It was therefore with much interest I read last Monday’s “SNVIEWPOINT” by your regular correspondent Robert McLean on the issue of our federal member for Nichols lack of action on climate change.
I have sent a few emails to Damien Drum and never received a reply, apart from the obligatory auto generated one and I don’t even get those any more.
Now Mr Drum, as we all know is a member of the National Party, a conservative, climate change denying, fossil fuel loving political party that includes intellectual "giants" such as George "The Member for Manilla" Christensen, Mat "Black Coal Matters" Canavan, Barnaby "Beetrooter" Joyce, Bridget "Sports Rorts" McKenzie, Keith "Whats a Big Battery?" Pitt and David Little to be proud of.
The National Party while purporting to be for rural Australians has shown time and time again it is subservient to the mining and fossil fuel extraction industries often at the expense of rural Australian communities.
Indeed how will Mr Drum explain to his constituents why they will be unable to sell their produce or goods in the US, EU or Japanese markets, when these (and other) countries apply a Carbon price on Australian exports because his government is not pulling its weight on emissions reduction?
How can he explain the massive taxpayer subsidies given to fossil fuel industries that pay little or no tax in this country and employ less people than McDonalds?
Actions speak louder than words and three or four word slogans such as "Technology not taxes" will not cut the mustard.
Mr Drum could do his best work by resigning from the National party, and join the cross bench along with Zali Steggall, Helen Haines and Andrew Wilkie.
This action would free him of the need to "tow the party line" and actually help bring about real change.
He could work with the cross benchers to encourage the federal government to stop using taxpayers money to subsidise fossil fuel industries and technologies from last century and instead put in a major effort to embrace a clean energy future and all the job opportunities and benefits this will bring to the people of Nichols, the people of Australia and ultimately the people of the world.
That way he will show the people of Nichols he is genuinely interested in serving them and not the National Party's masters in the fossil fuel industry.
Who knows even I might vote for Mr Drum if he was bold enough to embrace this strategy.
