Thursday, February 20, 2025

CATEGORY

Opinion

Time to make a deal with Donald J. Trump!

The advent of the latest elected monarch of the United States of America, one Donald J. Trump, whose main expertise, apart from top rating television shows, is property development perhaps provides Australia with the opportunity to finally make a decent deal with its great friend and ally, Uncle Sam.

When government fails, community steps in: this time it’s the housing crisis

Aidan Ricketts. There are things government can do well, there are things business can do, but for everything else there’s community ... The spiralling cost of homes to buy or rent in Australia is an intergenerational crime, and a ponzi scheme that benefits very few. Homeowners don’t really benefit from the high onpaper value of their home, as replacing it will cost just as much, and young people are squeezed out of purchase and rental markets; and the banks’ net share of national wealth escalates.

Logging and bushfire risk: Robert Onfray responds to David Lindenmayer

Professor David Lindenmayer’s response fails to engage with the key points I raised. The core argument in my piece is that the peer-reviewed studies claiming logging increases fire severity often rely on unknown or poorly defined methodologies, selective data, weak correlations, or literature reviews rather than empirical fire behaviour analysis.

Keeping the family silver—or hoarding rusted relics

By now, most farmers will have heard that the State Labor Government is “flying the kite” on taking back ownership of WA’s rail network. For some, particularly the Tier 3 romantics, the idea of reviving a government-run rail system is a dream come true.

An alternative perspective to David Lindenmayer: South East Timber Association

Members of the South East Timber Association respectfully disagree with many of the assertions made by David Lindenmayer and have a few observations and questions relating to Professor Lindenmayer’s opinion. Kosciuszko State Park was established in 1944. Areas of the original dedication, now in Kosciuszko National Park (KNP), were either never harvested or last harvested more than 80 years ago ...

“I have concerns for the future. We are being asked to carry an unfair burden.”

Darren De Bortoli. "Our family has a proud history, building a winemaking business that we believe is a true Australian success story ... But I have concerns for the future and I believe my fellow Australians, especially those in capital cities, need to understand the pressures being applied across the board to those who grow the quality food and beverages, including wine, that you enjoy.

Logging does indeed increase fire risks!: David Lindenmayer

Professor Lindenmayer responds to Robert Onfray's article, "Debunking false claims about bushfire risk and native logging in Australia" by contending that logging does indeed increase the risk of high severity wildfires, and the evidence for this worrying narrative comes from work by many scientists across Australia and in fact around the world.

Hard NO to cash mandate will do more harm than good

The Federal Government has published a proposal for a cash mandate that will only apply to a legislated list of “essential” goods and services and give express permission to more than 97 per cent of businesses in Australia to refuse to accept cash. Due to the restrictions and exemptions attached to this proposal, I cannot support it.

“Listen to the public”

An elected member of the Naracoorte Lucindale Council has criticised the council for disregarding public input gathered during consultation processes. Speaking exclusively to The [Naracoorte] News, Cr Craig McGuire claimed trust towards the elected body was “at an all-time low” with public consultation and feedback mostly ignored or dismissed if it did not fit the narrative of what parts of the elected council wanted to see.

Throwing good money overboard – WA Government’s aquaculture obsession

DPIRD, dated January 22, 2025, announces a $7 million splurge under the banner of “Building Climate Resilience on WA Farms.” Tucked neatly inside this generous handout is an eye-watering $1,071,770 for “future-proofing” Western Australia’s aquaculture industry. Future-proofing? Against what, exactly? Climate change? Cue the laughter.

A nation united under one flag is worth celebrating

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. While Australia Day comes around every year with its debates about meaning and whether we can utter its name or not, this year feels different. Last year, the divisive voice referendum and abhorrent attack in Israel on October 7, 2023 were events still fresh in our minds. But this Australia Day, we have the lived experience of almost 15 months since those events.

When clean green turns a blind eye to what’s natural

The so-called “clean green” warriors of today are too busy waving banners against petroleum products to notice – or care – that the natural fibre industry has been driven to the brink. The irony, of course, is as glaring as a newly-shorn sheep.

Buloke Times Editorial: Civic values, media use and affective polarisation

People who rely on social media as the main source of news score lower on a measure of civic values than people who rely on newspapers and non-commercial media for news and information, according to a study by researchers at Monash University ... "It has become something of a truism that social media is not great for democracy," said Professor Mark Andrejevic. "But no one has really systematically tested that until now."

Opinion – Timber framing is safe and reliable in bushfire-prone areas: Frame & Truss Manufacturers Association of Australia

Kersten Gentle, CEO, FTMA. The debate on the “right” materials to use when building homes in bushfire-prone areas often sparks fierce opinions and misguided claims. While some advocate for alternative materials, timber framing remains a viable, safe, reliable and effective option when designed and built in accordance with modern practices.

Burning our way through bushfire volunteers

Governments exist to serve the public good by ensuring critical services like emergency response are accessible to all. Yet in a scenario both tragic and absurd, celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Katy Pery and billionaires like Amazons Jeff Bezos hired private firefighters to protect their mansions during recent wildfires.

Under Federal Government – Climate zealotry takes priority

The Federal Labor Government’s inability to read the international political climate and instead press on with its domestic climate agenda, demonstrates that the Prime Minister isn’t focused on the struggles of the Australian people, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster said this week.

The Nats need to cut the pork

Fast forward to the 21st century, and while the barrels may be gone, the spirit of pork-barrelling is alive and well. Enter The Nationals WA, whose 2025 election manifesto is beginning to look like a masterclass in misguided political opportunism: starting with the proposal to uproot the DPIRD from Perth and plonk it down in Northam, population 7658.

Cash must be ‘King’ this year

Towards the end of this 2025 year, all Australians have been guaranteed continued access to using cash by special mandated legislation. This development at Federal level will be one of the most important advances facing each of us personally in the near future as it will hopefully deter those who set out to steal our hard-earned money.

Time to turn Service WA into the Cloud Service WA

Open letter to the Premier of WA. Dear Premier, I am writing to express a mixture of exasperation and incredulity at the state of Western Australia’s Department of Transport (DoT) vehicle registration and licensing system. It’s a system that forces citizens to reenact scenes from the 1985 film  Brazil ...

33rd Mardigrass planning meetings start

Michael Balderstone ... Thirty-three years is a long time saying the same message over and over again. Who would have believed when we started MardiGrass that weed would get legal but through a doctor and coming from Canada? It’s like a bad joke.

Debunking false claims about bushfire risk and native forest logging in Australia

Robert Onfray critiques claims that native forest logging in Australia contributes significantly to increased bushfire risk. Some academics championed this idea, purporting to follow the scientific method, but often their work lacks scientific rigour. These claims have misled the public, skewing the debate around forest management, fire prevention, and the ecological role of logging.

$7.2 billion for a new Kwinana port

On November 11 last year the WA Premier all but confirmed the project will go ahead. The only question is how much the Feds will stump up and how much influence will the unions have on the final design.

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