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•Show support for a Price on Carbon Pollution

•Neutralize “No”

•People don’t understand - carbon is confusing

•People don’t want to be told that being “green” means giving something up

•Coalition of 9 groups

•Rational, friendly

• Australians like that their positivity, ingenuity and strength of character helps them do what is best when it matters

• They also want to know what is in it for them

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Say Yes to a better, cleaner future

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1HERSA1 A010

10 TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2011 smh.com.au The Sydney Morning Herald

OPINION smh.com.au/[email protected] Fax:9282 3492

GPO Box 3771, Sydney 2001

Published since 1831

An Orwellianministry of truthtick for that one.

The President isbeing accusedof treason.

Minister fails totell it as it isKATRINA HODGKINSON and Robyn Parker, thestate’s primary industries and environmentministers respectively, may be preparing for acomedy festival. Last week they issued a jointstatement to the media intended to present theircredentials and motives as purer than driven snow.They laughably titled it: “NSW government takesthe politics out of marine parks.” An Orwellianministry of truth tick for that one.

The media statement detailed Hodgkinson’sdecision to revoke further environmentalprotection in marine parks at Jervis Bay andSolitary Islands. It followed her telling Parliamentlast week that the now disallowed zones wereapproved “without proper communityconsultation” by a Labor government desperate towoo Greens’ support.

Another big laugh. Hodgkinson’s attribution ofbase political motive to a Labor government mayhave been as deserved as the hiding that awaitedthat administration. But her claim about insufficientcommunity consultation was demonstrablenonsense, and she lacked the wit to see it.

A rebuttal email promptly arrived at theHodgkinson office. The minister, it said, was“incorrect and seriously misguided” and the newzones were “based on extensive communityconsultation processes that included more than70 stakeholder meetingsattended by hundreds ofpeople as well as review ofalmost 10,000 submissionsfrom the broad community”.

The email’s author was DrMelanie Bishop, NSWpresident of the AustralianMarine SciencesAssociation. She was protesting on behalf of morethan 100 scientists.

If the consultation that preceded the extension ofenvironmental protection was improper orinsufficient, let the minister tell us the standardsthat must be met. Rather than the ministerstanding up for “proper community consultation”,we suspect the intemperate haste of her actiondemonstrated a contempt for such a process. Herswas the lazy, feeble obfuscation ministers employwhen they do not have the bottle to articulate theirthoughts and actions honestly and unambiguously.

Hodgkinson is from the National Party. TheNationals have a record of opposing marine parksbecause their voters do not like protection zonesthat inhibit recreational and commercial fishingand because enough of them think the measuresare based on voodoo science.

That is fair enough. Individuals need to judge forthemselves whether the likes of the Roads Minister,Duncan Gay – a Nationals’ spear carrier againstmarine parks – is likely to know more of the sciencethan those who have engaged their working lives inthe field. That is not the issue here.

This is about government telling it as it is. Ifministers cannot tell the truth, better they moveaside and give a go to someone else in theCoalition’s swollen ranks who can.

Serbia hopesfor a new eraTHE arrest of Ratko Mladic ends one era. Thegovernment of Serbia hopes it will open anotherone, too. That would see Serbia, with the demons ofits recent past exorcised, admitted to the EuropeanUnion.

Mladic is accused of ordering the massacre ofmore than 7000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys inSrebrenica in 1995. The massacre, carried out underthe nose of NATO peacekeepers, is one of thedarkest episodes in Europe’s history since the endof World War II.

Shadowed by the same darkness, though, is thetime it has taken to bring Mladic to justice. Thereason becomes clearer when we contemplate thedemonstrations in Belgrade since his arrest.Thousands of ultra-nationalist Serbs for whomMladic is a hero have protested against hisextradition to The Hague to stand trial before theUnited Nations war crimestribunal. The currents ofnationalist fervour that havepoisoned relationshipsbetween the various ethnicand religious groups forcenturies still run strongly inthe Balkans. They lifted topower Slobodan Milosevic,the man who promotedMladic and protected him after the war was over. HisSerbian defenders argue that Mladic did nothingwrong, because whatever he may be accused of wasno worse than Croatians and Muslims had done toSerbs in the past. Unfortunately the second half oftheir argument may well be right – not that thatexcuses anything.

