Letters ▶ Continued from page 9 And what about the AUKUS coalition? Did the Morrison government ever bring this to the people, that we will now have nuclear weapons from our allies being positioned in this country? That he committed us to pay $368 billion plus for some submarines, after paying $5 billion to France for lying while some military experts doubt their usefulness. Aren’t we opening ourselves up to being the nuclear waste dump for the UK and US? Haven’t we learned anything from the war when we followed our big warring brother in the search for weapons of mass destruction? What a shameful end to our operation in Afghanistan, leaving so many helpers behind and now charging the whistleblower, David McBride, for speaking up. Shameful! Hearing Penny Wong stuttering when being asked about their actions for Julian Assange while they were in the US a few months ago, makes my blood boil. And while the Secretary-General of the UN said at the end of last year: ‘No more bottomless greed of the fossil fuel industry and its enablers’, Labor is still handing out fossil fuel licences.
North Coast news online It’s time for Labor to protect our native flora and fauna. Not just talking about the Great Koala National Park and letting the NSW Forestry Corporation log as much as possible beforehand. These people are looking for nocturnal creatures in the daytime! Chibo Mertineit Lillian Rock
Destiny of Australia Less than five per cent of Americans own more than 90 per cent of the wealth and control over 60 per cent of the world’s resources. In 1962 Australian businesses were 80 per cent foreign owned. We have allowed international lobbyists access to our parliament to influence decision making. Australia has become beholden to China as a major trading nation due to our sale of iron ore and our purchase of industrial products from them. So why aren’t the multinationals defending Australian shores from the so-called aggressors? For us to determine our own destiny would involve us extricating ourselves from the grips of the multinational corporations. This process could be assisted by us generating our own Australian Bill of Rights. We would need to look at
10 The Byron Shire Echo `ëŕƖëſƷ ǪǨǽ ǩǧǩǫ
the resources of Australia and figure out what might best serve our interests as a nation into the future. In social terms we might be interested in the best outcomes for gender, culture and age. In physical terms we might look at giving the trees, the rocks and water their own rights. In economic terms we would look at deriving an economy that is uniquely Australian, allowing for a socially, physically and economically sustainable future. Boyd Warren Main Arm
Justine Elliott working for you The letters from Tony Christy and Kate Smorty savagely castigating Justine Elliott for ‘doing nothing’ and ‘failing to organise or attend protests’ in the Feros Care issue were at best ludicrous and at worst, disingenuous, highly insulting, and indicative of Greens involvement. All of the great people who assisted the remaining residents to finally win a great outcome deserve all the praise they can get, but all the supporting visits, photo ops for wannabee Green MPs and protests in the world mean nothing, unless someone actually in government makes it happen.
It was always a state government issue because the Feros Care facility is on Crown land, and in response to feedback from residents and the community, NSW Labor Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper instructed Crown Lands to conduct an Expression Of Interest process to invite potential operators of the Feros Village facility to be considered for a long-term lease at the Marvell Street site. Justine Elliott, Labor member for Richmond and Minister for Women’s Protection; and Rose Jackson, NSW Labor Minister for the North Coast, along with great support from the Byron Council, were instrumental in securing St Andrews in Ballina as the new care provider; to deploy experienced staff to commence operations at the Byron site quickly, maintain the existing 40 residential aged care beds at the site, invest an initial amount of $3 million to refurbish facilities and to provide comfortable and functional accommodation and ensure compliance with aged accommodation standards. Keith Duncan Ballina Branch NSW Labor
▶ More letters on page 12
Without a legacy to stand on? David Lowe
I
n what’s been a busy week in Australian federal politics, ScoMo finally announced he would be leaving the parliamentary building, just as Albo undid one of his predecessor’s signature policies (or land mines) by reworking the Stage 3 tax cuts, creating hysteria among Liberals and the mainstream media, and some relief for those Australians earning less than $200,000 a year. Scott Morrison used to tell interviewers he wasn’t interested in leaving a legacy, but Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor named AUKUS as his old boss’s major contribution (never mind that the Australian public were not asked what they thought about it), along with getting the country through Covid and tax reform. Less heralded legacies include delivering major blows to Australia’s relationships with France, China, and the Pacific, along with trust in politicians and the truth in general. But with ScoMo’s tax reforms now being undone, and his activities during Covid a very mixed blessing, according to both public and premiers, AUKUS and
its associated $368 billion American military submarine contracts are pretty much all that’s still standing from this prime minister’s time in office, which is why Mr Morrison’s new job is so fitting.
Revolving door It seems Scotty from Marketing won’t be spending more time with his family, as previously advertised, or becoming a curry expert on MasterChef, or a ukelele instructor, or a cap salesman. Instead he’ll be taking up a role as Non-Executive Vice Chairman of American Global Strategies, a ’boutique strategic advisory firm’ with international expertise in ‘crisis management’ and strong links to the American defence (arms) industry. The chairman of this outfit is a former Donald Trump lackey and naval enthusiast named Robert O’Brien. With Morrison’s old mate Trump eyeing a return to the White House, the whole thing looks a lot like payment for his part in engineering the massive military deal with the United States. As Michael West put it, ‘he’s off to flog a few missiles and go to lunch.’ Q Full story on The Echo online at: www.echo.net.au.
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