Dear Australians who voted for Tony Abbott,
I’m seriously unhappy with you. You might think that you understand why this is the case. You might think that I’m disappointed because the Labor Party is no longer in power, and it would be a lie for me to say this doesn’t contribute to my dissatisfaction. But what’s more important, and what’s driven me to write this letter to you all, is something far larger than the people who get elected. My issue is with you. You personally, and your greed and your selfishness, and your decision to put a fractional increase in your electricity bill ahead of your responsibility to provide a sustainable future for my planet. The planet I live on. The planet I am hoping will provide my children and grandchildren with a place to live. Yes, I’m hoping you haven’t contributed to the death of my offspring. This is how seriously outraged by you I am. This is personal.
So you probably noticed, or more likely didn’t unless Kyle Sandilands/Stefanovic mentioned it, that approximately 60,000 Australians turned out on Sunday to rally for action to combat climate change. You know, climate change, that thing that you deny, discount, laugh at, and generally ignore every time you have the opportunity. And yes, if you’re an Abbott voter, I do believe it’s fair to put you in this bucket. If you even begin to tell me you want action to reduce the catastrophic effects of climate change and that you also voted for the man who vowed to ‘axe the tax’, the very mechanism that was reducing Australian emissions and contributing to a world-wide acceptance of the need to do something about climate change, I will tell you you’re a moron. A dangerous moron. And this leads me to my reason for writing you this letter. I want you to know that I’m not just pissed off with you. I’m furious* (*not a strong enough word). And I’m not pandering to you anymore. This is a call for those who share my anger not to pander to you either.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that climate change rally-ers have been out in the streets before, with similar rallies calling for similar action to do something about climate change. Yes, we’ve been out before. But I think it’s time things changed. I think it’s time to talk about what’s happened in Australia. I think it’s time to call you all out for what you have done. Australia had action and emissions were reducing. But now Abbott is undoing it, because you supported him to do this. Because you elected Abbott, you have brought about an outcome which equates to you personally choosing a few dollars in your pocket over the safety of the planet. You don’t seem to care about your taxpayer dollars being wasted on Abbott’s ludicrous tree-planting exercise, Direct Action. Nor do you care that every credible scientist – and most economists – know that this policy will not work. This waste of money scheme is going to end up costing you far more personally, through your tax dollars, than the Carbon Price would ever have cost you. And no one has yet been able to explain to me in words that make sense how you processed this decision into a rational thought.
I actually think it’s pointless that we, those who want action, rally quietly in huge numbers and then go back to our day jobs on Monday and tell our work colleagues that we were there at the rally and how it’s going to help. We’re talking to work colleagues who, in their majority, have used their democratic vote to empower a man who everyone with half-a-brain knows is a climate change denier, for the personally convenient purpose of maintaining his friendship/donor relationship with the likes of Gina Rinehart.
But that’s the thing about Tony Abbott. You people, the ones who voted for him, invented him. Like a disturbingly incoherent Frankenstein thug, you needed someone to tell you that climate change wasn’t a problem. You needed someone to maintain your comfortable status quo, to tell you that your pastimes of shopping and buying credits on your Candy Crush iPhone game were perfectly justifiable ways to spend your spare time and money. You needed this man to give you a reason to do nothing, and to campaign against action when someone tried to do something about the biggest problem our society has ever, and will ever, encounter, to make you feel like you’re not doing something wrong by doing nothing. But that’s the thing. You’re not just doing nothing. You’ve given Tony Abbott a mandate to undo the only action we had. The action we, the responsible Australians, rallied for. You’re the handbrake, you’re the ‘control z’ that could destroy the lives of my future offspring. You don’t care that people are already dying in countries you’ve heard of but never visited, as long as your electricity bill isn’t more than it was last month, which it probably isn’t because you spent half the month in Bali drinking 50c beers and buying $1 copies of Breaking Bad Season 2 so your plasma TV wasn’t on for 18 hours a day. And this is the point I want to make.
Climate change is not a debate. You have no right to an opinion on climate change. You’re not a climate scientist, I can guarantee it. Climate change is happening. It’s killing people now. Whether you like it or not in your comfortable little greed fest, we’re having more regular and more severe storms, droughts, floods and fires across the planet because of climate change, right now. People like me don’t go to rallies because we have nothing better to do on a weekend. And personally, I’m sick of the attitude that we, as a community of people who want to do something, should pander to people like you who refuse to listen, who refuse to understand what scientists are saying (note I say ‘understand’ and not ‘believe’ because this is not a fairy in the garden that you can choose to believe in or not). This is real. And it’s affecting those who want to do something about it just as much as it’s affecting you. But since you voted for Abbott, the coal companies are back in charge. Now we have a government who doesn’t even bother to attend the Warsaw climate conference, where the world is discussing plans to do something. Now we have an environment minister referencing Wikipedia to justify his denial.
So this is my statement: I’m not pandering to you anymore. I’m not pretending it’s a good use of my time to try to convince you of the completely and utterly proven fact of climate change. Polite diplomacy has not got us anywhere. You need to know loud and clear that you’re the problem. And you need to take responsibility for what you and your selfish lifestyle, and your prioritising of dollars on your electricity bill have done to the continuation of the planet we all live on, the same place where we all hope to see our children live without being destroyed by your selfishness and greed.
Your legacy is a country which convinced other wavering, weak societies that there was no point taking action, because it would just be un-done if they did. You will be remembered, and studied by future generations as the people who had the chance to do something, but were too selfish, mean, greedy and self-centered to sacrifice just a small amount for the benefit of the future. I don’t give a shit if this statement upsets you. You deserve to feel upset. You deserve to feel like total cowards. You needed to think of people in the future, and all you could think of was an insignificant sacrifice on your electricity bill which might affect how much, ever so slightly, you can afford to spend on your lifestyle today. You could have just made the easy and smart decision to cut down on your electricity usage, which was really the point of the Carbon Price in the first place. But this was an inconvenience to you. Your mindset is a complete outrage. You’ve democratically elected the most dangerous person you could possibly have voted for at a tipping point in the future of humanity, and you argue in favor of this disastrous decision with all your energy whenever you can. This is beyond wrong. Your behavior is reprehensible and it’s time we told you so.