Serbia’s President, Boris Tadic, is being accused oftreason for the arrest. Unlike the ultra-nationalists,Tadic hopes to get over Serbia’s past by improving itsfuture. Tadic and his pro-Western government wantSerbia to join the EU and handing over Mladic to theInternational Court of Justice will remove a bigobstacle to that process. Tadic is certainly right thateconomic development that in all likelihood willfollow entry to Europe’s free market would helpnullify the poison from the Balkans’ ancient hatreds.Growth and prosperity are essentially what easedanother similarly vicious and ancient religiousconflict – in Northern Ireland. But that assumes thenations of the EU will welcome Serbia. DespiteEurope’s dubious record in the Yugoslav conflict, theMladic experience may give them pause. Mladic wasindicted for genocide in 1995. Serbia had to beprodded for 16 years before it finally coughed him up.He was receiving a Serbian military pension until2004. Those do not sound like the actions of acountry willing to play according to ideals ofopenness, transparency and the rule of law.

Tax a bow, Blanchett, many share your concernCARBON TAX

To all those criticising CateBlanchett’s support for the carbontax: back off (‘‘Caton defendsBlanchett’s right to opinion oncarbon tax’’, May 30).

First, the issue is limiting pollu-tion; it’s not about Cate or anyoneelse. The issue is penalising thosewho pollute and giving them theonly incentive to change that theyunderstand – money.

Second, Blanchett is speakingon behalf of many Australians,myself included, who want some-thing done about climate change.The sooner we start action onclimate change and stop listeningto the polluters and climate-change deniers, the more hope wewill have for our future and ourchildren’s future.

Geoff Denman Bondi

If the climate alarmists haveresorted to celebrity endorse-

ments they have lost the scientificdebate as far as I’m concerned.

Antonia Feitz Rocky River

If people are no longer allowed toendorse government policybecause they are too rich, then allpoliticians, mining moguls, radioshock jocks and media magnatesare going to be very, very quiet.

Pip Denton Guildford

Barnaby Joyce might deride CateBlanchett as ‘‘only an actor’’, butwhat are his qualifications forspeaking about the carbon tax orclimate change?

David Ashton Orange

Part of the reason Cate Blanchettsupports the carbon tax proposalmust be that she knows it providescompensation for low-incomeearners. Barnaby Joyce also knowsthis provision but chooses to ignore

it for what Tony Abbott calls polit-ical pragmatism, which is always tobe preferred to sound policy.

Morris Graham Georgetown

I, for one, do not appreciate CateAntoinette telling me that I shouldeat cake.

John Doran Picnic Point

Michael Caton’s concern for theenvironment and his support forthe carbon tax should be placedalongside his ardent opposition tothe extension of the eastern sub-urbs rail line to Bondi Beach.Possibly hundreds of car journeysevery day would have becomeunnecessary.

James Prior Sylvania Waters

Since Cate Blanchett is making apersonal stand, perhaps she couldtell us what she thinks of theinfamous pre-election statement,

‘‘there will be no carbon tax undera government I lead’’? Does shesimply believe that the end justi-fies the means?

William Lloyd Denistone

I would suggest that the govern-ment accept industry’s generousoffer of $10 per tonne, indexed toincrease at 10 per cent a year plusinflation (‘‘Industry pushes $10start for carbon tax’’, May 30). Bythe miracle of compounding, thatwould get it up to $20 a tonne by2018 and to $40 by 2023. By thistime the other 99 per cent of theworld might also have done some-thing about it and the governmentwill have occupied the moral highground in the interim.

