Greens leader lifts boycott on meetings with Julia Gillard

    The Daily Telegraph
    March 05, 2012


GREENS leader Bob Brown is resuming routine meetings with the Prime Minister, after boycotting them because of logging in some of Tasmania's protected forests.   :)

After the Greens chose to back Labor to form a minority government in 2010, Senator Brown had met Julia Gillard once a week when parliament was in session and once a fortnight when it was not.

However, he called off the meetings in mid-January because he was outraged over Ms Gillard reneging on a Tasmanian environmental deal signed in August.

The deal included the protection of 430,000ha of native forest, as well as $45 million to help struggling contractors leave the industry.

About 1 per cent of protected area continued to be logged to fulfil existing contracts - an amount Senator Brown likened to part of a Beethoven recording being removed.

"Less than 1 per cent of world heritage value - 1 per cent of a Beethoven record - makes quite a mess of the whole delivery, if you like," he said.

Senator Brown told Network Ten yesterday he would resume meeting Ms Gillard once a week, starting from the next parliamentary sitting date, "because it's in the public interest to do so".   ;)

While he remained appalled that his Tasmanian forestry agreement with Ms Gillard had not been completely upheld, there were a string of issues that were too important not to discuss, Senator Brown maintained.

The vital issues included the mining tax, the solar rebate scheme, which the government dumped during the week without consulting the Greens, and the upcoming federal budget.   ;)

How will gillard know what to do if brown the clown isn't there to tell her.

One does wonder how good at negotiation Mr Abbott will be.  Should he unfortunately become the prime minister.   :)

And who exactly would he have to negotiate with?

BigOl64 wrote on Mar 5^th, 2012 at 7:04am:

And who exactly would he have to negotiate with?

Being a lame duck, everyone

Who are the people that hold the balance of power in the senate?.   :)

wrote on Mar 5^th, 2012 at 6:57am:

One does wonder how good at negotiation Mr Abbott will be.  Should he unfortunately become the prime minister.   :)

He won't sell his soul like the liar Gillard did.

wrote on Mar 5^th, 2012 at 7:06am:

Who are the people that hold the balance of power in the senate?.   :)

At the moment it is the Communist Party.

he can just do what gillard did and wait till the senate changes.

wrote on Mar 5^th, 2012 at 7:06am:

Who are the people that hold the balance of power in the senate?.   :)

Currently it's the greens but that's gillard's problem not abbott's, nothing to say that due to the total ineptitude of the greens / labor government that the liberals will not hold power in both houses. It's happened before.

Pretty sure that most Australians are pretty unhappy with the brown / gillard government and will make them pat dearly at the next election.

Does anyone know when that will be?.   :)   ;D

wrote on Mar 5^th, 2012 at 7:16am:

Does anyone know when that will be?.   :)   ;D

everyone wants an election but gillard will hold on to power as long as she can. Maybe after Bob Carr takes power in 6 months or so.

The election is not due until 2013, and should be at a time of the governments choosing.  Probably sometime in late 2013 is my guess.   :)