Foxy, what exactly could the coalition or any other australian oufit do to stop climate change. please tell us so we can rally to stop climate change.
the greens ? well, if everyone adopted bob brown's personal preferences we won't need to worry because mankind's numbers will have dwindled greatly in fifty years.
nuclear ? that scares me too because it's a short-term solution with beyond comprehension time span after- effects.
what do you propose we do to discourage the 2-3 billion consumers lining up for the same lifestyle the western civilization has had the priviledge to.
do you really believe that a measly 20 million mutts on a rather dry island would have any effect at all on the climate of this planet even if we tried ?
I believe that we can do sfa about the climate change we so worry about because it's already happened. what we can do though is to work on a strategy to teach future generations not to make the same mistakes with the next climate.

JACK the LAD..... I was not optimistic about you and I being in agreement about much, but on the Greens we are of one mind.

Cuphandle.. you are missing a very important issue re brown.. his own morality or lack thereof. Principles? good grief.. Brown was adamant that we must NOT censor the flow of XXX rated porn from the ACT.. saying 'adults must be free to choose what they view'...welllll we all know how that works out don't we.. Porn, coupled with alchohol in the indigenous communities, we have child abuse out of control.

But wait...there's more... the focus on the indigenous in no way reduces the impact of such filth on our OWN majority society... the undermining of family values, the breakdown of social cohesian...

Brown, as far as I can see, holds to the "if it works for me..its ok" principle of morality.

I don't like the idea of a practicing unrepentant homosexual having even a zillionth of political power.

I always remember the BiSexual judge in Sydney who committed suicide after being exposed, his record on decisions about sex abuse and sexual issues was clearly 'weak' -so the media reported.

So...please don't connect 'Bob Brown' or Greens with 'principles' it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.

Foxy,
Whatever the issues surrounding the Greens, here in Victoria they have been blackmailing the ALP Governments (and Jeff Kennett's Govt) since 1982.
At their insistence funds for hands on land management workers have been reduced in favour of Melbourne pen pusher jobs.
The Greens had no consideration for native animal habitat; it is unlikely that they have ever heard an animals death agony as it is caused by wildfire on one side and humans backburning up to the firefront. To be trapped in the middle and incinerated is the Greens contribution to public land management around eastern Victoria.
It must surely be time to adopt the UK method of first past the post voting.
Then the Greens would be powerless to sell their preferences to the highest bidder.
Logging? Tell me, please, where are the plantations that have commercial grade timber? No, don't generalise. Be specific.
Logging. Where do you suggest the demand for industrial grade timber is met? It isn't in plantations. It must be from overseas where their timber industries are distressingly awful.
Logging. Why doesn't the demand for timber cease? Because we are encouraged, financially, to go forth and have more babies. $5,000 thank you Mr Costello.

David BOAZ I agree with your views about Brown , but for other reasons as well.
The idiotic radical view we can overnight stop using coal is one.
Why is it uncool to say that sexual preferences may well be your right but the world does not need to agree?
Why do so many not understand ALP or conservatives MOST AUSTRALIANS do not want to stop coal mining yet?
Most want conservation but never radicalism?
Or that the greens are never going to run this country?
Once they vote do greens voters understand the blackmail that is used by those they voted for? or the things they support?

So this is the Greens-bashing thread.

Let's dispense with them one by one.

Belly: we know you don't like the Greens, but I'm a little surprised at your homophobia. The ALP Right understandably sees the Greens as a threat - since many Greens members are former ALP members who left the party in disgust at its abandonment of principles in its shift to the Right. However, of all political parties it is the Greens who are most steadfastly pro-union and anti-Workchoices. In your claims about the Greens being "radical rabble", have you ever actually had a look at Greens policies?

Jack the Lad: "Reds in disguise"? On what do you base that claim? There is nothing remotely communist about Greens policies - if you want anybody other than the dyed-in-the-wool Green haters to believe you you'd need to provide some evidence. To some people, anybody who's to the left of Rudd/Blair is a "red".

Individual dismisses the Greens with a gratuitously homophobic throwaway line. Boazy's extreme homophobia and general prudishness is deployed with his usual disregard for the truth. Despite the fact that that Bob Brown is just one Senator who has never been in government, Boazy attributes the continuing legality of pornography in the ACT somehow to him.

How can this be, Boazy? Evidence, please. Somehow I think your rant has less to do with Bob Brown's supposed influence on legislation than to do with your virulent homophobia.

As has been suggested before, extreme homophobia such as that frequently displayed by you is most often symptomatic of the fear that some unfortunates have of homosexual feelings they have that are heavily suppressed - as in the case of religious bigots, football players, soldiers etc. Perhaps Boazy's comment "...please don't connect 'Bob Brown' or Greens with 'principles' it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth" is something of a Freudian slip?

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[cont]

phoenix94: "Whatever the issues surrounding the Greens, here in Victoria they have been blackmailing the ALP Governments (and Jeff Kennett's Govt) since 1982."

Er, how can that be? The Victorian Greens didn't exist as a party until 1992, and didn't achieve parliamentary representation until 2006.

It seems to me that the usual anti-Green tactics of distortion, ignorance, outright porkies, homophobic blathering and hysterical lunar right foaming at the mouth are at play here. What I find heartening is that you're all obviously terrified that the Greens will hold the balance of power in the Senate after the forthcoming election.

If you really want to know what's in store in the happy eventuality of that enlightened result, I suggest you go here for the real deal:

http://greens.org.au/intro/