Sounds good but ... The Victorian State of the Environment Report 2008 says that the future cannot be an extension of the past; Australia’s total material requirements more than twice other OECD countries'; Victoria's population growth major driver of environmental degradation. But, go to the end to see that this Report intends to reduce 'consumers' [what happened to 'citizens'?] rights, space and living standards "while also taking advantage of the huge business opportunities presented" by Victoria "Growing Together".

It now seems these sacrifices were in vain, because in Queensland our present government is a dictatorship. One person, Anna Bligh, forcibly medicates us through our water supply with fluoride chemicals and we shall have water that has been sourced from sewerage whether we like it or not.

Queenslanders Against Water Fluoridation media release

What you can do: attend public meeting
Date: Saturday, 15th Nov, 2pm–5pm,at Ahimsa House, 26 Horan St, West End, Brisbane

Shouldn't the Canberra Times label as advertising the regular piece by the Property Council of Australia's executive director, Catherine Carter? Isn't there some legal requirement to do so? (Article by Mark O'Connor)

On Saturday 25 October, Shadow Immigration Minister Sharman Stone called for the Government to immediately reduce immigration back to the levels of 2005-2006 in response to the current global financial crisis. ABC Radio National's Breakfast Show's response consisted of 2 separate segments, the first in which a senior Fairfax journalist editorializes about immigration and then an interview of four people, all in favour of the retention of the current immigration levels including Immigration Minister Chris Evans. As of the following day Sharman Stone, herself, has not been interviewed by the Breakfast Show or any of the ABC Radio current affairs programs.

See also: "Call for a 25% cut in migration" in The Age of 25 Oct 08, "Don't hit immigration panic button" by Gerard Henderson in SMH of 28 Oct 2008, "Australia may cut immigration amid financial crisis: minister" from AFP on 27 Oct 08, "Migrant surge under threat" in Herald Sun of 27 Oct 08, "Record intake good for nation: Evans" in SMH of 27 Oct 08, "Australia in no rush to reduce migrant intake" on ABC NewsRadio of 26 Oct 08, "Opposition flags delay on Pacific harvest labour scheme" on ABC Radio on 22 Oct 08, "Immigration intake 'good for business'" in The Age of 26 Oct 08.

Brisbane's Courier Mail newspaper believes that we should be grateful that Howard left Rudd a budget surplus but is silent about Howard's massive environmental, social, skills, balance of trade deficits and our record domestic debt.

Those who recently demanded the privatisation of NSW's electricity assets against the wishes of the NSW public would have us forget how much of NSW's publicly owned wealth has already been privatised and for no apparent benefit for its rightful owners.

See also: "Media contempt for facts in NSW electricity privatisation debate" of 19 Sep 08.

Analysis of the reporting of electricity privatisation initiatives in New South Wales brings disturbing confirmation that the major Australian newsmedia does not accurately report essential facts on issues of vital concern to us. Indeed, it often acts as a conduit for propaganda against our best interest.

Contents: O'Farrell pilloried, Parliamentary debate ignored, Earlier misreporting: Iemma exhorted to ignore Labor conference, public will, What can be done about this?.

Also published on webdiary.

See also: ABC gives free kick to Iemma, NSW electricity privatisation of 21 Jul 08.

With state Labor parties under the hammer all over Australia, the Property Council has chosen its moment to put pressure on the weak Brumby Victorian Government to lower stamp duty, even though in the recent Victorian budget, changes were made to lower it.

On September 5, 2008, Victorian newspaper, The Age, ran an article by Cameron Houston and Royce Millar, under the screaming headline, 'City of 8 million 'unlivable'.

The article reported the latest population projections from the Australia Bureau of Statistics. These frightening projections were reported as if they were actual predictions. The article should have generated a number of printable letters to The Age almost immediately.

Surprisingly, on September 7, no reader responses had been published.

Mark O'Connor: "Deteriorating circumstances caused by rampant growth are presented as virtues. Expect 40% less water by 2020, citizen, so that newcomers and expanding industries can have more."

Ageist ABC baby-boomer bashing - incites blame against older people for housing crisis.

See also: Brisbane's housing unaffordability crisis spun by ABC to promote property lobby interests of 23 Jun 08

How the culture of more of everything leaves us with no time for anything, anyone, nature or even ourselves. "Greed," writes Tim Murray, "is not just a quest for more money or material things."

What does the Murdoch and Fairfax media response to Premier Brumby's views on Victoria's population growth mean for democracy?

See also: Open letter to John Brumby on his admission that Victoria has an overpopulation problem of 31 Jul 08.

