LAST week we discovered that La Trobe MP Jason Wood spent his summer break “enjoying the wonders of the penguins and antarctic” as part as part of his Parliamentary commitment as the backbench secretary for the environment and heritage (MP Breaks The Ice, Mail 23 January).
But while Mr Wood announced in Antarctica that he will be campaigning for the government to clean up Wilkes station, back home here in Latrobe he conducted one of the biggest acts of environmental vandalism with the distribution of 50,000 calendars to every household in the electorate.
The “Wonders Of La Trobe” calendar is nothing more than a 28-page piece of self-promotion for La Trobe’s would be environmental warrior. During the last election campaign Mr Wood played the environmental card at every turn with pictures in all local papers of his Dandenongs weed clean-ups. He was even quoted in an interview in The Age boasting that he had been a member of Greenpeace longer than he has been a member of the Liberal Party.
His websites and electoral stationery even have a “green” feel to them. However all this environmental posturing is just a hollow political game as this wanton distribution of The Wonders of La Trobe calendar proves.
These calendars contain little or no useful information, but they do feature Mr Wood’s picture every month. Based on this fact most of the electorate will treat the calendar as junk mail and consign it to the waste bin, so most of these calendars are destined for recycling.
Surely Mr Wood, as the backbench secretary for the environment and heritage, would know that the first rule of environmental sustainability is to use less. In Mr Wood’s case that doesn’t apply when you have a taxpayer funded printing and stationery allowance to fund such extravagant waste.
I would suggest that at best one to two per cent of these calendars will be used. That means that some 48,000 will have to be recycled when discarded in the coming weeks, such an unnecessary waste of paper, energy and recycling resources.
My next concern was that each calendar was wrapped in non-recyclable poly-ethylene plastic. So while Mr Wood was snapping penguins pictures on the ice, 50,000 pieces of plastic were destined for landfills across the electorate.
Mr Wood didn’t even bother to have the calendars printed on recycled paper, choosing instead plantation forest paper, which has questionable environmental credentials. Such plantation forests offer little or no bio-diversity, leach much needed water from underground water tables and destroy much need water catchment.
Later this year we will again go to the polls. No doubt that Mr Wood will again play the environment card, but I trust that the voters of La Trobe will this time recognise his environmental hypocrisy for what it is.
Garry Muratore
Tecoma
A fair trial please
THE Prime Minister has finally said that David Hicks will be charged by mid February. Is this official or is it that the PM is hearing the rumble from the electorate as an election is approaching.
When David Hicks is brought to justice we don’t want any hearsay evidence; or any admission of guilt obtained by coercion; and any violation of the presumption of innocence.
In the meantime, we expect the La Trobe MP to tell his electorate where he stands, and when is he going to put his hand up to defend the principals of law in Australia.
Before we go to the polls we ought to have clear assurance from Jason Wood that he will not tolerate any kangaroo court for David Hicks or any citizen in the “lucky country”.
Marjorie Broadbent
Upwey
Window thanks
MONBULK Post Office would to thank organisers for the opportunity to participate in the 2006 Christmas window display competition.
We would also like to thank everyone who participated because without you all it would not have gone ahead.
We would like to thank the judges who took the time out to judge the competition, as I am sure every one is busy enough.
We look forward to seeing more this coming Christmas and wish everyone the best of luck for 2007.
Christine and Craig
Monbulk Post Office
Ripe for eating
I REFER to those poor plants (Mail, 23 January). An argument frequently presented is that plants feel pain too, so why do we not refrain from eating these?
Yet when a plant gives its life that others may live, it has usually reached the end in its life – whereas food animals are killed well before their natural lifespan has been completed.
If we recognise a plant is being subject to pain – then how can we not more so empathise with pain and suffering “more forcefully and/or vocally expressed” by animals?
Lets keep in mind that once ripe, most fruits and vegetables, if not cultivated, will fall from a tree or plant and rot away back into the earth yet without any real putrid odours occurring!
Rotting animal flesh gives off quite an offensive odour.
Don’t feel guilty eating plants but we can live without killing or more to the point eating sentient animals that have experienced suffering and fear.
Kathleen Timmerman
Chelsea
OVER the past couple of months I have been hearing the Clematis fire siren going off regularly, at all hours of the day and night.
The other Tuesday when I heard it go off it got me thinking that these people don’t get paid, they go out at all hours of the day and night, they give up their own spare time to help the community.
Recently I was speaking to another resident of Clematis who mentioned that some members of the Clematis Fire Brigade are lending a hand to the Narre Warren East Fire Brigade. If these people aren’t classified as heroes, then I don’t know what is.
I would just like to give them a big thank you, for everything that they do.
Michael Taylor,
Clematis.
