Saturday 19 October 2013

Political point scoring !

At the height of this weeks fire storm destroying homes and sending people to evacuation centres, Greens MP Adam Brandt was trying to turn this disaster to his advantage by tweeting that " Tony Abbott's carbon tax plan will mean more bushfires for Australia ".

That completely ignores the long history of this country.   The Australian summer is a fire lottery.   We have a mix of wet and dry summers and on occasion the combination of low humidity, a high temperature and wind  from the wrong direction comes together with a spark that sets the bush ablaze.

That has been a recurring experience, dating back to past centuries before there was the slightest concern about things like the amount of C02 in the atmosphere.

The people who have their homes in areas prone to bushfires would see the irony of Adam Brandt point scoring as the fires burn.    It is the Greens - the very political party he represents - which is opposed to the fuel reduction plans that reduce the severity of these fires.

In particular, Greens in local government put obstacles in the way of back burning when the conditions are right to reduce the natural fuel load.   Their ecological outlook favours fossils and fauna over people's homes and lives.

Australia will always be a high fire danger country.   We have an expanding population and that means more housing will encroach ever outwards.  The only practical defence is constant effort to keep fuel loads in the bush under control and have well trained fire crews ready to deal with fire before it becomes an unstoppable force.

That requires the Greens to change their policies !

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