John Howard, the pseudo PM
On the ABC's "7.30 Report" on 12 September 2007 John Howard stated that if re-elected he would not serve out the full term as Prime Minister and may also resign as the Member for Bennelong.
With current and future water security being such a vital issue in Australia today, this is an admission that he intends to continue to make water policy decisions and then cut and run.
It should be remembered that this is the same John Howard who backs the continued existence of that giant water hoarder, the Cubbie Group and, reportedly gave the nod for the auctioning of an additional 8,000 megalitres of Warrego River water flow in the face of CSIRO warnings regarding the potential impact of climate change on this river.
The Clarence Valley will not fare well if John Howard remains Prime Minister without any real electoral accountability to rein in his worst excesses. His push to steal Clarence River catchment freshwater will likely intensify.
Though just how much weight the Valley should give to his retirement statement is open to debate, given that Janette Howard has admitted that: "John wasn't into making firm commitments"
[www.theage.com.au,"Costello v Howard: the rift reopens",18 July 2007].
What is clear is that John Howard expects Australian voters to re-elect him so that he can retire sometime in the next few years, not on the basis of age, ill-health or family obligations, but because he has reached a personal, vainglorious milestone by becoming Australia's longest consecutive serving prime minister and can therefore quit.
This desire to enter the history books is a poor excuse for continuing as PM. It appears that the man does not even intend to honour a simple contract with his electorate if returned at the polls.
See link for one perspective on John Howard, retirement and Janette Howard's role:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22408884-36281,00.html
UPDATE:After receiving a beating in the media and online, on 15 September 2007 John Howard announced that he will be serving a full term as the Member for Bennelong if re-elected.
With current and future water security being such a vital issue in Australia today, this is an admission that he intends to continue to make water policy decisions and then cut and run.
It should be remembered that this is the same John Howard who backs the continued existence of that giant water hoarder, the Cubbie Group and, reportedly gave the nod for the auctioning of an additional 8,000 megalitres of Warrego River water flow in the face of CSIRO warnings regarding the potential impact of climate change on this river.
The Clarence Valley will not fare well if John Howard remains Prime Minister without any real electoral accountability to rein in his worst excesses. His push to steal Clarence River catchment freshwater will likely intensify.
Though just how much weight the Valley should give to his retirement statement is open to debate, given that Janette Howard has admitted that: "John wasn't into making firm commitments"
[www.theage.com.au,"Costello v Howard: the rift reopens",18 July 2007].
What is clear is that John Howard expects Australian voters to re-elect him so that he can retire sometime in the next few years, not on the basis of age, ill-health or family obligations, but because he has reached a personal, vainglorious milestone by becoming Australia's longest consecutive serving prime minister and can therefore quit.
This desire to enter the history books is a poor excuse for continuing as PM. It appears that the man does not even intend to honour a simple contract with his electorate if returned at the polls.
See link for one perspective on John Howard, retirement and Janette Howard's role:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22408884-36281,00.html
UPDATE:After receiving a beating in the media and online, on 15 September 2007 John Howard announced that he will be serving a full term as the Member for Bennelong if re-elected.
Labels: climate change, election '07, environment, water policy politics
posted by Judith M. Melville at
6:21 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home