Govt uses environmental pretext to stop wind farm

As this ABC news story tells, the Howard government does seem to be able to keep some election promises. Even though no actual organge bellied parrots have been seen in the area of the proposed wind farm, the Environment minister is overriding the Victorian govt approval of a wind farm. Is the fact that this was an issue that the new federal Liberal member for the area campaigned against the wind farm, and then won the seat from Labor really not a consideration? Lucky for the minister, the supporters of clean energy are now split, as many also care about biodiversity. Wedge politics at its best. I'm sure BP is happy. The World Today has a longer story, but it will only appear after the show finishes.

Chris Pyne

I've been thinking of opinion pieces for this blog quite a bit recently, but it's usually when I'm at a cafe reading a newspaper... but this evening I was watching ABC news, and saw the fawning goody goody brown nose of Chris Pyne leaving the podium behind John Howard after a press conference, looking self-satisfied, as usual. Which rather than inspiring me to make a political comment, drove me to this ad hominem tuning up of the nose. Eeeewww! Is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing just cursed with the kind of facial features that makes certain people (like me) shudder, or is it that he always seems to be Johnnie's towel boy, and has that annoying private school accent. I don't think its his complicity in degrading Medicare to a 3rd rate health system, I think it's just pure animal repulsion.