Page 964 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 29 March 2011

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Maybe it happens to others. Maybe it happens if you are a member of the crossbench and you go to a Greens’ party meeting or you go to certain protests and rallies. But I would go so far as saying that the vast majority of people in this place, when they are doing their shopping or when they are doing a street stall or when they are doorknocking, do not get issues like this raised with them very often at all.

That alone does not mean that it is not a matter of public importance. There are many other reasons why it is not a matter of public importance here today. One of them is that elements of peak oil are just a little bogus when it comes down to it. And it is one of these great things that Greens socialists can always talk about as being tomorrow, the fear mongering. It is always tomorrow and that is why we have to do something. It comes down to this core pessimism that Greens have and a determination to destroy our society as we see it. What we have today is a glimpse into what the Greens are actually all about. We see the real philosophy coming in, the real ideology, which drives some of these members.

It is important to note that the person who did raise this as a matter of public importance, Ms Le Couteur, I believe, is actually a true believer when it comes to these sorts of principles. As for some of her colleagues, I am not so sure. I am not so sure they all subscribe to the same philosophy or have the same grasp of the Greens’ philosophy that she does. And whilst I disagree with much of what she says, I do have respect for the fact that she does have this core philosophy which she clings to.

After all, if you look at many of the iconic things which the Greens have brought into this place, they were actually by Ms Le Couteur, not by Mr Rattenbury, the leadership aspirant, not by Ms Hunter, the leader herself, and not by Ms Bresnan. They were actually by Ms Le Couteur, the person who slipped into the number seven spot, almost under the radar during the campaign, and she has made a significant impact in this place because of her commitment to core Greens’ socialist ideology.

Look at some of these iconic things that actually sum up the Greens’ role in this place: shopping trolleys, natural burial, peak oil, plastic bags, community gardens—the list goes on. Who has brought in all those? Ms Le Couteur. Not Mr Rattenbury, not Ms Hunter, not Ms Bresnan.

You can make of it what you will but the fact is that perhaps Mr Le Couteur is bringing them in because she is actually the most marginal of all the Greens in this place. If you look at the results, it is not a usual result for the Greens to get two in Molonglo. Therefore, it is interesting that someone that may well only have a lifespan in this place of one term, if the Greens’ vote does return to the trend levels, is the one who has got nothing to lose and is the one who can actually bring in issues such as—

Mr Corbell: On a point of order, as amusing as it is, Madam Assistant Speaker, I do draw your attention to the standing order relating to relevance and indeed whether Mr Coe is remaining relevant to the matter under discussion.

MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mrs Dunne): I really do not think there is a point of order. Mr Coe.


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