Bush-ite Rudd Australia Denial
 
Australia has just witnessed an extraordinary Bush-ite propaganda event called the “Australia 2020 Summit”. The newly-elected, right-wing, Rudd Labor Government called this 2-day Summit for discussion of new ideas for the future of Australia. Unfortunately the Australia 2020 Summit was – as predicted by astute observers - manipulated as a vehicle for endorsement of Rudd Labor Government policy.

Citizens were asked for Submissions and over 3,000 people responded with over 8,000 submissions covering 10 Topic Areas (thus my 170 suggestions covering all 10 Topic Areas are given the ID 2015 in the Web-displayed submissions; the Initial Report of the Australia 2020 Summit can also be accessed via this link). 

For the 2-day Summit the co-convenors were PM Rudd and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Professor Glyn Davis.  Each of the 10 Topics Areas were co-chaired by a Government Minister and a Government-invited co-chair. Unfortunately while 5 of the co-chairs had PhDs only one of these was a scientist (a top medical scientist). One of the co-chairs was the CEO of the Rupert Murdoch News Limited media empire in Australia (that owns about 70% of city daily newspapers) and his boss-to-be Rupert’s son Lachlan was one of the 1,000 selected delegates –as if these guys didn’t have enough say already in the Australian Murdochracy. 

Further, the composition of the  1,000 delegates (assertedly “Australia’s one thousand best and brightest”) was evidently biased as revealed by the fact that the delegates overwhelmingly supported Australia as a Republic by standing ovation - whereas a recent poll indicated 45% for, 36% against and 19% unsure (see a Republican report of this poll) .

At the end of the conference the 10 Groups delivered consensus suggestions out of the thousands of ideas submitted to the Summit. However the “process” was well controlled in this “stacked” conference  as reflected in the outcome – 40 non-controversial suggestions, substantially of the “let’s set up a committee” kind and consonant with Rudd Labor policy. The Rudd Labor Government has said that it will “seriously” address the Summit suggestions – thus giving itself lots of time to do nothing about serious problems (notably the endemic Australia Child Abuse epidemic and the global warming Climate Emergency)  and a licence to pick and choose from the Summit-endorsed pot-pourri of policies consonant with those of the Government. 

One of Australia’s (necessarily conservative) top political commentators provided the following summary of what she called  Ten of the Biggest Ideas arising from the Australia 2020 Summit (see “The Age”). I have analysed these briefly below with  reference to what I submitted to the Summit in my Submission number 2015 (the references below are to Topic Number and Suggestion; thus my last suggestion out of 171 made was #19 in Topic 10 and is denoted 10.19 for easy reference).

1. “Introduction of an Australian republic with a two-stage, beginning with a plebiscite on the issue, followed by a referendum” – as indicated above this arose from an evidently “stacked” conference; this was my suggestion: “9.12. The idea of a Republic is supported by most Australians – however a Republic Declaration should not enable us to escape our continuing remorseless association with past and continuing British atrocities.”

2. “Creation of "community corps" to allow students to reduce their HECS [high university fees] through volunteer work” – my suggestion was that education should be free and thus my “1.6. Student HECS fees should be abolished – tertiary education should be free”.

3. “A national preventative health care agency funded by taxes on cigarettes, alcohol and junk food” – this was one of a number of excellent suggestions from the one Group headed by a top scientist; compare MY suggestion: “5.11. Major medical problems in Australia due to obesity, smoking and alcohol – need greater preventive campaigns and free behaviour change assistance for all people at risk”.

