A loong time go I worked for the CES and loved it. It wasn’t well funded though at that time and then Howard came in and finally got rid of it. I agree with you. It was a really bad move but not surprising from a Liberal govt.

Isn’t that a sign she’s her own person and doesn’t say what this or that mob prescribe? I’ve seen the ‘centre’ term used here, as I said by Bill Shorten. It is also used in Europe.

And if we get ourselves enmeshed with the US, we’ll be enmeshed with the Israeli war machine as well.

RIP Richard Moorcroft.

I am sorry for your situation. The whole immigration business is becoming toxic all over the world. I hope you get your situation sorted out.

Bullshit that makes a lot of people feel reassured. You can’t blame voters for wanting stability and Australia has always been a majorly conservative nation. Left-wing people may think that the centre does not exist, but the majority of Australians are not left-wing. I’ve talked to people in the region where I live who think that Labor is left-wing and the Greens are fringe radicals.

“For half the cost of a single AUKUS submarine we could establish a national network of publicly owned supermarkets that would save families thousands of dollars on their groceries,”

I like that idea. We may not even get the ruddy submarines anyway but still have forked out billions for them.

For anyone interested in a few more details: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-06/green-institute-proposal-public-supermarkets-break-duopoly/107228700

Well, pretence is what this society is about (mostly).

It may well be that ‘the safe centre’ is just convenient for people to take a way out without having to think too much, like fast food, no matter what harm it does.

Having said that, I’m qualifying with adding that a lot of people are tired, stressed financially and generally and seek some sort of reassurance, whether it’s from Labs, Libs, PHONeys or Greens.

Say more. Why do you think Karvelas is wrong?

I agree with you but ‘mainstream Australia’ understands the term and most identify with it. I suggest that might be why it is being used. You pitch your commuication to the readers you want to reach, even if you know that the ‘sensible centre’ is a vague concept. I remember Bill Shorten using the term in describing the aim of his government.

Thank you for your effort. I do want to respond to some of what you say. Need more time to think on some of the matters you lay out.

Stick a reminder on your pet brush so you don’t forget.

A lot of the older farmers did not have much access to education, which is different in the younger generation which wants to pursue an agricultural career. That might explain the older ones being as closed off as many are to climate change, etc, (plus rural people everywhere tend to be slower to accept change) Is that also your observation? What has been your experience? I’d be interested to know especially as you are in Tasmania.

Why?

Yep, that was my point. The only alternative we have is Big Ag, which when small farmers leave, often take over. No one even considers a govt alternative. Frankly, I don’t think our govt would be capable of running such a system.

In this system, the alternative is industrial-scale agriculture which is run by big corporates who generally don’t give a toss what they do to the land. In smaller family farms at least you get a good proportion of people who do care about the soil and protecting native vegetation and wildlife (not enough, but they are there), and are not just profit-driven as it is with Big Ag. As for govt running farms, lol, if they have difficulty enough dealing with politics, imagine govt running thousands of farms with all the vagaries farm managers have to deal with.

But don’t forget, for example, https://farmersforclimateaction.org.au/ OR https://www.lockthegate.org.au/

Not all farmers are exploiters. There’s a lot of thuggery about, true. I live in a rural area so I see both sides.

I get why you are angry but not all farmers are the same AND without agriculture, Australia is in dire straits.

He said division affects parties like the Greens more than major parties because they “don’t have the discipline of being a government or government-in-waiting”.

Being a govt-in-waiting has not stopped either Labor or Liberals in the past from tearing themselves apart, so the ‘discipline’ argument is shallow imv.

Ghazarian believes the Greens’ current tension “goes to the heart” of the party’s identity crisis — its struggle between being an activist party that “works at a grassroots level” and a “traditional party” that is “pragmatic and political”.

I hope someone will do a deeper analysis on this claim. I just hope that at the party’s leadership level the Greens will leave bruised egos aside like Hanson-Young has done and pledge their commitment to the job in front of them.