Nine container ships are anchored in the bay, waiting to be unloaded. What is wrong with the dock workers? Bring back the ferocious dogs on leashes, bring back the Dubai trained strike breakers, bring back the men in balaclavas and bring back the scab labour transport buses with blacked out windows, I say. That'll learn 'em.
That awful business happened during ex PM John Howard's time in office, under the guidance of one Peter Reith, a man who I would have thought would be too ashamed to continue in public office of any description.
He was commissioned to report on fracking in Victoria. There is a moratorium at the moment on the practice of injecting chemicals, sand and water at pressure into the ground to release gas.
It is no surprise that he recommended the ban be dropped. His connection to Lakes Oil is? He is a paid lobbyist for? Well, paid lobbyist for the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, which has applied for a gas exploration license. Also, a paid lobbyist for Theiss, a construction company working in the mining industry.
Reith is thoroughly discredited as someone independent who could investigate fracking in Victoria. He is simply a lobbyist for mining.
Economics editor at the Sydney Morning Herald, Ross Gittens, writes "The gas industry is working a scam on the people of NSW, in collusion
with other business lobby groups and federal and state politicians. It's
trying to frighten us into agreeing to remove restrictions on the
exploitation of coal seam gas deposits. Failing that, the various
parties want to be able to lay the blame for an inevitable jump in the
price of natural gas on the greenies and farmers."
Here is a link to places around the world where fracking has been banned. It is quite a long list.
Let me tell you how it will go. Even though Victoria's state Liberals have banned fracking for now, should the Liberals be elected with any sort of decent majority at the next state election, or maybe even without a decent majority, fracking will happen in Victoria. I wouldn't trust the Labor Party to not approve it either, unless they specifically say they won't. Vote Green.
Gittins
writes: “The gas industry is working a scam on the people of NSW, in
collusion with other business lobby groups and federal and state
politicians. It’s trying to frighten us into agreeing to remove
restrictions on the exploitation of coal seam gas deposits. Failing
that, the various parties want to be able to lay the blame for an
inevitable jump in the price of natural gas on the greenies and
farmers.” - See more at:
http://nofibs.com.au/2013/11/01/lobbyists-public-commentary-reith-spotlight-mark-anning-1earthmedia-reports/#sthash.OPrHt5FY.dpuf
NSW Aboriginal Land Council
NSW Aboriginal Land Council
NSW Aboriginal Land Council