Next time you’re in the tea room at work equating climate change to the Y2K bug, I think someone should tell you you’re a blight on our future. Next time you spout your bullshit about the science not being settled on my Twitter stream, or you write loony comments on my blog to justify why you don’t want to do anything about climate change, I’m not going to engage in a debate with you as this just gives you the idea you’ve got some credibility in the argument. You have no credibility. I’m going to tell you you’re selfish and greedy. And I’m going to bring up this conversation with you rather than letting you ignore it. I’m calling on others who are as concerned as I am about the path this country has chosen not to pander to you anymore either. This is not a debate. This is you choosing to play Russian roulette with the lives of my unborn children. It’s not time for me to try to convince you to do the right thing because you’ve already had the chance to do the right thing and you spectacularly didn’t do it. Those who are worried about climate change aren’t going to get anywhere by being nice to you people. It’s time to get angry. It’s time to explain to you the gigantic error you have made. You voted for Tony Abbott. Now you have to live with what that means. It’s time to pop your comfortable little bubble. You’ve done the wrong thing.
Yours sincerely
Victoria Rollison
Media Inequality 
nice to know i am not alone in my thinking
Thank You Victoria
Thank you for putting my own anger into such eloquent words.
Wow. Just….wow. Thanks Victoria! That sums up everything I’m feeling, but with a few less profanities.
Keep fighting the good fight!
Bill..
Fabulous commentary Victoria….it saddens me how these loonies are trashing this once progressive country.
Progressive country under the labor party ? Are you serious ? I voted for the Coalition, however I do believe in “climate change”. However, there are multiple issues to consider. The fact is the Labor party was driving this country into massive debt and there was no end in sight. Will Victoria Rollison reveal her credentials ? How long has she been in the work force ? Does she have a family she has to provide for ? I have been married for 28 years and my wife and I have 4 adult children. We raised our children on a single average wage. I can state with absolute confidence that we only advanced ourselves under a coalition government. Victoria is a hateful and irrational individual who will not accept that others may have their own opinions. I listened to her on 3AW this afternoon and she sounded like a raving fanatic who will not accept any other persons opinion. Victoria certainly likes to “blog” and criticize others, including their credentials. Why doesn’t she reveal hers ?
Still thinking coal is good for humanity Peter, hahahaha I’m guessing buyers regret? Or do you still believe the spin?
Peter, if the Labor party was “driving” the country into massive debt (a conjecture) it is absolutely clear that the LNP since coming to power have been “flying” in into debt. The numbers don’t lie – they are publicly available
Blaming voters because they were uneducated, lied to and brainwashed is not the answer. We can’t educate them if we can’t find them, and we won’t find them if we blame them.
Got to disagree with you there David. Blaming voters is exactly what’s got to happen. Voters must be made to feel accountable for their decision. Being uneducated, being uninformed particularly are choices. And we must make people… ALL people accountable for their choices; wether this is their choice of vote, their choice to vote without informing themselves properly, their choice to live a lifestyle full of resource munching items of convenience and entertainment and then choice to rail against solutions that may see some of that curtailed.
Absolutely true Jonathan. David, these people ARE to blame and should not be allowed to blithely ignore the potential damage they have wrought. Action in chosen ignorance must be called out.
Oh, here we go again, more self proclaimed intellectuals. What’s your catch phrase going to be next week. Another inane comment. I would assume you are a university student, or recently graduated, with absolutely no life experience…..
I agree. People trust the “media”This is the real problem. Coalition voters are not all assholes. Many of them are just scared and confused and therefore irrational. Also many “protest” votes against both party’s lead to coalition victory through preferencing. This is very unfortunate. Also many green voters hate labor but what the fail to realise is that a mainstream thinker will swing to liberal way before they swing to green! Inadvertently helping the coalition!!! Strange but true!!!
Damian
“scared and confused and therefore irrational” ? Your thoughts are typical of a self proclaimed “know it all”. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Leftist individuals like you feign a belief in a democratic society and “free speech”. You claim a belief in a society that allows “free speech” only when it suits you. Those who disagree with you are then subjected to irrational abuse and ranting, very similar to Victoria Rollison’s presentation on 3AW on 23/5/2014.
You are an idiot. It’s people like you that are going to doom this country. They need to be blamed, they need to understand the damaged they have caused. In life every decision we make have consequences, it shouldn’t be any different with voting. Everything that’s important that makes Australia what is it, he wants to change, even though he has promised, lying to the Australian people, he wouldn’t’ change.
Way to go Victoria! You have put my rage into coherent expression.
The blissfully ignorant who voted for Abbott & Co. will probably never understand the scope of the damage that they are doing to Australia’s International reputation and standing. In a few short months he has taken us from one of the most admired to one of the most despised and ridiculed, the Humiliation and embarrassment The Court Jester & the Village Idiot (abbott & hockey) have brought upon us is something all those who voted for him are responsible for. Voting for Abbott because you did not like Gillard/Rudd was like eating dog shit because you do not like spinach. Now the rest of us have to pay the price, & it is a big one for your ignorance and deliberate stupidity. That is what happens when you put clowns in charge, you get a 3 ring circus.
I am an expat and trust me, Abbott looks grownup next to the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd debacle we had over the past few years.
Australia is looking pretty good right now and I know this as I don’t have to explain weird shit in Australian politics any more to my curious co-workers.
Thank goodness, a word of wisdom amongst those with a short memory.
I am an expat, and trust me, Abbott looks like a moronic idiot, not only with his opinions/policies on climate change, but also refugees, etc.
