Is Gillard's 'Clean Energy Future' Going Nuclear?

Today I would like to discuss nuclear power, a topic that most politicians would not want to touch with a 10 foot irradiated carbon rod. Of the issues that crop up in the national debate there are a select few that engender a particularly fiery response from the Australian public. Asylum seekers and boarder control occupies top billing; here there is not middle of the road, you stand on your side of the fence and yell incessantly at those silly enough to occupy the counter-point. Coming in at a close second is Climate Change. The only reason it hasn't grabbed pole position is because, compared with the boat people debate, it hasn't been around as long (well it has, but up until now we have been able to ignore it). I suspect, however that within the year it may follow in Julia's footsteps and knife the asylum seeker debate in the back and take its top spot... Rounding out the top three is Industrial Relations; a boring topic, to be sure, but emotive none the less. Here narratives of class warfare and the 'fair go' get a good workout. While a rather dry topic of debate, the passion arises from the simple fact that it affects our work and, by extension our livelihood. After all nobody likes getting screwed at work... unless you are involved in an office romance, which is an altogether different topic...

Outside of these three core issues there is very little to awaken the fighting spirit of your average Australian voter... except for nuclear power. This is a far more divisive issue than most would think, primarily because it is quite complicated. What is a serious issue that deserve rational debate is often high-jacked by the likes of Bob Brown and Co. who are not only ill-informed on the issue but also pandering to their vested interests. Now, you are probably wondering when, if ever, I intend on getting to the point here. Well as some of you may have noticed in the news Prime Minister Gillard has decided to reverse the ALP's long standing position which prohibited the exportation of uranium to India. Now this is a large issue that has a very long history that I do not wish to bore you with, suffice to say that the ALP's opposition to sending uranium to India centres around the fact that India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Now I have my views on whether this new trade deal should proceed or not, however what I want to focus on here is firstly the timing of this decision and secondly the hypocrisy which it exposes.

Wayne Swan is preparing the first mini-budget in two decades in order to salvage the election promise of returning to surplus in 2012/2013. I think that it is noble that Swan is trying to ensure that Labor at least keeps ONE of its election promises, but the simple truth is that with declining revenue and the ALP's spend lust (and Swan's incompetence...) it looks unlikely that we will be returning to the black any time soon. Unless, of course, we find a new market to sell our resources to... With uranium exports bringing in a cool billion every year, Wayne can hear the till ringing by opening this market up to one of the largest nations in the world (which desperately needs power). Perhaps I am just cynical, but the timing seems awful convenient, don't you think?

Now Labor is no stranger to hypocrisy; in fact they have turned it into an art form. Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, when discussing the need to ensure that India has sufficient power to meet its demands was quick to point out the environmental benefits that this trade deal would have...

"At the moment, I might say, 70 per cent of their [India] energy actually comes from coal-fired power. The main thing they wanted to talk to me about last week was, 'Can you actually just find us more coal, thermal and coking coal?' This decision is also important from a climate change point of view, nuclear power is baseload reliable clean energy."

Did I just hear correctly? Do my ears and eyes deceive me? Did a Labor front bencher just sing the praises of nuclear power in the fight against Climate Change? It would certainly appear so... but if that is the case then where is the discussion of nuclear power being used here in Australia? Surely if this is truly a government committed to Climate Change action then it would consider all option right? Wrong; after all the ALP must pander to the will of their bedfellows, the Greens. Despite the nonsensical ranting of Team Bob, nuclear power must be considered as an option is we do want to move to a low carbon economy. Now I am not saying I support the move to atomic energy, all I am saying is that we need to have the debate. If we have Labor Ministers identify nuclear energy as a key factor in the low carbon equation, then it is time for a serious, considered, rational debate on Australia's energy future.

A time to Rememer & a moment to Reflect

Today, the 11th day of the 11 month, is Remembrance Day. It is a day where nations the world round, both those of the Commonwealth and broader afield, stop to remember the sacrifices made by those who have served in the armed forces. While this day specifically commemorates the cessation of hostilities of World War One, it is also a time to reflect on all who serve in our nation's armed forces, both past and present. It is moments and days like these where I always stop to think about how lucky we are in this, the greatest nation in the world.