During that time we can havethe debate we have to have on thenuclear option and, Fukushima-Chernobyl notwithstanding, willappreciate that nuclear energy

gives us our best long-termchance at green base-load supply.

Charles Pope Morpeth

I see John Hewson is also in favourof a carbon tax. Can he tell uswhat part of a birthday cake willattract the tax?

Rob Hanna Gowrie (ACT)

Why are we being exhorted to sayyes to a carbon tax when thegovernment has no intention ofallowing a vote on it, or of seekinga mandate by way of an election?And why are we being asked to sayyes before we get to see the detail?It all smacks of propaganda.

Alan Sturdy Hornsby

To the detractors of the carbon taxadvertisements, I can see MichaelCaton saying: “Tell ’em they’redreaming.”

Steve Barrett Glenbrook

Elderly in front line ofdisability funding crisisThe burden on carers hit crisispoint years ago, and it’s justgetting worse every day (‘‘Reportreveals burden on carers to hitcrisis point’’, May 30). I knowmany elderly women – in their80s and even 90s – still caring fortheir much-loved children withintellectual disability who arenow in their 50s, 60s and 70s:washing their clothes, cooking,personal care, dressing, shower-ing them. These mothers areunder the delusion that whenthey do finally die, the govern-ment will step in and care fortheir sons and daughters. It just isnot going to happen. There are noplaces. There is no money.

Just for a minute try to imaginetheir lives. Imagine your grand-mother being in that position.Then tell me why you think Austra-lians don’t need a complete over-haul of disability service funding.

Jenny Rollo Putney

Jesus has his ownreligion to runI support unequivocally the rightof Muslims to believe as they doand to advertise their belief toothers (‘‘Jesus billboard loses itsprophet margin’’, May 30).

However, I believe it is disin-genuous to say Muslims ‘‘believein Jesus’’ and to suggest Jesuscould be a point of commonground between Christianity andIslam.

Under Ottoman rule, my Chris-tian ancestors were subjected totorture (including being flayedalive) for refusing to confess Jesusis/was only a prophet rather thanthe son of God. Did these peoplego to their deaths for a non-issue?

Obscuring the differencesbetween Christianity and Islamwill not result in true friendship:only the semblance of it.

Jonathan Vasiliou Mascot

No, Alex O’Hara (Letters, May 30),your text for an atheist billboardabout Jesus is far too long. Giventhe propensity for profanityamong unbelievers your bill-board should simply say – Jesus:atheists swear by him.

Kel Richards Lane Cove

Dispute over parksDr Melanie Bishop, the NSWpresident of the Australian Marine

Sciences Association, asserts inrespect to NSW marine parks thatthe local communities ‘‘are com-pletely on board with the benefitsof a marine park for their com-munity’’ (‘‘Fear for marine life assafety zones scrapped’’, May 30).

This is despite many submis-sions from members of the localcommunities complaining aboutthe proposals to introduce theparks. This unsupportable state-ment by Dr Bishop clearly demon-strates the unscientificprepardedness of marine-parkadvocates to ignore and/or distortfacts uncomfortable to their cause.

The government is correct torevisit the ‘‘science’’ upon whichthe parks’ promulgations werebased.

Greg Maidment Bronte

Bah, humbug overorchestra birthdayLike deathbed conversions, birth-day celebrations can be fraught andinsincere, so readers would be welladvised to look carefully behind theseeming benevolence of the SydneySymphony Orchestra’s offer of acomposition prize in honour of its‘‘80th birthday’’ next year (‘‘Com-position Prize’’, May 30).

Apart from the fact that the realhistory of the orchestra is ratherolder than 80 years, and the factthat a prize of $5000 is trifling, the

humbug of this competition isextraordinary, though hardly sur-prising. Especially since it acquiredits ‘‘independence’’ from the ABC,the record of this orchestra infostering Australian music isshabby. Most serious composersfeel abandoned.