I’m sorry, but politics is complicated, and to be honest, not too many people cared about the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd debacle, unless they were Australians.
But everyone has noticed the new idiot running our country.
I’m sorry, but since when did cosmetic party image become something more important than actual policy? you should remind your concerned foreign friends about that.
Goodness finally someone with a brain. Who are these people following a government that shoved us into a world of deficit. 2.5 million Australians living in poverty because of a government that was so selfish and greedy. NSW Labor government are going through courts because of corruption and the Federal Labor government should be held accountable for the corruption of tax payers money. GO TO HELL LABOR.
You go to Hell dip stick
Trouble is Victoria, that almost all of us in the West are contributing to this by our greed. Yes a lot of us are less greedy than Tony and his mates, but the average western lifestyle is unsustainable – which makes all of us greedy, unless we truly have found a way to live sustainably. That includes me. Am I willing to give up the energy and resource guzzling things I do/use in order to save the planet and give a fair go to all those exploited poor who make it possible for me to have cheap computers, clothes and cars? I don’t feel I have the strength to go it alone, although maybe I’d like to. It certainly would be easier if this was a global choice – if we could get together as a community and agree to simplify for the global good. This would mean ending pointless wars. It would mean a lower standard of living for most of us in the west. Maybe we need to replace the Pauper Prisons of the 1800’s with Rich Pig Prisons. Convict those who persist in antisocial behaviour of crimes against humanity? Seriously the only way to change this is to reduce population and that will take a while (unless it happens naturally through war, starvation or the effects of antibiotic resistance).
Yes, Tony and his (in my opinion) foolish, selfish, gullible or deluded followers need to wake up and smell the future. But we have all contributed to this mess by our own self-serving choices.
” Seriously the only way to change this is to reduce population and that will take a while (unless it happens naturally through war, starvation or the effects of antibiotic resistance).”
Or through the cascading effects of the climate change 😉
Mike, over population is certainly the ‘elephant in the room’. Yet it is so elementary. I call it the ‘beans in a bottle’ scenario. The bottle is pretty close to full now but very few people seem to have noticed. China made a start but I heard this week they are going to relax the one child policy very soon (but still with restrictions). For the planet to survive, I used to say, 70% of us have got to go; then I revised that to, 90% of us have got to go. Any volunteers?
Victoria, I have been suffering withdrawal symptoms but I am OK now your latest article has arrived… You have a way of expressing what so many of us think and feel.
Will Australia be able to survive 3 more years of this? I live in a coastal/country area that is full of the sort of people your article is aimed at and I sometimes feel I may as well burn my ballot paper (not the Senate paper, of course). Australians, I fear, will have to hurt – really hurt – before they get their brains into gear. I keep saying, the MSM is made up of people who have children and families; surely they don’t believe this ‘idiot utopia’ can take us anywhere positive.
I love your articles and look forward to more. I wonder if Peta Credlin reads them to Tony Abbott in their spare moments?
If you go to econews.com.au you would have to wonder of Tony Abbott or anyone near him has ever read any of the stories published there. Britain is calling for a 50% emissions reduction target for the EU and it has a Conservative government, when Australians will wake up.
I know you can’t hear a standing ovation through your blog Victoria… but you are getting a thunderous one right now! 😉
Yes- because anyone who voted Liberal MUST have done so out of disregard for the health of the planet, and for their own personal gain. The amount of scorn you have for people who voted for someone else is just ridiculous.
Additionally, what on earth do you really believe Australia can do to combat climate change? By reducing our alreadt minimal emissions by a whole 5%? Absolutely pointless.
5% was just the beginning Matt, it was a starting point to try and get global movement and cooperative action on CC. This was never about Labor or Liberal.
Matt….if a previous LIBERAL! PM – aka Malcolm Fraser can publicly state that Abbott and his cronies are THE!! most dangerous bunch of politicians Australia will have seen….you’d better believe it! Why do you think he resigned from the Liberal party??? He was amazed at how they had lost sight of what were important issue and instead had this closed mindset to *undo things in place that were getting us somewhere!!*…
And btw…your comment *What on earth do you really believe Australia can do to combat climate change?* defies all common logic….
As has been said, 5% was just the beginning. It was *way* too little really. IF you are saying that there are bigger polluters, well yes there are, but a lot of those (China, Europe, etc..) recognise the problem and are doing something about it. Australians have one of the largest per capita carbon emissions. Australia WAS doing something and is now going backwards. We ARE providing a very poor example and precedent for other countries. Every bit helps and a poor example’s effect is multiplied by all those who use it as an excuse for bad policy.
Thanks once again Victoria, you really are able to hit the nail on the head.
There is just so much information coming in from news agencies around the world that are supporting Climate Change that we can all reference & where possible we can forward onto the social media sites.
As for the morons who are trying (very trying) to ruin our country, they just need to keep on doing the things they are doing at present for people to start waking up slowly from their stupor. If we maintain our rage, keep sharing our rage, it will act like TA’s 3 word slogans. It will spread like the virus of lies that TA & his mob have force fed us over these past 3 years & is still trying to shove down our throats.
New motto for climate change: MAINTAIN THE RAGE!
I couldn’t have expressed my anger and disbelief any better. However anger and disbelief are useless to me and my future grandchildren in the face of this national disgrace. There must be thousands of us out there who feel the same. What can we do to change the direction of this government? Tony Abbott may be the Priminister but he is not a leader. We, you and me and us… We need to do something … But what?
Organise. Campaign. If your local MPs aren’t willing to support necessary action, threaten to organise campaigns against them. Actually go through with the threat.
It’s that important.
Care factor – zero. Only had to read the first paragraph to realise what a misguided and delusional fool you are.
Your the root of the problem, Care factor zero.
You seem to be another of those deliberately misinformed… One of the problems.
Have a think about the accountability voters ought to have.
Organise. Campaign. If your local MPs aren’t willing to support necessary action, threaten to organise campaigns against them. Actually go through with the threat.
