"Can't sing, can't dance, can't be taken seriously."

well I guess he is perfect for politics then eh?

saintfletcher, I'm saying vote AGAINST the ALP, or at least vote informal. Keep them out of office.

As far as forming a government goes, there are only two choices, ALP and Liberal/National.

If you keep on voting ALP, you'll never see any change at all. They'll just keep on co-opting people like Garrett and keep the same system running.

It's a scary thing for many people, and it won't be very popular this year, but if we don't stop being dependent on the ALP for a few crumbs, there'll never be any change.

David Jackmanson
http://www.letstakeover.blogspot.com
http://www.lastsuperpower.net

Peter Garrett a beacon ? I don't think so ! Most Australians do not get parachuted into a safe seat over the heads of local ALP stalwarts, and than get paid a large salary to sell out on crucial envrionmental issues like logging, coal and the wrecking of our rivers by mining companies. Folks I know call him a Clayton's Green.

You may say there are only 2 political parties because the others have already made deals,

But dont forget The Australian Peoples Party wont put up with there tactics.

www.tapp.org.au

Would it have made more sense if he joined the Liberal Party instead of the ALP?

Whitlam had to choose between Labour and Liberal when he decided to enter politics. Nelson was a member of the ALP and defected to the Libs when it personally suited him.

Pragmatism is essential if you are a member of any organisation.

I'm certain that no member of any political party entirely agrees with every decision that their party makes. They are actually supposed to carry out the wishes of their respective electorates but it's the party system that takes control of them once the election is over.

Does Turnbull privately support everything Howard does or is he biding his time until he can change things from within?

Let's wait and see who toes the party line and campaigns for a nuclear reactor to be built in their electorate. Then we'll see who the hypocrites really are.

The single most dangerous threat to Australia's environment is the growth of the population. We are adding more than a million people every four years. Our growth rate is, along with the US, the highest in the developed world. It is driven not by the wishes of the populace, who are sick to death of increasingly congested cities, but by the property developers and infrastructure moguls (e.g. Mr Turnbull of Macquarie Bank, who are not satisfied with normal profits but are gorging themselves on constant HUGE profits.

I would take Mr Garrett more seriously if he mentioned this, as Professor Ian Lowe, a much better President of the the Australian Conservation Foundation, does. However I don't believe I've heard him even raise the subject.