Nigel Butterley’s 75th birthdaywas totally ignored last year asMoya Henderson’s 70th is thisyear: their music hasn’t beenperformed in years. Nor has Larry

Sitsky’s. And what of such notablepast composers as Arthur Ben-jamin, Malcolm Williamson orMargaret Sutherland? And let’s noteven mention any significantAmerican, French or Germancomposers of the past 80 years.

To reclaim any artistic integrity,the Sydney Symphony Orchestrahas to do far more than thegesture of such a competition.

John Carmody Roseville

Diabetes actionHerald readers should be awarethat since the investment loss atDiabetes Australia which the

newspaper reported, all of therecommendations from theMcGrathNichol report wereaddressed, implemented and doc-umented in an agreement withthe Department of Health in Octo-ber 2009. (‘‘Diabetes group’s$2 million loss sparks review of its$140 million in funding’’, May 30).Diabetes Australia has compliedwith all financial managementand compliance obligations.

The Department of Health nowhas the confidence to be negotiat-ing the next five-year NationalDiabetes Services Scheme agree-ment with us, and all eight stateand territory diabetes organisa-tions will continue to work closelytogether with us to deliver thescheme’s products and servicesaround Australia.

Directors represent memberorganisations so of course manyresigned when some statesresigned their governance role inthe federation. Other directorsresigned in the normal annualrotation.

We now have a strong, stableand united board; we moved toappoint an independent chair inmid-2010 and I became CEO earlythis year – fresh leadership for thefuture for this important cause.

Lewis KaplanCEO, Diabetes Australia

State of the unionsaddress flawedPaul Sheehan really ought tocheck his all of his facts beforeattacking the record of the NSWIndustrial Relations Commission

and WorkCover on safety in NSW(‘‘Crippling blow to a destructivemachine’, May 30).

If NSW has had five times therate of prosecution and convic-tions for workplace safety viola-tions, might it not be becauseNSW WorkCover has actually beenmore active in catching workplacecriminals and bringing them tojustice than other state regulat-ors? The unexpressed assumptionhere is that slack bosses cannot be‘‘criminals’’ in failing to see to thesafety of the workers who gener-ate their profits.

But the bald statement that‘‘unions . . . usually harvest half theproceeds of fines’’ is just plainwrong. From 2005-2010, unionslaunched only 27 prosecutions –that is about 1.4 per cent of totalprosecutions over that time. It isonly in the case of a union-commenced prosecution that aunion is entitled to receive a partof the fine imposed to offset thehigh costs of bringing such pros-ecutions. The picture of unionsfunding themselves by taking theproceeds of prosecutions is com-pletely absurd.

The ridiculous decision of thegovernment to remove workplaceprosecutions from the specialisttribunal which has developedexpertise in the area can only bebad for safety in the state. Hope-fully the last-minute amendmentmade in the Legislative Council,preserving the use of that expert-ise in some cases, will later see theIndustrial Relations Commissionmove back into the more seriousprosecutions it is eminentlysuited to hear.

Neil Foster Senior lecturer,Newcastle Law School, University

of Newcastle

Paul Sheehan says the Greens NSWare on a union payroll. Neither Inor my Greens NSW colleaguesaccept any donations from unionsfor our political campaigns. TheGreens NSW are on nobody’s pay-roll save for our members andindividual supporters across thestate. He attacks the work of theFinance Sector Union in prosecut-ing the ANZ over a string of armedrobberies. He does not mentionthe bank had been told of the riskand did not act to prevent its staffand customers being exposed tothese armed robbers. It was onlyby reason of the union’s series oftargeted prosecutions of banksthat the number of armed robber-ies has fallen in NSW from 180 in1998 to just four in 2009. Unionprosecutions work and makeworkplaces safer and the GreensNSW stand by them.

