Locking in car use makes no sense at all unless it makes you money...?

Here is a copy of a letter published in the Melbourne Sunday Age on 28/3/10 in response to this article: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/new-suburbs-forced-to-adopt-car-culture-20100320-qnag.html

DEBORAH Gough's article ''New suburbs forced to adopt car culture?'' (21/3) highlights the government's short-term focus on building car-only suburbs. Good road infrastructure is essential. However, for every dollar spent on roads, a dollar should be spent on transport alternatives to private cars (trains, buses, trams, taxis). New roads alone will not keep traffic flowing.

As the Greens candidate in the recent Altona byelection, I campaigned for proper access to effective public transport. For this electorate, the starting point is providing good shuttle bus services to the train system and community hubs. Instead, the government has spent more than $1.4 billion upgrading the West Gate/Monash Freeway, which will provide only momentary relief (once you get over the bridge bottleneck).

The only benefit of the current ''plan'' is locked-in government revenue from water, electricity and petrol taxes.

Back in the saddle again as the Greens candidate for Altona

I'm happy to say that I have again been endorsed as the Greens candidate for the state seat of Altona.

Why would I bother?  Well its obvious really, with rising petrol prices, electricity prices, water prices (and we ain't seen nothing yet), its pretty clear that tapping into limited resources has run its course.  Moving to alternatives will take effort, money, enterprise, smarts, ideas and political will.

Australia has plenty of the first five and it seems none of the last - if you and I don't stand up, who will... so count me in.

Challenging the status quo

This is a copy of a letter that appeared in the Sunday Age 28/3/10.

An excellent article by Melissa Fyfe on the Greens (Sunday Age 21/2), though I suggest she mistook many of the Greens’ strengths for weaknesses. 

It is true the party uses agreement rather than brutal –winner-takes-all- number crunching to make decisions.  it is true that it our MLCs are considered and serious in proposing and improving legislation.  And true, the Greens are not consumed by a ‘leadership’ cult. 

Like all growing movements, there are barriers to communicating with the electorate. However, the prevailing message that the Greens are creative, energetic and optimistic is clear and well received.

As the candidate for the Greens in the Altona by-election, I spoke in my own voice about issues I believe in.  I joined the Greens because they do not replicate the current inadequacies of our democracy, like the stalemate between the Labor and Liberal parties.

I suggest that this alternative approach, coupled with a strong policy framework built around social justice, equity and sustainability is precisely why 1 million plus voters choose to vote Green and why our voter base grew again by another 2% at the recent byelection.