Do you not see that the Greens at a local council level playing international politics is the issue, not the policy itself?

Thankfully they have made complete gooses of themselves over this, and make it obvious that they do not have rate payer interests in mind when they carry on like this.

We can now use this forever as an example of the stupidity and bloody minded one track minds of the left.

They have no idea what is appropriate and at what level, which makes them totally unsuited to any kind of power int he community. the fact they did not go to the rate payers about this, and decided to do it on their own is a reflection of how they behave with any power at all.

I predict the end of the greens now, they have peaked, and will now slide into oblivion .. the odd one will get in here or there but will do it on preferences not on their own.

what a ship of fools

if you want to get involved in international politics, and this is your best vehicle, you are kidding yourselves

State upper-house Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann, is in fact a beacon of hope and has the very rare quality of "commonsense".

While the tragic annexation of Arab territory to form the modern state of Israel is a "no brainer", it shouldn't be allowed to distract from the environmental crimes of both the Palestinians and Zionists in their "hellbent" attitudes to the promotion of massive population growth in both countries.

Tackling this base, unspoken driver of mutual aggression between these nation States, will deliver lasting military, social and envionmental outcomes for the Middle East.

In addition, The Greens need to be truely "green" and stop their "specist" attitude and rapidly stabilise Australia's population. Abolish the baby bonus (from the ABS, our birthrate is double our death rate) and promote immigration to equal emmigration.

I will then re-join the Party and the majority of Australians will follow.

A difficult article to grasp and therefore to respond to. But I think Ralph Bennett has hit onto the essential point:

<< The Greens need to be truely "green" and stop their "specist" attitude and rapidly stabilise Australia's population. Abolish the baby bonus (from the ABS, our birthrate is double our death rate) and promote immigration to equal emmigration. >>

When the Greens embrace the essence of real greenness, ie: sustainability, of which population stabilisation is an essential part, I too will rejoin. And yes, I think that a very large portion of the voting populace will then start to support them instead of shunning them.

The thing we so desperately need in this country is a real opposition force. That is: one that opposes the utter absurdity of the totally antisustainable never-ending rapid expansionist paradigm, which both Labor and Liberal are utterly committed to.

"Hullo, Marrackville Council, can you please come and fix the nasty pot hole out the front of my house?"

"I'm sorry sir, we're too busy attacking the state of Israel"

Hamish,

Thanks for your persuasive analysis of how the Greens are positioned in relation to opposing political forces in Australia today. The thrust of your argument - that the Greens will prosper by hanging tough - is very convincing.

The comment: "Do you not see that the Greens at a local council level playing international politics is the issue, not the policy itself?", suggests Amicus has not fully read and/or understood the article. The precedents of South Africa and Burma are provided to illustrate that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with a local council taking international issues into consideration. On the contrary. It should also be added that Kevin Rudd, who did not make a single criticism of Israeli actions through Operation Cast Lead or the Gaza flotilla raid, has no credibility on this issue.

Omar Barghouti's article - http://onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=11968 - is more narrowly focused on the rights and wrongs of Boycotss, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) and is thus a useful complement to Hamish's article.