Its seems the Greens cabinet ministers have been compromised by the Labor Party and are now only notionally upholding the beliefs of the Greens.Maintaining 'stable government' does not mean the Greens must play a role as ministers. All they were expected to do was to not block the budget.
What has really muddied the waters is the 'SoP' agreement to swap a pulp mill for native forests. McKim told us time and time again there were no politicians involved in this 'round table'. Not many, just an ex-premier, ex-ACTU chief and of course Nick McKim. Nick McKim was so uninvolved in the forest agreement that he actually started to channel Bill Kelty at one stage. When Kelty said environmentalists would have to accept Gunns pulp mill in return for saving forests, McKim told us that meant the complete opposite to what Kelty had told a press conference. I'm sick of this splitting hairs by the Greens. They want to be part of a government that they also claim to oppose. This is not translating well on the ground. Its not our problem for failing to trust McKim and O'Connor, but the Greens problem for failing to explain just what they hope to achieve. Tasmania in 2011 is no place for yet more subterfuge and double talk. We have endured decades of lies and corruption. After a record result at the 2010 election, all the Greens could produce was what appeared as 'nepotism' to the community, as a 'married' couple were absorbed by Australia's most corrupt government. Imagine how the Greens would regard partners in a Labor or Liberal cabinet?
On the pulp mill issue McKim is not longer part of the solution but the problem. We have endured too much to be misled by spin doctors and fence sitters.
2 comments:
Dear Mr Stevens
It looks like I'm the first person to actually comment on your blog. anyway, here goes.
Oh dear.
This polemic is wrong and misleading.
Nick McKim has been an unwavering opponent of the pulp mill since it began.
Scroll through all his media releases here: http://mps.tas.greens.org.au/greensmps/nickmckim/
At the beginning of this parliament, he tabled a bill to repeal the pulp mill act.
This is not the action of someone who wants to see the pulp mill built.
Mr McKim has never said there are no politicians involved in the process - and everyone knows there are - from Lara Giddings down.
The fact is, no politicians or the government are signatories to the forest principles agreement or have been directly involved in the forestry roundtable meetings.
But every senior Tasmanian environmentalist and politician is involved in some way in the forestry debate - and that includes you, Mr Stevens.
Mr McKim yesterday asked Mr Kelty if he had issued any sort of ultimatum regarding the pulp mill and forestry agreement. Mr Kelty confirmed he had not.
http://mps.tas.greens.org.au/2011/03/gunns-pulp-mill-should-be-outside-process-assurance-that-no-ultimatums-issued/
Quote two sentences Mr McKim has said which contradict each other - then I'll accept you are right about him. Until then, let's both accept your calling him a liar is unsubstantiated.
For the record, the party room - ie, all the Greens MPs, voted for Nick and Cassy to be ministers.
What's more, with Mr McKim as leader, the Greens have enjoyed their best ever election results.
What cost is higher to the community - continuing to subsidise a forestry industry which can't support itself by using tax payers' money or to find a way out towards a more sustainable solution, away from boom and bust?
There is no cost to the principles agreement - it is just people sitting around a table. Even if there was, surely you don't support business-as-usual in the forestry industry?
The ABC article about forestry is a year old - and still that isn't a direct quote from Nick McKim.
The fact is the main players in the timber industry and environmental ngos were the ones who put together an agreement.
If TAP has problems with the Greens forestry policy, they should contact the Greens' forestry spokesperson, Kim Booth.
Tom
When McKim joined the Labor government he said he would leave the cabinet room when forestry issues come-up.
So McKim appoints 2 'adolescents', Paul Oosting and Phil Pullinger to negotiate
a plantation forestry deal with the wood chip industry on his behalf. For some fucked-up reason this must include the corrupt Gunns pulp mill. They take 100,000 Australians in the Tamar Valley hostage to leverage saving whats left of native forests. Meanwhile McKim's forestry minister, Bryan Green spends a year watching sport while we pay him a shit load of money to let 3 charities do the forward planning for the Tasmanian timber industry. This displays the stupidity and arrogance of the Tasmanian greens. McKim and O'Connor have not done a single thing for Tasmania in their first year as Labor ministers except defend corruption. They are a bloody disgrace and so is Tom de Kadt for playing spin doctor for these losers. Obviously DeKadt is angling for a career as a lobotomised green politician. He should shit it in.
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