In spite of the fact that only on 11 July Mike Kelly Federal Labor Member for Eden-Monaro seemingly quashed speculation that the Government was preparing to privatise the Snowy Hydro scheme, two pages of the Snowy corporation's July newsletter was devoted to pushing the case for privatisation.

On Saturday July 26th, 2008, in a story that was repeated in many other news outlets, The Canadian Press reported that a Romanian immigrant couple in Abbotsford, British Columbia had their 18th child in 23 years, 13 of whom have been born since they came to Canada in 1990.

See also: Pronatalist Policy in Australia: 1945-2000 of 28 Jun 08 by Sheila Newman

When Barrie Unsworth complained on Sydney's local ABC radio of the New South Wales Labor Party's efforts to ensure that state Labor parliamentarians vote against the privatisation of NSW's electricity assets - a policy already rejected resoundingly by the electorate in 1999 and currently opposed by 79% of the NSW public - his interviewer Toni Matthews expresssed her total agreement with the former NSW Premier: "Why - It seems obvious to me - Why isn't it obvious to these younger members that you're talking about that they're creating mayhem within the party?"

I would like to know what, if any, evidence Cardinal Pell actually has for his fears that ruthless commercial forces are out to slow down the birthrate, when all my research tells me the exact opposite.

The politically correct coverage of the South African anti-immigrant riots by the CBC (and Australia's ABC) fails to consider how the true long term interests of the poor of both South Africa and the countries from which the immigrants come, such as Zimbabwe, may not be best served by unlimited immigration into South Africa.

See also: CBC condemns South African rioters of 25 May 08, Will the great immigration debate take place of 21 May 08

Economic growth

Australia's contribution to runaway global warming through its accelerating rate of coal exports has been acknowledged in part by the Garnaut report. However, whether this will lead to a reduction, rather than an increase in exports is not yet clear.

Why has the Courier Mail in its editorial of 23 June advocated that the Rudd Government adopt Brendan Nelson's proposal to cut fuel excise even though such a measure would deny the Government millions in needed revenue and have negligible effect at the bowser in comparison to the demand-driven rise in the price of oil?

Almost invariably reporting of Australia's acute housing unaffordability crisis does not inform the public of its causes, nor help it to arrive at a solution. The ABC's report No relief in sight for Brisbane's renters of 20 June 08 is no exception.

See also: Rent gouging threatens Brisbane inner city retail community of 8 Mar 08

At the elections of 15 March pro-developer councils were trounced in Redland City and on the Sunshine Coast, but this popular rejection of over-development means little to the State Labor Government of Anna Bligh and the property developers she serves.

See also: More chickens of population growth come home to roost in Queensland of 14 May 08, How to end the Queensland economy's addiction to population growth? of 26 Apr 08, Courier-Mail beats up on public for complaining about cost of 'progress' of 14 Apr 08, The Australian laments outcome of Queensland local government elections of 30 Mar 08.

Whilst economists misuse indicators such as the GDP to ”prove“ that an increase in real in come has coincided with massive population growth in Canada in recent decades, the reality is, as intuition and common sense should have warned, that Canadians on average are worse off as Brishen Hoff, President of Biodiversity First shows.

See also: Living standards and our material prosperity 6 Sep 08 concerning the quality of life in Australia

If Australians starve and more become homeless due to their population having overshot petroleum, water and food production resources, how will the politicians, media and lobbyists who actively drove this situation be held responsible? Critique of Tim Colebatch article, "Population grows at record rate" (Age, 6/6/2008)

These healthy kangaroos, relaxed, uncrowded, in lush surroundings are all dead - order of Australian Capital Territory government.
Housing estates due to go up around the area. (Does anyone know which developers?)

See also: Australian Political Hypocrites Order "Final Solution" on Kangaroos on 20 May 08 by Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Kangaroo cull: necessary evil and the greater good of 27 May 08 by Adam Henry on Online Opinion with comments.

The Foodbowl group describes among its aims "To support the transition of small farming enterprises to world-competitive, sustainable agribusiness enterprises with a variety of models that maintain and enhance community cohesion." But were they invited? Were they asked? Apparently not.

Update, 2 June: Country Womens Association (CWA) Reject the North South Pipeline

What you can do: visit plugthepipe.com and join their mailing list.

Victorian Government’s Land and Biodiversity at a Time of Climate Change Green Paper accelerates damage in a land where human growth and development drive horrendous rate of extinctions, ignoring democratic protest ...

ALP debates on tunnels and their cause are an exercise in self-deception

“He might have just as well stayed in Toronto or better still, huddled with his former journalism professor of political correctness at Carelton to compose the right storyline. You know, xenophobic rioters take out their misery upon poor foreigners who have a right to displace their jobs.”