Australian Greens
An article on privatisation by me in Green Left #174 described me as acting Secretary of the Territory Greens. While that appellation was correct at the time of writing it should be made clear that since then I have resigned from the Territory Greens because of a decision by that group to seek affiliation with the Australian Greens.
I have some fundamental philosophical disagreements with parts of the Charter and Constitution of the Australian Greens, particularly their proscription of membership of a long list of organisations, a stance that will ensure that that body never becomes a broad-based party.
It follows naturally that they will never represent a threat to the established social order and hence will be ineffective in preventing the on-going profit-driven destruction of the environment.
According to the Charter of the Australian Greens they, as yet, do not have a foreign policy, a defence policy or an economic policy. There are other motherhood statements on culture, religion and Aboriginal affairs that do not stand up to critical analysis.
Without a drastic overhaul of that document the Australian Greens will remain a safety net to catch and politically nullify the drop-outs from the ALP.
C.M. Friel
Alawa NT
Labor Party
It is time to dump the Labor Party. Time to say no more to Woodchip Keating and Gareth the Menace Evans. Time to flush our minds of their half broken promises and election farragoes.
Is clinging to the coattails of Labor if only at election times (in the lower house), nothing but a lingering death, deadening our hopes and dreams and spirits.
Surely cleansing ourselves of their political gamesmanship can only re-invigorate the left — it may even make them wake up too.
Robert Wood
Surry Hills NSW
Coke in Poland
As a Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) shareholder I have serious concerns about the likely consequences of recent moves by the company to buy into the Polish soft drink market.
Since the 1970s, multinational beverage companies like Coca-Cola have overseen the demise of local soft drink producers in Australia and the loss of thousands of jobs. Regional areas have been particularly hard hit.
The impact of single-fill plastic bottles and cans, with their all too obvious contribution to litter and waste generation, should not be overlooked. The (ab)use of these one-way containers, rather than maintenance and promotion of a returnable-refillable container system, has been one of the key planks upon which CCA has built its empire, dominating the Australian soft drink market at the expense of local producers.
The Potter Warburg [consultants'] report details plans by CCA to adopt a similar strategy in Poland.
But with an already high level of unemployment (15.7 per cent in 1993), the increasingly centralised approach to production and distribution that goes hand-in-hand with the use of non-returnable, single-fill containers, is one of the last things Poland's population needs.
Potter Warburg revealed that "the Polish carbonated soft drink market is dominated by a multitude of independent producers". But how long will that remain the case? And what will be the social, environmental, and cultural implications of CCA's acquisition?
Peter Hopper
Loftus NSW
[Edited for length.]
Airport blockade
I was out at the airport blockade on Monday 13 February and found it a very good experience, however, there is a point of tactics that must be drawn to the attention of the Mayors' coalition.
The use of council trucks has had its day and detracts from the whole impact of the event. The trucks kept to single file and did not actually block out much traffic. It all smacked of protesting but not too much. The important aspect to note is that when the residents decided to blockade, they were most potent. The residents only needed their bodies and determination.
The students from Leichhardt High were exceptionally effective in blocking traffic and encouraging "the oldies" to have more courage.
It is now time that the trucks were left at home and the blockades proceed with people power. After all, it is people who are suffering from the planes and they need to know they have the power to close down the airport and make people listen. A few hundred people at key points would result in both the Domestic and International terminals being closed down.
It is time to really block the traffic and shut down the airport with people rather than the show of a massive mechanical fleet which can be marshalled by the councils. The people want to be involved not just a few mayors.
Denis Doherty
Independent candidate for Port Jackson
Wake up Mr O'Connor
Emotive outbursts from timber workers and people like Col Dorber (NAFI) and Michael O'Connor (CFMEU) about the right to work — regardless of the environmental costs — and that greens cost jobs, are classic examples of the pot calling the kettle black. How many times have we heard that environmental arguments are "emotive" when it comes to woodchipping old growth forests. This is despite the fact that a great deal of the environmental debate comes from scientific data, and just plain logic would hold that chipping a 500 year-old forest is not value adding.
The woodchip industry in Australia employs only 1% of timber workers. Yet it requires 60% of Tasmania's timber resources for chips in that state alone. Back in 1988, the Helsham Report examined the Tasmanian forest industry and concluded that technological change, not conservation was the real cause of job losses. In NSW by 1990, 20,000 jobs were lost in sawmilling due to mechanisation while hardwood timber production increased by 40%. A similar scenario emerges in all states involved in woodchipping — jobs are lost while production levels increase.
So why does a left-wing union (CFMEU) which is ideologically attached to social justice, fail to see who the real enemy is in this debate? Mr O'Connor, conservation is not the enemy nor is the very sensible notion of plantations. These concerns are emotional over-reactions. Rather it is big business resisting the pressure to re-invest in Australian plantations and forest industries, and instead, prefers to sell our forest heritage for a few lousy export dollars whilst also chipping away at your members' right to work.
In the long run the only winners will be the corporations, while the losers will be the timber workers, their communities, the greens and Australia's natural forest heritage.
Brad Gillieatt
Fairlight NSW
[Edited for length.]
Old growth
Why does the timber industry feel it is their right to log all the old growth? Do we want to convert to a tree farm the original virgin ecosystem that is home to endangered species, and the gene pool of our diversity?
Two weeks ago loggers intimidated the prime minister to further compromise. The bullies in their very expensive Japanese, German and American log trucks admitted to being paid by the timber companies to protest. The mortgages for their heavy machines, none of which is "Made in Australia", increase our foreign debt and to keep this minority in work, Australia is hocking its forest heritage.
If it had been greenies blocking the PM's road to work, they would have been arrested, charged and fined.
Bolstered by their successful aggression in Canberra, they are now punching the altruists, spurred on by industry spokespeople who are well paid to promote industry's vested interest in the native forest, disparaging the public interest.
Woodchip costs us. The industry is subsidized and heavily in debt. Daishowa built its own port, and uses its own ships. All Australia gets is 804 jobs, a pittance in the national coffers and the rape of our biodiversity.Jennifer Sheed
Elands NSW
[Edited for length.]
Letters wanted
I am a 22 year-old male. I need correspondence with anyone. This is my first time in trouble and I ended up on death row — for something I didn't do. I will answer all letters. Write to: Jack Sliney #905288, UCI-A1-41-1092, PO Box 221, Raiford, Florida 32083, USA.
Jack Sliney
USA