Will a Change in Greens Leadership make the Nationals Redundant?
With the moderately surprising news that Christine Milne had decided to step out of her current political life, Dr Richard Di Natale moved into the driver’s seat for the Greens. And I flag that this spells trouble for the National Party because this shift, this change in voice and style, connected to similar passions, will offer the traditionally National voting rural constituent, the ‘go signal’ for change. And here’s why:
- The high level of disenchantment with the national’s support for mining over farming particularly across NSW and QLD;
- The ongoing saga of perceived practises of the #Duopoly, Coles & Woolworths, and their treatment of farmers;
- The threats posed to rural and semi rural communities through Coal Seam gas fracking and threats to fresh water supplies from the chemicals used in that process;
- The perceived collapse in ‘independent voice’ at the Federal level with too many coalition aligned policies seemingly out of whack with rural concerns.
- And into that mix, the support many rural communities received from the ‘feral’ green types trying to stop Maules Creek and other mining projects.
What those protests enabled for perhaps the first time, was a realisation on the part of the rural communities, that the people they thought were merely tree huggers, actually shared a similar concerns and passion – love for the land, the environment and the future. When you have a local farmer coming out publicly and saying that ‘I would have lost my farm if not for these people’ then you have a shift in awareness. That message, that impetus was clearly shown in state voting patterns, especially in NSW where inroads into vote % were significant. This was no protest vote, it was a fundamental shift in thinking of large sections of country Australia.
And now, with a new face at the helm of the National Greens, someone who has worked in the rural sector, who has seen the plights of people some distances from the cities, is a messenger that could parlay that growing Greens/Rural alignment into a significant shift in political representation. For over a decade I’ve suggested that the natural political alignment is between the Greens and the Nationals. It’s not yet a comfortable fit, but it is a natural one. This new Greens leadership could well make the Nationals (at least the current group) redundant, for if all they do is represent non rural sector interests over those of their constituents, those same constituents will find voice through those who do.
n a recent piece in the New York Times, Thomas L Freidman’s article ‘If I had a hammer’ discussed the new book by Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee’s new book ‘The Second Machine Age’ and the development of computing power now making even complex employment positions redundant. Whereas in the first machine age, human muscle…
Read More >I was interviewed for this article earlier last year and now it seems it has more currency than ever, so I’m reposting the link here. As a parent, what steps can you take to ensure your kids are well placed for a fulfilling career? This article offers some thoughts
Read More >For over a decade I worked with organisations in for profit, not for profit and government sectors. I’ve advised organisations in Europe, North America, Asia and beyond. Some organisations have been multi nationals, long standing, privately owned, publicly held, socially aware, profit focused and more. I’ve managed million dollar portfolios and client accounts of just…
Read More >The link to the article below will take you to an overview of how robotic design is developing towards a more ‘natural’ form of human movement. To a larger extent, this is part of the normalisation process so that those of us exposed to robotics can be more accepting of their presence. This is indeed…
Read More >Occasionally I see a post that leads me to slap my forehead with the sheer simplicity of its brilliance. The post in the link below discusses the idea of homework for kids and I flag that I’m on the School Council of my kid’s Primary School, where this discussion runs rampant. The research we…
Read More >I’m part way through a small research piece for an FMCG company that is interested in exploring the future consumer and what kind of environmental factors might influence their purchasing decisions. Interestingly enough toward the end of last year I had three FMCG firms approach me about a similar challenge, so ‘Future Consumers’ must be…
Read More >The Australian Government has announced a ‘Repeal Day’, intended to be used to axe the existence of hundreds of outdated laws. The concept is a good one, though for me, doesn’t quite get the Australian Parliament into a forward looking setting in how it could develop FUTURE legislation. So what could be done instead and…
Read More >Continuing his run of suggesting an annual theme and idea of world focus for the year ahead, Futurist Marcus Barber has declared 2014 to be the International Year of Food Security. ‘The year ahead is going to bring into sharp focus, what has often been seen as an ‘other-world’ problem’ Barber says. ‘For a number…
Read More >Yes I know, committing to an early morning chat on ABC Radio on New Year’s Day may to some seem tinged with the ‘what were you thinking?’ bug, but hey, what better time is there than chatting about the future, than at prime New Year’s Resolution time? You’ll be able to listen to the stream…
Read More >The Australian Strategic Planning Institute website has a new article on why Visions, rather than being useful shining lights, end up being ‘ruts’ for organisations. Counter instinictivley and yet simply put, the never ending nature of some Visions leads to an inaction toward that Vision. Companies and individuals spin their wheels in a quagmire…
Read More >