Protests are passe?

Public protests and marches have passed their use-by date according to Annabel Crabb, particularly if you’re a uni student.

Not surprisingly the student protests she's discussing condescendingly, aren't living up to the standard of well resourced, professional campaigns, run by expensive marketing companies, for political parties or multinational businesses.

And while she's - 

... not arguing there is nothing to protest against in the budget, nor that university students should not take every opportunity to explain what the full deregulation of tertiary fees in Australia will mean for parents and children. 

 - when they do just that - take an opportunity to publicly protest the impact of deregulation and the hypocritical double standards of a government, many of whom benefitted from a free education, they're criticised from pretty much every sector of the main stream media (msm). 

Ms Crabb goes on to ask:

How, then, can it possibly be that student protests have not changed even one little bit over that time? And how can it be, as even our phones gets smarter, that protesters are somehow getting dumber?

Protesters are not getting dumber, but unfortunately, informative reporting is, particularly in some dominant and less balanced areas of the msm.

Students and others are called slacktivists if they sign petitions, uninvolved if they protest with hashtags, and lazy when they don’t take to the streets. Creative YouTube clips are made, artists and cartoonists express their frustration and anger ... and are either ignored or vilified. How much easier it would be for the government if the uni protests hadn't received any media attention, and students obediently opened their anorexic wallets, handed over credit cards, and said “take the lot, it’s yours.”

Thankfully our students and many other Australians are more intelligent than that. They understand that a well educated population makes for a wealthy country, way beyond monetary value. They also understand that withholding education or making it unattractive in a variety of ways, is a means of control and manipulation. Understandably the proposed measures don’t sit well with those raised to believe in an egalitarian Australia, where giving less privileged people a ‘fair go’ is respected.

Ms Crabb goes on to wonder  "why university students … are still protesting like it’s 1969".

This is partly why:

As someone said to me: “Marches and protests are not outdated .... Eventually they go on to show the true power of “we the people”. The right looks down upon the unions and little people and tries its best to make it an evil because these unions stand up to immoral corporations, for the people’s rights."

What Ms Crabb and many other msm commentators completely fail to notice, is that the power of a protest goes way beyond posters, chants and slogans (which, by the way, can be enormously powerful, as was the repetitive and effective 3 word slogan, AXE THE TAX, which we're reaping the doubtful benefits of now.)  

The reality is, that if the msm covered the current protests maturely and informatively, rather than demonising those involved, we'd all be a lot better off. (This includes the candlelight vigils for Reza Barati, March in March and March in May protests) At present, they're either not covered at all or the activists are presented as revolting ferals and beneath contempt. 

• What's the real agenda when this happens?
• Who benefits from demonising protesters?
• What prejudices (ie pre-judgements) are being encouraged and why?
• Which of our 'hot buttons' are being pushed - why?
• Who benefits from misinforming the general public?
• What are we being distracted from looking at?

Sadly it also seems that if the issues were discussed fairly and rationally by the media, it’s highly likely that this would be perceived as bias against the government, and there’d be loud and sustained outrage about the particular media outlet being "unpatriotic”.

Protests aren’t attended on the naïve assumption that that alone will change government behaviour.  That misses the point entirely. I attended one of the March in March protests. I didn’t know what to expect – would they all be scary ferals much the same as presented in the murdoch press? Would there be anyone else there? Would I feel silly and out of place?

The reality was none of the above. It was an extraordinary experience. I’ll never forget the incredible sense of togetherness, the goodwill and strength of spirit - “we’re in this together”. I’m sure that anyone who has attended a huge sporting event understands the impact of being with thousands of people focussed on the shared experience - chanting and singing! Why think that a protest is lesser than that expression of shared emotion in sport?

When you’re a single person, sitting at home grieving over what is being eroded in Australia: honesty, integrity, a sense of shared values; when you’re disgusted with the lies being spread about vulnerable peoples, appalled at the willingness of our political parties to embrace injustice, and disgusted at extreme power of multinational corporations to manipulate. And when you’re sick to the core of writing letters and emails to politicians, where if you’re lucky you’ll receive a reply - a form letter sprinkled with empty rhetoric and ‘it’s all Labour’s fault’, when responsibility is avoided… then you come together and protest.

There’s a sense of community in banding together with similar minded souls. There’s the power of song, of shared jokes and laughter, discussing experiences, forging friendships, swapping business cards.  The sense of isolation passes. Being with others underlines that we’re not alone and there’s power in numbers. And those numbers grow during the march as people standing on the sidelines ask what’s going on, hear from real people (not filtered through snide, insulting or belittling comments from the media) what’s happening – many are supportive, some join in. And they go back to work, chat over the urn, go home and speak to their friends. Information is shared, perspectives are able to shift, change happens.

