Tristan has just admitted that a large section [the deep left] of the Labor party are mainly interested in a carbon[dioxide] tax to use it as a mechanism to transfer wealth from those who have earned it, to those who don't or wont.

Good one Tristan, thanks for confirming what many are thinking, & saying. Rip off springs to mind.

Mate, do you ever wonder why no thinking people will trust your lot?

Tristan

"overcompensation is essential for Labor in 'selling' the carbon tax."

So assuming that the tax achieves it's stated goal of reducing greenhouse polution by the big polluters what happens to the compensation when the cost of living has had it's rise due to the tax and a swing to more expensive energy sources but not as much tax is being paid?

Do the lower income earners have to lump it then?

Any comment on the Qld Governments decision to increase electricity prices because not enough energy was used last summer?

R0bert

Just re: 'freedom of the press' and how it relates to monopoly media.

I'm not in favour of censorship. My aim is not to 'shut down' media expressing opinions I disagree with.

But at the same time we have a very high concentration of media ownership in this country. And we have media moguls with right-wing political agendas - willing to campaign for this agenda through their media assets.

What we need is more diversity in the media at all levels. The model we have here with 'On Line Opinion' - with a wide and inclusive range of opinions - is much better than what exists in the monopoly media. But On Line Opinion doesn't have the resources to compete with the monopoly media.

But how to achieve? Perhaps a media diversification levy? Combined with new cross media ownership laws?

Tristan's Left-Unpopulist media - the ABC and Fairfax mainly, though not only - have had a virtual monopoly on propaganda management for years. And they've failed at that as they've failed at everything else.

Stop whining, Tristan. Nobody's listening to the global warming crap any more.

This essay describes how right-wing populist media works.

http://www.dabase.org/popdisgu.htm

In the USA it has manifested as the Republican Noise Machine. I would argue that right-wing populist media here in the land of Oz is our version of this noise machine.

The workings and cultural ramifications of which are described by Henry A Giroux in his book Zombie Politics.

Tristan - look, where have you been?

This statment: "these kind of ideas have been reinforced again and again over decades by the right-populist monopoly media".

I hate to break this too you, but as a member of the media I can tell you that the bulk of the media in Australia is not right wing. Perhaps the days when The Melbourne Age was referred to as the Spencer Street Soviet are gone, but to suggest that my colleagues are either right leaning or puppets in the hands of their capitalist masters is risable nonsense. There has been more diversity of opinion in recent years, and some papers may actually be considered right wing for a change, perhaps that is what is confusing you?

If you want to refight a run-of-the-mill Q&A that's up to you, but if you leave the slogans at home your arguments may be more interesting to a general audience