Clive Doucet’s article (NDP not biting on teaming up with Greens for climate's sake, Feb. 14) contains a reference to the role of Greens in Australia. “In the climate-denying heartland of Australia, the Greens garnered 10 per cent of the popular vote and saw just one MP elected.”
Australia has preferential voting, which in many legislatures has enabled Greens to have a far greater influence than their numbers would justify. Greens held the federal balance of power which enabled Julia Gillard to form a Labor government back in 2014. One result was the Native Forest Protection Act, which established national jurisdiction over aspects of forest management that were in place in most states already having green agendas, including gutting of the funds for forest management.
The result of over 30 years of Green policies has been a scorched Australia, where well-established practices of experienced foresters were replaced by Greens’ neglect, thus leaving huge areas vulnerable to some extreme weather conditions. We have seen the disaster.
The “climate-denying heartland” has been the only sign of common sense in a country where the Green agenda has resulted in among other things extremely high prices of electricity where once we had the world's cheapest, and now a burnt-out country. There are surely lessons here for Canada.
And thank you to Canadians for your generosity to the victims of the Australian fires from an ex-pat Aussie.
Peter Noakes,
Charlottetown
