New South Wales farmer and Professional Shearer Alastair McRobert (pictured) writes:
The Green Paper released at the Canberra press club last Wednesday by Senator Penny Wong was a slap in the face for Australian farmers that have had their property expropriated by draconian and unconstitutional native vegetation laws.
Affected farmers had hoped that the new Rudd Government would make right the injustices perpetrated by the previous Howard Government, after recent comments made by Senator Penny Wong in an interview with Fran Kelly, ABC Radio National Breakfast
“KELLY: Do you have a view?
WONG: Look, I think there are plusses and minuses, there certainly are some issues still associated with measurement: how do you measure emissions from forestry and farming practices? But having said that, there is no doubt that those management practices can contribute significantly to your emissions profile, so there strong.
KELLY: And they’d (farmers) like to be rewarded for that?
WONG: Well certainly farmers who have complied with restrictions on land clearing have actually made a significant contribution to Australia’s Kyoto effort, but these are all the issues that we want to talk to people about and we will do so.”
The affected farmers are yet to be consulted as the National Farmers Federation does not represent them as witnessed by they’re failure to address the issues in its submissions to the Garnaut report.
Senator Wong’s response to Canberra reporter Ms Beeby’s question was shallow and misleading spin doctoring at its best.
In the Press Gallery last Wednesday Minister Penny Wong (pictured) said,
“As you know, most of the States have put in place land clearing regulation and that has actually, if you look at the emissions from land use change over the last 10 years, has had a substantial impact . So we did recognise that.
The second issue is, frankly, a practical issue. Because of the existing landclearing regulation a lot of what is left in terms of native vegetation, native forest on private land is reasonably small and is, if you were to include that into an emissions trading scheme, you would have multiple points of liability across this sector.
So in other words, you’d have the government in a position where it would have to try and ask individual landholders to remit permits on these issues for this activity and our view was that imposition of that was administratively complex and we questioned, given the other regulations that exist in this sector, what net environmental gain is benefited.”
This misleading spin must be addressed with the facts that are:
1. The Rudd Government has not recognised one part of the contributions made by the affected farmers in the green paper, no recognition at all, zero.
2. Senator Wong’s comments on the area of native forests on private land is completely misleading. The governments own National Carbon Accounts show the real truth.
In the latest National Inventory Report 2006, vol 2, page 4, table 7.3 submitted to the UNFCCC, June 2008 - the area of native vegetation locked up on private property, that meets the Kyoto definition for a Kyoto Forrest is 107,007,000 hectares (264,414,297 acres) which equates to 19% of the total area of farm land in Australia and 14% of Australia’s total land mass that is counted in the National Accounts.
Senator Wong say’s that this area is “reasonably small”. In fact this area of lock up equates to the only emissions abatement that has allowed Australia to be on target to meet its Kyoto commitments and offset the massive growth in the energy and mining sectors.
Take this carbon abatement; offset of 87 million ton of carbon from the national accounts and Australia’s Kyoto Target of 108% by 2012 is blown out to 138% with Australia facing huge penalties.
The unjust treatment by this Government in not addressing the affected farmers by compensating them for the expropriation of there property in there greenhouse policy mirrors the despotic attitude towards farmers of the former Howard Government.
It is ironic that the green paper and further commentary by Rudd, Wong and Swan since it’s release have confirmed that the big polluters and there Property Rights interests will be compensated with free permits to pollute and the very group of farmers that have had there farming interests destroyed through regulatory takings get nothing.
Guy Pearce (former Howard staffer), author of High and Dry summed the Green Paper up in interviews on ABC radio’s program the world today and Radio National last Thursday, saying the Greenhouse Mafia are continuing to run the Rudd/Wong agenda on carbon emissions and abatement.
Alastair McRobert
Farmer & Professional Shearer - Cobar New South Wales.
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Have Your Say! Tell us what you think?
