Very good article, Peter McLoy.

I am constantly amazed by the naivity of the tree hugging, western self loathers who seem to think that prosperity is a human right and that money in Australia simply grows on trees. They think that Australians have a responsibility to finance failed societies, and helping anyone who wishes to barge into Austraia, while never realising how tenous prosperity can be.

Whatever windfall profits Australia is reaping from its mining boom must be invested in worthy projects for the future, because like Arab oil, our resouces are finite. Just like the Arabs, who do nothing with their wealth except try to make atom bombs and build mosques, we will also revert to very real poverty and irrelevance unless we get it right now.

Some good points - but.
Lego, it is not the "tree-huggers" who are trashing the planet.

And what is a "self-loather"?

That phrase is a now classic example of vacuous right-wing polemics which is used to demonise anyone who questions the seemingly unstoppable momentum of the current system - the military-industrial-"entertainment" complex.

This stark image describes the imperative that drives the current system. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~spanmod/mural/panel14.html

Jimmy Carter did not provide the catalyst for the current catastrophe. Ronald Reagan did. Indeed I would argue that he was the only President who even dared to question the not negotiable (George Schulz)USA way of life. Remember too that George Bush exhorted everyone to keep shopping as a response to Sept 11.

Re Ronald Reagan why not check out The Man Who Sold the World: Ronald Reagan and the Betrayal of Main Street America.
Remember the Savings & Loan scandal? That was just a precursor to the recent and ongoing Global Financial Crisis.
Never mind too that casino Capitalism now rules the world. Which is to say that very little of "money" etc that now changes hands in the stock exchanges of the world is used to create tangible BUILT wealth,even in the form of infra-structure.

Speaking of welfare, there was a huge increase "social-welfare" spending for both the middle-class and the already well off during the Howard years. And to the degree that people on $150.000 per year presume that they are entitled to government support. And they loudly whinge if anyone dares suggest that they lose their "entitlements".
They even get support for their whinging from "conservative" columnists.

But everybody knows that the current system of endlessly trashing the natural world is unsustainable. Here in the land of Oz Geoff Davies via his book Economia explains in masterful fashion why. Plus world-wide there are also hundreds of other books, magazines and essays which explain why.

Part 2.

This essay from by favorite "tee-hugger" magazine by the ever marvellous Wendell Berry gives an excellent overview of the absurdities of the current system - it was written in response to Sept 11.

http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/299

Plus why not check out the new book DREAMS by Derrick Jensen, and his previous book The Culture of Make Believe. Jensen is also regularly featured in Orion Magazine.

Ho Hum.

Me Thinks you confuse Trashing of the World with the authors Article which discusses ...

" In Australia 40 years ago, it was time for Gough Whitlam. He initiated a massive change in the way our government spends its income – spending on infrastructure was replaced by spending on social benefits – from about 80% / 20% to 20% / 80%"

Tell me how the massive change in the direction of Government Spending over the past 40 years and how the real cost of this is now appearing relates to your Statement of the 'Trashing the World "

Peter,

You are so right!

I'm the generation after the boomers, it's the forfgotten generation. It's the generation that is going to miss out on all those extravagances of the boomers ... just.

I saw my generation reject much of Whitlam and Fraser. We elected Hawke and were sadly duped when he and Keating rolled back many of the safeguards put in placed by Chifely and you builders.

We are all starting to see this x and y gen pay for that with the falling home affordability.

Sadly you and I won't see any great change in the way Australia is mismanaged and I think you oike me and many of my generation are insulating ourselves from the coming ravages.

My youngsters gen Xers are extremely well educated both academically, socially and have an abundance of parental instilled common sense. They are heading away from Australia... as I start to roam the world in my self-sustaining and environmentally savvy yacht.

Cheer

Great article Peter, but it is hard to get home truths across to those who don't want to see. I am heartily sick of all those who want me to pay for their perceived sins.

Imajulianutter I don't know where your kids think they are going to find sanctuary, I think here will be better than most places. Perhaps they should stay here & help repel boarders, rather than join the heard of the lost.

I'm not sure there are many environmentally friendly yachts mate. Most of them require sails, rope, epoxy & polyester from oil, steel, [or stainless], brass & aluminum from mining & smelting, & much other stuff from an industrial society. They need fuel for cooking, engines & out board motors for the dingy. Not many get far on wind power alone. And don't kid yourself that wind will power your lights. Like solar, it only works until you get 100 miles from a service man.

Now if you can be that service man, for other yachties, & any isolated communities you visit, things are much better.

Continued.