People who drive past a march honk and wave and smile and hi-five. They’re joining in and enjoy the “feel-good factor” of participating and being engaged as well. Some passers by see that the protesters and marchers aren’t threatening as they’ve been led to believe, they’re normal everyday people, mums and dads, grandmas and grandpas, suits and tradies.

Protests happen, they’re a sign of a healthy, vibrant democracy. They don’t have the slick professional shine of an extremely well funded and highly orchestrated multimedia campaign. They’re an expression of frustration and are homespun, homegrown, and to sneeringly belittle them with condescending remarks, overlooks their very human importance - a sense of community. 

People overseas who've been horrified at Australia's willingness to ignore human rights abuses and vilify and lie about asylum seekers, who've been dismayed at the erosion of environmental protections including loss of jobs in the sciences related to the environment, climate change and climate change adaption have said "you Aussies should take to the streets". Messages of support for the various protests come from all over the world. Protests can make world news. That's significant!

It’s time the media got over the snarkiness about people exercising their democratic right to protest.  How about we see some genuine discussion about what’s really important and stop criticising protests and protesters.  

What kind of country do we want Australia to be? One tied to the apron strings of massively profitable multinational mining companies, obstructing fair taxation on the pollution they cause, frightened that their obscene profits might be affected, or one looking ahead to address the impact that our changing climate will have on every person in this country?

Are we going to be a well educated, innovative country, welcoming investment and with solid skills in climate change adaptation and renewable energy, or one stuck in the past where a compliant or complicit mainstream media continually points the finger at the wrong group of people?

More information:

http://m.smh.com.au/comment/students-sovietera-antibudget-protests-outdated-in-our-era-of-communication-20140523-zrlu6.html

http://www.alex-mckinnon.com/blog/annabel-crabb-yells-at-students-for-protesting-recommends-they-use-the-internets

http://m.smh.com.au/national/the-rage-of-a-new-generation-20140523-38u7u.html

The value of political memes: 

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/22/sharing-political-memes-isnt-as-frivolous-as-it-seems

The dire circumstances of those living in poverty:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/young-people-on-newstart-forced-to-beg-and-approach-charities-20140523-38ufw.html

  

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-25/nrn-dist-mining-subsidies/4778042

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When will Australia's fossil fuel industry stop receiving handouts?

Corporate welfare!

Tax-breaks!

Subsidies!

and fawning adulation!

What more could an undeserving industry lust after?

At the expense of other industries, Australian governments choose to generously support the already wealthy, demanding, powerful and often foreign owned, fossil fuel industry. Petulant, entitled, selfish, like an indulged only child, they suck up our taxes, demand more, and throw hissy fits and stamp their collective feet with fury, whenever a suggestion is made to curb their excesses. 

To continue to support the wealthy fossil fuel industry to the tune of around 10 BILLION dollars every year is unnecessary, unsustainable and unconscionable.

And yet the current government has shown by word and deed that when thinking of an energy future for Australia, they are only prepared to consider fossil fuels. 

It's a case of:

fossil fuels = all good

renewable energy = all bad.

There seems to be no concept that a mix of energy sources would be a sound investment, a buffer for a frighteningly heating country where unprecedented temperatures create a demand for energy to feed fans and air-conditioners. Not unexpectedly there are times when there is peak usage. Australians don't want to be cooked alive in their own homes. And while that seems like an overly dramatic statement, the statistics are there. There are significantly more deaths during, and immediately after heat waves, and heat related deaths are on the rise.

In late January 2014 in this article, "Ambulance Victoria says it received a 700 per cent rise in the number of call-outs it received for cardiac arrests on Friday, when temperatures spike at almost 44 degrees Celsius." There's also a rise in other illnesses as discussed in this paper.

And yet, it's at precisely those times when the air is superheated, that in Victoria, citizens have been asked to go easy on the electricity.  There have been rolling blackouts. The fossil fuels so beloved of the state and federal governments can't cope. 

This seems to the government to be time to roll out the welcome mat and increase our already significant reliance on, and subsidies to, the fossil fuels industry, to increase our emissions and to show that we aren't ready to take our rightful place on the world stage of sustainable energy.

Put simply we're being left behind. Australia is a 'has-been', following the same well worn coal fired path, spewing emissions carelessly into the air, sullying water and leaving sick people and ailing communities in its coal dust wake.

There is massive potential for growth in the alternative energy sector. We have skilled professional, and trades people keen to be involved with what should be a positive growth market. This is a real opportunity for jobs creation! Yet, obstacles are created, hurdles erected and alternatives to fossil fuels are consistently, persistently talked down. 