1. Do you agree with Alastair?
2. Or are you happy with the way the subsequent governments have taken farmers property rights in the form of 87 million tonnes of sequestered carbon that will single handedly allow us to meet our 2012 Kyoto commitment?
3. Should it not be the big polluting energy Corporations that make hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars profit are year that have to pay?
4. Why is it that 20,000 individual Australian farming operations solely have to bear the financial cost of meeting our National commitment to Kyoto?
Tell us what you think?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Related Posts
- “Onya” Award goes to Senator Ron Boswell
- Water Minister Penny Wong to be Congratulated for Toorale Purchase.
- Senator Steve Fielding Saves Farmers - “Onya” Award
- Senator Joyce puts “Blowtorch” to Nats/Lib Merger Plans
- Senator Bill Heffernan - Ugly Clash With Wheat Farmers
Tags: Alastair McRobert, NETS, Penny Wong
Alistair your comments are right on the money.
However you forgot one point. The government is going to make a massive windfall in revenue from the GST attached to the permits. You all thought that all the carbon levy money would end up helping big industry reduce their carbon footprints and fund renewable energy projects etc etc; you were wrong again.
It is blatantly obvious to many that carbon is not a pollutant, but an integral part of the environment.
Again the government has the cart before the horse. They sign to Kyoto protocol and embark on the introduction of a carbon trading scheme. Then spend money on a community education scheme knowing that the majority of the population hasn’t a clue about the long term impact on Australia, when our competitors USA, China, Indonesia etc etc etc may well not introduce this tax burden to their economies.
The government also knows that there are serious questions in relation to the science behind the IPCC reports and the Guano Report (sorry for the spelling error). An education scheme for the general public would include this, wouldn’t it?? Education is done as part of a decision making process, not after the fact.
Based on the governments ads I’ve seen, this is not education, its propaganda in its worst form.
Education is when the public is given both sides of the story and allowed to decide for themselves on whether man made carbon dioxide emissions are impacting the world climate. Education is not, calling carbon a pollutant and blaming the poor state of the River Murray on climate change induced by our carbon dioxide emissions. The state of the River Murray is only a function of poor government in Australia, nothing else. Australia adopting a carbon trading scheme will have NO impact on global climates because we as a population are insignificant in the world.
I only hope that the general public can see through the propaganda.
Sure I agree we need to look after the planet for our descendants; but economic suicide for Australia isn’t going to be at all helpful to our kids. I just can’t believe that our government believe that Australia’s adoption of a carbon trading scheme will make any difference to what other sovereign countries do. In the meantime Australia and its population will go broke.
I’m not sure if I missed out on something or not, but I am just curious.
Where does all the money go to from the emissions trading scheme? It will be a massive money spinner.
Are they planning a Chinese style project, where they will fire a rocket up into the sky towards the whole in the O Zone layer, and present their offering of money and ask for repentance their wrong doings and ask for it to fix itself?
If someone could enlighten me it would be great.
Scientists in Argentina have reported that the earth is cooling and has been from around 2000. In their article they stated that their findings would not be popular with some people.
How is it that politicians, rabid conservationists and the many ‘alarmists’ choose to close their minds to such facts.
While driving around 10pm on Tuesday night (22/7/08) I heard Professor Ian Lowe (Australian Conservation Foundation) discussing carbon emissions on a radio broadcast. He stated that cattle were the greatest carbon emitters and the sooner they were got rid of, the better it would be for global warming and people’s health!
It is fair and reasonable to expect that someone in his position would at least have the intelligence and decency to assess new facts on such important issues, instead he betrays the general publics trust by espousing such narrow personal views.
Unfortunately he is only one of many whose mind is closed.
The Rudd Government’s campaign is designed to stampede people into accepting draconian steps without looking at recent data that points more towards global cooling than global warming.
Such a shame that too often egos get in the way when making such vital decisions and we see such vast amounts of money going to the wrong cause.
