Country which our forebears fought for has lost its way

WHAT happened to the protection, for which our forebears, commemorated recently on Anzac Day, valiantly fought?

Many fought to guard their homeland and had a memory of the “bush” that made it dear to them.

However, in recent times, broadscale clearing in Queensland has reached the proportion of two thirds of the South American shocking rate of clearing in the Brazilian Amazon.

There should be no unmannerly objection to the Premier reinstating Vegetation Protection laws lost, with horrendous rates of clearing, during the Newman era.

Not only do 1000 to 2000 birds die and countless Australian mammals with every 100 hectares clearfellled (State of Environment Report 1999) but rainfall, generated by transpiration is lost and carbon emissions increase.

Our fighting forebears knew Australia owed its prosperity to the sheep industry, “rode on the sheep’s back.” Now, livestock in blazing temperatures attempt to huddle under the few trees remaining on vast cleared plains and many are shipped away, to our national disgrace, in ships of shame.

Locally, one of our boys is injured on a worksite and the union, often lambasted for being there at all, is now questioned in terms of its oversight (‘Tension between workers and union at Jewel site,

GCB, 10/5/18). Regardless of the outcome of this question it must be noted that the responsibility for safety lies not only with union oversight but with the contractor and management.

Meanwhile, it turns out that the ABC, which has already had its overseas service slashed (to the detriment of our national security), now loses $83.7 million from its budget. Apparently, a critical reason for this was a negative report on Turnbull’s company tax cuts. (‘ABC gets the cut it deserves’, Andrew Bolt, GCB, 10/5/18).

Many in Australia, especially those who dream of home ownership or of retirement in their few work-free years, look to be waiting a long time for the “trickle down” of income effect from tax concessions to the “big boys”.

At home the Mayor spends $2 million of ratepayer funds and wants $8m more for a cruise terminal, at a possible building cost of $562m. There is a state of the art port immediately to the north. Sir Bruce Small, when mayor, used to promote the city and our local businesses and attractions need just that ... not never ending, costly, “pie in sea” schemes.

That $10m could go towards buying the Black Swan lake site or the Bruce Bishop car park. Oh, I forgot, the community already owns those, don’t they?