I've worked with people who are enthusiastic, ready, willing and able to take up positions in the sustainable energy field. It's where their passion lies and they want to be part of a positive future for Australia and see us take our place alongside other countries looking forward, not backward.

They want to have hope that their children will have a positive future, not one supporting climate change and contributing to appalling pollution in developing countries.

Our creative talent is going to waste in this area. We could be proudly sponsoring people and groups to attend international sustainability forums and strut our stuff on the world stage. As a nation, we should be receiving positive accolades, and celebrating!

We're an international laughing stock when it comes to wind power and having a Prime Minister who listens to fringe, discredited pseudo-science as opposed to reputable evidence. Too many other countries to mention are harvesting wind, solar and wave energy. We are far, far behind the 8 ball and need to do a lot to catch up and join this positive, growing international movement.

To take our place alongside the rest of the world who are actively investing in sustainable energy technologies and consequently employing thousands of people, we need to encourage and support our best and brightest minds. Encourage them to stay here and use their expertise to assist Australia to catch up with what's happening in sustainable energy in other parts of the world. How exciting it'll be when we join in with other countries who are already getting up to 40% and often more of their energy from sustainable sources such as wind, wave and solar.

How embarrassing that in this day and age, we'll need to catch up to the rest of the world. How shameful that 5% use of sustainable energy is referred to by our PM as "reliance".

We're not even in the ball park we're so far behind! It's already bad enough attempting to explain to people in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, The Czech Republic and many other European countries as well as a significant number in Africa, why we don't harvest our abundant sun and have solar panels on every roof and wind turbines capturing the wind. They shake their heads in disbelief.

So many countries and regions are doing better than Australia in lowering their emissions. We look pathetic and incompetent while they can strut around pointing at their reduced emissions and be proud of what they're doing in contributing less to climate change. Not only are they reducing their emissions and increasing employment in sustainable energy, but they are therefore less reliant on our fossil fuel exports. Good on them I say!

If Australia is genuinely dedicated to ensuring future energy security, stability and needs, we'll plan for a solid mix of alternative sources alongside fossil fuels.

It should not be a one size fits all either/or scenario where fossil fuels are the only option. It's not a competition, though it's often presented as one. When all our energy sources come from the one kind of energy basket it's a recipe for disaster. There is no back up plan, no plan B, no choice - we are completely at the mercy of that industry.

We should be focusing on Australia going into an uncertain and increasingly volatile climate future where a balanced portfolio of energy is supplied from different sources. 

I'd love to see the government have the courage to remove subsidies, tax breaks and all other forms of hidden assistance from fossil fuel companies and put that level of support into renewable energy. Predictably, the companies become hysterical whenever they're asked to play fair, but it'd finally show how much they rely on government support via our taxes.

The next best thing would be for the subsidies and supports that the fossil fuel companies receive, to be mentioned with the same enthusiasm that the supposed negatives regarding sustainable energy are. 

Illnesses directly related to the extraction of coal have been known for many, many years. They're real, verifiable and have a huge cost, not only on the person suffering, but on their family and community. Yet this massive cost is consistently ignored when fossil fuels are discussed. These real, genuine illnesses, which leave people with asthma and cancers which have occurred due to coal dust, should be mentioned alongside EVERY spurious comment made about renewable energy. 

It's then that the true cost of fossil fuel energy would begin to be understood and a more informed, balanced and honest discussion could take place.  

Any government that is serious about jobs growth will support alternative energy.

Any government that is serious about community health and the significant costs associated with illnesses as a direct result of fossil fuel extraction and in particular coal, will support alternative energy.

Any government that is serious about planning for the future will support alternative energy.  

What will Australia's government choose?

Part of a small mixed farm - including solar
 The Czeck Republic

Now that's what I call a wind farm. Tehachapi Pass. California.

And just in from the IMF:

The planet is "perilously close" to a climate change tipping point, and requires urgent cooperation between countries, cities and businesses, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has said.  

Addressing an audience in London, Lagarde said reducing subsidies for fossil fuels and pricing carbon pollution should be priorities for governments around the world.

More reading: 

From Laggard to Leader. How Australia can Lead the World to Zero Carbon Prosperity
http://bze.org.au/laggardtoleader

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/big-fall-in-electricity-sector-emissions-since-carbon-tax-20140205-320a6.html


http://theconversation.com/when-will-australians-finally-stop-wasting-our-energy-21574?utm_source=ReNew+eNewsletter&utm_campaign=a05760e871-&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6052baff3-a05760e871-248887757



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