It’s that important.
Collie,
I can tell that you are one of the greedy in Australia who doesn’t use your brain to think about the climate changes and for the future generation. There are overwhelming evidence from scientist to support the evidence of climate change. I agree with tratty67 you are the rrot of the problem 😦
Lick my bum, minions.
Love it , yes maintain the rage.
Spot on as usual Victoria. I am just as mad as you with these mindless morons. Keep giving it to them Victoria because they can’t handle the truth,
I am very proud with you Victoria. Thanks for your Article. I like to see some comments because some people are selfish short term thinkers 😦
Victoria….well you certainly gave me a good laugh this nice and wet Saturday morning…I’m not sure if I should feel sorry for you or just just assume that you are too stupid to actually do some research and find out how and why this whole global warming scam started. I think its time you opened your eyes and looked outside your very small box of Co2.
Suggest you have a good think about Julian Burnside’s tweet (or whatever it was): If climate change was cancer and 98% of oncologists agreed, would you seek treatment, or Wait and See?
98% is a totally false figure….see my comments above…
wow, you’re a dipshit. I work in the wine industry and the grape growers know that climate change is a fact. You know why? Because the success or failure of their harvest is dependant entirely on the CLIMATE. All around the world growers are seeing their grapes ripen earlier and earlier, because it is getting warmer. And that’s a fact. Before spouting your ill informed nonsense about this ‘scam’, why don’t you ask the people on the front line, who rely on the climate for their careers.
Thats the spirit…..just use abuse to people smarter than you just because they are not sucked into this scam like you are….
Yes, smarter than me. Who has actually looked at the evidence before coming to a conclusion, rather than reading Murdoch press..
Victoria has never been selfish nor backwards, for we are the new Labor movement, marching forward into the next election and we will boot your Abbott back into his negativity box for good. No Good Abbott and Co.
@anonnymous
Try 95%, or are you going to deny THAT as well as climate change itself?
ENOUGH BULLS**T.
Thank you Victoria, as with all your articles i can’t agree with you more. Yes we need to maintain the rage, an absolute must, but we also need to start living in a sustainable way ourselves already, not only to show that we can but also to prepare ourselves for the future when we might have no other choice. And of course to show our children and grandchildren that it can be done, living sustainable that is.
I am distressed about our current government, but we must realise that there are always two sides to the coin: the negativity and stupidity of the current lot which will make our lives more difficult than necessary is one side. The other i have not entirely discovered yet, but i think it has to do with moving from individuality to community. It is community where our strenghts lie. It is moving from greed and selfishness to sharing and empathy with one another. TIll the next election i have to put up with the current government but i won’t let it rule me. I will find my own way to a better and more peaceful and fulfilled life, and for me such a life lies in seeking similarities in others rather than differences, in being content with what i have and counting my blessings all the time.
hilderombout November 23, 2013 at 11:51 am
Perhaps the two sides of the coin you mention are ‘expansion and contraction’ or moving from ‘I’ to ‘WE’.
You have expressed it well: “…moving from individuality to community….. from greed and selfishness to sharing and empathy….” and we can also add…. from ‘negativity and stupidity’ to positive action infused with wisdom.
As a general rule, the politically more ‘progressive’ tend to see a future which is inclusive of everyone or as you said: “seeking similarities in others rather than differences” – wishing for a good life for all and recognising with gratitude that many are so much worse off than ourselves and with a preparedness to sacrifice a little of our excesses for a greater benefit to others. EXPANSION.
The less progressive often view the future as a competition between ‘me’ and ‘them’ – a race to beat others to the spoils with a fear that ‘enough will never be ‘enough’. With that fear comes suspicion and judgment, greed and selfishness, enemies and conflicts. CONTRACTION.
So this is directed only at voters in Warringah? Because only they were able to vote for Abbott.
Thank-you…
Thank-you….typical small brain mentality of these left wing socialists
You are brave ANONYMOUS aren’t you? So brave you even use your real name. Chortle. Love it when unintelligent, arrogant right wingers troll away, giving us the benefit of their “wisdom”, without using one scintilla of evidence to back up their assertions.
Great post, Victoria.
Haha Anonymous. That’s just an easy and spiteful comeback that oversimplifies the argument. Yes, we are intelligent enough to know how the electoral system works. But we all know that the major parties run so called presidential style campaigns. That way many many voters don’t even consider who their local rep is and just vote for the party headed by the leader they want. The Liberals and Labor parties both made sure their ministers shut the fuck up. Abbott himself kept pretty quiet but was very much the face of the campaign. (And we know that was because the campaign managers knew the risk of letting his open his mouth without having a good practice first.) So, yes, they all voted for Abbott even when it was not his name on the ballot paper.
@”anonymous”
I’ve had enough of your idiotic, shitty, cheap ad hominems (look it up if you don’t know what that is, if you can use a search engine).
The article said *NOTHING* about socialism or being left-wing, it spoke about personal responsibility in voting, and carbon policy. If you won’t argue the points honestly then stop farting in here.
Thanks Mate good one again. To those Abbott lovers go take a deep breath of CO’2 then have a good think about it.
A couple of deep breaths of plain CO would benefit us more.
Love the comments here. Also I notice that those who think not in terms of a life of the mind but a life of the body, including reproduction, will be hardest hit.
I’m sure all you people that believe in climate change ride bicycles everywhere & don’t own a motor vehicle.
Actually yes I do and I walk heaps if I am not riding my treadly and when needed I catch public transport. Like I bus it Man Myki
1.) Yes, I do ride a bike, and use public transport or walking.
2.) No, I don’t own a car (I’d rent one in the rare occurrence of really needing one).
Next….
Your a moron the tax won’t stop what is a natural condition sogetbackin your box and remember majority rules. Btw this tax is as effective as taking insurance out to protect your roof from a meteor shower.
