Robin Harrison, Binna Burra
Among the current avalanche of political lies is the so called ‘under-performing’ mining tax. Nothing could be further from the truth. The tax is performing brilliantly for the authors of the legislation, the mining industry.
Our political leaders just gifted them most of the deficit and try to hide it with weasel words like under-performing.
It’s blindingly obvious no politician can reach a position of influence without a serious understanding with ‘business as usual’. Guess who has the real power in politics? Certainly not politicians.
Abandoning principle for political advantage is corruption and this adversarial political system corrupts everyone, not least because the mainstream media is owned by ‘business as usual’ and all politicians need them.
The Right make no secret about where their loyalties lie. Indeed one of our apparently more sincere local liars is currently selling out the northern rivers to CSG and seems happy to continue strip-mining local government.
Labor too, despite their stated principles, are clearly owned by ‘business as usual‘, which leaves us with the supposedly principled Greens.
To maintain their illusion of political power, Bob Brown and Christine Milne backed the mining tax legislation, knowing full well it had been written by the mining industry and had holes in it you could drive mining trucks full of money through.
Most of us know ‘business as usual’ is thoroughly unsustainable. We are presently attempting the transition to a sustainable future, which is vital if we are to survive as a species.
Our political system run by ‘business as usual’ is completely dedicated to obstructing this transition.
Politics gives people only an illusion of involvement in government.
It’s becoming increasingly clear the Emperor Democracy has no clothes. The rapidly growing number of us who want a future for our kids, and their kids, must find another way.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
