Bushfires 2019/2020!

[straitman]

And so I say again - this is the respective governments' job. They are accountable for and to the people, and if they fail to act responsibly we can vote them out.

... and vote in another mob who won’t do anything either!

if only it was that simple.

 

[Moody]

... and vote in another mob who won’t do anything either!

if only it was that simple.

That's the point Straitman - it is that simple. Just imagine if we punished incompetence and corruption at the ballot box, rather than the current practice of rewarding it.

Just takes a skerrick of intelligence and a healthy dose of humanity. That's not too much to ask, is it?

 

[OATEK]

That's the point Straitman - it is that simple. Just imagine if we punished incompetence and corruption at the ballot box, rather than the current practice of rewarding it.

Just takes a skerrick of intelligence and a healthy dose of humanity. That's not too much to ask, is it?

I'm with straightman, if only it was that simple. There is no way to direct votes that bring about such a result, as shown in NSW where "corruption" fared as well if not better under the alternative government a few years ago. As long as there is a party system we will find that the locus of incompetence and corruption may vary, but that is about it. When I was first working in Government (1970s) the permanent heads of agencies were capable of ensuring that policy was not just about politics, but that position has been steadily eroded since, under governments of both persuasions.

 

[tgh]

a skerrick of intelligence and a healthy dose of humanity

Viewed historically , one might constructively argue that the aforementioned concepts are not mutually complimemtary

 

[drron]

Actually the government most responsible for the build up of fuel and leading to the intensity of this season's fire was defeated a long time ago.Between 1999 and 2005 the Carr Government added dramatically to the National Parks of NSW by converting forestry areas to National Parks.He created 100 National parks between Nowra and the Bega Valley.
The problem with that is before 2002 the Forestry commission averaged HRBs on 4% of the land under it's control,National Parks just 1%.This can be seen in the link kookaburra75 posted earlier.So these changes led to a major decrease in the land subject to HRBs.As well as the National Parks service wasn't given sufficient staff to manage all this new acreage fire trails began to be gated and the gates locked so preventing access of fire fighters when needed.

 

[get me outta here]

Apparently the social media mob that has low comprehension regarding what the Red Cross is doing has now threatened to kill the Board and fire bomb the shops. Great outcome.

 

[Pushka]

Apparently the social media mob that has low comprehension regarding what the Red Cross is doing has now threatened to kill the Board and fire bomb the shops. Great outcome.

Pretty sure no one here condones any act of violence and such mentality is never acceptable on any level. As to your comment about "low comprehension" I think you will find that the Red Cross has had to make several "adjustments"as to how the funds donated are spent.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Apparently the social media mob that has low comprehension regarding what the Red Cross is doing has now threatened to kill the Board and fire bomb the shops. Great outcome.

Nothing new - anytime there is a whiff of fun the lynch mob comes out. They are probably the same ones who used to love public executions and burnings. Human nature doesn’t change (although some environments legitimise it more than others).

 

[straitman]

I think you will find that the Red Cross has had to make several "adjustments"as to how the funds donated are spent.

...as they should!

I suspect that their credibility will suffer badly until peoples short memories kick in.

 

[straitman]

That's the point Straitman - it is that simple. Just imagine if we punished incompetence and corruption at the ballot box, rather than the current practice of rewarding it.

Just takes a skerrick of intelligence and a healthy dose of humanity. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Unfortunately it is too much to ask. Particularly when we are talking degrees of dingbats that we have a choice of voting for!

Their background policies may be different however their hunger at the trough is about the same.

 

[get me outta here]

I thought this interview with the Red Cross some days ago spelled it out quite adequately. Where does one find the “adjustments article?

Bushfires 2019/2020!

Bit of rain in Canberra now and tomorrow is cooler with not much in the way of winds which should calm down the fire here.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Pretty sure no one here condones any act of violence and such mentality is never acceptable on any level. As to your comment about "low comprehension" I think you will find that the Red Cross has had to make several "adjustments"as to how the funds donated are spent.

 

[get me outta here]

Until we get some sort of integrity commission with real and applied teeth, which includes all pollies and public servants and not an integrity commission as suggested which helpfully does not cover those people, I expect them to carry on behaving badly. Or at least as dingbats.

Unfortunately it is too much to ask. Particularly when we are talking degrees of dingbats that we have a choice of voting for!

 

[eastwest101]

Until we get some sort of integrity commission with real and applied teeth, which includes all pollies and public servants and not an integrity commission as suggested which helpfully does not cover those people, I expect them to carry on behaving badly. Or at least as dingbats.

I think the only concerns people would have is that you would be replacing one set of people whom are unaccountable with a different set of people who are unaccountable, the problem of "mission creep" and un-accountability have been well demonstrated by ICAC in NSW that hasn't been very effective in prosecuting corruption or has a very mixed track record at best.