David Shoebridge Greens MLC

Case of injusticeAs one of thousands living suc-cessfully with mental illness, I washeartened by the Herald’s defenceof the two magistrates facingdismissal after responsibly andsuccessfully seeking help for theirmental conditions (‘‘Justice andmental illness’’, May 30). Ratherthan sack the magistrates, Parlia-ment should sack the JudicialCommission for its cruel andunjust recommendations.

Andrew Macintosh Queenscliff

Hitting the sourceA possible solution to illegalonline poker and other question-able activities may be for laws tobe passed enabling prosecutionof credit card companies thatservice such operations, whichthey seem to do now with impun-ity (‘‘FBI, federal police targetoverseas poker websites that floutthe law’’, May 30). It is, after all,taking a fee for processing anillegal financial transaction.

Richard Brett Paddington

Love thy neighbourJesus’s preaching was for a societyin which all people, regardless ofrace, creed or age, loved andrespected each other; were non-judgmental, sharing and caring.Those who have committed theirlives to these principles areideally suited to provide the ser-vices under the job description ofschool chaplain. It seems thedifficulty Col Nicholson (Letters,May 30) has in understandingwhy a religious background is theprerequisite for this role is more alack of acceptance of the conceptof unconditional love.

Barbara Moore Bonnet Bay

Doing the mathsSchool students studying math-ematics might be more inclined totake on a calculus-based course ifit was made more relevant to theireveryday lives (Letters, May 30).

Many teachers forget thatcalculus was developed byNewton and Leibniz and othersto understand natural phenom-ena, such as falling apples andplanetary motion.

Unfortunately too often calcu-lus is introduced with nonsensic-al examples such as infinitelyhopping frogs and fleas thatnever reach their destination. Orworse still, teachers with simplyan arcane interest in numbers(they’re probably very good atSudoku).

If school students were told theysubconsciously use calculus everytime they cross a road, or to workout how fast a car is accelerating,they might show more interest andunderstanding of the subject.

Bruce Stafford Tascott

Wrong prioritiesExplaining the increased numberof Chinese tourists (‘‘Chinesetaste for luxury keeps tourism outof red’’, May 30), tourism bossesmake no mention of a BeijingOprah. Perhaps we could havesaved our money.

Garth Clarke North Sydney

Bluff and no puffPhillip Coorey writes ‘‘Mr Abbott isreluctant to support the move [tosupport plain cigarette pack-aging], saying the property rightsof big tobacco must be respected’’(‘‘Stop sniping, Hockey warns, asCoalition faces poll hit’’, May 30). Iguess this makes Mr Abbott Aus-tralia’s Iron (lung) Man?Brenton White Mosman

So, Tony Abbott has had a stoushwith Joe Hockey, then MalcolmTurnbull and now Nick Minchin,essentially over similar problems.Either his Claytons climatechange policy or lack of any otherpolicy at all. Judging by theweekend press, even the mediaare tiring of the constant whinge-ing with no alternative plan.

Mr Abbott is a bit like MarlonBrando in the 1953 classic filmThe Wild One. When asked ‘‘sowhat are you rebelling againstJohnny?’’, Brando replies ‘‘Whad-daya got?’’ Mike Carlton’s right –Abbott is all smuggle and nobudgie.

Kelvin Carlson North Narrabeen

Cross purposesAn early nomination for oxymor-on of the year is the FIFA EthicsCommittee, though it has com-petition from the perennial con-tender, Middle East Peace Plan.

Anthony Inatey Bathurst

Referrals point to osteopathy’s effectivenessYour article on governmentsubsidies for alternative medic-al treatments (‘‘Blowout in costof health therapies’’, May 30)says large sums of ‘‘taxpayers’funds’’ are being spent on thesetherapies, including osteopath-ic services. Our research sug-gests that the Medicarepayments amount to no morethan 5 per cent of osteopaths’gross earnings. Can many otherprofessions claim similar?

Medicare data also shows asignificant increase across allitems in the chronic diseasemanagement program since thescheme began in 2006.

