Global Climate Change Action

________________________________________________________________________2. FW: Out of touch & out of control
Posted by: "Deborah Hart" deb_...@bigpond.com
Date: Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:15 am
Here's a LIVE posting which may be of interest to campaigners for Feed-inTariffs.
Have already had a response from Neale Burgess, Member of Hastings,who would like to be included on LIVE's email distribution list. I never thought I'd pick up a new member!!
Out of touch & out of control
Importance: High
Hi Everybody, I promise it is worth wading through all of the Victorian Parliamentarians ccd in this posting (yes, we are so over governed and under led in this country!!) to get to the message. Consider it the start of the Bye Bye Batchelor campaign.

Sent: Tuesday, 12 August 2008 10:38 PM To: 'david.davis@parliament.vic.gov.au'Cc: 'jacinta.allan@parliament.vic.gov.au';'daniel.andrews@parliament.vic.gov.au';'louise.asher@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'ted.baillieu@parliament.vic.gov.au';'ann.barker@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'peter.batchelor@parliament.vic.gov.au';'elizabeth.beattie@parliament.vic.gov.au';'gary.blackwood@parliament.vic.gov.au';'colin.brooks@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'john.brumby@parliament.vic.gov.au';'neale.burgess@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'bob.cameron@parliament.vic.gov.au';'christine.campbell@parliament.vic.gov.au';'carlo.carli@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'robert.clark@parliament.vic.gov.au';'peter.crisp@parliament.vic.gov.au';'michael.crutchfield@parliament.vic.gov.au';'lily.dambrosio@parliament.vic.gov.au';'hugh.delahunty@parliament.vic.gov.au';'martin.dixon@parliament.vic.gov.au';'luke.donnellan@parliament.vic.gov.au';'joanne.duncan@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'john.eren@parliament.vic.gov.au';'martin.foley@parliament.vic.gov.au';'christine.fyffe@parliament.vic.gov.au';'judith.graley@parliament.vic.gov.au';'danielle.green@parliament.vic.gov.au';'benedict.hardman@parliament.vic.gov.au';'alistair.harkness@parliament.vic.gov.au';'joe.helper@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'steven.herbert@parliament.vic.gov.au';'david.hodgett@parliament.vic.gov.au';'timothy.holding@parliament.vic.gov.au';'geoff.howard@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'rob.hudson@parliament.vic.gov.au';'rob.hulls@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'craig.ingram@parliament.vic.gov.au';'ken.jasper@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'marlene.kairouz@parliament.vic.gov.au';'lynne.kosky@parliament.vic.gov.au';'nicholas.kotsiras@parliament.vic.gov.au';'craig.langdon@parliament.vic.gov.au';'telmo.languiller@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'hong.lim@parliament.vic.gov.au';'jennifer.lindell@parliament.vic.gov.au';'tammy.lobato@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'tony.lupton@parliament.vic.gov.au';'andrew.mcintosh@parliament.vic.gov.au';'judy.maddigan@parliament.vic.gov.au';'kirstie.marshall@parliament.vic.gov.au';'james.merlino@parliament.vic.gov.au';'maxine.morand@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'david.morris@parliament.vic.gov.au';'terence.mulder@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'janice.munt@parliament.vic.gov.au';'denis.napthine@parliament.vic.gov.au';'don.nardella@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'lisa.neville@parliament.vic.gov.au';'wade.noonan@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'russell.northe@parliament.vic.gov.au';'michael.o'brien@parliament.vic.gov.au';'karen.overington@parliament.vic.gov.au';'tim.pallas@parliament.vic.gov.au';'john.pandazopoulos@parliament.vic.gov.au';'jude.perera@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'bronwyn.pike@parliament.vic.gov.au';'jeanette.powell@parliament.vic.gov.au';'fiona.richardson@parliament.vic.gov.au';'tony.robinson@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'peter.ryan@parliament.vic.gov.au';'robin.scott@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'george.seitz@parliament.vic.gov.au';'helen.shardey@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'ken.smith@parliament.vic.gov.au';'ryan.smith@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'bob.stensholt@parliament.vic.gov.au';'bill.sykes@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'murray.thompson@parliament.vic.gov.au';'marsha.thomson@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'bill.tilley@parliament.vic.gov.au';'ian.trezise@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'heidi.victoria@parliament.vic.gov.au';'nick.wakeling@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'peter.walsh@parliament.vic.gov.au';'paul.weller@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'kim.wells@parliament.vic.gov.au';'mary.wooldridge@parliament.vic.gov.au';'richard.wynne@parliament.vic.gov.au';'bruce.atkinson@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'greg.barber@parliament.vic.gov.au';'candy.broad@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'andrea.coote@parliament.vic.gov.au';'richard.dalla-riva@parliament.vic.gov.au';'kaye.darveniza@parliament.vic.gov.au';'philip.davis@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'damian.drum@parliament.vic.gov.au';'khalil.eideh@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'nazih.elasmar@parliament.vic.gov.au';'bernie.finn@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'matthew.guy@parliament.vic.gov.au';'peter.hall@parliament.vic.gov.au';'colleen.hartland@parliament.vic.gov.au';'gavin.jennings@parliament.vic.gov.au';'peter.kavanagh@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'david.koch@parliament.vic.gov.au';'jan.kronberg@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'shaun.leane@parliament.vic.gov.au';'john.lenders@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'wendy.lovell@parliament.vic.gov.au';'justin.madden@parliament.vic.gov.au';'jenny.mikakos@parliament.vic.gov.au';'edward.o'donohue@parliament.vic.gov.au';'martin.pakula@parliament.vic.gov.au';'sue.pennicuik@parliament.vic.gov.au';'donna.petrovich@parliament.vic.gov.au';'inga.peulich@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'jaala.pulford@parliament.vic.gov.au';'gordon.rich-phillips@parliament.vic.gov.au';'johan.scheffer@parliament.vic.gov.au';'robert.smith@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'adem.somyurek@parliament.vic.gov.au';'brian.tee@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'theo.theophanous@parliament.vic.gov.au';'evan.thornley@parliament.vic.gov.au';'gayle.tierney@parliament.vic.gov.au';'matthew.viney@parliament.vic.gov.au'; 'john.vogels@parliament.vic.gov.au'