That would be ” You’re a moron”, moron. If you want to make the point that majority rules, then start listening to 97% of climate scientists.
“97% of climate scientists”……A totally false figure….Do some proper research instead of just following the rest of the ignorant pack like sheep.
Not in the Senate and you won’t have it next year either.
Thanks for the contribution to the ongoing debate.
Victoria – thank you!…thank you!!..thank you!! You have put it out there exactly how us *educated- forward thinking-knew what would happen if this jerk got elected* people feel – and so so eloquently too.
My open letter would have suffered quite a few more *profanities* I can assure you!
I am – like the rest of us – just agog as to the damage this total imbecile of a supposed leader has done in the few short months of his *terror*.
We not only have Climate change – there is also the impending debarcle of the *de-registering* of the Tasmanian Wilderness – not forgetting his *nod of approval* for *Ms Rinehart* to dredge right near the Great Barrier Reef…and who can forget him just the other day giving the 2 patrol boats to Sri Lanka to stop so-called *people smuggling* – but as we who hold enough intelligence know – it’s actually people fleeing atrocities of being tortured – attacked – raped and even killed…..who now will be doomed to either more of the same atrocities or a certain death.. And how on earth can we forget his total ineptness at being late for a world leaders celebration at CHOGM…and now the Indonesian debarcle.
Ahh yes!!….thank you to those who voted this extremely dangerous individual in as our leader….NOT!!! I for one will remind each and every one of you every single day of how YOUR!! vote has helped to not only destroy MY!! country but jeopardises my grand children’s future…
Please see my response here.
[…] Dear Victoria Rollison […]
Man I hate the people who started the iceage. They were so backward..
Also how can you be so narrow minded and only think about your self in that open letter, your worried about your own habitat you self riches silly person.
We had an election which was democratic. So go make your own country on another planet if your not happy with earth.
Not for long Bye
There seems to be a direct link between people who dislike this article and people who can’t identify the requirement for the word ‘you’re’.
Coincidence? I think not.
Maybe they were away that day at school when the other kids learnt English. And the day the other kids learnt Science.
Ha Ha.
I’m prone to typos myself, but “your” vs “you’re” isn’t a typo.
Mean of you but it made my day 🙂
Yawn…
You are delusional Victoria. Go and do something constructive (like hugging a tree or watching your feral Port bogans with your leftie mates).
Interesting that you talk about not being able to debate climate change….You’re spot on and I’m pretty sure you’re not a scientist- and, if the world’s best scientists can’t agree on the facts surrounding ‘climate change’ then how is your opinion even worth a pinch of salt.
What a waste of my time even responding to your BS note.
The why did you bother in the first place, whilst you’re no scientist by your rationale expressionism of the facts at hand.
Are you sure you are on the right blog Mick? All the troglodytes are gathering around the cesspit at the Andrew Bolt blog. You better hurry up & crawl over there Mick, otherwise you will miss out on todays dose of hate from Melbourne’s resident village idiot.
We totally agree with the village idiot label.
Fantastic, Victoria, you’ve expressed the rage and frustration I feel. Watching Abbott & Co is like watching the Keystone Cops, only it’s not funny. Internationally Australia is a laughing stock, but too many people are to xenophobic to care about the views of people overseas. Unbelievable and yes, people who voted for Abbott are morons and cowards, too yellow-bellied to take the tough decisions to secure the future of this planet.
I believe I have the same concern for climate change as you and almost all of the people who have commented here. I have been horrified by the actions of the Abbott government since they were elected, and had a lot of rage, hatred and despairing apathy in the past couple of months because of it.
However I don’t think alienating the large portion of the Australian population who voted for Tony Abbott & the Liberals through this letter is particularly helpful right now, when what most climate organizations are trying to raise awareness on the issues and combat misinformation spread by certain media outlets. It’s unfortunate that in Australia climate change has become an issue of political pettiness when it should be above debate and just be solved through ambitious policy. I agree with you on all these things, but I feel that blaming voters will deepen the divide between us and them. Yes it’s infuriating that people believe climate change isn’t an issue (or belongs to a ‘greenie’ minority), but it’s only because that’s the opinion that they encounter most frequently in the media & around them. What we should be doing is campaigning positively and finding ways to engage individuals & communities on climate issues that affect them, and therefore become engaged with the climate movement in general. I don’t believe this is pandering to them, it’s just informing them of facts which they often haven’t heard before.
As you say, 60,000 people rallied last week for action on climate change. That’s Australia’s biggest and most widespread climate rally yet. I don’t think there would have been such widespread support from the public if Rudd had won and we had all breathed a sigh of relief thinking the climate was safe for another three years…
Maybe I’m just young and idealistic, but I think it’s better to surprise the morons with kindness and encourage them to learn about environmental issues rather than knock them down because they fucked up so majorly at the election.
Solving climate change is urgent. I don’t think naming names and blaming people is going to help. But good on you for being so passionate about it! 😀
Whilst the general premise that we need to act on climate change is agreeable, your writing style is nearing on disturbing with your desire to slander more than half of Australia’s population. Perhaps using your time to explain the facts to people rather than insulting them would be a better way of getting your point across.
If you want to actually make a difference i would suggest a less disgusting approach to making your opinion heard, everyone has the right to vote and not be slandered for the choice.
Overall I somewhat agree with you, but that is destroyed by your method. You make me sad to have voted labor.
Hi Victoria,
I can see the purity of your intention and admire it, but lets face it…action on climate change is politically a poison chalice… just ask Malcom Turnbull, In the end the Labour Party committed political suicide at the last election due to their infighting and lack of party room cohesion and I think you have narrowed your voter behaviour focus to a single environmental issue when in many cases there were multiple reasons behind voter disenchantment with the Labour Party.
“Sustainability” must consider the social context as well as the obvious need to heal the environmental degradation of land, sky and sea on a worldwide scale and one part of the solution to this degradation is to restructure the way we use energy.
