In this report I will be featuring some of the remarkable facts that were revealed in the recent GREENPEACE sponsored documentary “DIRTY POWER” which lifts the lid on what is really happening with the Government of Australia and why it even makes sense the PM would take off on a holiday to Hawaii in the middle of the nation’s biggest disaster (Complicit !).
The ‘Dirty Power’ Documentary was based on interviews with dozens of political operatives, current and former staffers, executives of external lobby firms, and resources sector analysts; previously hidden details about the identity and background of federal ministers’ parliamentary staff; and publicly available information about listed companies and their operatives. Greenpeace worked with experienced investigative journalist, Michael West, to expose the web of ties between the coal industry and federal government via industry groups, lobbyists and media.
As it turns out, the Coal Industry has bought our Government and even the Prime Minister Scott Morrison himself. He now answers to the Coal barons and not the people of Australia. This corruption needs to be exposed, it is a cancer that needs to be surgically removed at the root, and the public to be educated and they need to be galvanised into action, so that this never happens again.
From a pure greed (profit) perspective it turns out that it is good business (it’s far cheaper) to buy the Government rather than pay any tax. So there is no point listening to Scott Morrison spin lies. He cannot be trusted. Nor can the LNP Party as it stands. Nor can you trust any of the Murdoch media outlets, Murdoch himself is a big Fossil fuel investor.
Opposition financial services spokesman Stephen Jones called out the government, noting companies that paid no tax include 102 firms reporting more than $1 billion in total income.
“Despite spending $24 million on an advertising campaign promoting tax integrity, Scott Morrison continues to let multinational companies get away with paying little or no taxes,” Mr Jones said. “While the average single Australian worker pays 25 per cent of their income in tax, large companies earning over $1 billion averaged tax payments of only 2 per cent of total income.”
In 2016, Australia was the biggest net exporter of coal, with 32% of global exports. It was still the fourth-highest producer with 6.9% of global production. 77% of production was exported.
So it the fossil fuel and mining businesses don’t pay any tax, what’s the benefit in having them ? Sure they employ some people, but these people could be retrained and redeployed in Renewable sectors.
The fossil fuel industry is the number one cause of global warming, which is driving ever more radical climate change which in turn is causing more frequent and more severe natural disasters like bushfires, droughts, and rising sea levels. Soon tipping points will set off an irreversible chain reaction of events.The clock is ticking and humanity is facing an extinction in the coming decades.
Scott Morrison says his Government is acting on emissions, but is he to be trusted? He says Australia’s emissions are coming down, but are they really? The answer is no.
The coal industry has infiltrated Australia’s federal government through a secretive network of ties, working to influence Australia’s political decisions at the highest level: right up to the office of the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison.
Over Summer I watched the coverage of the bushfires and the efforts of our heroic firefighters as they put themselves in incredibly dangerous and difficult situations day after day. The images of incinerated animals, and people fleeing the fires was heart breaking.
In the face of global catastrophe, it’s hard not to feel daunted. What can I, an individual, do to help my fellow Australians in this crisis? Understanding that my daily actions are partly responsible for climate change, I continue to feel a gnawing sense of sense of individual guilt, for not being able to help. Well one thing I can do is write this feature and Podcast.
By pandering to the interests of the coal industry, the Coalition Government is putting dirty profits ahead of the health and well-being of Australians who want our nation to run on clean energy. And their dirty secrets need to be aired, and radical action taken.
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