Cynics may claim that the Australia of yesteryear is gone, that the 'fair go' has slowly disappeared from our modern society, but I am not so sure. My view of modern Australia is not so bleak. I refuse to accept that the values and ideals that the original generation of Diggers fought for have disappeared. I still see mateship and the fair go, along with that undeniable Australian spirit which refuses to yield, no matter the challenge or hardship. Many will claim that our egalitarian society is now more segregated and classed than ever before, with a popular past time being to bag the wealthy mining industry. However I see an industry that gives back to their communities, that invests in people, up-skilling and employing the disadvantaged so that they might have a steady job and the self esteem and pride that comes with that. I see people like Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, who fights as a champion for Indigenous issues, working towards that 'fair go' for all.

If you don't believe me, and don't believe that these ideals live on today, then I suggest that you take a good hard look at our men and women fighting in Afghanistan. These men and women are everyday Aussie, indistinguishable in a crowd at the shops on the weekend when they return from deployment, yet they are doing something extraordinary. While opinion may be split here in Australia over our military role in the Middle East what we must all realise is that every day our servicemen and women get up and risk their lives. Why? Why travel half way around the world only to perish at the hands of a turncoat soldier who you thought was a friendly? While I am sure each of our brave Australian personnel have their own unique reasons for pulling on the uniform day after day with the shadow of death looming large, I would suggest to all that they are offering this struggling nation one simple thing: Hope. We forget, here in Australia, just how good we have it. So, I would suggest that today, while we struggle with our 1st World issues (such as reception drop-outs on our brand new iPhone), that we remember not only those who have worn the uniform in the past, but also those who will be pulling them on today.

Remember those who are currently waking up in Afghanistan. Remember that they are offering this nation a second chance, that it is because of them that the new generation of Afghanis may have a better life, one free of fear and despair. Most of all remember those who have given their lives in the service of this great nation, and the families that they have left behind.

God speed to all our men and women who fight under our glorious flag; may you all return to us soon. I know I speak for all Australians when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with you, today and every day. May we never forget your bravery, your sacrifice, your courage.

Obituary: Australian Democracy

Today, the eighth day of November 2011, my good friend, one who I loved dearly, passed away; I am speaking, of course, of our dear friend, Australian Democracy. We are gathered here today to celebrate Australian Democracy's life, but also mourn its untimely and, ultimately, unnecessary passing. I still remember the first time that we met... it was a state election, sunny day where we all got to cast our vote and have our say. While one side always wins and one side always loses, the process was orderly and peaceful, which is something not to be taken for granted.

This passing is not entirely unexpected; we all knew that Australian Democracy had been unwell for some time. It suffered a blow in 2007 from which it never really recovered from. While many were misguided enough to believe Australian Democracy's new physician, Dr Rudd, some of us saw the beginning of the end. It wasn't until Australian Democracy's significant decline in 2009 that the medical board, spooked by the publics outraged, switched to a new physician, Dr Gillard. Unfortunately with her came the naturopath loony 'Dr' Brown. Dr Gillard, under direction from Dr Brown, attempted some radical surgery, such as removing the profits growth from the mining gland using a Resource Rent Tax-lobotomy. In addition Gillard tried (and failed) to shore up Australian Democracy's immune system from foreign pathogens - boat flu - using an untried Malaysian solution. In a final, last ditch attempt to keep Australia Democracy (and her career...) alive, Dr Gillard tried to insert some Carbon Tax Implants into Australia Democracy legal system, despite clearly stating that she would not perform such a procedure prior to her promotion...

The procedure was a success, thanks to Dr Brown and his band of quacks... however the shock was just too much, and Australian Democracy died on the table. Cause of death: gross malpractice and incompetence. While we may all be angry now we must always remember the good time that we had with Australian Democracy... and hope and pray that the Abbott can resurrect our dear friend before it is too late...

EXCLUSIVE: Kim Kardashian's SECRET Aussie lover EXPOSED!

Talk about a big week! CHOGM! Melbourne Cup! Kim Kardashian! Well, ok, the last one doesn't deserve a mention... the only reason I do raise it is because it highlights what I believe to be quite a disturbing trend in our society. In what has been a big news week we have had to suffer through the whole 'Kardashian Affair', which has been put forward as deserving of leading news bulletins, front page stories, radio broadcasts, the list goes on! Yes, Greece looks as though it is going to default and be thrown out of the Euro Zone, but was Kim's wedding a sham? Of course the Qantas grounding has serious ramifications for the economy, IR, and travellers the world round, but we will cut Alan Joyce's press conference short to show another five minutes of footage featuring screaming prepubescent girls wearing giant sunglasses and waving "We Heart Kim!" placards as the Kardashians arrive at the airport. Why discuss the Labor leadership when we can speculate over the reason for Kim's divorce? Does she have a secrete Aussie lover (oooh, juicy gossip!)? Nobody can even give me a legitimate reason as to why I should be interested! "Because she is" is not an adequate answer to my question of "why, exactly, is this woman famous?" Kim and her clan are arguably the [giant] ass end of the entertainment industry... and yes, pun intended...