Medicare rebates in osteo-pathy come only when directlyreferred by a medical practi-tioner so there must be a grow-

ing number of them out theresatisfied with the effectivenessof osteopaths.

To qualify, register and prac-tise, osteopaths do a five-yearmaster’s degree. They studyanatomy, physiology and otherdisciplines, similar to physio-therapists or medical students.They specialise in the treatmentof the musculo-skeletal systemand refer patients on to medicalcolleagues for complaints out-side their scope.

Evidence of osteopathy’seffectiveness is found innumerous osteopathic text-books, the practice of hundredsof thousands of osteopaths (ourcolleagues in the US operatewhole hospitals), in wide ran-ging British studies and in a

growing body of properly docu-mented and peer-reviewedresearch.

Unfortunately for osteopathy,public hospitals and taxpayersdo not subsidise our research.

There are about 1600 osteo-paths practising in Australia – a30 per cent increase from 2006.Between them, they hold 50,000consultations every week.

Osteopathy in Australia isgrowing because people knowfrom experience it works forthem. It is growing in spite ofvirtually no access to Medicareand none of the practice-support subsidies available tomedical practitioners.

Antony NicholasExecutive director, Australian

Osteopathic Association

LETTERS [email protected] Fax:9282 3492 GPO Box 3771, Sydney 2001Letters to the Herald must carry the sender’s name, home address and day and evening phone numbers. Pseudonyms are not accepted. Please try to keep letters to a maximum of 200 words. Do not send email attachments. We do not acknowledge receipt of unpublished letters unless the writer requests it. More detailed rules and tips on submitting letters are at www.smh.com.au/letters. By submitting your letter for publication you agree that we may edit it for legal, space or other reasons and may, after publication in the newspaper, republish it on the internet or in other media. Responsibility for election comment is taken by the editor-in-chief, Peter Fray.

EDITORIAL [email protected] Fax: 9282 3253 Phone: 9282 1569

YOU WON’T PAY, BIG COMPANIES WILL.A price on pollution is NOT a direct tax on you. It’s not like the GST and it won’t be added to your annual tax bill.

It’s actually a tax levied on Australia’s 1,000 biggest polluting companies - to encourage them to stop putting carbon pollution into our skies and instead invest in cleaner ways to do business.

REDUCING POLLUTION COULD CREATE MORE THAN 770,000 EXTRA JOBS BY 2030.Research shows that Australia could create more than 770,000 extra jobs by 2030 by taking strong action now to reduce pollution. The jobs identified are not just “clean energy” jobs, but new jobs in traditional industries such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing and the services sector.

Source: ACTU & ACF, Creating Jobs - Cutting Pollution Report, 2010.

31 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVE HAD A PRICE ON CARBON SINCE 2005.And major US states such as California (which has a bigger economy than Australia) have moved to put a price on carbon pollution. China will run a pilot in key provinces, as part of its current five year plan, and India already has a coal tax that works similarly to a carbon price. Even NZ has already priced pollution!

YOU WILL BE NO WORSE OFF.At least half of the money raised will be used to help families that are struggling with bills.

Low-income households and pensioners should actually be better off in pure dollar terms. Middle income households should be no worse off.

IT WILL MEAN NEW INVESTMENT.Big polluters will have a new incentive to clean up their act, and find cleaner ways to do business. We’ll also unlock billions of dollars of new investment in clean technologies, which will become the smart choice for investors.

DELAYING ACTION IS RISKY AND IRRESPONSIBLE.If we don’t do something, climate change is likely to cause more and more extreme weather events, like bushfires, floods and cyclones.

AUSTRALIANS CAN ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS WHEN WE PUT OUR MINDS TO IT. IF WE DECIDE TO CUT POLLUTION AND BUILD CLEAN ENERGY, WE’LL MAKE A SUCCESS OF IT!

FACTS

www.SayYesAustralia.org.au

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