Victory for common sense

Discussion in 'The big picture' started by ho-hum, Jun 2, 2006.

  1. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

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    It looks like a backbench revolt lead by Bill Heffernan [Senate] and Gary Nairn [House of Reps] has talked John Howard into killing off the sale of the Snowy Mountains Scheme...

    This is fabulous news. I rang both of these gentlemen to congratulate them. I do not know Bill Heffernan but Gary Nairn is an ex- Territorian and a fabulous person, very insightful.

    Interestingly, NSW was only ever pushing the sale of the Snowy because of its 'commitment' to privatisation [from a Labor govt??] now that the sale is not going through it is suddenly all about money and a big hole in the NSW state budget.

    Great news!!

    :D
    floot
     
  2. Penny

    Penny Junior Member

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    YAY
    When will governments realise that we, the people, own our resources and that the privately wealthy should never be permitted to have control of the basic services such as water, power, health and education.
    Power to the people
     
  3. Ev

    Ev Junior Member

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    Anyone be able to exert influence regarding telstra?
     
  4. Alex M

    Alex M Junior Member

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    This was never a business deal, it was a criminal conspiracy. The conspirators will not only go unpunished, but will be compensated with millions of our dollars.

    Even when they lose, they don't really lose. :evil:

    Viva the Bolivarian revolution!
     
  5. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

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    vfrev,

    We can all exert influence regarding telstra. All you need to do is telephone the office of your state senators [meaning you are a constituent] and have them record your name and phone number and protest.

    If they are so inclined they will use/not use your protest vote to make comment. As little as 4 or 5 phone calls often gives them an excuse to take contrary action.

    I would telephone all of the conservative, particularly, the national party senators. Once on the phone you may wish to question the senator's voting record on this issue. We all have a stake in Telstra because WE all bloody well paid for it over the years, including MASSIVE redundancy payouts.

    If you write to them they are compelled to answer you. I once sent a politician a chain letter and threatened that if he didnt send it on to 1000 constituents [it was rather derogatory] that he would be tossed out of office. It caused an uproar. Politicians can handle constituents but they cannot handle any perception, by their parliamentary colleagues that they are weak or are losing control or face. Remember it is their parliamentary colleagues who vote them into priviledged positions within the parliamentary system.

    When you find a senator that takes a strong stance on the sale of Telstra. Write to all his colleagues, state the time and date of your contact and mention that 'this Senator' is 'generating ill will' amongst his constituents.
    Keep it direct and short.

    Two weeks later, or on the same day you see something in the mail from the Senator's office, [ DO NOT OPEN IT], send it to a newspaper as a 'letter to the editor' and head it with something like, ''this man is selling my vote for personal gain''.

    This is the political achilles heel of any ambitious politician.

    You can also try the same with your local member of the House of Reps but he is much more likely to come round and beat you up. :D :D :D

    Senators convince themselves they are above the hurly burly of politics.

    Above all be timely. Be succinct. Specifically target and dont do anything that will allow you to be dismissed as irrelevant or any one of a dozen labels that politicians can use to tag irksome voters. Be wary of stooges who will try and take you on in letters to the editor. Keep it to one issue. You will be baited to take up multiple causes ie, whales, trees, industrial relations etc. - ignore them. You may have their advisors contact you who will record your conversation and encourage you to let loose on two dozen things that piss you off.

    Don't do it. Point out that you have addressed the Senator and if he wishes to contact you he/she may. It sounds really hollow in parliament if a Senator has to say - ''My office contacted that person and....'' If you ignore the flunkies anything the Senator says past that point is speculative and moot.

    This is when it gets good. You can then report the Senator to the President of the Senate for misleading parliament.

    In the early 90s I had 2 Western Australian politicans reamed out in Parliament for 'impugning the sovereignty of the Northern Territory' by interfering in the NT election campaign.

    The rules of propriety regarding Aussie politicians are extensive.


    Having said all this I must point out that the paybacks are a bitch but some times the pain is worth the gain.


    floot
     
  6. heuristics

    heuristics Junior Member

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    common sense

    Yeah, I'm with Alex....
    What was a “done deal” last week is hey presto undone....... or is it?
    While we the people celebrate and pollies of all hues pat themselves on the back for “listening” and observing “people power” the grubby bastards who were really behind all this will just keep on, taking a lower profile, finding a way to “licence” the water, or whatever.... they know there is more than one way to get their hands on what they want .... and they take as long as it takes and never give up..... public attention span is nano-seconds. These bastards can wait years to get to where they want to go..
     
  7. Alex M

    Alex M Junior Member

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    And it's where these bastards want to go, and what they have in mind for us when they get there, that has me interested. "Arbeit macht frei"

    Nasty. Very nasty.

    https://www.abc.net.au/rn/perspective/st ... 55624.htm#
     

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