(letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, with a similar letter also sent to The Age)

The decision by the NSW and Victorian premiers to lift the ban on genetically engineered canola is a tragedy for both consumers and the environment, and the rationale of Ian MacDonald that NSW farmers can now compete on a level playing field with overseas farmers because GM canola now accounts for 70 per cent of the global canola market is staggering in the extreme.

What this decision does is remove the capacity for Australian farmers to realise premium prices for and corner the market on non-GE canola, highly sought after by an increasingly large Asian and European market, not to mention a growing number of consumers here in Australia. And as for GE canola needing fewer pesticides and herbicides, this is a furphy, given that farmers can and have used more chemicals because the canola remains unaffected, so every time a weed comes up, it’s out with the spray pack. (more…)

(councillor column for November 22 edition of Bungendore Bulletin; shorter version sent to local papers in Eden-Monaro and the Canberra Times)

The election is only days away and like most campaigns before it, this one has been dominated by the major parties, as if there were only two voting options. It would be good if we could release ourselves from the ALP/Coalition stronghold and let them know that their policies are not good enough for a just and environmentally sustainable future. Every time there’s an election, The Greens are vilified by one group or another, including the major parties. (more…)

(letter to the editor, some local papers in Eden-Monaro)
One of the most common election time questions from both voters and the media is “where are your preferences going?”. Such has been the neglect by the major parties in adequately explaining the preferential voting system that people often forget that they are the ones who have the final say, especially in the Lower House, and that what parties show on their how-to-votes (HTVs) is only a recommendation. (more…)

(letter to the West Australian)

It is hard to see how Professor Michael Jones, director of the WA Agricultural Biotechnology Centre at Murdoch University, could have reached the conclusion that “allowing WA farmers to grow genetically modified canola could unlock a crop worth an extra $200 million a year” (The W.A., Saturday August 18).  (more…)

(letter to Sunday Age)

I couldn’t help feeling that Jason Koutsoukis’ diatribe “Why GM food is not such a dirty term” was just a waste of space. (more…)

(letter to July 18 edition of Braidwood Times)

The petition to Council about rates and charges and the attendant packed gallery at the last meeting raises a number of issues, not least of which is the dire situation that we are facing.   Another is the obvious weakness in Council communication, given so many people seemed to be unaware of the public meetings which were held in June in both Braidwood and Bungendore about the charges.  Yet another is the failure of the grapevine to alert people to what was happening.  (more…)

(letter to July 18 edition of Bungendore Mirror)

A packed gallery at the last Council meeting in Braidwood was told by a Bungendore resident that the poorly attended public meeting held in Bungendore to discuss the rates and charges was boycotted by business people because they do not trust the Council.  (more…)

(letter to the Weekend Australian)

Judith Ajani’s article “ALP up the wrong tree” (WA, July 7,8) indirectly highlights the problems with the two-party system. While a growing number of people would like to get rid of the Coalition, it is with a heavy heart that we will have to go to the ballot box at the next Federal Election and give our support to a party that has lost sight of the values it ought to be championing and which prefers, it would seem, to play dirty whenever it can. (more…)

(letter in June 13 edition of the Bungendore Mirror)

Bob Summerville refers to the lack of intellectual rigour during the debate on the nuclear-free Palerang motion (Mirror, May 30). It is certainly true to say that the debate was limited, but this may have had more to do with the fact that most of the discussion happened late last year, the first time a similar (but “too political”) motion was put, unsuccessfully.  (more…)

(letter in June 13 edition of Braidwood Times and Bungendore Mirror)

As residents are probably aware, public meetings will be taking place on Tuesday June 19 (Braidwood) and Wednesday June 20 (Bungendore), to give people the opportunity to discuss the proposed water and sewerage charges for the villages of Palerang. Ideally all councillors should be in attendance to listen first hand to constituents’ concerns, but unfortunately I will be away for an annual compulsory symposium related to my study. (more…)