Just a brief note to outline how my new appointment as secretary and registered officer of the REP may, or will, affect this blog. It is not the purpose here to push a party political position or advocate on behalf of any particular party. The problem of climate change as an existential issue is paramount and the purpose is to offer local news on this and make suggestions as to how we might succeed in overcoming what is almost certainly the greatest problem humanity has ever faced. All, of course, related to Gippsland or by Gippsland authors.
Over the last three years the blog has had a number of guest authors. All locals with one or two exceptions, and these were writing about topics specific to Gippsland. The guest authors have a range of political views including some greens – two of whom, Dan Caffrey and Mal McKelvie have previously stood as green candidates. I make no enquiries about a guest author’s political affiliations and welcome contributors from across the political spectrum with the proviso, of course, that they accept the science on climate change, that it is a serious problem and that they advocate possible solutions.
The REP suffered a near death experience after the last Federal Election when all the candidates, myself included, lost their deposits. The leaders, faced with an election only a month or so after getting the party registered, had most unrealistic expectations of what the party could achieve. On the election eve I offered a precautionary pessimistic, but accurate, analysis of the most likely outcome. For the rest of 2016 and much of this year there has been a leadership vacuum and the committee and office bearers with two exceptions resigned. So our immediate challenge is to keep the party alive.
I see the REP as advocating a return to bipartisanship on climate and hope, at least in the short term, we devote our energy to helping clear our federal parliaments of the climate troglodytes of the major parties – mainly, but not entirely, the Libs and the Nats. The blog, hopefully, will continue in the same vein and offer the opportunity to any Gippslander, whatever their politics, to contribute positively on climate change and its solutions.