I think the only way to sell this change would be a bring all exemptions granted to politicians, political parties and public servants closed off for good, if a law is good enough to apply to me then then it should apply to them. No feather bed superannuation schemes, no generous travel and electoral allowances that others can't access, no guaranteed jobs for life or permanency, and no special exemptions from laws that apply to all other individuals and corporations i.e. truth in advertising, privacy policies, real time political donations disclosures, no abuse of parliamentary privilege etc.

We don't need necessarily need a federal Integrity Commision, maybe we just need the government and politicians to be accountable to the same laws that we are all subject to? Have an open mind to other options though, a Fed Integrity Commission would have to have a bulletproof construction and careful checks and balances otherwise it could be an even worse threat to democracy than the problems its trying to solve.

 

[get me outta here]

I think accountability is showing that all evidence to the contrary, whether it be banks, the government etc etc. But, we are veering way off topic now. In the meantime, please stop voting in dingbats sending them to Canberra and then blaming the locals for their bad behaviour.

 

[RooFlyer]

stop voting in dingbats sending them to Canberra

You mean as in the ACT government, I guess, who, like those based in Melbourne, Sydney, etc are responsible for fire management, fire mitigation, National Parks etc etc

 

[get me outta here]

I don’t understand the comment, perhaps it’s just to reinforce that insufficient burning is to blame for everything. The ACT votes in their own dingbats. The ACT did 75% of their prescribed burning and as per many other comments from experts, pre-emptive burning has fallen short due to lower windows of opportunity.

 

[Pushka]

I thought this interview with the Red Cross some days ago spelled it out quite adequately. Where does one find the “adjustments article?

Bushfires 2019/2020!

Bit of rain in Canberra now and tomorrow is cooler with not much in the way of winds which should calm down the fire here.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

From the Red Cross Website.
I think this has been the issue. Donations thought to have been made solely for the Bushfires have been directed to the Disaster RelIef and Recovery Fund which must administer their donations. And this from their website about this fund

Australian Emergency Fund

Help communities and individuals get back on their feet and rebuild after a disaster. Australian Red Cross helps communities in Australia prepare for disasters and emergencies before they happen, and to respond and support recovery, through emotional and social support.

www.redcross.org.au

“As bushfires affect communities across Australia on an unprecedented scale, Red Cross is right there, providing practical, local support where it's needed to tens of thousands of people during and after the emergencies.

It’s all thanks to people like you.

Learn more about what Red Cross is doing and how your donations are helping in our regular updates.

Your donation helps Red Cross give people the support they need in disasters, whenever and wherever they happen. We have decades of experience in caring for people affected by earthquakes, cyclones, floods, storms, fire, drought and other emergencies.

This includes:

• recovery programs and emergency assistance in communities affected by disasters like bushfires, heat, floods cyclones and other emergencies
• helping people and communities prepare for disasters and protect what matters most
• training, equipment, logistics and coordination of our volunteers”

So in effect to a general fund for disasters.

That realisation meant a ‘clarification’ of this press statement made by Red Cross

“It is also prudent to plan for the inevitable disasters to come, so our Disaster Relief and Recover Fund remains in place to scale up and respond when the cyclones and floods hit.”

So the clarification being - The charity chief said Red Cross was committed to ensuring the “balance of funds” would be used exclusively to support bushfire affected communities.”

 

[drron]

I don’t understand the comment, perhaps it’s just to reinforce that insufficient burning is to blame for everything. The ACT votes in their own dingbats. The ACT did 75% of their prescribed burning and as per many other comments from experts, pre-emptive burning has fallen short due to lower windows of opportunity.

75% of target is not the same as 75% as required according to the 80 Inquiries into bushfires.

 

[Flying mermaid]

I don’t understand the comment, perhaps it’s just to reinforce that insufficient burning is to blame for everything. The ACT votes in their own dingbats. The ACT did 75% of their prescribed burning and as per many other comments from experts, pre-emptive burning has fallen short due to lower windows of opportunity.

Really, really dislike the ACT local government, however all the alternates are excruciatingly bad. Mr FM and I spent hours poring over candidates and eventually found a few independents to vote for There were a few from the mainstream parties I liked but they weren’t in our electorate.

getting back on topic though- I can vouch for the fact that they are pretty good with prescribed burns in the ACT with regular burns happening. the last year has been very difficult with drought and a late autumn/early spring adding to it. We have quite a few in our suburb who complain bitterly every time a part of our reserve is burnt off and of course it is sad seeing what it looks like, but most people view it as a necessary evil if you want to live close to bush.

 

[RooFlyer]

I don’t understand the comment, perhaps it’s just to reinforce that insufficient burning is to blame for everything.

No, it was to observe that, as far as bushfires and their control and mitigation are concerned, also management of National Parks, t is the state and territory governments who are responsible. The federal government can mobilise additional resources if needs be. You referred to 'Canberra', which I didn't understand, perhaps it was just saying ... Edit ... oh, never mind ...