Another Rudd betrayal
The Rudd Labor Government's latest anti-science, pro-coal, pro-pollution Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) proposal betrays Labor voters, Australians and humanity — and comprehensively demonstrates its unfitness to rule.
The world is threatened by a Climate Emergency, but irresponsible Rudd Labor ignores the science and the planet in favour of the greedy interests of carbon polluting industries.
Former UK Chief Scientist Professor Sir David King (Oxford University) estimates that "annual per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution" in "tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year" must rapidly fall to India's value of 2.2 in order to avoid catastrophe (the values for India, the World, Europe and the US are 2.2, 6.7, 11 and 27 respectively; the value for Australia is 30 — or 54 if its world-leading coal exports are included).
However the Australia- and planet-threatening ETS proposal of "5-25% off 2000 value by 2020" means that Australia's "annual per capita domestic and exported GHG pollution" will merely fall from 54 now to 44-49 tonnes CO2-equivalent per person per year by 2020.
Gideon Polya
Macleod, Victoria [Abridged.]
Keelty's shameful legacy
Mick Keelty's retirement from the Australian Federal Police is long overdue. His legacy is not a proud one.
Keelty defended the actions of the AFP over the Bali Nine case. Instead of allowing these young men and women to return to Australia where they could be charged, AFP staff informed the Indonesian authorities, resulting in three of them now being on death row.
Keelty was pivotal in lobbying for the introduction of the notorious anti-terror laws in 2005. Our Federal Parliament never passed a more draconian and fascist piece of legislation.
The same piece of legislation was used to trample the rights of Dr Haneef and others, and has now been used as a model for the NSW anti-bikie laws.
And who should pop up again in the media to defend the anti-bikie law? None other than Commissioner Keelty.
Keelty has had a long career in the AFP and politicians who support tyranny will of course send him off with the usual cliches and platitudes. But men who justify tyrannical laws in order to prosecute criminals are flawed men.
They use security as an excuse for the removal of
legal safeguards. In so doing they become like the criminals.
Adam Bonner
Meroo Meadow, NSW [Abridged.]