Obviously the political influence of the mining, oil, energy and media sectors in shaping government to suit their vested interests is much greater than our pseudo “democracy” would like to admit.
However, Adversarial politics on this issue has not, and will not bring about change.
Getting pissed off about it is fine Victoria, but history tells us that emotions will not affect change.
The dollar talks and the rest walks and there is way too much money at stake here for bit players and emotionally charged blame games to affect change.
Emotions need to morph into strategies that recognise the need for a transition, sooner rather than later, from consumables to renewables and, in my mind, governments need to be circumvented by buyer behaviour and lobby groups that are FOR something, not AGAINST.
I hope this makes some sense… and I agree with your “sentiment” that the current government is unlikely to do well in addressing environmental issues, particularly with its current leader.
Utterly superb post, expresses my own anger so very well. Thank you.
Really really honest and expressive opinion. Thanks. We need a greater awareness of the hatred and fanaticism that is brewing in the climate fear camp. The irrationality of your opinion is not really worth considering. It’s the misguided passion that will be exploited to commit atrocities by some future ambitious despot.
I vote for wider reason than one topic . You my friend are the idiot and dangerous one you reference . If you want to do change be part of it your little website where all you like minded lefty friends can justify each other is not helping.
Hi Abbott Voter. I agree that white hot anger in this debate is not helpful but I also sympathise with posters here who are so aggravated by the actions of the Abbott government on this matter. I call myself a “Centralist” rather than being of the left or the right. I have always been a swinging voter (I was in the USA for an extended period at the time of the election so did not vote) I can easily understand the frustration of those of us who believe in the scientific evidence of man made (or aggravated) climate change. Especially when confronted on a daily basis by the abusive diatribes of conservative warriors in the thrall of Murdoch who dominate our daily media. It becomes increasingly difficult to maintain a civil dialogue on this and other political subjects when you are subject to howls of abusive rage in mass circulation media where dissenting voices are drowned out simply by the power of incumbency in the media market. This makes it understandable that people use forums such as this to express their frustration.
Always remember that my views are just as valid as yours & I have a right to express them without being denigrated just because you regard people like me as “Lefties”. This term is now being used by “the right” to demonise a large section of the population as though suffering from some sort of disease like the black death, rather than being people with legitimate though differing views to those who identify with “the right”
I would draw your attention to the Bolt blogs where there exists a murky underworld of ill-informed hate fermented by a self styled conservative warrior who uses his no doubt impressive debating skills to compile reams of data to produce self made graphs & tables that are impressive to look at but do not stand up to scientific scrutiny but easily impress readers looking for “facts” to support their own pre-ordained views. Any attempt by reasonable critics to post arguments refuting this “data” is met with either the post not being published or shouted down with howls of abusive derision by a coterie of “defenders” who cannot cope with intelligent argument & who rely on character assassination to make their point.
Add to that the daily un-rebutted diatribes of Miranda Devine, Piers Akeman, Tim Blair, Chris Kenny & Henry Ergas & you begin to understand the frustration of those on the other side of the argument.
In conclusion, I would invite you to pause, stop using terms like “Leftie” “leftard” & similar derogatory terms & try to frame the debate in civil terms. You may be surprised at the result. (Incidentally Victoria, although I understand & agree with your frustration, this advice could equally apply to you. It is your blog though so I suppose you can say what you like but do be careful how you say it. Why don’t you try posting on the Bolt blog & see how you get on?
Thank you for writing what I was thinking too. It’s shameful to our country to think that half of us are so, so stupid and selfish. A proud nation that grew sheep now are sheep.
Never Mind Victoria, enough voters will be brainwashed into thinking that little old Australia can change the world before the next election!! What a joke you greenie loving tree huggers give me the shits, piss off!
Sorry forgot to leave my name TERRY
Wonder where you fit on this old mate?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Graham%27s_Hierarchy_of_Disagreement1.svg
Go on… check it out. Find out about the quality of your discourse.
The facts should speak for themselves.
Australia has 0.32% of the worlds population.
Australia produces 1.2% of the worlds CO2 emissions.
If we reduced our emissions by 100% (destroying the economy and our way of life) we could reduce world CO2 emission by 1.2%.
1.2% is not 5% and 5% is not nearly enough, even if the modeling is anywhere near correct.
So nothing Australia does will make any meaningful, let alone noticeable difference.
The top 5 polluting countries make 60% of the CO2 emissions and if any one of those does not actively participate in major reductions then it’s all for naught anyway.
Sure take the moral high ground and kid yourself that we Aussies can effect emissions by any meaningful amount. The facts simply prove otherwise.
Unfortunately dear Victoria and potential unborn children, you are using a thimble to bail out the titanic.
I wonder what the other 23 231 300 Aussies were doing with their Sunday while you were out getting your knickers in a knot over something you can not possibly change?
I’m not sure where your figure of “5%” come from. Are you referring to the goal Australia set itself? That was a (measly) 5% of AUSTRALIA’s emissions, not world emissions. It was downgraded from the initial goal of 20% of Australia’s emissions. Either of them is pathetic. They represent a small part of world emissions, yes, but what is forgotten is that EVERYBODY has to reduce emissions, and that examples DO matter, they are are used as precedents by others.
Each person’s or country’s behaviour is a small part of the whole, but if everyone says “What we do doesn’t matter, do business as usual”, then it it DOES all add up and reenforce itself.