Subject: Meeting Follow Up with David Davis regarding Victoria's Feed-in Tariff Legislation

Dear David,

On behalf of Helen Halliday and Bob Weis, thank you for meeting with us lastweek. We appreciate your having been so generous with your time andattention. Please find attached an electronic copy of the briefing notes left with you- We trust this document will also be of interest to your colleagues. As agreed, climate change is happening much faster than even the worst casescenarios predicted by IPCC scientists. Further evidence emerges daily thatour climate is approaching dangerous tipping points - such as the polar icevanishing 100 years ahead of schedule
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/10/climatechange.arctic.

Of course we know that by driving our environment to collapse we willdecimate our economy. Business as usual is simply not an option. Victoria must move rapidly towards a zero emission economy and, while itwill be a massive transition, it is doable, it will be affordable and itmust be done. Removing all subsidies for fossil fuel energy sources and projects, whileputting a high price on pollution will generate many new opportunities.

As experience in Europe has demonstrated, renewable energy and energy efficiency industries offer more secure and more sustainable jobs. For amultitude of reasons, it would be foolish and irresponsible for us tocontinue to protect the OLD at the expense of the NEW local economy. Meanwhile, the Brumby Government continues to commit billions of tax payer'sdollars to projects which will have disastrous environmental impacts onVictoria. It is of deep concern to us that the Opposition is literally'Missing in Action' while these appalling decisions are being made. While we have no effective Opposition, our democracy is severely compromised.

For example, in our view, there has not been a meaningful response from yourParty to:
. The legislation for a Victorian Feed-in Tariff - a distortion of the market mechanism adopted by over 40 nations so far and designed to fail.
. the Wonthaggi desalination plant proposal - already being dubbed the worst infrastructure bet ever taken by a first world government http://www.climateemergencynetwork.org/images/stories /cen/desal.doc
Proper process would reveal the deception in desal
. Proposals to build more road tunnels instead of improving public transport
. Approving and funding the HRL Limited coal-fired electricity plant
. Dredging the bay at massive financial and environmental cost forno apparent social or economic gain
. Continuing to allow logging of Victoria's old growth forests, responsible for around 20% of Victoria's greenhouse gas emissions each year and threatening Melbourne's fresh water supplies
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/how-to-turn-99-million-worth-of-trees-into-a-17000-loss/2007/12/01/1196394689058.html?page=fullpage

The Brumby Government appears to be both out of touch and out of control. In search of answers as to why efforts to implement sustainability measures continually meet a thick brick wall with decision makers, and having spokenwith a number of other campaigners also meeting with Victorian Parliamentarians, we are convinced that Peter Batchelor is the senior Minister most responsible for frustrating progress. This is the same Peter Batchelor whose involvement in fraudulent 'how to vote' cards was covered up by the Cain Government in the mid 1980s. Perhaps it is time for Minister Batchelor to wake up to the reality of 21st Century life or re-think his position entirely. Perhaps, in the interests of the wider community, he needs some help with this decision. Finally, with regards to the climate emergency we face, here are some short-cuts to the important messages in the new book Climate Code Red byco-authors Philip Sutton, The Arctic Challenge for Australia,on ABC RadioNational Perspective, last Tues 05/08/08 http://www.abc.net.au/rn/perspective/>http://www.abc.net.au/rn/perspective/
and David Spratt's recent article is pasted below.

Perhaps the two most outstanding books on global warming to have been published lately are The Hot Topic .. and Climate Code Red. Were I a philanthropist, I would purchase several hundred copies of both and send them to our politicians and policy-makers. Robert Manne (The Monthly)

David, we were encouraged by your commitment to seek cooperation from Jennings to bring the Feed-in Tariff legislation to the next COAG meeting and will be in touch regarding any further developments.

After all, the VicFiT presents the ideal opportunity for all Victorian Parliamentarians to'walk their talk' re sustainability. Thank you again for your time and attention -
Yours faithfully,
Deborah Hart
0439 447 777
Campaigner,
LIVE http://www.live.org.au
(Locals into Victoria's Environment)