Now that Kim Kardashian has done us all a giant favour and left to annoy some other poor unfortunate country we can get back to what matters. What matters at the moment is how Doug Cameron and Bob Brown got humiliated by Alan Joyce at this morning's Senate Inquiry. The inquiry into the grounding of Qantas jets this past weekend provided few, if any, answers. What it did provide was an interesting insight into Alan Joyce, the man who everyone was quick to vilify for his evil, nefarious acts. What we saw instead was a calm, intelligent man who was driven to this dramatic decision by a greedy union who wanted to 'slow bake' Qantas. Joyce's sole intention was to resolve this dispute as quickly as possible... and his dramatic gambit worked. Now I do not agree that he should receive a 71% pay increase; however I would suggest that he did earn a sizable chunk of it as a result of his brave actions to get Qantas flying again...


It's Friday... have a laugh!

The results from the latest Right Side Poll are in, and they clearly show a desire to return to the Pacific Solution and TPV's, with all readers voting for a return to the Coalition's tried and tested solution. This poll is particularly pertinent, given the recent loss of life in Indonesia. The Gillard government must stop the boats before more lives are lost, simple as that. The blood is on your hands Julia, courtesy of your government's continued failure and incompetence. Thanks to all who voted on this issue of great national importance. The next Right Side Poll sees us looking to Europe. I would like to know what you think about the current Greek tragedy that could very well drag the world into another Global Financial Crisis... let me know what you think!

So that's it for another week and I do not think I have ever been so happy that it is a Friday! 'Thank God It's Friday!' just does not seem to cover it! My apologies for being a little absent over the past few weeks but my work/life balance has gone out the window. I'm looking to hit the blog pretty hard next week (got plenty of axes to grind!) so be sure to log on and check it out.

What is the 'Greatest Threat to Democracy'?

Is it the megalomaniacal, despotic, Gaddafi-like dictators of the world? Those who imprison, torture, and kill those who dare question their rule? Is it those who hate freedom (i.e. Bob Brown) and wish to silence all descent? No... that is if you are to believe Labor Senator Doug Cameron. According to Doug, the single greatest threat to democracy is not evil Muslim terrorists, deluded extremists, or even Global Warming, but rather it is little ol' Rupert Murdoch. Yes, apparently Rupert is at it again; armed with a rolled up copy of The Daily Telegraph he is battling away at democracy, trying to topple the Gillard Regime.

According to The Daily Telegraph Rudd is being urged by colleagues to challenge Gillard for the leadership. Talk about a SHOCKING story! This is going to rock the very foundation of democracy itself! Hold on people, the whole system is about to collapse in on itself! Now, hyperbole aside, I do have a serious point to make, which is that Doug Cameron is a moron. Every single person with half a brain knows that Rudd is just busting to remove the knife from his back and firmly implant it in his successor. If Doug is too stupid to realise what is going on in his own party than that's his problem, it does not mean the News Ltd. is waging a war on Labor. The simple fact is that Labor, through their continued incompetence and waste, just make themselves an easy target for the media. So the moral of the story here, Doug, is that if you want the mean, nasty media to stop picking on you all you have to do is get your act together!


I wonder if Doug was born this stupid or whether he needed to work at it?

What astounds me even more with this whole piece of 'news' is the coverage that the ABC is giving it. If you want to talk about media bias, then take a good hard look at our national broadcaster! This isn't news and certainly should not be reported as such. We all know Gillard is going to be knifed by Rudd, it is just a matter of time. The Daily Telegraph would have been better served running the headline: Australians disinterested in Kardashians... now there is a SHOCKING TRUTH!

'Clean Energy Future': Gillard's WorkChoices?

I find it incredibly ironic that the woman who played such a key role in dismantling WorkChoices (and who revelled in it with smug joy...) is now facing an almost identical scenario with her so called 'Clean Energy Future' scam - I mean 'scheme' - otherwise known as the Carbon Tax. The key arguments which brought down WorkChoices, and the Howard Government, are as follows...