Also, developing low-emission tech is something an industrialised, educated country like Australia can do, even make money from. You seem to equate emission-reduction with loss of all industry. That ignores technological possibilities, or even people’s ability to change their behaviour personally.
interesting… isn’t this what a democracy is about? the leader is to represent the majority. I didn’t hear any climate change experts complaining when waragamba dam was built — it snowed where we are… until then. of course, that damage can be undone by getting rid of the dam. Or the damage done to the environment by disposable items that take hundreds of years to decompose. or the fact that the proponents of climate change became very rich because of it – and many of them don’t follow their own advice, or went completely against their own advice in order to make money. Absolutely we need to look after our environment, throwing money at it doen’st help… reducing waste by removing disposible items would make life too inconvenient for ‘us all’ and it would also make big business lose a lot of money… however, it might actually make a real difference to the environment – rather than all this climate change rubbish.. and yes, not every reputable scientist agrees with it… and it came out many a year ago that they had suppressed/altered data to prove their point… but those “half-brained”, as you put it, labour voters are too uneducated to realise that.
Well said Victoria!!! The rage still boils inside me that voters chose a selfish, backward thinking government at a time we most needed some environmental reform!!! How can people be so stupid to risk loosing it all for what is likely to be a small sacrifice for a better world. We Australians had a chance to be a real world leader in the field of environmental stewardship but we stuffed up and I share Victoria’s anger. Read the Laggard to Leader report http://bze.org.au/laggardtoleader and you can see the damage that has been done.
I am very proud with you Victoria. Thanks for your Article. I like to see some comments because some people are selfish short term thinkers 😦
Sit behind a computer and blame everyone else for not accepting the changes you want to see in the world.
Do you feel better about yourself and your contribution to the environment now you have pointed the finger and marched in the rally?
Of course you do, but that’s alright. If you ever feel the need to validate your righteousness and justify your own personal environmental destruction then just write another angry letter.
I think Victoria’s letter sums it up perfectly. Ignorance may be the cause of bad democratically elected government but should never be an excuse
[…] An Open Letter to Abbott voters (victoriarollison.com) […]
Can anyone tell me if Victoria is involved with the Green Party ?…. And has she any aspirations to run for Prime Minister herself…that way she maybe able to bring these changes to fruition…
This article makes me want to bang my head against a brick wall over and over. Laughable.
please do….again, and again, and again…..
Feel free to do it Dave but don’t ring 000 and wast their time if you hurt yourself.
erm……i don’t think ’twas i who was offering jimmy boy :p
Thank you Victoria!
Such an eloquently written piece. I, myself, would probably have used a few more profanities in order to describe the above ignorant bastards.
One vagina in ministery in the upper house. It’s like we’re back in the 1950’s. To remove the minister for science also advocates this ‘ignorant bliss’ that Tony ‘bongo drum ears’ Abbott is trying to instill in the people. It is working. What a bunch of useless people we have living here, advocating the ‘bogan’ ‘straya’ mentality. We’re not world class. How dare we lower ourselves to an ignorance that should not exist. As a scientist, I put to you, that climate change is REAL and is occurring. What a joke our ‘lucky country’ has become. I don’t feel lucky living here, I feel trapped by morons and ignorant bastards. Pull that stick out of your arse Australia. Guess what? Your shit does stink and it’s letting off and off putting smell.
Thank you Victoria, for an attempt at opening the eyes of humans resistant to change. I feel ill at the possibilities this ugly turd will have to destroy our beautiful land. We have no more pride. We have no more dignity.
Thank you,
Natalie
Good one Natalie and use that stick to wack them with.
Thanks Natilie.
It is now approx four months since you wrote the above.
How things have deteriorated since that time with this Abbott clown becomming more of a “legend in his own mind”.
It is so unusual that anyone can be, so wrong, so often and have absolutely no moral compass in all aspects of their character..
Truly I am sure he is insane. Unfortunately all of the ministers etc seem to have the same evil DNA.
I am so angry at these dogs attacking my beloved Australia, my family and all the citizens.
Anyway. As you can tell I am realy shitted-off about a great country being purposely run down( not to mention dumbed down).
I hope all Australians can stop him.
Victoria, you misguidedly assume that the only reason people voted Liberal was due to Tony Abbot’s climate policies. Have you stopped to think that maybe the alternative was unapalatable for other reasons??? Economic management was what I voted about.
Yes, because leaving the economy in the strongest place it’s been in decades is such economic mismanagement. Leaving the country with the lowest cost of living, also in decades, is certainly economic mismanagement. Coming out of the worst recession since the Great Depression, ranked as the nation who buffered this recession best due to a Labor stimulus package is most certainly economic mismanagement. Wayne Swan receiving an award for being the world’s best treasurer due to his handling of the recession and Australia’s recovery is certainly a sign of economic mismanagement.
You have no idea what state the economy is in. When was the last time you gained knowledge from an outlet that wasn’t Murdoch owned?
Actually we buffered the recession because we sold our souls (and coal) to China. The stimulus package had very little to do with it.
[…] An Open Letter to Abbott voters (victoriarollison.com) […]
[…] An Open Letter to Abbott voters (victoriarollison.com) […]
Queensland is, the ghost of Australia yet to come.
Petty, selfish voters that “think” they are rich because they own some shares, have decided to help widen the gap between classes. Funny part is we all saw which side their deluded, broke ass selves were left on once the voting was done.
Gina and her ilk thank you between their fits of laughter.
You are a fool if you believe leaving a tax on carbon emissions is all that is required, hoodwinked by the previous government. Do you really think climate change is a new phenomenon? It has been going on for a few million years now (last I looked the Ice Age) was over…. Planting trees helps, I’d where our oxygen comes from. Stop focussing on one party or person you are sooking got in, and look toward a Global result. That is of course, unless you like paying tax on something which in the Global scheme has no effect – and it is a Global result which is required, not a miniscule local one…
I’m greedy
I’m selfish
I care more about my electricity bill than the environment
I don’t care if my (or your) children inherit a broken planet
I listen to Kyle Sandilands and watch Carl Stefanovic
I didn’t know about 17.11.13
I’m a climate change denier
I’m a dangerous moron
I list shopping as one of my pastimes
I play (and am willing to pay for) Candy Crush
I own a plasma
I’m just listing a few of the things you got wrong about me, a Liberal voter.
