ideas must take blame for deaths.’ Devine's provocative article dogmatically accused "the power of green ideology" for poor forest management practices and as the key reason for the exacerbated scale and ferocity of the Victorian bushfires in 2009. ['Complaint against Devine dismissed, SMH, 26-Jun-09, p.5] But although provocative, Devine's 'opinion' article pales in comparison to the social implications of headline media reporting of extreme bushfire risk immediately BEFORE the bushfires! See also "Victorian Bush-fires: ABC 7.30 Report ignores facts, creates scapegoats" and "Responding to incorrect fire information by joining the debate" and "Comments on recent fire-management in bush-fire areas" and "Greens, logging, forest fires and malaria" and "Deforestation drys continents - new theory explains how"

Incomprehensible forces push for more population additions in both our countries. Those ‘growthists’ at the power positions operate in a mindless vacuum. They create a Faustian Bargain with the only outcome manifesting in Hobson’s Choice.

Original article published on Australia.to News.

Just three days ago (Tuesday 23-Jun-09) NSW Labor Premier Rees publicly advocated his 'tough' stance that Labor wouldn't support The Shooters Party proposed Bill to permit hunting of native animals in national parks. "Be very clear, we will not be allowing the hunting of animals in our national parks as proposed by the Shooters Party," he told reporters in Sydney. But yesterday Rees backflipped.

Since May 2009, Robert Brown MP of the Shooters Party has been pushing for the GAME AND FERAL ANIMAL CONTROL AMENDMENT BILL 2009 to be passed into NSW legislation. The spin of this Bill is so feral animals can be controlled in National Parks. But in reality the proposed changes would overturn all environmental legislation protecting our remaining wildlife in NSW. It would be 24/7 open season on wildlife perpetually across NSW every day of the year.

The psychological condition of "solistalgia" is now widespread in the North Coast area [where REPCO rally push is]. Solistalgia is defined as "the deep distress induced by environmental change, which is exacerbated by the sense of powerlessness and loss of control over the changes that are occurring". "I do not approve of anything that can be construed as a misuse of power and, therefore, I will not support any bill that allows large-scale events unwanted by the people who would have to host them."
Note that Dr Moyes was actually initially physically locked out of the room where this bill was being debated. You can read about that Which MPs voted for and against the REPCO Rally law in NSW Parliament?

Hansard, the Parliamentary report publication, beats The Australian, The Courier Mail, The Age and any number of newspapers any day. Tuesday 26 June in NSW Parliament was a bumper issue, covering with a parliamentarian beating on locked doors and chaotic debating worthy of Lewis Carol's Alice In Wonderland's "Caucus Race". But the issues were serious and, although the majority voted the Repco rally facilitating bill in, that doesn't mean that justice was done or that democracy was served.

Another success for the urban democracy and environment movement. The day after the "Restore Residents Rights" rally at parliament house on June 10, which was attended by about 600 people, Victoria's upper house rejected changes to the Planning and Environment Act that would have introduced Development Assessment Committees [DACs] to the State.

Subject: Lost Cat found........... posted by Japanese students renting in Brunswick, Victoria. And feeding it cat food too! More inside on this amazing story.See also: Living with wild animals

We need to dig deeper if we are serious about the bushfire threat, and this doesn't mean just more charity to prop up the existing but failing system, as the PM seems to perpetuate. This goes beyond the Victorian Bushfires. Under-resourcing is a fundamental problem with Australian bushfire management nationally.

This article was wrttten in response to a comment in the discussion in response to the story "Nearly half of Wilsons Promontory burnt due to CFA neglect".

NSW Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, the Police Minister, Tony Kelly, and the Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal, want Shooters Party members to replace Government agencies but other members of Cabinet resist the bloody push to turn our national parks into safari machines or worse

“There is only one problem. There are too many of us,” says former Environment Minister, Andrew McNamara. “Every day, the front pages of our papers are covered in variations on the same problem. Whether the issue is traffic congestion, overcrowding on trains, waiting lists for hospitals, skills shortages, social alienation in urban sprawl, food security, water security or global warming." And, despite all this 'robust growth' in Queensland - and the rest of the Australia and the third world - business isn't doing very well.

We live in pivotal times and it is getting harder to deny that this planet is in dire crisis. The UN produced a report titled 'Livestock's Long Shadow' about the devastating impact of the livestock industry on the environment. Why is the information contained in this report being tiptoed around for fear of upsetting people? Sir Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono are calling for 'Meat-Free Monday'. The first town in the world has gone meat-free one day a week. Yet an environmental activist is heavily censored for trying to get the word out on World Environment day....

NSW Premier Rees is set to pass into law a 'Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2009' to permit recreational hunters shooting everything and anything in protected National Parks across NSW including native wildlife.

Controlling feral animals is a science, not a sport. Rees passion for sport is being compromised by influential cronies. Problem is, Rees has no knowledge, experience in or aptitude for science. His inaugural 'red hot go' says it all and threatens to be his legacy. See also