Magicdirt Posted February 3, 2011 Good idea. It will take a lot of pressure for them to run with this. It took the combined badgering of tens of thousands of people to prod GetUp into saying something about the Internet Filtering. Even then, their action mostly consisted in taking a lot of cash donations and then producing a relatvely piss-weak campaign. If all you do is vote and comment on the GetUp page then you are doing so little as to be all but passive in this. Write to your MP. (I've done this, why haven't you?) Write to various Senators. Write (or co-write) a submission to the consultation. Did your MP care enough to get back to you and if so was it just to make you feel like you have a sympathetic ear or did she commit to raising the issue in parliament ? My federal MP is as crooked as boss hog and my state MP is just as complicit in shady deals as boss hog. All they care about is spinoffs from developers. Scores of people with health concerns can't get a fair go, so I can't see 1 voice in the wilderness doing much. How many others in your electorate even know about the issue ? I agree it's part of the political process and a move that needs to be played as an initial step but it's really not going to have much effect without a mass following. I think the numbers will need to come at the senate level where we could all come together and make an impact together in a united front. Submissions to the consultation are also of utmost importance in my veiw. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yeti101 Posted February 4, 2011 I don't expect any joy from my federal MP at all. But it doesn't take many people to write to a few MP's to make them nervous. Also, if you write to them, and I mean proper paper snail mail, they have to (in theory) reply, which is time consuming. If you write to them and raise a question that should be answered by the Attorney General (for example), then they have to take that concern to them (or their minions), and then either relay their reply, or the AG will reply directly. If your letter raises a number of issues across a number of portfolios, then they will have to bother a bunch of public servants across several offices who will try to palm it off onto someone else. The idea is to create as much work as possible, as expecting to rationally change the mind of anyone in the ALP is unrealistic. I agree re the Senate. If we can get even a few Senators to simply stop and ask difficult questions, then this proposed legislation could stall almost indefinitely in a hostile Upper House. The danger is that the Coalition will side with the ALP and sidestep the Greens and Independents. So we need to work on them as well. Any ideas on how to convince a member of the Libs or Nationals that they should oppose this would be very handy. Someone has set up a FB group, might be worth a look(I haven't been accepted yet) . Search for "SAVE THE PLANTS Australian Natives & Exotics @ threat of being criminalised". It's not a public group though, so isn't really a vehicle for mass communication. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Magicdirt Posted February 4, 2011 Good work Yeti ! Let's make the bastards earn their keep. Snail mail is still a useful tool when you deal with MPs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qualia Posted February 4, 2011 if you haven't already sent a submission to the ag, perhaps remember to tell him of the benefits of hemp foods (in the submission theres a paragraph or two about allowing low thc hemp growing or something) theres a fsanz application in the works now to allow hemp foods, (which was previously accepted by fsanz but then rejected by fucking ministers, ugh..) even though i don't think he may have anything to do with fsanz, theres ministerial councils which can override fsanz decisions apparently oh don't forget to tell him he's a cunt too.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hyphal Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) I shed a tear tonight, been feeling sick at these proposed laws until I read through this thread. You guys are sensational... The ironic thing is that now lots of people are going to learn these secrets, and if this good rational momentum keeps up then something will now HAVE to be done to implement safe and medicinal guidelines for their use, now that they are out in the open.... This may just bite them back. I submitted a letter to the government feedback email and have alerted MAPS, and will link them to this thread if no one minds? They have 14,000 possible facebook supporters so it should be seen by a few ppl hopefully and drum up some support. Edited February 5, 2011 by Hyphal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted February 5, 2011 Go for it Hyphal, the more switched-on people who know of this, the better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J Smith Posted February 6, 2011 What about contacting Hack on JJJ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bℓσωηG Posted February 6, 2011 What about contacting Hack on JJJ? Not a bad suggestion, i do worry about all the otherwise oblivious people out here ( surely theres loads) who suddenly have the urge to try this,and actually all this getting the word out there will have a negative effect? idk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hyphal Posted February 6, 2011 Yeah me to blow, this is the worst outcome for advertising of the subject matter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
synchromesh Posted February 6, 2011 Dutch Parliament sprayed with Spores! On the Duty of Civil Disobedience Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted February 6, 2011 for anyone contacting a media organisation it might be best to point them to http://www.gardenfreedom.com as this site has pretty accurate information and deals with many of the mistakes already floating around the media. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WoodDragon Posted February 7, 2011 Heh, Torsten beat me to it with the gardenfreedom link. I have to admit that I've been wondering which clever cookie set it up... What I would like to see is someone with a clued-in media savvy, and the succinctness of the gardenfreeom writers, put up a question on Q&A on the ABC. I think that it would be best if the potential drug use aspect was minimised, and the ridiculousness of the drug/terror trade aspect emphasised. But most of all it would be interesting to see what the pollies might have to say about the banning of the range of plants that gardenfreedom lists - it's even more extensive than I guessed at first. A really clever one-two with a couple of expert audience members might quickly show up the folly of the proposal, and if the "granny's front garden" and the harm-to-horticultural-industry aspects could be put centre stage then there'd be a pretty quick national stirring... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yeti101 Posted February 9, 2011 Got a letter back from my MP. She encouraged me to make a submission (mostly so I'll stop bothering her I bet). I notice the odd objector on the GetUp page, especially the latest one 'Greg'. I'm pretty sure he is a legitimate crank rather than an ALP shill, but I would have expected someone who does regen work and runs a native plant nursery would have a bit more sense. I note that there are no questions about this on Q&A yet. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/ask.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ballzac Posted February 9, 2011 Wikipedia list A. melanoxylon as containing DMT, but the link given as a reference is broken. Anyone know if this is true? There is a thread here about it, but it's pretty old. Is there any more information on this? This would mean that growing the tree for timber would be illegal under the proposed changes, and might be worth mentioning in a submission if - and only if - a reliable source for the information could be found. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
synchromesh Posted February 9, 2011 What I would like to see is someone with a clued-in media savvy, and the succinctness of the gardenfreeom writers, put up a question on Q&A on the ABC. I think that it would be best if the potential drug use aspect was minimised, and the ridiculousness of the drug/terror trade aspect emphasised. But most of all it would be interesting to see what the pollies might have to say about the banning of the range of plants that gardenfreedom lists - it's even more extensive than I guessed at first. That's where the victory lies in my opinion. By continuously demanding evidence of their drug dealing claims (in more ways than one), we could make a total mockery out of them. Any film makers on the forum? YouTube is calling you... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hutch Posted February 9, 2011 That's where the victory lies in my opinion. By continuously demanding evidence of their drug dealing claims (in more ways than one), we could make a total mockery out of them. Any film makers on the forum? YouTube is calling you... Making a film is a great idea....I'm more a star type than a director but.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rogdog Posted February 10, 2011 (edited) Anybody up for a revolution? Egypt seems to know whats up And after the revolution... suprise! the people clean up with pride, and no cooercion, because they love their city, and not the scumbags who used to tell them how to live My faith in humans has inceased immensly over the last few weeks Edited February 10, 2011 by rogdog Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hutch Posted February 10, 2011 Anybody up for a revolution? Egypt seems to know whats up And after the revolution... suprise! the people clean up with pride, and no cooercion, because they love their city, and not the scumbags who used to tell them how to live Wouldn't it be good if we could just hose out the garbage like that....I'm game Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rogdog Posted February 10, 2011 nice one hutch, thats two of us, lets take the protest to the streets, Egypt style Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ballzac Posted February 11, 2011 Does anyone have any statistics on what proportion of methamphetamine in Australia is manufactured from locally grown Ephedra? I'm stuggling to find such information. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ballzac Posted February 11, 2011 Also trying to find info as to the current legal status of Ephedra herb. The shaman-australis website lists ephedra as being in schedule 9 (http://shaman-australis.com.au/shop/index.php?cPath=21_34_73), but I can only find it in schedule 4 (http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2010L02386). Is the SAB information out of date? The garden freedom page lists herbalists as amongst those who will be affected, but if they are already breaking the law by possessing and prescribing/supplying the herb, it may not really be a great point to include. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ballzac Posted February 11, 2011 Another question. There are a couple of websites that show where certain species have been spotted, but I can't remember the websites. I thought it would be interesting to search for as many species from the proposed schedule, and superimpose the distributions onto a single map of Australia. This would give a nice pictorial to help explain how ridiculously unenforcable these laws would be. Anyway, question was going to be, what is a reliable website for this? I'm sure one of them was gov. That would be best if info obtained was used in a submission. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazonian Posted February 11, 2011 ballzac, you are really doing your homework, aren't you. I am glad that you are on our side. Fingers crossed hey!? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mescalito Posted February 11, 2011 Making a film is a great idea....I'm more a star type than a director but.... This I too find interesting,I've typed in every conceivable phrase in the search engine and NOBODY has put up news reports,home vids...nada Anyhoo it hit me the other day that they can't really tell the National Parks and Wildlife that they are coming in with graders!! So I rang the NSW office and spoke to them,they weren't much help but said to send all relevant info to [email protected] ...man I just wanted the chic to type in the address and at least take a look as I said you won't have a National Park if this goes through as is proposed! NUP just repeated the same thing.....so I will, and I urge others to as well according to their respective states....fuckit hit'em all no matter where you live...it's all of Australia. Also thanks for hitting up M.A.P.S too! Any response yet? Anyone got a template made up to post here so we can copy/paste and hurry things up,spread the word faster? I got my hands full as it is but will try after. Again [email protected] Erin Brochovic ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