We are net consumers of greenhouse gas not as the rest of the overpopulated undervegetated world is also benefiting from our production of up to a third 33% of the worlds food and raw materials at bargain basement prices.
wE HAVE 200 BILLION ACRES WITH THESE TREE THINGYEES
WE HAVE 5% OF THE WORLD AND 2.5% OF THE WORLDS EMMISSIONS
5-2.5 = +2.5% CREDITS
1 TON PINE STORES 1 TON CARBON PER ANNUM
GIVE ME MY CREDITS
WWW
WONDER WONG WOMAN
KLIMATE KEVVIE
GREENHOUSE GARNUT
KAPTAIN KARBON
ALL LIVE IN THE KLIMATE KAVE
AND DRIVE THE KARBON KAR
AND BELONG TO THE KLIMATE KULT
DADA DADA DADA DADA KLIMATE KEVVIE
=============================
LOOK UP IN THE SKY IS it A BIRD IN A TREE NO
ITS KLIVATE KEVVIE AND WONDER WONG WOMAN
WHERES GREENHOUSE GARNUT KLIMATE KEVVIE ?
HES IN THE KLIMATE KAVE WITH KAPTAIN KARBON wonder wong woman
WHAT FOR klimate kevvie?
HES TRYING TO DO MATHEMATICS YOU KNOW 5% of the worlds earth minus -2.5 % worlds karbon emmissions = -2.5 you know a karbon tax debit AND ALL THAT KOMPLEX KARBON KALCULATIONS
BUT THATS A CREDIT YOU KNOW +2.5%
OHHHH (PICKING HIS EARWAX AND EATING IT) DONT SAY ANYTHING NOW OR WE’LL LOSE THE KARBON TAX AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF KAPTAIN KARBON GETS ANGRY
YES KLIMATE KEVVIE HE TURNS YOUR ELECTRIC BLANKIE OFF
NO ONE MUST KNOW MY SECRET SOURCE OF POWER WONDER WONG WOMAN
wheres the klimate kcell phone GREENHOUSE GARNUT HAS KAPTAIN KARBON LEFT BECAUSE IM GETTING COLD AGAIN quick wonder wong woman to the klimate kar
LATER AT THE KARBON KAVE
I THOUGHT YOU SAID THIS WAS GLOBAL WARMING KARBON KEVVIE THEN WHY IS IT SO KOLD IN THE KARBON KAVE ?
BECAUSE ITS WINTER GREENHOUSE GARNUT
OH ITS GETTING WARMER AGAIN greenhouse garnut
THATS BECAUSE I TURNED ON THE ELECTRIC BLANKIE wonder wong woman
IS THAT YOUR FOOT GREENHOUSE GARNUT ?
BAM
POW
TAX
SPEND $$$$$$$$$$
STAY TUNED
SAME KLIMATE KULT
SAME KARBON KCHANNEL
SAME TAX TIME
DADA DADA DADA DADA KLIMATE KEVVIE
LMAO!!! Great Stuff!..Can’t wait for the next episode..
Breaking News
Live from the Klimate Kave
Wonder Wong Woman says Klimate is getting Kolder and using the Karbon Kalculator for Komplex Karbon Kalculations all Kredits are now Debits and Debits are Kredits, Global warming is now Karbon Kooling and in kase any one kuts down a tree they will get a Karbon Kredit for stopping Klimate Kchange…
Komment: Klimate Kult kant add up the trees and divide by 21 million because it doesnt matter what evidence goes into the Karbon Kalculator it only komes out as T A X….
