AFTER
some 70 years of watching Australian governments trying to handle projects and problems requiring technical expertise, it was not hard many years ago to come to the conclusion that our politicians do not have a scientific neuron or a technical bone in their bodies.
They seem to think that any embarrassing scientific or technical problem requiring financial expenditure to rectify should either be ignored or referred to the USA where it is not difficult to find, for a price, technical experts who will tell you what you want to hear and not what you should know. PFAS, Agent Orange, asbestos, carcinogens in fuels and foods, mercury amalgams, lead contamination from mining, everlasting plastic packaging etc. The list is almost endless.
If it costs a buck to fix, our governments are uninterested. That PFAS was banned by most of the world in 2009 is immaterial and inconsequential. Australian politicians will obscure, pontificate and lie before taking any action. And action is only taken after a vigilant press informs enough people of political incompetence and greed that the politicians begin to feel that their seats and the access to the taxpayers’ funded benefits trough, are at stake. J.J. GOOLD, MUDGEERABA