Individual,

what did you do for a living, as you seem to suggest that hard work is a criteria for the right to offer policy expertise.

and what sort of criteria would you set for university academics?

How depressing, The only group of people who espouse the values all Australians purport to hold dear:-a fair go for everyone, accessible and affordable universal health care, equality in education, Care and repair of the environment that sustains us, protection for the rights of minorities, sustainable development, affordable public transport, decent housing for all... is the Greens. Consistently, they offer alternatives to the pathetic Labor and Nat-Lib politicians who cringe before big business, quail before the USA, grovel to religion, and discard the hard-won freedoms and rights of Australians in favour of a few votes from the bigoted religious multiculturalists.
Open your eyes, really listen to the politicians and be honest with yourselves for once. The two big parties are leading us to destruction, and they don't care. The Greens aren't perfect, but at least they have their eyes open to the future.

ybgirp, I could not agree more. The Greens is the only party that is truly committed to a better Australia for all. The Conservatives are there to further the economic interest of big business, as they always have been. They gain control through social division,fear and misinformation. Labor, the party that was formed over 100 years age to represent the worker and his family, has unfortunately lost direction and for the most part sold out to capital. How hollow the ring, whenever you hear a Labor politician refer to "Labor values", something that once existed but was sold long ago for 20 pieces of silver. Like the party of the capitalist, Labor talks about little else than the economy, not realising we live in a society and the economy is there to serve society and not the other way round as the major political parties would have it.
The battle is a long one and it will not be decided at the next election. The day will come when the people realise the sham both Labor and the Conservatives are perpetrating on society and they will then look for leadership from the 'new direction'.

Thanks Paul & Ygbrip for that. It is nice to have this clarification of green policy.

So there it is folks. The Greens say, "Well put those dreadful foresters, miners & farmers out of business, but don't you worry about that". "We'll hire thousands of them in the public service. Much more ecologically sound to have them in a nice city high rise, rather than out in the environment".

Don't worry about those high rise buildings, we're the greens, of course we can build them with no timber, stone, cement or steel, were magic.

For the rest, well just rip the money of anyone still actually working in a real, productive [horror] job, & spread it around all those who don't want to work.

We'll give you a great education, [brain washing], so you can do nothing all day but sit around all day & talk, [just like us], we'll give you better houses than you've ever seen, much than those fool workers will be able to pay for, [after we've finished with them]. Then we'll arrange lots of pie in the sky, so you'll never go hungry again.

So there you are, it's easy, when you say it quickly enough, & have turned your brain off.

See you at the polls, & remember our slogan, free pie in the sky for all.

Oh & if you want to try this new wonderland of ours, well send you on a month holliday to Greece. It is very pretty, & just like we're planning here, the welfare grows on trees.

Are mining billionaires determining Australia’s future?

The answer is yes and no. Individuals that control a disproportional share of our countries wealth are determining Australia’s future. Mining billionaires just are part of this group. We should not ignore James Packer, Ivan Glasenberg, Kerry Stokes, Lang Walker and Malcolm Turbull just to mention a few. These parasites have accrued (not produced) wealth well in excess of what they would have been able to produce as individuals. Needless to say there are a lot of mug punters producing this wealth and not getting their fair share.

One the other side of the coin there are a lot of mug punters (many I would say contribute to this forum) that are being played covertly by individuals who have accrued (not produced) this wealth. They are able purchase the time and recourses to manipulate the political, legal and commercial systems. They are assisted by our disproportionate voting system and the great Australian sport of apathy.

The super parasite Gina is not a miner she is a wealth manipulator. Born with a silver spoon in her mouth, surrounded by a swarm of parasites in the legal, financial and legislative fields that she has the wealth to purchase, has been able accrue (not produce) even more of this countries productive wealth.

If all Australians own the countries mineral wealth, why are we not all billionaires?

I have said in previous posts. We need to question the value, balance and degree of activities and the reward (proportion of productivity) a particular activity attracts. While parasite activities attract more reward than productive ones, productivity will continue to decline along with competitiveness. The poor will get poorer and the rich richer.

We need to share this countries productive wealth more proportionally favouring the producer not the parasite. We need a proportional voting system.

Hasbeen, you're either clinically insane, or the brainwashing you've been subjected to has been so effective you're now brain dead. The nonsense you spout is ludicrous...a figment of your inflamed imagination. Few jobs today are productive of anything except more or less useless consumer goods that cannot be repaired, or services for people who are demoralised by the emptiness of today's society, the pointlessness of the work they are offered and the lack of self-worth this mindless consumerism brings, causing many to seek escape through alcohol and other drugs.
The Greens promise none of the idiocy you spout, they offer useful employment in ecologically sustainable activities that, being labour intensive will be fulfilling, not demoralising. They also suggest that a return to a modicum of personal self-sufficiency, to repairable goods, to a culture of 'waste not, want not' is not only essential if we want to survive, but vital for our mental well-being.