Spot on about Howard, Ludwig. Reminds me so much about my wife scolding me out from Wubin-Buntine when after marrying a better educated person than my bushy self she told me she would clear off if I did not leave more salmon gums in the new-cleared paddocks.

When I answered - no worries, we can grow some more - she said. Yes, typical of men, always reckon they can fix things, better leave those splendid big gums or I'm leaving.

Same argument against Charlie Court when he headed the military patrol up to Nookenbah to prevent the natives stopping the oil-drilling.

Have faith in progress - was Charley's answer to the early WA Avant Garde who were mostly females.

Certainly Howard was more like Charley, all out for progress which has got us all now fully under the spell of pitstock plus quarry economics, still having us wondering whether it'll be the right way to go from now on?

Anyhow, Ludwig, Happy Christmas, my now-dead wife often telling me how the term Merry Christmas, only encourages men to do the same stupid things once again, whereas as a simple Happy Christmas makes Christmas sound more genuine, like most housewives would want.

Loads of Christmas Cheers, BB, WA

Agh! Bushbred were would any discussion be without your genuine pearls of wisdom. I enjoy anything you post.

Howard was an environmentalist in the same way as Rudd is now. The economy comes first.

Howard refused to sign up to Kyoto without the developing nations accepting cuts, Rudd signed up and used his vote to block any real targets without the developing nations.

The difference between Rudd and Howard environmentally is retoric not practise. Rudd wants to stay in power, so he "me too"s the policies with different packaging.

Howard's environmental status is adequately deonstrated by his choice of Wilson Tuckey as Minister for Forestry and Conservation at one time.
Out of many, that is one really rough patch for Jennifer to sweep under the carpet,

... and of Malcolm Turnbull for environment minister.

.
Bushbred, I lived in WA for the whole time that Charles Court was Premier. I recall his almost manic use of the word ‘progress’ and his complete lack of balance between anything he considered to constitute progress and conservation or environmentalism.

As a teenager in the 70s, my environmental passion was galvanised by the this message of ‘grow, expand and exploit to the hilt’, as projected in our TV news and newspapers with great frequency, while I was at the same time exploring the wheatbelt and realising just how ecologically devastated that whole vast area was… and how totally unremorseful our leaders were about it, and how much they were practicing just the same sort of philosophy of taking whatever could be taken, without any sense of balance coming into it.

Court’s push for progress was just so full-on that every time Howard, or many others, have mentioned the same sort of philosophy, I’ve thought of him. He has stayed fresh in my mind over all these years.

Anyway, may the sun shine a golden-pink off the branches of the salmon gums on news year’s morning. Cheers.

Ho ho ho

Scientiests - WHO?