Conservation Volunteer and politics down under
Trip Start
Dec 29, 2006
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7
12
Trip End
Jun 10, 2007
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Newcastle,
Australia
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Since the least update, have been helping conserve Australia, mainly bt claring it of its weed...!
The first week was spent battling a water based weed, sulvynia. Found in rivers and creeks, it was imported from Brazil initially to decorate aquariums but as in the creek we were working released into the wild apparently by an absent minded old lady pouring the contents of her fish tank into the local brook which resulted in a week's work for me and many mkany years paid work for various conservation and environmental agencies.
Whilst this first week was great camping out in the bush, the next week was more local and last week was camping away again, this time in the Hawkesbury river valley, which is beautiful. Just 40 km north of Sydney it looks a bit like Fowey in Cornwall. For two days, we accessed the site where we were working by speed boat. This the final week of working as a conservation volunteer am undertaking an animal survey which involves trapping, recording and then releasing the fauna surveyed.Whilst I have enjoyed each week of being a volunteer, this last has been the most interesting week of the programme.
Except whilst camping have been staying at the volunteer house which is in a suburb of Newcastle called Cardiff; link attached, which was founded in the 1840's by welsh miners. Beacuse of the coal mining which takes place in the area, welsh and northern place names are common in the locality. Newcastle which is another example of this is currently the largest coal exporting port in the world and there are plans to expand its capacity further..
Afternoon trip
The house mentioned is rather cosmopolitan, at the moment there are volunteers here from australia, belgium, germany, Hong Kong and Japan, and previously from south korea and the US. Whilst there were some other males,the turnover of volunteers is high with the last departing a few days ago and so currently I am sharing this house with five women...
Previously, I promised a few insights on politics down under, by which I meant New Zealand and Australia. As you would expect, the political system in both takes quite a bit from that in the UK although both for various reaons have departed from that in recent years. The system in NZ has fewer checks and balances than that here or indeed back home. There is no upper house or regional government and as David Lange, the labour prime minister for much of the 80s commented legislation could and was passed in a very short time indeed. Although nominally leading that government, most policy emanated from Roger Douglas, the Finance minister who unhampered surpassed Thatcher in the UK in his speedy removal of government controls and participation in the economy. PR was introduced in 96 partly it is said to increase the level of scrutiny over the executive and prevent such excesses happening in the future.
I thought Lange's autobiography which was published a couple of years ago before he died wax excellent not so much because it was well written, which in most part it is, but more because, and this is my opinion, it showed Lange in contrast to the other politician highlighted below to have a warm empathy and faith in humanity.
Koalas
You could argue that the level of checks and balances over the executive, ie the prime minister here in Australia is greater than the UK because regional in this case state government has more power, the electoral terms are shorter, three years instead of a possible five together with compulsory voting would should result in greater participation and therefore greater scrutiny of the executive.
I guess these checks have helped restrain the current executive, John Howard, described by Bill Bryson as the most boring man in Australia and by others as the man next door unless you happen to live in a yuppie neighbourhood. My feeling based on limited reading etc is that he is a clever politician and has used his ordanairyness effectively to relate to the common man (and I guess woman,) who he terms "Howards battlers" by appealing to their prejudices and their fears particularly on matters such as immigration and national security as well as their general dislike of the liberal progressive elite. Since coming to power in the 96 he has faced a number of labour leaders; current incumbent of the ALP hot seat is Kevin Rudd, who whilst he appears rather unexciting has shown himself steady under fire when countering various allegations made by Howard & his allies; his deputy, Julia Gillard, who incidentally was born in Wales, is rather more interesting and does a rather good line in acidic delivery, both necessary and effective in the bearpit which is the Australian parliament.
Those keen on music might be interested to know that Peter Garrett, once of Midnight Oil is now the shadow environment minister.
Comments
But what about the workers
!
Yep, but where does it go?
Great to read you, and also to think of you up to your neck in some slime created by an old lady. On politics, I always have real trouble getting my mind round the antipodean model, which seems farcically bipolar (by which I mean that I don't understand the causes of the bipolarity, in the way that Europeans understand class, or Americans understand ethnic/identity politics). It seems like some odd offshoot of 1950s Westminster politics. Roughly speaking the three big issues currently facing European (including British) politics now are: environment (understood as a social issue; not something to do with whether you like wildlife); expansion eastwards; and immigration-security-multiculturalism. It strikes me that all three of these operate where you are in much the same way.
Contribution
A thought provoking if concise contribution. Yes, politics being as it operated in the 1950's strikes a chord as a conservative response seems to be the norm for example to the issues you mentioned. The resulting focus on personalities could be seen in the recent NSW state elections where the Liberal leader, Peter Debden, was often photographed & even addressed the press wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks. The oppositions response was to hire someone similarly attired to follow him around.