4. “Increasing the formal and legal recognition of Aborigines, with the possibility of a treaty” – this watered-down suggestion IGNORES the horrendous reality that the Labor Party supported the conservative Coalition Government last year in specifically depriving Northern territory Indigenous Australians (Aborigines) of the protection afforded by the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act (just imagine the international outcry if this sort of evil, racist specificity were applied to Jews or indeed to any vulnerable minority). This racist obscenity is still in place. I made 20 specific suggestions in the “Aboriginal” area based on non-racism and equal treatment e.g. my “7.1. Indigenous health funding should be urgently doubled as recommended 4 years ago by medical experts to meet peculiar needs and to stop the horrendous Aboriginal Genocide (9,000 excess deaths annually out of 0.5 million). 7.2. Apology to Indigenous Australians for the Stolen Generations is the first step – re the on-going Aboriginal Genocide there should be a comprehensive Cessation, Acknowledgment, Apology, Amends and Assertion of “Never Again”. 7.3. Urgent steps should be taken with intimate Indigenous consultation to stop the current irreversible Indigenous ethnocide. 7.4. Australia should sign the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights . 7.5. Australia should urgently rescind the race-specific (i.e. racist) legislative suspension of the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act in relation to Northern Territory Indigenous Australians. 7.6. Overall taxpayer-funded Indigenous Australian employment should be the SAME as for White Australians . 7.7. All social services (health, education, emergency, welfare, security, legal etc) should be provided to Indigenous Australian communities at the same or indeed greater level as appropriate …”

5. “Contributing 1% of federal funding allocated to each government department to the arts” – this bit of glorious “bureaucracy gone mad” involves “funding by stealth”, hoping that people won’t notice what 1% of a total annual Federal Budget in 2007-2008 of about $230 billion actually represents (i.e. $2.3 billion, or about half of what we spend on all our public universities). This suggestion came from a Group headed by actress celebrity Cate Blanchett, Rudd’s chosen “Hollywood goddess” coup  for the Conference.  My suggestions were about using existing infrastructure and needs-based funding: “8. 6. Greater use of school and university infrastructure for community Arts activities and for displaying community Art. 8.10. There should be much greater financial support for critical, iconic cultural assets (museums, art galleries, orchestras, ballet, theatre, Indigenous culture). 8.11. Around the country there are thousands of dedicated artists whose work could - with some public imagination - enrich our public life pro bono publico.”  

6. “All new buildings to be carbon neutral” – this is a good idea but hardly comes to grips with the horrendous Climate emergency and sustainability Emergency facing Australia and the Planet. I offered many suggestions but the over-riding core suggestion was “10.19. urgent - a Global Declaration of a Climate State of Emergency to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) to a safe and sustainable level of 300-350 ppm.”

7. “Bringing regulations for transport and agriculture across states into line” – this was a very sensible suggestion from a Group headed by a top business man with a PhD in economics. However this also falls into the pro-US, pro-Federalism policies of the Bush-ite Rudd Labor Government. Thus diminishing States Rights would enable extension of racist removal of Aboriginal Human Rights to all states (and indeed this has been publicly canvassed). I made numerous suggestions in this area which were resolutely ignored e.g. “2.1. Climate emergency and peak oil means renewables, electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, expanded public rail transport, and cessation of fossil fuel burning and highway building. 2.2. Just as we now have legislated mandatory efficient energy usage (e.g. with long life energy-saving lights) so we need mandated efficient Energy Provision. 2.3. Building highways and fossil fuel power stations should stop – but sensible rail systems should expand in concert with intelligent re-design of our cities. 2.4. Urgent need for the expert estimation of the “true cost” of major economic components such as coal-fired power stations and cars. 2.5. There is an urgent need for the expert estimation of the “true value” of public assets. 2.6. Save wild nature - sustainable use of wild nature is economically compelling (Balmford et al). 2.7. Continued economic growth with negative CO2 emissions means sole renewable energy use, re-foresting and restoring carbon to the soil. 2.8. In relation to the “true cost” of coal-fired electricity all renewables (including the latest photovoltaic technologies) are cheaper – and accordingly there must be massive investment in renewable energy. 2.9. Atmospheric CO2 must be kept to below 450 ppm in order to save the 63,000 jobs and $7 billion pa from the Great Barrier Reef. 2.10. The urgent need for a Declaration of Climate Emergency, Declaration of a Climate State of Emergency would have a transformative role in relation to economic infrastructure. 2.11. Change to “needs” rather than “desires” in our economy . 2.12. Economic efficiency must be the goal rather than economic expansion per se. 2.13. Implementation of Concentrated Urban goals should mean a more concentrated and efficient economic infrastructure. 2.14. There will be hugely expensive re-positioning of economic infrastructure unless the World declares a state of climate emergency. 2.15. There will necessarily be major changes to our economic infrastructure when Australia declares a Climate State of Emergency. 2.16. Massive changes to water-related infrastructure are urgently needed.”