You think I’m uneducated, or uninformed, or that I couldn’t give less of a shit about climate change. I am of the same opinion about climate change as you are; I voted Liberal for a much wider variety of reasons than only the environment. I think you need to re-evaluate how you think of Liberal voters.
Oh and I’m studying a Master of International and Community Development. My GPA is 6.25
[…] An Open Letter to Abbott voters (victoriarollison.com) […]
wow what a load of bollocks. sorry but it is. this is the kind of rubbish that gets nothing accomplished. nothing. you can have your protest marches and write your open letters and get praise from your friends but it is still bullocks. Our planet goes through changes because that is part of its life cycle. nothing will change while third world countries of which we have NO power over fill the skies and the seas with trash. nothing will change. voting for one person over another will not change anything. super powers like china hold the power for change and they aren’t going to change anything. yes, I am like Angela S. I shop. I am selfish. I watch Carl. and I watch Fox news. I think its about time that people stopped expecting someone else to fix things and stopped expecting the government to fix things. Based on for letter, I assume that you must live off the grid. You must use all solar everything. You must not have a car or wear clothes made in factories (so you must weave them all from goats and sheep that you graze on your fields. You must grow all your own food and get water from the rain. You must homeschool and not believe in vaccinations and be a vegetarian. global warming is a scare tactic by big business to make people pay more for everything. its nonsense.
To begin at the beginning….
Protest marches and letters don’t fix things by themselves, they’re meant to raise awareness or to persuade the powers that be. Who said otherwise?
Sure, the planet goes through changes. Who said otherwise? This doesn’t mean that a given change doesn’t have human input. It also doesn’t mean that ANY specific change is a good thing now that there are 7 billion of us. When Earth went through its snowball period, for instance, it wasn’t going to affect a whole bunch of people..
While i’m cynical about pollies, I think it’s fair to say that voting Abbott in WILL make a difference – a bad one. As for China, it IS (finally) taking steps to fix emissions, as is Germany for another. Both are doing far more than Australia at the moment.
It’s true that we cannot (only) expect government (or business) to fix things. Based on their performance, they need to be pressured by consumer or voter action to do anything. But then you seem so cynical about people trying to do anything personally. You CAN do things like cycling or using public transport instead of`cars. Many people ARE doing just that. Me included. You CAN try to make sensible choices as a consumer (IF you’re allowed to get the information you need, something which vested interests try to stop).
You don’t have to forego the Grid. But you can try to do something about how electricity is GENERATED (and maintain the grid properly). The grid itself is actually a good thing to have,; it allows generation where you can do it.. You CAN use solar hot water, and at least some solar power (We do it where I live, even sell it back to the grid). You CAN grow some of your own food, even in small areas. Factory-made stuff can be made more sustainably, by using better power sources, more efficient processes, recycling, etc.. Also by reducing deliberate obselesence.
And where the hell did the anti-vaccination thing come from, your own mental stereotype?
She NEVER mentioned it. Vegetarianism wasn’t mentioned either. Straw men.
And it seems that Big Business is often one of the principle whingers about any steps to reduce emissions.
Well said Michael
Get over it
Victoria while I am on your page with this I am utterly delighted with the idiots that voted in this idiocracy. Murdoch and his Winged Monkeys are in decline and who will fill the void – certainly not his idiot progeny who, with any luck, will end up in the dock eventually. The reason for my delight is that politics, being cyclical, means that everything comes around and the more this crush lie, fumble, stumble and generally act like the incompetent arsehats they are the more it will cure those that might have voted them in this time of doing something so damn stupid next time round.
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I totally agree Victoria. Those of us who take science seriously, can no longer afford to argue the minutiae of scientific argument to the ignorant swill who vote for the likes of Tony Abbott. We have been branded un-Australian leftist extremists by the moronic shock jocks and this has created a ground swell of violent right wing sentiment. These greedy pea-brained losers need to be put In their place and given a dose of their own medicine. This should be easy now their hero is being showed up for the incompetent dolt that he is. If you cant see through Abbott’s double speak, then go back to the high school curriculum Abbott I in the process of destroying, and read “1984”. I will only add that fracking for unconventional gas is an issue as serious as climate change, as once it occurs, clean water is permanently threatened and compromised for future generations. But hey who cares about that when we need to stop those boats right? (because 3% of the worlds refugees must be treated like a military attack, duh… Tony says so!).
Thank you Damon for your factual analysis of Abbott and Co and in time who will be marked in history as the most obnoxious government Australia has ever had. The evidence is there about this so called Fracking for gas. Just ask the Canadians who live near where they have been Fracking for more the 10 years and see the damaged that has caused to their underground reservoirs.
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I have recently protested in the March in March of a vote of no confidence in Tony Abbott.
It is now obvious that all the Liberals both State and Federal are fully in hate and attack mode on our resources and Australian liberties..
We have,
1 Media censureship
2 Selling all Australian (ours) assests and rescourses for a pittance.
3 Building up the Military and starving our pensioners, the poor and
disadvantaged and gradualy all Australians.
4 Mass unemployment no matter what the Murdoch controlled media tell us.
5 Spying on East Timor for financial gain
6 Trying to dismantle medicare ( again attacking the workers)
7 Telling everyone whom is “foolish to enough believe,” that the country is going
broke so as to raise taxes.
8 Privitisation increasing, thus having less monies being returned to the Government
coffers by our businesses .
9 Not taxing Murdoch and Rinehard.
10 Laxing 457 visa requirements to further attack Australian workers
THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. GET RID OF ABBOTT “YESTERDAY”
And may I add, that this Abbott lying tooth fairy LNP government’s disability cut backs on compensation claims due to our younger post 1975 veterans, who went overseas to fight Howard’s War on Terror and the such are being bunt at the stake for their sacrifices. These veterans are now finding out what it was really like to qualify for TPI disability pension from DVA, just the same as the Vietnam Veterans had to endure over the last 50 years or so.