That’s true. I’ve never seen so many dead animals on the road. I guess it means there are a lot of them. Maybe they should build tunnels under the roads, although a lot of the roadkill is wallabies.
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It’s actually crazy how Qld are free of dead animals. They surround the highways with animal proof fencing, koala Highwire crossings etc. The only dead animal I saw on the road was the occasional snake. Certainly no dead roos. Even when travelling much further inland. All displaced or wiped out?
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A lot of my Aussie friends have been pretty blasé about getting vaccinated. Hopefully this kind of thing will motivate them to get on with it. Unfortunately, the chances of an opening of the borders seem as slim as ever.
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Sadly I don’t think it will.
A lot of Australians have a F Off you can’t tell me what to do attitude, so will refuse to take the vaccine which likely won’t change until international travel destinations like Thailand/Bali/Europe open up and they realise that most countries will likely insist on inbound tourists having been vaccinated that you will see a change in attitudes towards getting vaccinated
In general I like that attitude, but in this case it’s really unhelpful. I think the fact that they haven’t really been affected is also a reason for the apathy. We were in lockdown from 1st November until late May in Germany, but Aussies haven’t had their freedoms impaired for much more than a couple of weeks at a time.
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Sorry to break it to you mate, but Steve Irwin is dead. Stings the heart 
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Oh… Actually I was more about the crocodile
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I agree.
In general it is a good attitude, but sometimes you need to think a bit about the greater good, rather than just yourself. But many australians who won’t think twice about sticking a gram of chalk or rat poison up their nose on a Frida/Saturday night suddenly are being worried about shit they are sticking in their bodies. That attitude won’t change until they realise that without being vaccinated they can’t go getting on the piss in cheap arse beach bars in Bali/Pattaya ect.
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some pretty shitty generalisations about australians in here to be honest.
in my experience and small social circle and extended community i see frustration but pretty good compliance.
FWIW i cant even book a jab, everytime i ring they say ring back next week.
so ‘all these australians’ on drugs refusing to vacinate must be making false appointments to fuck up the system i suppose.
also, i know its not strictly racial, but it skirts the lines doesnt it…i mean, when we bash ourselves we are thinking of a certain profile arent we…
hint…its not the hard working asian migrant, the quite family orientated mediterrainian or the spiritual original inhabitant…
i reckon theres definately a section of the population that fits that ‘fuck off we’re full’ im not getting vacinated stereotype…but the general majority in my mind are hard working, honest and open to compliance.
proud of Australia. proud of the people.
that said…when you do go to thailand…my god it can be embarrassing…
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The number of people I spoke to last year when I was there who were in the market for an oversized ute like a Dodge Ram tells me a lot about how strongly Australians feel about climate change. There is such a strong big car culture that its going to be difficult to break, and as the article says its such a poorly represented topic in the media, like so many topics over there.
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The problem is that the economy is so heavily dependent on mining and a transition to a cleaner economy is going to be painful. It will have to happen one day, but it won’t be easy.
Australia is in a position to create a large amount of its energy with solar, for a start. It also has a well educated workforce and a strong IT and service sector. Agriculture is hurting due to climate change and that’s an important lobby. Awareness is growing, but it’s far behind Europe. The recycling system is pretty pathetic for example. However, Aussies love their country and have a strong attachment to the bush and the natural world. The young generation see the danger, so there is hope.
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I think its probably a long process, not an expert but it probably even take a couple of generations… Mining is a small contributor of jobs but it contributes more than half of OZ’s exports and is the largest contributor of its GDP and revenue… so it is heavily dependent on this to pay for other parts of its economy. Not sure whether natural resources will run out soon in Australia or what plans they have to divert…over the years, they have worked on education but with their relationship with China at an all times low, that is a roadblock…not really sure what else they can divert to based on current situations but I guess this is probably something that would be heavily debated and discussed by the relevant people in the country.
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I don’t think we have a couple of generations. Several climate change tipping points are about to be passed. I was in Australia at the time of the bush fires and some days it was apocalyptic.
Things have to change fast.
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That is where the contradictions will come in. Things have to change fast but it can only change as fast as not affecting the health of the economy, unfortunately. They, and every country in the world actually, have to find a way to be able to deliver better health for earth and yet not affect the short and medium term economic health of the country and the individuals. People would never want the environment to be in a bad state but each individual would place different importance to environment compared to other parts of their lives. So its not going to be easy like you mentioned, and not such a clear cut path.
Yes, the problem is that there is so little recognition of the situation and political will to find solutions. Morrison is only starting to think about it because he’s getting pressure from the Biden administration among others. The China relationship is a severe complicating factor too.
The documentary is well worth watching
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Yeah my recent 12 month sabbatical I took was bookended by bushfires in the vicinity of where I was living. Slowly people are coming around to the fact that it’s not historically normal for bushfire season to start in August and finish in May in subtropical regions. They can see the problem but aren’t yet willing to make a change to the way they live to help ease the problem.
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And this is the problem globally, not just in Oz. People can see what the problem is and know what they have to do to make things better; they just don’t do it.
Takes me back to COG’s first law of human dynamics: people are fuckwits.
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Not good news from Down Under, although hardly unexpected:
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its a national embarrassment of the highest order.
a windswept sunny country surrounded by roaring oceans and somehow the rhetoric has gotten through that we cant survive without digging holes in the ground and making gina rinehart rich.
i fully expect this to change dramatically in the very near future…we should and could lead the world with renewables if we fund the correct areas.
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