1. Pushing such a far reaching reform through parliament is undemocratic: Howard had what most government’s dream of, control of both the House of Reps and the Senate. However such a rarity proved to be a poisoned chalice; where the Senate was once a counter balance to the government's power, a place for review and debate, it was now seen as a rubber stamp, blindly approving Government legislation. This made a lot of Australians anxious, with some believing that due to the makeup of the parliament that the government had too much power and that there was nothing to keep it in check. Australians a pretty accepting of new reforms, provided that we believe it has gone through a proper, rigorous review.
2. Tax-payer dollars for party policy adverts: There is nothing wrong with a government advertising and educating the public on new policy and reform. However when that policy is viewed by the public as being more around ideology as opposed to national interest, it ruffles feathers. Australians do not like to see their hard-earned tax dollars funding party policy... especially unpopular policy. The more the Howard Government tried to sell and promote WorkChoices, the more cynical and jaded the electorate became. It was viewed as a shallow attempt to sell Liberal Policy as opposed to Government Reform.
3. Dial 'M' for Mandate: "How can you do this?!" The unions and Labor decried, "You have no mandate to introduce WorkChoices! How dare you make such far reaching reforms of Industrial Relations without first getting approval from the people!" Nothing had been said before the election about WorkChoices, so how could the Howard Government claim that it had a mandate to introduce? If all large, far reaching reforms need approval from the electorate the responsible thing would have been to go back to the electorate and seek their permission to do so... At least Howard did not say "There will be no IR reforms under any government I lead"; could you imagine the uproar if he had...?

Sound familiar? Gillard, with help from Bob Brown, is pushing this tax that will be felt across every sector, through the parliament with no discussion or debate (and certainly no consensus!) while spending over $200,000 PER DAY advertising this [Greens'] policy, all the while lacking a mandate! Instead of crowing over the fall of the greatest government we have ever had the privilege to have, Gillard should have been learning the lessons of WorkChoices...

Why Australia should abandon the 1951 UN Refugee Convention...

We live in a dynamic, ever-changing world, so it seems incredibly odd to me that Australia in 2011 is bound by 60 year old UN convention on refugees that was designed to deal with post-World War 2/Cold War Europe. It is absurd - ludicrous even - that the people of Australia must adhere to a policy that was built to solve a problem that existed before many of us were even born. At the heart of my distaste for this convention is how the term 'refugee' is defined, and how this must change to recognise the difficulties governments face now, as opposed to 60 years ago.

The convention defines a 'refugee' as a person who has a "well founded fear of being persecuted" should they be returned to their country of origin. This made sense in Cold War Europe, with the KGB willing to take care of any traitors to the great socialist cause. Those brave few who managed to escape over the Berlin Wall and break free of the Soviet Bloc would have without a doubt faced persecution and death if they had been returned to the Red Side of the Iron Curtain. That is in stark contrast to the so-called 'refugees' that we have piling up on our shores today.

While those fleeing communism faced the very real threat of death upon their return, do those who Bob Brown and Sarah Hanson-Young roll out the red carpet for face their untimely end should the boats be turned around? Of course not! These are not people fleeing death and destruction, these are not wartime refugees, they are economic refugees. It is not push factors leading them to our shores, but pull factors, such as Australia's economy, our work, our opportunities, our indoor plumbing. If these people can afford to spend over AUS$30,000 to a people smuggler in order to jump the queue, for the sole purpose of economic gain, then they are not genuine refugees. They are opportunists taking advantage of an inept government that leaks more than the boats carrying these people here and which fails at everything it attempts. These are people too lazy to work to improve their own country that they travel to, and exploit, ours!

Do these people look like genuine refugees?

Australia must swiftly abandon this 1951 UN convention, an out-dated relic of history, and put the interest of its own people ahead of those who seek to steal our jobs and our opportunities. If we continue down this destructive path that the Greens and Gillard have set us on, whereby any and all have the red carpet rolled out for them at the expense of the Australia tax-payer, we are going to be over-run with every third world opportunist who can point their raft in the direction of Christmas Island and cry persecution. The truly sad thing is that while these leeches con their way into this great nation there are genuine people in need, with the very real threat of death hanging over them, doing the right thing and waiting in the UN Refugee Camps. These true refugees are having their place in our quota stolen by selfish opportunists who are exploiting this stupid, incompetent government.