Opinion

An attempt by Labor to increase penalties and offences for timber workers and timber harvesting has nothing to do with forest management, and everything to do with inner-city politics. Member for Western Victoria  Bev McArthur, has told the Victorian Parliament that Labor’s legislation is about sacrificing jobs in the bush to appease inner-city ideologues.

The National Farmers Federation is concerned about the significant cost blow-outs associated with the proposed Hume-Link Transmission Line, with costs blowing out by 250% to $3.317 billion.   Proposed transmission lines across Australia within the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) Integrated Systems Plan (ISP) have caused significant issues with land-use conflict amongst farmers, and now are leaving households out of pocket.

Despite COVIDSafe Plans, masks, social distancing and vaccinations, both New South Wales and Victorian Parliaments remain suspended. Are politicians not essential? Surely good governance is! What is it called when a state is run by one side of politics with no accountability or questioning?

Australian Greens forests spokesperson, Senator Janet Rice, has welcomed the announcement that Western Australia will end all native forest logging by 2024, and called on the Commonwealth and other state governments to follow suit and end the destruction of Australia’s forests.

The shock announcement by the WA Labor Government to end native timber harvesting in the state in just two years shows complete lack of understanding of forestry. Forest & Wood Communities Australia said it was unfathomable how any government can ignore IPCC advice that forest management was an important tool to reduce and sequester carbon ... “Climate Action Minister Amber Jade Sanderson even categorised sustainable forest management, which sees a tiny fraction of WA’s native forest is harvested and regenerated under the most stringent restrictions of anywhere in the world, as deforestation!": FWCA MD Justin Law

Mark Latham. NSW One Nation supports people fighting for their rights through the Australian legal system during this time of massive government failure in our State. We have record mental health cases, youth self-harm, businesses collapsing, and people losing their jobs and being isolated socially. The NSW Lockdown has failed in every respect. This is why we support the court challenge by NSW religious bodies to return to religious practice in a Covid safe and responsible way.

Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, said the Victorian Government clearly neither cares about, nor comprehends, the damage it is doing. “If anyone could imagine what hitting a panic button looked like, then Saturday was it ... Put quite simply, there is little or no coronavirus in our part of Victoria, and even if there was, there are systems in place to deal with it. And if the systems are not working, heads should roll.   It makes a farce of QR codes and quarantine processes.   Either they are there for a reason, or they’re not."

There is a saying that goes like this: you can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails.  It’s time to adjust our sails, Australia, because  the wind blowing in the COVID-19 virus is going to keep blowing. We need our national mojo back: Bev McArthur, MP.