STAY TUNED
SAME KLIMATE KULT
SAME KARBON KCHANNEL
SAME TAX TIME
DUDDA DUDDA DUDDA DUDDA KLIMATE KEVVIE
URGENT UPDATED WARNING
Kanberra weather report
It will get kolder after dark, this klimate kchange is because the big yellow light thingee IN THE SKY goes to sleep and we suggest everybody takes their kardigan to kanberra after 5.30 pm especially you
klimate kevvie…
DONT FORGET TO PUT YOUR ELECTRIC BLANKIES ON LOW
Q. WHATS KLIMATE KEVVIES FAVOURITE SINGER OR BAND ?
a) KAREN KARPENTER
b) KOOL AND THE GANG
c) ICEHOUSE
ANSWER
RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS - KK
Talking to myself and feeling old
Sometimes Id like to quit
No KLIMATE ever seems to fit
Hangin around, nothing to do but frown
Rainy days and mondays always get me down
What Ive got they used to call the blues
Nothing is really WONG
Feeling like I dont belong
Walking around some kind of lonely clown
Rainy days and mondays always get me down
Funny but it seems I always wind up here with you
Its nice to know somebody loves me
Funny but it seems that its the only thing to do
To run and find the one who loves me
(*) what I feel is come and gone before
No need to talk KREDITS out
We know what its all about
Hanging around, nothing to do but frown
Rainy days and mondays always get me down
Funny but it seems that its the only thing to do
Run and find the one who loves me
(GREENHOUSE GARNUT)
Q. WHATS WONDER WONG WOMANS FAVOURITE SONG ?
a) AINT NO SUNSHINE
b) RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD
c) COLD AS ICE
ANSWER
FOREIGNER
Youre as cold as ice, youre willing to sacrifice our love
You never take advice, someday youll pay the price, I know
Ive seen it before, it happens all the time
Youre closing the door, you leave the world behind
Youre digging for KARBON, youre throwing away
A fortune in feelings, but someday youll pay
Youre as cold as ice, youre willing to sacrifice our love
You want paradise, but someday youll pay the price, I know
Ive seen it before, it happens all the time
Youre closing the door, you leave the world behind
Youre digging for KARBON, youre throwing away
A fortune in feelings, but someday youll pay
Cold as ice - you know that you are
Cold as ice - as cold as ice to me
Cold as ice
Youre as cold as ice, cold as ice, I know, yes I know
Youre as cold as ice, cold as ice, I know, oh yes I know
Youre as cold as ice, cold as ice, I know, oh yes I know
Youre as cold as ice…
Q. WHATS GREENHOUSE GARNUTS FAVOURITE SONG ?
a) SEASONS IN THE SON
b) SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS
c) YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE IN MY LIFE
ANSWER
BILL WITHERS AINT NO SUNSHINE
Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone.
It’s not warm when he’s away.
Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone
And he’s always gone too long anytime he goes away.
Wonder this time where he’s gone,
Wonder if he’s gone to stay
Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone
And this KAVE just ain’t no home anytime he goes away.
And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know
Hey, I ought to leave the young thing alone,
But ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone, only darkness everyday.
Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone,
And this KAVE just ain’t no home anytime he goes away.
Anytime KK goes away.
Anytime KK goes away.
Anytime KK goes away.
Anytime KK goes away.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Q. WHATS kaptain karbons FAVOURITE SONG ?
a) Short Memory
b) Antartica
c) Blue Sky Mining
ANSWER
Midnight Oil Short Memory
Conquistador of mexico, the zulu and the navaho
The belgians in the congo short memory
Plantation in virginia, the raj in british india
The deadline in south africa short memory
The story of el salvador, the silence of hiroshima
Destruction of cambodia short memory
Short memory, must have a, short memory
The sight of hotels by the nile, the designated hilton style
With running water specially bought short memory
A smallish man afghanistan, a watch dog in a nervous land
They’re only there to lend a hand short memory
Wake up in sweat at dead of night
And in the tents new rifles hey short memory
If you read the history books you’ll see the same things happen again and
again
short memory they’ve all got it
When are we going to play it again
Got a short, got a short, got a short, got a short
They’ve got a short must have a short they’ve got a short aah
Short memory, they’ve got a.